How Much Small Intestine is Left After J-Pouch Surgery?

I had a failed j pouch due to severe pouchitis. I understand that when they performed the surgery they had to use the terminal ileum for the construction of the pouch. When they had to take down the pouch, how much small intestine is left now. I wrote a letter to my surgeon afterwards and the only thing he could tell me was that I had several feet left. I need a better answer than that. Any suggestions? I may have had another 6 inches removed due to an obstruction from adhesions. What is considered short bowel syndrome?
Thank you,
Carol  
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Hi Fiesty
Can't give you a concrete answer on how much intestine you have left or what the outcome will be with a pouch takedown.  Terrible answer, and even if you did know, peoples intestines all act differently...and it often is a wait and see thing on how your body adjusts to determine what you have to supplement.

Short gut syndrome is basically fluid and nutrients running through your system unabsorbed, usually when a substantial portion of your intestine has been resected.  

In your situation, you should have a lot of small intestine left over, but if the terminal ileum is resected,  I would expect you will need to supplement B-12 , may have some fat intolerance and be very careful to stay hydrated.   Anti-diarrheal medications  can be helpful to slow down the gut for better absorption .

Hope this helps.  Sorry you have to go through all this.

Hey there, I think I might have had something like that...Because when I first got 'done', anything and everything was going through me within 15 minutes.I was loosing weight like it was going out of style, I was dehydrating very fast and at times,blood pressure couldnt be found.Eating 24hrs a day and having to drink 19litres of fluids a day..phew!!..I have mentioned this once before, and also said to"SEE YOUR DOCTOR FIRST"...But I started using codiene again...For the side affects,which was constipation...I know this isnt for everyone,they may just need something a bit softer..But whoa has the right idea about the medication, I tried all of them, and these are the ones that worked for me.Now I havent looked back...Cya Tarababy
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Yikes Tarababy....I don't know how you got all that fluid down!   In rhw US  they would automatically put you on TPN (total IV nutrition) and rest your bowel.. plus try the meds.  Interesting how things differ.

It can take a couple weeks to months after ileostomy surgery to get the output firmer, volume slowed down and the body back in the groove.
Point being if it's running like Niagra Falls right after surgery, don't think it will always be that way....give it time.  If you can't keep up with the fluids and getting dehydrated, they need to give you IV support.

Hi Whoa, yes it was hard, but when your thirsty all the time,its amazing what you can do.They did try everything(i think) before I left hospital.They even tried keeping me in to sort it out,but I was well enough to go home.So just before I left they started me on the codiene.And you say that it shouldnt be like Niagra Falls for too long after operation? well,if I dont take my medication,I AM Niagra Falls...Extremely high out-put.And it has been 4 and a half yrs for me.The doseage gets higher and higher..... and I can still dehydrate very fast.I am at a loss at what will happen in my future as I dont see them letting me take too many codiene per day....so it should be interesting.Guess I am just used to it now..As usual I'm at the mercy of the specialists....who want to let it go till its affecting me again....Which it is,but not enough for them to care....So can only hope and pray... Cheers Tarababy
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