As to your questions:
I'm hoping I'm a good candidate for laparoscopic surgery, but don't know what rides on that decision process?
Laparoscopic was not an option, so I was cut open like a suckling pig from bottom of rib cage to just above base of penis. Not sure of the answer to this good question.
- Pain. What is the timeline for how long the surgery pain goes away, enough to be off the meds, and give a good hearty chuckle with no jolts. For both the colectomy, and the take down surgeries?
Pain worse after step 1 than takedown which was (relatively) a piece of cake. Rough for a few days especially to get up from and into bed and walk around which is a MUST. I had a morphine drip but had an ileus after step 1 and obstructions/blockages after takedown. These complications, while unpleasant, are survivable events and should not be viewed as deterrents to surgery.
- Recovery time. I'm hoping if all goes well, I'd like to be on my feet and working in an office within 3 or 4 weeks while whatever needs to continue healing, heals. Is this realistic?
Probably, with the laparoscopic. I was not allowed to drive for quite some time, I had headaches from prednisone withdrawal and was generally not well until after takedown. I was weakened by complications which were mentioned above.
- .Reading about the number of trips to the bathroom after J-Pouch surgery is honestly scaring me.
It shouldn't because this is a SUPPORT board where people with problem J Pouches post. It is not a repository for accurate information on your likely experiences with a J Pouch, because most of the posters who post about bathroom trips are the ones having problems. I am a trial attorney for the last 23 years and never had a problem once during numerous trials, arbitrations and mediations, although early in my career I was scared to death about it. Adrenaline and energy obliterate fear.
- I've never been diagnosed with Crohn's. Just UC. Does this make me a candidate for J-Pouch, for better, for worse? Anyone get *surprise* Crohn's after 25 years of UC and surgery?
See my post above. I would bet 90% of the GIs in the USA who looked at my scope pics would tell you I have Crohn's. My answer would be, "so what? I am treating it and doing OK." It's a word that scares people, but you have what you have, focus on treating what you have and not diagnoses. There are more subsets of IBD than there are names for them, this is well established now and you can take that to the bank. I don't think anyone reasonably believes the 2 disease IBD classification system is valid anymore, so a Crohn's diagnosis doesn't really mean as much. Saying someone has Crohn's is essentially saying they have 1 of possibly 200 different disorders which range in severity from mild to severe to untreatable.