Hi Patrizia - Nope, re the "3 dilations", that was Aimee who interjected in the conversation above. I've just had the one at the end of July.
Note: I should probably explain what my surgeon was talking about when he mentioned: "...J-pouch surgery in the era when yours was created ...". According to him, in the early 2000's they were changing over from "hand stitching" the pouch to the anus to stapling. He had asked me in pre-op if I knew whether I had been hand-stitched or stapled. When I looked confused he told me not to worry, he would find out the answer to that question when he read over Dr. Schoetz' notes from 2003. It sounds to me that maybe the more modern stapling results in a larger opening which maybe makes stricture less common (?)
Anyway, I started right back eating my normal diet immediately following the dilation. I did re-start eating a bit methodically. While there was no pre-dilation "prep" in the usual gastrointestinal procedure sense, I had been told to eat only a "clear liquid diet starting the day before the dilation. With the procedure being in the late afternoon I'd had 36 hours of nothing to eat more solid than Jello. I did not rush to chug down cheeseburgers and fries on the way home from the clinic.
There was no pain or burning after the dilation. As I've said, my system was pretty much empty when I left the hospital so I did not immediately strain the opening passing even semi-solid stool for some time. I could only feel what must have been bruising when I did a Kegel (i.e. tightening the pelvic floor muscles).
I strongly recommend that you do not stress about the 10th. After all that we J-pouchers have been through surgically, an anal dilation is a walk in the park.
Jim