how do you thin your stoma output?

Hi! Im 3 weeks into my new ileostomy and my output is getting thicker and thicker everyday. and im not needing to empty it more than 2-4 times a day.

I thought i should be emptying it at least 5-8 times. is there something wrong?

I drink tons and mostly electorate drinks as per surgeons instructions.

i am on a liquid morphine solution as well as 12 hour ms contin suspension.

What can i eat or drink to make my output a bit thinner???

Cheers in advance for any advice!

Didn't you say you are adding salt to your drinks? That may be causing you to retain water istead of it being used to thin output. My output is really thick when I am not drinking enough water - almost to a point of being clumpy. Usually its thickness varies depending on what I am eating though, too. I empty my pouch between 4 and 6 times a day.

I have never been told to increase my salt intake. You most certainly shouldn't be adding salt to EVERYTHING...that's not good for a lot of other parts of your body.

Eating things with sugar thins my output out. Also, I may be wrong about this...but wouldn't morphine thicken your output? I thought drugs like that could cause constipation (someone please correct me if I'm wrong; I can't remember if that's true).

When I asked the stoma nurse about thinning output she told me not to try and make it thinner. She said the thicker the better. Anyone else been told this? I also only empty my bag about 4 times a day.

Coffee thins my output. Rice does really make it thick.

Thinners: Sugar, Sorbitol, Sucralose, Grape Juice, Chocolate, Any Alcohol, MSG (I get seriously thin output from Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup. It is very salty and has MSG....the super salt!) Fish oil, caffeine tea, caffeine coffee, hot chocolate, icy drinks from dunkin donuts.

Thickeners: Banana, even baby food banana will thicken for me; potato, toast, macaronni and cheese, regular cheese, spaghetti, and other starchy foods.

Too much salt can quicken and thin your output and actually give you diarrhea. The trick with the salt is to get enough because we as ileostomates lose more salt in our effluent. We want to replace it. BUT adding too much salt to your diet can give you diarrhea.

I just went through this whole ordeal with a "non-fixed small bowel obstruction" meaning no mechanical cause found. Not sure what caused it then but am still eating lightly. For breakfast I had an ice cup with sorbitol and grape juice. THEN volumes of diarrhea. So I just ate a normal scrambled egg, yogurt, and 2 toaster pancakes and a bit of milk. eating so lightly and with such "go" foods as I did this a.m. can lead to dehydration so as worried as I am about another "non-fixed sbo" I had to "eat normal" to get my output to calm down and go back toward "normal." This is never an easy thing. BUT these are the hints I can give you. I have WAYYYY more experience in this field than I ever wanted to. Good luck.. Rosemary

I was just about to say that the pain meds are probably causing some of the thickness, but Equestrian Mom beat me to it.

Thick or thin, I just take it as it comes. It's consistency depends on what I do or don't eat and I had my surgery to get rid of UC and enable me to eat whatever I want - and I do, I don't really care what the consistency is, as long as I'm outputting, all is fine :).

Those of us who are large intestine challenged do need extra salt to compensate as there is no large intestine to absorb salt anymore (the large intestine primarily absorbs salt and water) so NEVER skimp on salt at meal times. I've literally craved salt to the point where I've poured it into my hand and licked it up. I thought I was weird doing that until I found out other ileos had done the same thing (but didn't want to admit it lol).

I read that the kidneys in ileostomates after time release less salt into the urine so that is how the body naturally compensates.. So if you are not craving salt then your kidneys are likely doing their job with this. Rosemary