OPERATION TOTAL COLECTOMY WITH JPOUCH

Recoveries vary a lot. Two weeks is still early days after any abdominal surgery, so many people will be using pain medication at that stage, and everyone should be taking plenty of walks during the day, and will need ready access to a bathroom. I'd advise against committing to a full work schedule (even at home) two weeks post-op, and I had the experience of trying to write a work email at that stage and realizing I couldn't complete a sentence properly on the dose of oxycontin I was taking. I took a full six weeks, but I probably could have done more at week four than I actually did.

You *might* have a quicker recovery if your surgery is laparoscopic, but there are no guarantees.

I had my two step surgery when I was 19.  My colectomy and J pouch formation with loop ileostomy was created in January; the takedown in May. 

My surgeries were in 1991, so no such thing as laparascopic for me, then.  But I'd say I was doing fairly well after that open surgery at 6 weeks post-op. I was off that semester in college to convalesce, but honestly, I probably could have handled something like computer work, etc. at 2 weeks... unlike some folks, I quit my pain pump in the hospital, and I never took any oral pain meds after that or when I went home (never even filled the script; so no foggy head for me... ). 

After my takedown in May, I was in full time nursing school, and commuting to school, at 4 months post-op in September.  I remember having maybe 15 stools a day, at first, and a few at night (2-4?), which tapered off fairly quickly (I never really got into the "counting" game; also, I didn't have the full on internet to freak me out over every little thing, either). I also at this time never took oral pain meds after my takedown.  I don't know, maybe I'm weird, I just didn't need them.  I had twinges where they sewed up my stoma site stab wound, but that was it.  They encouraged me to "defer" every twinge to run to the bathroom to allow my pouch to start to stretch to hold more stool.  Yes, you'll feel an urge to go, but it's not like the IBD OHMYGODINEEDABATHROOMNOW urge.  You can go, "Hm.  I might have to go soon... but I will wait a bit."  That was refreshing. 

I do not remember at takedown having much issue at a month post or so, and was doing most of my regular activities well before that (albeit, aided with a lot of A&D ointment, til my body adjusted and the irritation went away - I'm going to say I quit using it religiously by the time I went to school that fall). 

But I've been lucky in that I've never needed bowel thickeners or things to slow my transit time.  My body kinda took care of that for me, I Kegel'd like a crazy woman, and always tested great for sphincter control.     I'm somewhere between 4-6 BMs a day, with only the occasional nighttime wake up (probably sleep through the night 95% of the time; more often I'm awakened by the urge to void over the urge to move my bowels, but most of the time, I just take care of both at the same time).