Lots of good advice about the post-op experience. My guts took about 2 days to wake up and I was home 3 days post op. My surgery was laparoscopic and I had no pain that couldn't be managed with the odd Tylenol3. I was nauseated for about a day and half immediately post op and threatened with an NG tube - fortunately didn't need it because the guts woke up and the nausea disappeared.
Oh - and a tip about being in the hospital - they can be noisy and lights are always being turned on and off. Take an eye mask and really effective ear plugs. My kindle was a lifesaver.
There's a great vlog resource about j pouch surgery and post-op j pouch life as well -
http://ucvlog.com/past-videos/. I found the one on rectal spasms very useful...nasty but as promised they went away after a few weeks though with some they last longer.
I followed all the advice here about stuff to have handy at home. My doctor also gave me a prescription for this compound which I alternated with calmoseptin as needed: Westcort 15 grams, Nystatin oral suspension 20cc, Zinc Oxide 225 grams.
I also treated myself to a thing that replaces the toilet seat with a bidet function - so soothing and worth it for me as I'd always wanted one anyway.
http://www.bibidets.com. I also took their battery powered portable purse-sized bidet with me to the hospital and was glad I did. The hospital TP was
rough. Take your own!
Because I have a history of ulcerative colitis and because many j pouchers with that history get pouchitis, I also take a strong probiotic - VSL#3 or VSL#3DS daily.
I followed the low residue diet religiously for the first three weeks and introduced changes slowly - I am now back to almost normal. I chew the heck out of everything and am really careful around raw veggies and leafy greens. Here's a link I found helpful.
http://www.hamiltonhealthsciences.ca/.../LowResidueDietFoods-trh.pdfI'm also following the MD Anderson bowel management program
http://www2.mdanderson.org/app/pe/index.cfm?pageName=opendoc&docid=34For the first few weeks post op, I tracked the timing, number and consistency of BM's I had and what I ate. Now I don't, as things have settled down to BM's at night, in the morning, and that's just about it.
Hope you have a good experience