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Travel time from mouth to stoma

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Posted 7/2/2011 12:58 PM (GMT 0)
I have an ileostomy...just wondered what other peoples experiences are of the time it takes the food to get from mouth to stoma. When I eat something that either doesn't digest well or that my body doesn't like it can come out of my stoma anytime between about 5 and 20 minutes. However sometimes food I know my body is fine with can come through within about an hour sometimes, other times 2 or 3.

Is there no rhyme or reason as to the travel time!? I was told in hospital that the average is 4 hours but that doesn't happen very much with me!

Posted 7/2/2011 1:45 PM (GMT 0)
I have the opposite! My travel time is about 4 hours, but I was told by my surgeon that it should be an hour or two. I think 4 sounds more accurate though.
Posted 7/2/2011 3:08 PM (GMT 0)
I have a friend her travel time is like 6hrs not slow motility! Its pretty much so predictable that she can wear a stoma cover over her ileostomy yes I said that right and she does I know CRAZY she only does at work though and her routine on work days (things she it's and time she eats at) is the same which is why I think she can do this those days. Interesting ;-)
Posted 7/2/2011 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
Thats crazy that her stoma is so predictable! Mine is spouting stuff out aaalll the time, when it does have a quick 'rest' it'll only last a couple of mins if that! I am struggling to put weight back on after my surgery..maybe its partly cos my food comes out so quickly after I've eaten it?!
Posted 7/2/2011 7:33 PM (GMT 0)
Your ileo is new april 11. Things will slow down. I have had mine about 4 years but like anything with sugar races ahead and comes out in about 20 minutes. But with me major food through in about 3 hours, but if I drink grape juice or eat chocolate, it can come through in about 2 hours. Really funky. BUT as long as things are working, I was told not to worry. Rosemary
Posted 7/3/2011 6:38 AM (GMT 0)
I have a colostomy but these types of threads always have me curious. Normally it takes the stomach 4-6 hours to digest food so I've always wondered how certain foods can come out so much earlier than that.
Posted 7/3/2011 1:43 PM (GMT 0)

babygirl10150 said...
I have a colostomy but these types of threads always have me curious. Normally it takes the stomach 4-6 hours to digest food so I've always wondered how certain foods can come out so much earlier than that.

Yeh thats what I keep thinking! Does the stomach and the first part of the small intestine (before the stoma) know that things are different further down? Also - for me I cannot eat hard things like carrots unless they're completely mushed up, otherwise it comes out in whole pieces. If I still had my colon does that mean the carrots wouldn't be completely digested at the same point as when I notice it now when it comes out of my stoma?! If that makes sense?!

Confusing business! smilewinkgrin

Posted 7/3/2011 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
My transit time depends on what I eat, but it's almost always at least 6 hours, often longer if I've had a lot of fiber. I've read that it's generally about 3 hours for half the food to get through the stomach and another 3 through the small intestine. Then if you have a colon, it sits there for over a day.

It's not a perfect enough system that I'd take the bag off at any point though! (except to change it).

I am not sure about things coming out whole.... when I had a colon and was sick, I couldn't eat much raw stuff, and if I did, it would be visible in the output, just like now. I'm not sure how it works for a healthy person w/an intact digestive system..... maybe during all that time sitting in the colon, the raw carrots mush down more (there's still acid in there at first) and then all that's left is the fiber, which just ends up as a part of a formed stool, after a lot of water has absorbed.

It is interesting that so many of you have such quick transit time. Does that mean you're hungry all the time? I was like that right after surgery (well, not right after, but once I was home and feeling a bit better), but now I'm finally quitting with eating all the time (good for my weight, and it's nice to not have to empty so much).
Posted 7/3/2011 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
some foods go through really fast!  if i go to eat pizza and a salad at my fav place, by the time i am done eating, my food is coming out!  and i know it's that, cause i can see the salad, and sometimes the onions from the pizza (which btw if a piece of onion ever gets stuck in your bag that is soooo nasty!)

Other things don't go quite that fast, but most things are like an hour.  Although i do have the nystery output in the morning.  If i stopped eating right now, it's 7pm here, at about 8am i would have a full bag, like all the way full, then about 20 minutes later it would be full again!  i have no idea where that is coming from!  and it doesn't matter what i eat or what i drink, that always happens.

I can't imagine trying to not wear a bag though, even when i take some immodium, which usually does stop my output completly for a few hours. 

But i'm not hungry all the time, even though i eat like it!

Posted 7/5/2011 2:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi I had my ileostomy operation last October but it takes anything up to 2 - 7 hours to go through it never stays in a routine is there anything i could do to help it?
Posted 7/6/2011 2:37 AM (GMT 0)
Mine seems to be about 2-4 hours. When I hike or do something strenuous, it slows down a lot and then it ALL comes out when I am finally resting and relaxing again. Crazy. It has changed a lot over the months too. When I first got it, i had to empty a couple of times during the night. Now I don't even have to empty during the night sometimes. The longer I have my ileo, the less I worry about it. I just eat what and when I want and empty when I have to.
Posted 7/6/2011 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
Mine is on formula one speed. Tomato juice can take 15 mins and is out in the bag. Onions and lettuce that are easy to spot in the bag can take about an hour, other stuff varies. Mine produces all the time and have short bowel so it doesn't take long for anything to get through which is why I take immodium to slow it down as also very high output. When had bad Crohn's flare recently I would only eat very small amount probably about 600 calories each day but was having to empty full bag,and I mean full, every 20-30 minutes day and night. God only knows where all the stuff came from!
Posted 7/6/2011 8:24 PM (GMT 0)
I know that before my surgery I sometimes had days without any solid food where I would just go and go and go..... even after enemas etc in the hospital. I guess the body produces a lot of waste separate from food.... but it was always a bit baffling.
Posted 4/26/2018 5:05 PM (GMT 0)
I have had my ileostomy for 9 years. If I’m exercising it will be quiet until I’m at rest. Otherwise it can take 2 hours to see output if the meal was carb heavy. Sugar/carbs will go faster. Desserts or candy will move things along right away and it will be more liquid. Vegetables will be more like 4 hours. Proteins are less predictable and it depends on the source, beans are the best, it takes longer and ends up with a thicker stool, more like oatmeal (I don’t suggest this for the new ostomate but after a year or so, by starting slow, beans are a great way to slow things down... I got use to the beans and I don’t experience much gas but this is a possibility if you’re new to them. There are products out there to reduce the gas and help you digest better). As a new ostomate I often recommend taking something that helps you break down foods. You have the ostomy for a reason and until your body evens out these products can really help you out at first.

The other thing I wanted to add is that eating often gives me output. For instance, even if I don’t expect anything for a while if it’s time for a meal once I start cooking, or if I sit to eat, my pouch will fill quickly. I know when I sit to eat, or shortly into a meal, I need to excuse myself for the washroom.

Keep this in mind when you’re due a change. If I think I’m due to change appliances I will not eat until after. It’s quiet that way and as soon as I eat I see output.
Posted 4/26/2018 5:12 PM (GMT 0)
Oh by the way, after my surgery the doctors suggested drinking a lot more but I soon realized that this was causing very liquid output. Yes, with an ileostomy, dehydration is a concern but if you have liquid output then you’ll get dehydrated faster too. It’s a balancing act at first but keep hope your body will sort this all out eventually.
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