Takedown imminent... any last words of wisdom?

1. Yes, sounds reasonable.
2. I went back to work after 3 weeks. Work helped to distract me from my new plumbing. I recommend it.
Mucus is the sign of healthy tissue; this has nothing to do with jpouch function. Do expect more pressure and discomfort post takedown as your know plumbing gets rebalanced with flora. It could take weeks to sort that out but it will improve in time. My biggest recommendation. HAVE PATIENCE. There will be good days and there will be bad days in the first six weeks or more. I don't mean days that will sideline you, but days that will be frustrating. Keep a food log to measure frequency; stick to foods with a longer transit time, but do eat a varied diet and when introducing a new food, eat a small amount and see how you do. You will be able to eat everything but it might be a few months before you can do so comfortably.

Sue

Hi kc! Congrats on scheduling takedown.

Top 3 items... Bidet, bidet, bidet? Hehe, sorry! Bidet for sure. A&D ointment (I don't like Calmoseptine). Soft TP. My runner up answer is travel baby wipes. I didn't like baby wipes for use at home (I think they're too abrasive on post-td skin) but they're better than TP when you start going out and using public bathrooms.

My hospital stay was four days. I could have left on day 3, but I had a bad experience going home too early after step 2 (my first real solid meal was at home instead of in the hospital and I almost had to be re-admitted) so I asked to stay an extra night.

Overall recovery time varies significantly. My surgeon OKed me to return to work after two weeks. I didn't feel ready (my job is very active and I was still kind of fatigued) so I took a week of vacation and ended up going back after three weeks. Some people have tougher adjustment periods and might need 8-12 weeks. It's really hard to predict unfortunately. I think 4-8 covers the majority especially if you're in good health otherwise.

I passed lots of mucus from my j-pouch, sometimes with spasming, and I had a relatively easy time recovering. I think the first full day of BMs after surgery I went about 12 times, but settled down to my new normal within about two weeks, which is an average of 6 per day. The biggest challenge for me in recovery was spasms from gas in the pouch. It's kind of like holding in a fart in the old days -- it comes on all of a sudden and you have to clench hard to make sure nothing slips out, and then the feeling passes. At the beginning, even when I was feeling well enough to go out, go to work, etc sometimes I would have to literally stop whatever I was doing (especially walking!) and concentrate for a few seconds. I'm not sure if this happens to me less now or if I've gotten better at handling it, but I rarely notice having those issues now.

You might also need to perform some "toilet gymnastics" to completely empty your pouch. Without the muscles of the rectum, the pouch empties mostly by gravity, so the position you're in can matter. What works for me is, when I think I'm finished, I stand up and touch my toes, then sit down again. This usually dislodges a gas bubble or two and results in passing more stool out of the pouch, then I feel really secure getting up to go. At first it could take 15-20 minutes of sitting for me to feel like I had emptied my pouch well (enough that I wouldn't have to go back to the bathroom right afterward), but now it is usually 5-10. Pouch veterans say eventually it will be just as quick as peeing... looking forward to that!

Thank you all for your kind insights. I will think about the bidet ... is it hard to acquire and install? I'm about the opposite of DIY.

Balneol, calmoseptine, A&D -- I know nothing about these products. Are they all available at local pharmacies? Are these the brand names or pharma names?

sue, do you still feel the need for the ointment even now, what looks like some time after your surgery? I assumed it would be necessary during the adjustment period but not so much in the long term.