I am nearly a year out from takedown and wondering does the jpouch continue to improve over time or is this it or is the two year mark better?
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I’m at 14 months and am hoping for some more improvement by 2 year mark….or 3 years…
Hi chook,
I am 4+ months from takedown and been told it could take up to a year.
please tell how you are doing at the 1 year mark, so I have something to look forward to!
be well,
eric
@New577 posted:Hi chook,
I am 4+ months from takedown and been told it could take up to a year.
please tell how you are doing at the 1 year mark, so I have something to look forward to!
be well,
eric
Hi Eric hope your doing well too.Im getting better all the time but the jpouch is different for each person I think because if you follow the rules the pouch functions well like small meals often and exercise but I need to get back to eating better because I'm eating alot of bread and meat and no veges.
It’s been a long time…21 years…but I do remember the pouch function got better and better as time went by. You will learn which foods agree with you and what doesn’t. Smaller meals more often work for me. When things are going well…no pouchitis….I eat most all foods. Nothing too spicy and I can’t eat a really big green salad too late in the day.
Good luck to you!
It will be 7 years for me soon! It gets better!!! I can honestly say my J-pouch is perfect!!! 
How are you doing 1 year down the line chook? I’m just over a month after takedown, it’s been challenging but improving. Around 10 bowel movements in the day , couple on average at night. Have been a couple nights where Iv only woken once. Hopefully things continue to settle for me and improve!
@GGP posted:How are you doing 1 year down the line chook? I’m just over a month after takedown, it’s been challenging but improving. Around 10 bowel movements in the day , couple on average at night. Have been a couple nights where Iv only woken once. Hopefully things continue to settle for me and improve!
GGP things definitely improve in the months ahead ,even my mind clarity and my job I'm producing alot better and not stressing as much.I think my biggest problem is still diet as anything healthy seems to cause gas.my pouch was going so well I tried Chinese stir fry but that hurt alot.Im thinking eggs might be a problem as well.
Gosh! I wouldn't eat stir fry with hard fiberous vegetables. Definitely bad for J-pouch! I was hospitalized for 5 days from raw carrots and lettuce.! The discomfort was telling you it was not easy for you. Hard boiled eggs are my go to protein snack. Greek yogurt w tiny pieces of watermelon , apple sauce or pieces of strawberries. No grapes, pineapple; tomatoes! I Googled things to eat and NOT eat with a j-pouch. I personally can't eat beef, pork or chicken. I throw up! Only seafood like shrimp, a little ground beef. Please go slow and chew chew chew!!🙏🥰
Also take a half an Imodium or a whole one if needed to slow you down. 30g Protein drinks are so healthy and filling. I mix mine in my coffee Take care☺
After 1.5 years I only got worse not better. I went for a redo
@Andreita posted:After 1.5 years I only got worse not better. I went for a redo
Glad to see you Andrieta!!! I was worried about you!!! How are you doing???
Almost 7 years in and mine works pretty good. Acidic foods are much less of an issue now, and mushrooms are really the only thing I avoid. No real pouchitis issues. As expected, overeating makes me go more, under eating makes me go less, but not eating at all makes things weird......I try to never go without eating for more than 7-8 hours. If I could sleep all night without the 1 trip at around 4am, I'd be 100% pleased.
It's been 30 years since I got my J Pouch and my memory of the early days may be somewhat faded, but the memory I have is that after the 1 year mark improvements continued on 2 issues I had in the first year: butt burn and spasmodic pouch. Butt burn became less and less frequent in the 1-3 years marks and same with the excess motility.
@Lauren Of Emerald City posted:It will be 7 years for me soon! It gets better!!! I can honestly say my J-pouch is perfect!!!
But you go 20 times a day and have calmoseptine caked on? I haven't needed to use calmoseptine since the first four months.
@Chook2 posted:But you go 20 times a day and have calmoseptine caked on? I haven't needed to use calmoseptine since the first four months.
I’m almost at 14 months and still use calmoseptine on the daily…..I guess some of us just have more acidic output than others… Or maybe we just have extra sensitive skin down there… all I know is calmoseptine is NOT recommended as a mayonnaise substitute
Butt burn after takedown is actually due to excessive alkalinity in the stool as opposed to excessive acidity. The colon regulates the pH of the stool and that function is slowly (SLOWLY) assumed by the J Pouch. In some cases it fully adjusts, as I said in my case may have been 3 years. In some cases it never adjusts completely and probably in some cases very little or not at all. It's one of those things that could take a lot of time, and instant results reasonably shouldn't be expected. The level of adaptation obviously varies by the J Pouch of each person. No universal answer can be provided.