Ileostomy Dietary Restrictions -- PLEASE READ IF CONSIDERING

My husband had an ileostomy Friday 1/9/15. Two days on liquid PO then they switched him to a nonrestrictive diet (in hospital). He ordered mashed potatoes, gravy, beef pot roast for dinner ... He ordered scrambled eggs, french toast, fruit. Everything tolerated wonderfully .. He had one more obstacle to overcome (taking oral pain meds rather than IV pain meds) and he was scheduled to be discharged!!!

For lunch he had a large green salad ... that's when all hell broke lose (pardon the expression). He went from having one leg out the door, to one leg in the coffin!

We spent 2 days of absolute hell because according to the "dietician" (who we saw 2 days AFTER the doctor changed the restrictions, SALADS ARE A NO NO!!! Big time. An ileostomy doesn't allow for proper breakdown of the food as it goes through your system, becuase it bypasses the colon and remainder of the intestine.

Because of a nice, healthy, leafy green salad, we spent 2 days fighting intense pain, watching actual pieces of green salad come out of his stoma that was VERY evident that it was LETTUCE!! He had to be placed on antibiotics, back on IV fluids, back on oxygen, back on nausea meds and hardcore pain meds with no food by mouth for 2 days !!!

It was an absolute nightmare for him and for his wife of 23 years who had to sit back and watch him suffering, writhing in pain. All because a dietitian wasn't dispersed earlier to warn us.

Some may condemn us because we should have known better. But when your healthcare professional looks at you and says "nope absolutely no restrictions. Even spicy foods are okay. Anything you were eating before you went in for surgery." AND I QUOTE THAT .. you take them at their word. Excited for the possible hell of a hospital admission to be over and you can finally go HOME .. glorious home .. where babies await and comfort is always there.

So .. the moral of my story .. if you or anyone you know is planning or has been offered this surgery .. PLEASE PLEASE research research research ... ask for a dietitian as soon as the doc says "regular foods" and be super informed on what you can eat.

I would hate for someone else to have to suffer like my poor husband did.

We are all different; I had no diet issues with my ostomy, I ate lettuce, popcorn, and fresh fruit. I was also not given dietary advice. I'm sorry he had to suffer. Just so you know, many foods are insoluble; you will seem them pass whole or partially whole. That is normal and is the same for coloned people. For coloned people insoluble fiber is compacted in stool and is not obvious. This doesn't mean that one is not digesting food or getting the nutrients, they are; it's just that the food does not completely digest.

Sue

LyssaG555 said...


For lunch he had a large green salad ...

Less than a week after surgery?? That's a real no-no! I didn't experiment with SMALL salads for at least 6 weeks post-op, but now (over a year later), I can eat very large salads without any issues.

His surgeon or nurse should have been explicit with dietary instructions, and he should have been on a very low fiber diet for at least the first month.

I'm sorry he's had to go through all that. I've had a blockage that required hospitalization and they are not fun!

I followed a low residue diet for 8 weeks both surgeries. That was info I had obtained from my doctors post surgery the first time and from the surgeon the second time around.

I am now 15 weeks out of surgery and eat everything including salads.

I am sorry you were given such poor advice. I hope your husband is doing better now.

Kelly

I didn't have any diet info after my surgery either. After the first day or two, I had a decent appetite but there was very little off the hospital menu that I could eat. Basically, my hospital went for "healthy" AKA cheapskate food options (lots of beans and veggies). Breakfast was the only genuinely low-residue meal that was supplied. If my parents hadn't brought me in (low-residue) sandwiches every day, I'd have gone starving hungry.

It was the same on the GI ward as well. It's genuinely baffling to me how a hospital can't supply a low-residue diet. Er, anyway... Hopefully this experience won't put your husband off salad forever. After a few months it should be okay to eat salad. I'm a bit wary with my diet at the moment, but have certainly eaten side-salads since surgery. Never had a blockage from them.

I think the salad was the icing on the cake. Your husband should have taken it slowly...low residue until he could see if food was tolerated. My surgeon's chief resident told me I could eat two days post op. So, I had chicken, mashed potatoes and "soft" carrots with lemon cake for dessert. A few hours later...up it came..and then some. Down went the NG tube again. My surgeon was livid that the resident told me I could eat. He said "Your body will tell you when you can eat". Well, my body wasn't quite ready.

I had my operation 4 1/2 yrs ago. I waited a good six months before I attempted a salad. After that, I ate a salad whenever I craved one. One thing of importance....CHEW, CHEW AND CHEW SOME MORE!! That isn't just for salads...for everything. Good luck.

The problem was the salad was just too soon after surgery. Everything is still swollen inside. Salads are fine after the appropriate healing time. Unless of course someone has an on going issue with blockages due to scar tissue. Knock wood, I eat everything including popcorn and haven't had a problem. But they should have indicated to stay away from fiberous food like that for a while until he healed. Hope he's feeling better now....sorry he had to deal with that.

Well, after one has fully recovered from surgery there are pretty much no diet restrictions whatosever. However, I use common sense. I am over a year and a half since my surgery and I have zero issues with salads, even big salads. Also no issues with nuts. I do make sure that I chew well, but occasionally I have swallowed big chunks of salad and have had no issues at all- the stomach plus thirty feet of plumbing do wonders to turn stuff into a soft pulp. And when I say common sense, I mean eat a diet with some balance of form if something is very foibrous, so it can mix and churn up and not end up as some giant dry pulp eg dont eat a ppund of almonds in one sitting or whatever. But right after surgery?! That was ludicrous that they said no restrictions right out of surgery. Personally I think they should keep one on a low residue diet for several WEEKS after surgery and then gradually mkve to normal diet via trial and error over a period of weeks more. I had an ileus shortly after I was discharged that was in large part because they encouraged me to be on a full normal diet within a week of surgery, big mistake. The whole system is not only still inflamed/swollen from surgery but also half asleep due to narcotic meds.

Post Edited (Probiotic) : 1/20/2015 6:18:11 AM (GMT-7)

^ great image, Tom!

I'm just days out of my takedown surgery and my discharge instructions were "resume normal diet". Fortunately, I've been on the UC forum, this one, and now a J-pouch one long enough to know better. I'm really sorry that the Lyssa's husband had to suffer from just doing as he was instructed. I hope you get that to change. I know I am going to do what I can at the hospital I was at. That was kind of you to want to warn others on here just in case.