Hi! First congrats on your upcoming final surgery!

For me takedown was very easy compared to the first surgery. I was nervous too but the whole thing was very uneventful which is the way you want it to go. I was 30 minutes in the OR and 4 days in the hospital. My bowels woke up about 12 hours after surgery and I was using the bathroom every few hours. It quickly settled down after a couple of weeks. I was really lucky.

Bring some Calmoseptine to the hospital with you in case you get some butt burn and some soft toilet paper. Hospital tp is like sandpaper. Walk around as much as you can as soon as you are able to. And then walk some more. It helps wake things up and gets things moving.

Go slow with food at first. And just because you are in the hospital and they are bringing you food doesn't mean you should eat it if you think they brought you something you shouldn't eat. They brought me lasagna on the third day. I thought is was a weird thing to eat so soon after surgery but I was hungry so I ate it. Bad mistake. I had horrible gas pains like I never felt before. So just eat really bland, easy to digest foods for a little while. You will sense when you can get more adventurous with foods.

I have a successful j pouch. It's quirky sometimes but I am very grateful for it. It really has given me my life back. UC really kicked my butt for years and now I kicked it right back. We win! Good luck with everything!

Congrats on the takedown!

I am 2.5 weeks post op from my take down. Surgery/hospital wise, this one was a breeze. I didn't feel totally wiped out like I did after the first surgery and was more alert the whole time I was in the hospital (I had surgery Friday morning, went home Monday afternoon). It's been a little bit of an adjustment for me once I got home-but other than that-not bad. I made myself rest a lot after I got home and stuck with bland meals. I've started playing with the food aspect of it in the last couple of days just a bit to see how the pouch reacts to different foods. Most have not been a problem. I'm also already back to work part time and plan to be back full time next week, as long as nothing changes between now and then.

Make sure to take your own super soft toliet paper, baby wipes and vaseline with you to the hospital. Trust me, you will NOT want to use the hospital toliet paper with the amount of times that you'll be using the restroom.

As I said, this one is a breeze compared to the first surgery-so don't be too nervous.

Congrats on your takedown.

I went from UC diagnosis to all in one j-pouch inside 13 days so didn't have much time to get worried but just think how much of your life you will have back.

Like I said I only had UC for 2 weeks but they were the worst 2 weeks of my life. I was in hospital for 10 weeks all in all but I wouldn't change it for the world.

My pouch (Bigglesworth as I call him) is a joy to live with. I eat what I want and he empties everytime I BM.

Everytime you get panicky just take a step back and remember how good your life is going to be.

Good luck.

You're on the downhill side!!!

Get some Calmoseptine. Hot water spray can be your friend as well. Rather than wiping, spray off then blot.

Don't count bathroom visits. You will start out with a lot and it gets better over time.

Chew, chew, chew! Careful with foods at first.

Drink drink drink.

When you pee, you will poop. When you poop, you will pee. Sit.

I do remember right after my pouch took over from the ostomy, I would get killer pains in my pouch when things would "move in". Best way to handle it.....stop and breath. Lamaze breathing worked for me.

Sleep with a towel or extra sheet under you if you feel "unsafe".

Wear a pantiliner place more toward the back. Sometimes there is leakage during adjustment times.

Don't worry. Don't panic. Don't limit yourself.

You are going to do great!

Thank you all for your great tips! Hope everyone is having a good day
God Bless!