Considering the J-Pouch.

[traci33]

Hi, I had UC for 7 years and was in remission for 5 of those, then about 2 years ago i had the mother of all flare-ups, tried everything available and nothing worked, even the magical drug of infliximab - it didnt even work a bit. So i ended up having my colon removed, stoma created and stumpy left behind. I am now 14 months down the line and have been fairly ok with my bag, obviously the rollercoaster of the whole scenario on an almost daily basis (head playing games) but....i haven't had any problems luckily and was on a level of wow this is it i'm sorted for the rest of my life.

Then... I don't know why but something changed and now i am weighing up the options of the J-Pouch, just don't know enough about it. I know you have to train it, the times you go to the loo is around 10 in the beginning then down to 5ish. The bit i have a problem with is how it feels, is it the same as having your colon? With having UC i know what urgency feels like, does this happen alot? Any info you could give me would be fab.

I do like my bag but just wondering about the alternative. I don't wana get much further down the line and have regrets for not trying.

[Neil-B]

I've had my pouch a few years and I'm happy with it. You're right you do need to get used to it, and you do empty it more than most people go to the toilet, but it is a world apart from having UC.

You are in control, I mean you don't have that same urgency as UC where you have to race to the toilet. For me it's more like I know I need to go, but if I'm doing something else I'll probably forget about it.