Ilex was recommended to me by the nurses at Cleveland Clinic back in 2002 when I had my J-pouch surgery, and I used it for 20 years. I agree that nothing works as well as Ilex, but since it disappeared from the market I have tried at least a dozen different alternatives.
The best I have found is Medline 'Remedy' Silicon cream. It has 12.5% dimethicone where most others only have 2%-5%. I believe this is what makes it a a more effective moisture barrier than other creams (not as good as Ilex, but better than anything else I've tried). It is less expensive that Ilex - $10 for a 4 oz tube on Amazon. Here's the link to the Amazon page. Hope it works for you:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088B3H5HY