Events J Pouch forum update and register for next event
Red Lion Group chairman, David Davies, reports on our most recent online J-pouch forum
The latest Red Lion Group (RLG) J pouch forum took place on Monday 5th February and was chaired as usual by RLG Chairman David Davies, ably assisted by Gary Bronziet, RLG Membership Secretary. There were 20 attendees, a mixture of familiar regulars and a smattering of new pouchees and potential pouchees who were joining for the first time. The sessions take place via the online meetings platform Zoom, which means people attend from the comfort of their own home and from anywhere in the world. Indeed, on this occasion, we had two attendees dialling in all the way from the USA.
The sessions are informal and are not recorded or minuted – anything said in the zoom stays in the zoom. This helps to put people at their ease to share personal details of their pouch experiences and issues. It is a friendly and very supportive group and many of the attendees gain valuable insights and support as well as comfort to know that they are not alone.
The topics are suggested on the night and there is usually a smattering of common pouch themes. On this occasion it was a packed agenda with topics discussed including
- Managing blockages
- Tactics to prevent night-time toilet trips
- Osteoporosis and pouches
- Vitamin D deficiency in pouchees
- Post-op recovery time before driving and lifting weights (presumably not at the same time!)
- Tactics to thicken up pooh
- Tactics to avoid leakage especially at night
- All things wind
- And finally, we had a potential pouchee on the call who asked the question – whether or not pouch surgery had been a good decision?
These topics generated lots and lots of comment and discussion as you can imagine – so much so that we ran out of time to discuss wind. So that topic will be number one on the list for next month’s meeting, along with other pressing pouch-related topics, I’m sure.
The next zoom pouch forum will take place on Monday 4th March, starting at 7:30 pm. Attendance is open to all, but please register beforehand to receive the meeting link. You can find the registration link and details of other upcoming events at pouchsupport.org/events/ or tap on button below.
With thanks to all the attendees for your many and varied contributions.
David Davies
RLG Chairman
