Post-Ileostomy Update: Cleared for J-Pouch Surgery

I had my ileostomy checked 8 months after my complete colectomy, with no inflammation found. I have also been off the biologics in that time (per GI doctor's instructions), and it's confirmed that I had UC, not Crohn's. I have my rectum (about 6 to 8 inches, I think the surgeon said), so reattachment is possible, and I have signed the paperwork to get the two-part surgery started for a J-pouch.

Though my original surgeon has left Mt. Sinai and I have been placed with Dr. Mantaj Brar, I am still glad that I've been cleared for reattachment. No inflammation is present, my sphincters are all good to go (I still tighten and release there every day; is that Kegels?), now it's just waiting for a surgery date while continuing to care for my stoma.

Good luck - keep up the good work.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Waves from UK ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jayne

Good luck!

Hi, if you have a good amount of rectum length, I would question the creation of a J-pouch. What I have is called an ileorectal anastomosis and doesn't come with a lot of the J-pouch issues like pouchitis. I would ask the surgeon about an IRA, and if he doesn't do them, getting a second opinion wouldn't hurt.
With an IRA, the rectum becomes your only waste storage tank. So if you're jumping from having 5 ft of colon to 8 in, there can be a learning curve of what and when to eat.
With a J-pouch, your small intestine is your waste storage, and the small intestine was never meant for that.
If you had an abdominal colectomy, going to an IRA would be one more surgery and not two.
If you have any questions about an IRA, please let me know 😃

Good luck; have a speedy recovery.

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Hello Ossy

Ask your surgeon about the success rate of the J-pouch, not the success of creating it but the success of life afterward. There can be a large difference between thriving and surviving, and many find themselves back with the ileostomy before long. Do your research as thoroughly as you can.

G-Day OE,

I agree 100% with Axl; we have both been down the J-Pouch line, and we have both gone back to having an ileostomy. The J-Pouch caused many years of problems and pain. Now my ileostomy has made my life livable again.

Please do some research and then make your decision.

Regards, IGGIE

Good! Because those biologics are bad for the j-pouch and on UC generally, in my opinion. I wish I could take it all back and never listened to the doctors that led me to having any surgery. I should have made and understood more about the foods that I could tolerate during flares.

Hey there… of all stories, your situation sounds most similar to mine. IRA is the most likely option for me. I'm curious, did your surgeon make any crazy enema requests of you prior to approving your IRA? Mine has insisted that I be able to hold 500 ml for 10 minutes! This already seems like an impossible obstacle. Maybe I need a second opinion 🤷‍♂️

JO84, ok this is the message I first saw.

I went through a lot of testing… trying to remember if I had to do anything like that… I think my mind has kindly failed to remember some of the finer details of those tests. With how sick I'd been, my surgeon didn't think my body could go straight from colectomy to IRA being put in use, so I had the loop ileostomy for a bit. I had to do a fun test before the stoma closure surgery to make sure there were no leaks in the connection.

Is this a colorectal surgeon or general? University/teaching hospital? Or smaller hospital? A second opinion couldn't hurt 🤷‍♀️