A delightful dozen years after j-pouch surgery
As the years roll on, I find myself feeling my age more, and along with that, perhaps feeling the age of my j-pouch as well. In the past year, my twelfth of living with a pelvic pouch, I’ve noticed changes in how my pouch functions, and it’s hard to say whether those changes are the result of the pouch getting older, my whole body aging, or both.
The changes have at times been frustrating, and a little concerning. But just when my mind started going to bad places and worrying that I may be slipping into some sort of repeat of my flare-ups of ulcerative colitis, the pouch steadied itself, and I got back to life as I know it.
The good news is that overall, my pouch is still functioning very well and allowing me to live a full life. Still plenty of bathroom trips, sure. Roughly seven a day. But that feels so normal now that the number of bathroom trips I make in a day doesn’t cross my mind. And honestly outside of that, my life is pretty normal, and pretty boring, and I think that’s pretty cool.
Let’s get the report on challenges out of the way.
Oddly enough, one of the issues I’ve had over the last year was a problem that I felt most acutely immediately after my last surgery – butt burn. The symptom’s name says it all. A burning sensation in the anus, usually felt during a bowel movement, but sometimes on its own soon after one.
I started keeping a food journal to track how the things I ate affected my pouch function. I quickly made the connection that spicy foods often precipitated a case of butt burn. That was a bummer (sorry), because I like spicy foods, and because I somehow managed to go several years of being able to eat spicy foods with no impact on the pouch. This is a good example of me not knowing whether this change is down to the age of the pouch or my whole, decaying, geriatric body. I am 41 now, after all.
The food journal also helped me connect eating nuts with uncomfortable bowel movements, and even uncomfortable farts. It’s hard to put into words, but those uncomfortable poops and gas passes came with an ache in the anal area. As was the case with spicy foods, I had gone a few years of eating nuts consistently without experiencing any pouch issues. There’s no clear answer as to why these changes happened, but at least there was an easy solution for the discomfort and butt burn – cut out the nuts and spicy foods. I can’t say I miss either terribly. There are still lots of tasty and nutritious things I can eat, so I focus on what I can enjoy rather than what I can’t.
A less overt challenge I’ve faced over the last year has been elevated inflammation, which was flagged in blood and stool tests. The results were a surprise, because I generally feel well. As far as bowel habits are concerned, I’ve been stable for years now. No urges to go. No accidents. No blood in the stool. But inflammation is still a concern.
With the guidance of my gastroenterologist, I’ve made some further diet refinements. I try to limit refined sugar, processed meats, and red meats. The key word here is try. I’ve been better about my diet, but I could stand to be more disciplined, and that’s something I’ll be working on. I’m awaiting the results of another stool test, and we’ll see if those diet changes have had an impact.
Okay, bad stuff done. On to the good.
It’s been another year of happy living. A quietly content year. Just how I like it. I still feel lucky to have all the good in my life that I do: my partner, our cat, our safe and cozy home, my jobs, my car, my bike, my friends, my family.
The ability to do the things that bring happiness into my life – cycling, going for long walks, driving to the mall for a burrito and a latte, reporting traffic on the radio, vacationing in Prince Edward Island – fills me with gratitude. I try not to take that ability for granted, because I remember what it’s like to have it taken away.
I suppose it’s odd to have spent most of this post documenting the challenges of the last year when really the joys of the last year far outweigh them. Or maybe it’s not so odd because I don’t like to brag. Anyway, the point is that life with my j-pouch is still remarkable.
