DEWEYJ: I guess the idea behind the thread is to:
1.) Identify the positive aspects of going to a j-pouch as an "upgrade" from a disease state by hearing from those who have had positive outcomes, and
2.) Identify some of the more common complications, hindrances, and changes that one may run into with the j-pouch - perhaps because if I understand them better, I can prepare for them better.
I can say that I'm (perhaps) being extraordinarily pre-emptive in my search here; I still have my native colon, and I have had UC for 6 years now, but its been rather quiescent. I've sort of accepted the high likelihood that I'm going to need a total colectomy at some point in the future (maybe next year, maybe 10 years from now), and I'm trying to best "understand the process". You might say I'm being a bit paranoid, but I understand the risks and progression of UC very well (I'm a physician), and I'm trying to understand the process from the patient's perspective, rather than from the textbooks and research articles.