How long was it for you guys to recover to the point where you were semi-comfortable and confident that you would not have an accident and back to your somewhat normal self? I am considering taking a spring semester off so i can have a full 9 months to make sure everything is under control. Is that too much time or not enough?
Is odor and flatulence a problem? For those of you that have had an ostomy you know that it can smell and produce a lot of gas. How do you combat this?
Finally, I just want to hear if you all generally recommend it. Essentially, do you think I should risk my very stable ostomy life for a j pouch? Overall, once it is under control in the end, is it worth it?
Willie. As far as recovery, I'm 54 and 5 weeks ago had my "takedown" and I was pretty darn comfortable after about three weeks -- I think your full nine months is MORE than enough, as long as all is going well. You are young and that may also help you in recovery! At 5 weeks I no longer count my bathroom trips and it's probably max six all day with no urgency (probably less than I emptied my ileostomy!) Now, EACH person is different, so be aware.
I do not have an odor or flatulence problems at all. Frankly not sure if I smelled too much even with the ostomy, other than the bathroom. I think with a j-pouch the smell is reduced for some reason?
As far as "risking your stable ostomy life," the great news is you can always go back to an ostomy! As Jan indicated, if you're a good candidate, I'd say go for it, too. While I know there are lots of great surgeons out there I would not risk getting a j-pouch with ANY surgeon but the BEST available. Those on this board can point you to some others, but Dr. Remzi at Cleveland Clinic has probably done hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of J-pouches, and a surgeon's experience could be the difference maker, IMHO. Get it done ONCE and get it done RIGHT.
As you get older, getting a J-pouch becomes more and more questionable for lots of reasons, but at 19, as long as you don't have Crone's I think it's a no-brainer! Best wishes.