New J-pouch

Hi Chris,  I had my takedown last February.  Doc said it takes a full year to adapt.  For sure the first couple of weeks (months) were rough.   Actually only getting up twice a night at this point is excellent.   I still consider 2x to be quite good.  Early on I was up every two hours. 

Are you taking Immodium or Lomotil to slow down your output?  I still take them before bedtime and find it helpful.  Also I try not to eat less than 4 hours before bedtime.

 The itching is probably from irritated skin due to the acid output.   After I go I rinse with water, gently blot dry (no wiping!) .  When dry and clean I apply a barrier cream.  Every time, even when I'd rather be asleep.  You can use a squeeze bottle with warm water to rinse.   If you are in a bad way from irritation  baths or sitz baths are helpful. 

Thanks for the help and support Girlunky. I did try an Imodium last night. Was ok, still had an incident in my cool ass man depends. LOL. Good to hear I'm on track, also glad I found this group, definitely let's me know I'm not alone in this journey. I have been doing some aquaphor on my area as well, going to look into different creams this weekend too. Thanks again.

I used psyllium (e..g. Metamucil) twice daily right from the start, and I’ve found it helpful for 17 years now. It bulks up the stool making it easier to retain. In the early months I did kegel exercises many times per day to increase sphincter tone and decrease leakage. A good barrier cream should have plenty of zinc oxide, either plain zinc oxide or (if you prefer) something like Calmoseptine. I still use Imodium every night at bedtime. Good luck!