A lot of people don’t know what a J pouch is. If you have inflammatory bowel disease though, you’ve probably heard of this. It’s used to treat IBD, ulcerative colitis, and also is a good option when medication is not available to manage.
What is This?
It’s also known as ileal pouch anal anastomosis, which is a process that removes the colon without needing an ostomy.
With this, the colon and rectum both get removed, and then the end of the small intestine is folded back and then sewn to create a pouch. It’s a reservoir for your stool until it gets excreted out and is then connected directly to the anus so that the stool is normally excreted.
While this procedure offers an alternative, you also don’t need to worry about this creating the need for an ostomy, and usually you can get an ostomy, but it’s a temporary measure too. The surgery involves two steps usually, the first being where they remove the rectum and colon, making the J pouch, and then adding the temporary ileostomy to help with excreting the stool as well. This will be reused until you have the j pouch heal and it’s ready to be used as a functional part of yourself.
After a few months, the surgeon will then reverse this, allowing the stool to pass, and is now able to be used as a means to get rid of excrement, and in this second procedure, it’s then installed directly as well.
How to Adjust
Usually, healing can be a bit strange after a j pouch surgery. You will notice that you have much more bowel movements as well, and they may happen more and more. While it may not seem as often as it may be compared to others, it can sometimes be a bit hard to get used to.
There is also a risk for some kinds of side effects from this too. One of the most common is that issue called paucities, which is where it creates inflammation, fever, diarrhea, and less frequency of bowel movements as well. While it is treatable, you need to go to the hospital or doctor’s to get help for this, and it might require you to be hospitalized.
Having a j pouch also means no colon, which was a big part of absorbing water. So you may have more water within your stool as well. There is also the fact that you’re more likely to be dehydrated, so you’ll need to add more fluid in order to have better hydration.
This is an alternative though for those who don’t want to have an ostomy, and who are sick and need to have their colon taken out. It also can save your life too in a lot of cases. While this is good for some people, it is not the right option for everyone. But if you’re younger, and you feel like this may be the better option in order to ensure that you have the right kind of help that you may need, this is good for you.
Depending on what type of disease it is, and where it may be, it may be best if you talk to your doctor to see if this is the right kind of treatment. While it may be good for some and not for others, there’s no denying that this is a lifesaving surgery that can change your whole life for the better forever, and it can be a good option if you need this as well for your life.
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