Diet Changes with Ostomy

I'm on about the six month mark, and I've yet to find a food that has given me any significant issues. The only thing I haven't tried yet is nuts (wasn't a huge fan of them before, so why tempt fate) and popcorn.

Vegetables are fine, though I try and stick more towards the well-cooked ones. I've even had decent-sized servings of salad without any major issues. I also try to stay away from anything that's stringy.

Sky's the limit, really. If anything is questionable, just chew it like there's no tomorrow. Test small portions of things first, and if everything is copacetic, gradually introduce larger portions.

@TheDuque, I hear you about nuts, I used to eat nuts prior to surgery but it's definitely not something I would miss if I stopped. I know that's one of my big no no foods right now...nuts, seeds etc. I was never really a popcorn eater either.

does anyone have issues with caffeine? I was told to avoid it for now. I love soda so I've been drinking it without caffeine and no issues with the carbonation so far.

God I would kill for a buffalo wing....those are my all time guilty pleasure favorite foods.

one thing I've never been a lover of is coffee...love the smell but not the taste. I don't seem to have gas issues with the soda I drink, going to slip a caffeinated one in now and again and see what happens.

Anyone eat somewhat spicy food at all? I'm not talking flaming hot but as I mentioned my guilty pleasure favorite food is buffalo wings...I don't need them hot but I do love the flavor of wing sauce, even if it's just mild

I'm doing my best to keep on drinking as much fluid as possible. It seems I have a constant thirst that I just cant quench since surgery. I'll see what my surgeon advances my diet to tomorrow and go from there. Even with my disease for the 12 years I've had it, I've never had any food issues at all that's effected it so I hope I still have that going for me in the future. I'm used to eating sort of fast so I've been doing my best to chew everything as small as possible.

Maybe the next time I make some chicken I'll test the waters and dip a piece in some mild wing sauce...if anything I would think that would flush things through lol

I actually don't drink too much water. I'm downing gatorade like crazy. If I do go for water I drink smart water. I may have one or two sodas during the day and other various juices. apple, citrus punch, OJ etc.

I had zero problems with spicy food with my ileostomy... actually I ate the spiciest food of my life, before takedown this is the one time in your life when there's no chance of feeling it on the way out (as long as your wafer has a good seal).

Regarding the gas in soda, didn't you just post that you had an overnight leak from a ballooning pouch...? Just saying I only ever had bad ballooning overnight from drinking seltzer at dinner, just something to think about.

Caffeine can increase motility/cause diarrhea, I limited myself to one cup with my end ileostomy and with the loop I did decaf only. You just have to test the waters slowly.

The main thing you want to be careful of with stuff like raw veggies, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, popcorn is causing a blockage. You should be able to tell if, in general, you're having mild blockage type issues or if you feel like things are flowing pretty 'smoothly'. Bloating followed by lots of output can be a sign of partial blockage for example. Six weeks is a typical amount of time to wait to see if your swelling has gone down enough that everything is flowing smoothly, but for some people it can take more or less time. Again, just test the waters and see.

I am just over 5 months since my (still nameless, lol) end ileo arrived on the scene and second what evryone has said. My duet has expanded massively. Re. nuts, I have eaten raw cashews with no issues at all, but then cashews are soft and turn into a sort of sludge after you chew them. For almonds, peanuts and the like, I get my fix now using nut butters. One thing that I d have to be careful about, which doesnt really bother me after eating ultra low carb for years as my own way of minimizing UC activity when I had a colon, is to be sparing on refined or concentrated sugar foods- basically do not indlulge in a pigout of any sweets. I can treat myself here and there no problem but if I were to pig out, I get liquid output for a day or so which is a bit obnoxious. But I can emjoy trying sweets, cake etc now in moderation whereas with my UC I would be for even that with pain and flaring.

The vast majority of nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine. You do not need a large intestine to live, as so many of us know :) You are at an increased risk for deficiencies of Vitamin D and B12, as is anyone with IBD surgery or not, but other than that you should be able to get all of your nutrients with just the small intestine working.

Ohhh....I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER!! I liked it before, but now I absolutely love the stuff. It's also one of the things my ostomy nurse advised me to eat immediately after surgery, especially in tandem with ritz crackers. I've probably eaten more ritz crackers in the last six months than I have in the preceding 30 years of my life....

I believe the large intestine absorbs far less than 10% of the nutrients in food.

Gordon, I assume you are UC and not Crohn's? Congrats on the good news from the doc!

My ileostomy is a little over the one year mark and I eat almost everything, I love salads and have no problems, and I eat a lot of very spicy hot food with no problem, nuts and mushrooms are fine , just make sure you chew chew chew .....the only things I don't eat is popcorn and corn on the cob .....

The only food I seemed to have problems with was raw broccoli. It blocked me up, but I picture the branches interlocking like puzzle pieces, haha.

Also, fruit juices (or any high sugar drink) will speed things up in your intestines...possibly flushing out fluids. That might be why you are thirsty. Two cans of pop plus two glasses of juice is alot of sugar.

Typically people have abdominal pain and vomiting.

I've had two blockages. One food, one functional.

The food blockage was right near my stoma. I felt pain around my stoma and though I had pyoderma gangrenosum (painful skin ulcers). I took off my bag and hopped in the shower to check it out. The area around my stoma was hard and it looked like someone was sticking a pipe up directly behind my stoma pushing my skin and stoma out. I massaged it around and eventually I had an output explosion...a ton of stuff came out.

The second time it turned out my stoma was dying. There was a kink just behind it (which contributed to the blockage I had before). But my abdomen hurt and it just kept getting worse. It wasn't the worst pain I had ever been in. I headed to the ER and threw up in the waiting room. The next day I had surgery to replace my stoma because the blood flow had been cut off. Don't worry about that part, it's very uncommon.