7 weeks into J-Pouch

18 months.  I was told by my surgeon.  Other than that you have a baby pouch.  This is a very serious surgery and your body takes a long time to acclimate to it.  Patience.  7 weeks.  Wow.  That is barely into it.
I hate to disappoint.  But you need to talk to your surgeon or GI.
Probably your surgeon.  They... Well mine does... Know more than my GI about pouches.

I think 40 times in a day suggests something isn't right. At seven weeks most folks have started back to work (unless it's very heavy work), though sometimes much longer recoveries happen (and are more common among people on this forum). It's probably not mostly your diet, though I might simplify that if I were going so frequently. What happens if you try holding it longer? An accident? Pain? Are you using any thickener (e.g. Metamucil)? Have you done kegels until you're sick of them? 

 

I hope you're using a basic barrier cream (e.g. zinc oxide) after every BM, while you wait for the more exotic one.

Wow what a difference a day makes!  No more tears!  Guess I got a little over-confident.   I'm strictly following the allowed foods, and keeping a food diary. I'm pretty positive the fresh  strawberries and blueberries in the corn flakes(are corn flakes ok or should I avoid them?  Any other dry cereal ok?) for breakfast caused all hell to break loose yesterday!  Last night for dinner I had white rice, Swedish meat balls, and some brown gravy, and I slept like a baby all night, woohoo! This AM I had oatmeal w/ sliced banana, and almond milk,  later took imodium, and all is well, no bathroom trips.  Life is definitely looking up.  Scott F.,  what are kegels?  When should I take the Metamucil?  I read to use half the water it calls for in the directions.  Any advice will be very welcome!  Thanks, Connie

Just adding my 2 cents worth: Kegels are pelvic muscle exercises. You can find out more about them under "information" above here. It's difficult figuring out what foods are best. What is a problem for me may not be a problem for you. Your food diary is prob a good idea tho I admit I've never done it. I try to keep my diet simple and when I need to calm things down I just eat white rice cooked in extra water (about 3/1). I take the imodium before meals and straight psyllium fiber in a cup of water after meals usually mixed with a protein powder and VSL#3DS. (The VSL is a probiotic. You should probably be taking a probiotic if you are not.)  I also sometimes use the metamucil crackers, but I don't like the added sweetener they put in Metamucil powder. Some people here prefer Konsyl fiber that doesn't have the added sweetener. 

My favorite butt burn cream is ilex that my pharmacist orders for me.

40 times a day is excessive and I think requires a talk with your surgeon or GI doc. It's going to make your trip pretty uncomfortable if it doesn't calm down a lot.

I use the psyllium fiber before breakfast and dinner. If I were trying to gain weight I'd probably switch to after meals. I disagree with the advice to mix it with less water, but I know some folks feel strongly about it. The Metamucil wafers have *more* sugar than the sweetened powder, FWIW. 

 

I use the maximum dose of VSL, but that's because I'm always managing pouchitis. It might be an expensive waste for someone who's never had pouchitis, and may not need anything to prevent it.