jdmedic said...
Be very careful about a j-pouch. It sounds like a wonderful thing. For some people it can be great. For other people it can be a nightmare. After I had a j-pouch and started having problems, I learned that the success rate I was told (80 to 90%) was not for men in their fifties but for adolescents. I finally had a loop ileostomy, after a doctor from the Cleveland Clinic who is a world renowned specialist i pouchitis had tried every known medication, and some experimental ones., and my surgeon did his best to try a non-surgical answer. At the time I got rid of the j-pouch I was having 25 - 30 bowel movements a day. Obviously not all were a normal amount of stool but I had to wear overnight bladder pads and the odor was quite noticeable. Furthermore, I am now seeking help because I have so much mucous discharge from my rectum that I have to wear Depends. So far I have not found any good options.
I am sorry you're not doing better and I have to admit, I have seen such a range of results, it is hard for me to say it's a smart idea or it's not - but I do know, in many cases, when you're facing surgery, there is no other option. I had my j-pouch in my mid30s, recently, and I have been lucky I guess. I don't know if I am actually lucky, or if it's that the majority have a decent result (which is what we are led to believe). I do go to the bathroom more often than normal people, but it's not really a huge issue because I am not going ALL the time and I don't have leak issues. I never wear any type of diaper, and I haven't, even throughout the surgeries.
I have noticed over the course of posting here that the younger the person, the better the result typically, so I would say that your assessment may be correct. My age may be a factor in having the result I have, but it may also be a factor in me not having a better or worse result... I don't know. Another scary thing can be pouchitis or the chance of having pouch failure, and the longer you've had the pouch, the higher chance of these issues, so having the procedure early isn't necessarily a great thing for that statistic. I wish I could offer the "gung ho" yes, everything is going to be okay that I'd like to give, but I feel like surgery is a huge risk and it's very scary, jpouch anyway, ileo is pretty straight-forward and almost guarantees a good outcome, but the reward of jpouch can be very high if you're a good candidate. I think the question is, what makes a good candidate?