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Hello, all!

My mom (TrishD) found this forum and said I ought to join, as well. So here I am! A third-generation genetic defect, and back to a 97% normal life (the only exceptions being frequency and gurgles).

I guess I should start off with my age. I just turned 22 last month. I was diagnosed by colonoscopy December 2013 and had my surgery last January. Being diagnosed wasn't particularly difficult for me, since my mom had her surgery when I was three, so I grew up seeing and knowing that she leads a normal life. AND she's a flight attendant, so I knew I'd get to the point where I could stand/walk/work for long periods of time and NOT need to rush to a bathroom after an hour or two.

I had a minor complication in surgery; they pierced my bladder, but not so badly that it couldn't heal itself in less than a week. Still, after eight days in the hospital, I went home with the catheter and JP. I had them removed about two weeks later, and haven't had any withstanding complications since.

I would say I'm fully recovered, but I'm mostly judging based on my weight. I went in at ~117 and left at 95 lbs. I know that the colon can weigh between five and seven pounds, but I still lost way more weight than I'd like, and I've been gaining it back rather steadily! It helps that my college (just transferred) has a student recreation center, and it has more options for working out and leading a healthy lifestyle than the gyms I used to go to.

So that's it in a nutshell! I tried to keep this brief, but I'm always wordy.

Last edited by LeahD
Original Post

Good for you to have a great attitude.  I've had my j pouch since 1987.  I'm 52 now! Yikes.  It's good you have your mom as an example.  Your positive attitude is going to be key .  Yep, I got down to about 90 pounds back then - I'm 5.6.  People thought I was anorexic who didn't know what was going on.  I got to drink lots of milkshakes and stuff that year.  I now weigh about 125 and that's been pretty consistent through the years. You go girl!

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