Question for J-Pouchers

I'm having my takedown either 1/19 or 1/26 (YAY!) and want to go into it with as much info as possible.  For those of you with a J-pouch, do you suffer from any "butt burn?"  If so, how do you deal with it?  I've heard either baby wipes or hemerrhoid cream/wipes from other people.  So far, that's my biggest fear, especially since I've had such a hard time with skin irritation with the loop ileo.  Thanks to anyone for answering!

Erin

I've never had butt burn so can't comment. It's best take a variety of ointments (desitin, balmex, calmoseptine) to the hospital and you can experiment with what you like best.

Sue

Thank you both, and thanks Suebear for the ointment advice.  It's good news that neither of you have any experience.  Maybe it's not as common as I'd though - here's hoping I don't have it either!

Buy a bidet seat. It was the best money I ever spent. My quality of life increased 10x. I never really had butt burn but I would have to use creams because all of the wiping would cause irritation. However, I've never used creams again since I got my bidet seat about a year ago. They are amazing. Good luck! 

Calmoseptine is awesome! It's very soothing. I have never had bad butt burn....more like a mild irritation and it doesn't happen all the time. So when I do, I apply the Calmoseptine. Good luck with your reversal!

I have had my J Pouch for 17 years. I was told by my Surgeon that I had to "buff my butt" for about 4 to 5 days before surgery. They had
me use Aquaphor every day to help protect the skin ahead of time, as once you have the surgery, your stool is very acidic and it burns and irritates
your skin. I did use the Aquaphor ahead of time and it did help. I used Aquaphor for years, and then switched over to A&D. I actually tried the A&D ointment after I had used it on my daughter for a diaper rash. I figured if it helps soothes her little bottom, maybe it would help me when I have irritation from loose stool. It works great and helps nip it in the butt..No pun intended..lol. Anyways I would definately buff your butt ahead of time. Good luck with your surgery. Also this is my first time on this site. What does take down mean ?

44 year old femail
DX with UC 1992, Took Azulfidine (made it worse), Asacol, Imuran, Lomotil, Tylenol w/codeine for pain, Darvocet for pain, Prednisone, Steroid Enemas, cant remember what else
Surgery in 1995, colectomy with Ileo-anal anastomasis
Surgery in 2002- J pouch ruptured, fluke issues with weak blind side on the pouch

Hi. My son, Dillon, had his J pouch take down over two years ago now. He never had any real problem with "butt burn". We were told the whole trick is to make sure the area is REALLY clean but not to irritate it with constant wiping with toilet paper. The output, at the start, is very acidic and minor leakage is fairly common for the first few days before you start eating and while the output is still watery. After every bowel movement Dillon would clean the area with a pre-moisten, flushable wipe, let the area air dry and then put on any sort of barrier cream. For the first few days this is very time consuming but it pays off. He has no problem at all with burning. When he came home he used a hand held shower head to clean the area and then let it air dry and then applied cream. After a week or so, the output really thickened up and he no longer had to do this.

As a side note....I cannot tell you how well he has done. His J pouch has completely given him his life back and he is living life exactly the way a young man should. He is actually in the process of getting his pilots license which would have been completely undoable before surgery. There is not a day that goes by that I do not say a silent thank you to his surgeon.

I had my surgery 3 weeks ago. I haven't had a whole lot of problems with runny stool and diarrhea, which is what I guess causes it the butt burn. But I do have occasional itchiness and dryness. My docs gave me a prescription ointment to use when I was discharged, so my advice is to ask for a prescription cream! It definitely helps.