J-Pouch Surgery

I finally had the J-Pouch Surgery!

         It wasn't nearly has painful as I expected it to be.  My doctors did a good job managing my pain.  I was in the hospital for 6 days.  It was still an uphill battle. 

These are the things that I struggled the most with.

1.) Because the surgery is done lower in the abdomen, it can cause a lot of swelling in the blatter.  So I had a catheter in for 4 days.  It was actually quite painful the last couple of days.  I have had catheters in for other surgeries and it was removed once I woke up, so I wasn't prepared for the discomfort that 4 days of having a tube rubbing my urethra raw would cause.  And of course they made me walk (waddle) 3 to 5 times per day with that thing in to prevent blood clots.  This only made matters worse.  I'm sure the sight of me wondering down the halls was a spectacle to behold.  I had many other tubes coming out of me as well (IV, drain, and catheter) so it was a team effort. 

2.) Another unexpected surprise came at the realization of finding another tube coming out of my abdomen, a drain pump.  According to my surgeon some people are more oozy than others.  So not everyone needs one, and they didn't tell me this going in because they didn't know if I would need a drain.  So we had that in for about 4 days.  And yea it hurt like hell when they yanked it out.  At least that pain was temporary. 

3.) Starvation City!  I knew that this would be part of the fun, but knowledge doesn't make things anything easier.  One day prior to having the surgery I was put on a liquid diet.  The day of the surgery I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything.  The next 2 days was a ice cube only diet.  Then clear liquids for 1 day (brooth, juice, jello).  Next full liquids for a day (soup, pudding, oatmeal).  Then low residue and soft foods for a couple of weeks (nothing that you can't cut with a fork, no raw fruits or veggies).  Now we are finally on a regular diet but I've been advised to go slow, to prevent blockages.  Ugh.   I lost 10 pounds the week prior to the surgery. 

4.) Fatigue........I am 3 weeks out from the surgery and I still get worn out easily.  I'm not in a whole lot of pain, I stopped taking the pain killers after 2-3 days of getting home from the hospital.  The only time I really feel the incision pain is when I cough or sneeze.  I just find that doing things like going for a walk or grocery shopping wears me out.  I'm not suppose to lift anything over 10 pounds.  So that is a challenge.    

5.) Incision locations.  My surgeon told me that she planned to go though the same spots that she originally went through for my first Ileostomy surgery.  (I had it done laproscopically, so I have 4 small scars).  Because I am smaller they couldn't see well enough so they ended up having to go in through different spots, thus creating 4 more scars in places that aren't exactly convenient for having an ostomy bag.  Yep I have one right by my ostomy, so it is no longer a even surface which makes keeping an appliance on more challenging.

6.) Change in bowel.  Due to how they configure the j-pouch, the ostomy is placed high upstream.  Which makes my output more watery.  So dehydration is going to be a ongoing concern.

My doctors thought the surgery went well.  The j-pouch is air tight, so now we just have to wait the 3 months for everything to heal.  Then it is on to the take down surgery.  After going through all this.....I hope that the j-pouch works out well for me.  Anyways, I am just happy to have this behind me.  Onward and upward.