Year One with a J-Pouch
It has been nearly a year now that I’ve been living with a J-Ppouch, so I’ve decided to write a post (or three) about it. I can remember being afraid after my first surgery. I didn’t want to see my intestine sticking out of my abdomen, but you know, when I finally saw it for the first time, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was in pain, but it wasn’t the kind of pain I was used to. It didn’t feel like my intestines were constantly burning. I felt free!
While the climb back to health has not been perfect and I have had some rather frustrating times, I am very glad that I had it done. My ostomy gave me my life back, and that’s a feeling like no other.
When it was time to consider the takedown surgery, I was extremely apprehensive. I had read about the many complications that could happen. I wasn’t sure if I could face more problems. After all, ostomy life isn’t that bad.
During one of my routine checkups, my surgeon asked the magic question: “Are you ready?” My first thought was NO! NO! I’m not. I panicked. Surgery again? I hate surgery! I’d read that the takedown surgery can be the most difficult surgery because it brings back feelings of Ulcerative Colitis when you start using the bathroom again.
The truth of the matter, however, is that I was ready. I was ready to at least attempt life without an ostomy. Without worrying where the bathroom was. I was ready to get through this (hopefully) last surgery and on my way to recovery. We scheduled the scope and x-ray needed, to ensure my J-Pouch was in working order and that there were no leaks.
The Day Before the Scope
The day before, I had to fast. Drinking plenty of fluids so as not to get dehydrated. The next morning I woke up early to change my bag and make sure it was clean and ready for the doctor to see it. I also had to give myself a tap water enema. There were two things I was NOT looking forward to. The scope, for which I would be awake, and the x-ray, for which I would have to get another enema… Great! I thought these things would be over now I had a J-Pouch. Nope!
I remember being very nervous when I got there the next morning. The nurses kept commenting on how young I was to have to go through all of that. I smiled weakly. All I wanted to do was get the scope and enema over with. Why did I have to be awake for all of that!? I kept hoping they’d give me something to calm my nerves… they didn’t.
The Scope
So, they wheeled me back to have the scope done. I can’t even describe to you how badly I didn’t want to be there. Why won’t they just knock me out!? So, it was time, and one of the nurses held my hand as my surgeon started the scope. He invited me to look at my J-Pouch on the screen. He bragged about how great it looked and then showed me a staple that was used to form the J-Pouch. It was very odd being able to see the inside of me. The worst part about it was that my surgeon wanted to make small talk and that it was a little painful… I found out later that this was probably because I had a fungal infection in my J-Pouch (Not to worry! It was remedied with a few rounds of Diflucan!).
After the scope, they put me in a wheel chair, and after giving me a B12 shot (because I was deficient), they wheeled me off to be X-Rayed. I was also not looking forward to the X-Ray because I had to get an enema. I can’t remember what it was they filled me up with, but it was not Barium. They made it very clear. One day I will figure out what it was.
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What They Filled My J-Pouch With – An Update
July 6, 2016: I finally know what the enema contained. According to a radiology student named Parker Pattschull, they used soluble iodinated contrast. Parker says, “They use that instead of barium because it’s water soluble. Many reasons for that. If there was a perforation or anything the barium would leak in to your body and because it’s not water soluble it would never be absorbed and would just sit inside you. Not good. And there’s your answer you were hoping to know some day.” Thanks, Parker!!!
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The x-ray was also really awesome to look at… and I saw my intestines jiggle around at one point when I laughed. After it was all said and done, I was informed that everything looked great and that they would soon be scheduling my J-Pouch takedown procedure. I will talk more about that experience next week. Until then, if you have ANY questions about having a J-Pouch, feel free to message me on Facebook, or via email. You can also leave me a comment below.
