Take down us quickly coming

there are those that swear on bidets but ive never needed one.  Blot and wash was fine for me.  If you got one great, if you can get one cheap then by all means do, but i personally dont see it as an essential.

For the first few weeks you diet will be the same as with ostomy, and you probably wont be very hungry anyway, so but burn should be well managed.  As you start to get more adventurous the problems may start to creep in.  I always thought calmospetine was overated, but having used it i heartily endorse it.

As for the unknown...we kid ourselves...we know far less than we think we do, and we dont live long enough to worry about the smallest fraction of it.  Your course is mapped out, worrying about it wont do anything, chill and resign yourself to fate, safe in the knowledge that the odds of a good outcome are in your favour and your getting the  best possible outcome for your scenario (a pouch).

The best post op tip i can give you is walk....its the best way to wake the bowel after surgery and get you out of hospital.  Walking is very important for bowel action.

i personally chose to go straight onto probiotics to help give me a healthy gut flora..  it stands to reason that it will need a helping hand after such a serious op and prolonged 'bad' diet.  I wanted to minimize the chance of pouchitis.  

wishing you all the best

I agree about the Calmoseptine.  It's the only one I've ever used, religiously in the beginning.  Just make sure the area is clean and dry before applying!  I have a bidet and used it all the time in the first 6 mos. or so.  At a year,I only use it occasionally.  Same for the Calmoseptine.   However, this varies for everyone, so you may or may not find it worth it to get the bidet.  There are also hand held portable and some that attach to your toilet that are not so expensive.  I believe you should be able to purchase them on Amazon.  I also picked up a sitz bath to use-very cheap at my neighborhood pharmacy before my bidet came in.  You might want to call pharmacies/medical supply stores ahead to see if they have sitz baths in stock.  You may also want to purchase baby wipes, the type that are alcohol and fragrance free.  Soft toilet paper works well also.  Good luck with your takedown!

Since my takedown, I wipe n cleanse with good olde' toilet paper; no special cleansing routine, procedure or bidet.

Never had the dreaded butt burn either.

I used wet wipes to cleanse initially, only because the hospital suggested to and now I keep a pack to hand but I rarely use them and can do without unless I've had an accident or leakage.

On occasions, I do endure a rather annoying anal itch, especially during my first year since takedown and alleviated by the application of ilex paste.

Although I dont use wet wipes to cleanse after a BM; it's best to always have both the wet wipes and ilex and not need them, rather than need them and not have it.

I wouldn't worry about a bidet, wait until after your takedown and for the issues to arise that may require the use of a bidet.

I had a horrible time with butt burn... I would cry..  it was awful..  

I used gauze pads and soaked them in baby oil..  I used that instead of toilet paper or baby wipes.  Even the sensitive/fragrance free baby wipes made me raw and I would start to bleed... 

The baby oil would cause itching, so I used cornstarch after I wiped with the baby oil soaked gauze pads.  This was the best "recipe" that worked for me (& still does when I need it).

My surgeon also wrote me a script for a lidocaine gel...  I used it when it was really really bad...