HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

quick food question

Support Forums
>
Ostomies
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 9/4/2011 12:25 PM (GMT 0)
Good morning! So I've been browsing the internet like crazy, just gathering info re. stomas & ostomies. And a whole bunch of sites say to avoid foods like granolas, coconut, grainy breads, high-fiber crunchy cereals... I LOVE that stuff! Is this true, or can we eat it all & just chew like mad? I've actually already started to chew way more than I used to, figure it can't hurt to get the habit going!
Posted 9/4/2011 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
When is your surgery scheduled? Will it be a permanent ostomy?

There are a lot of differing opinions on what some can and cannot eat. There is definite advice for the first 4-6 months to be careful of what you eat regardless of how much you chew and water you drink. You definitely want to avoid any kind of blockage situation and also foods that make the output so thick that it pancakes and works its way under the wafer causing the appliance to fail....leak or blowout and cause skin problems/irritations.

I think (?) after 6 months you can slowly introduce various foods to see how they react and watch the amounts. My husband loves corn on the cob and we have experimented with it and he has had 2 ears on several occasions with no problem. If the kernels are on the larger mealy side we avoid it. If it is nice fresh garden corn that kind of pops off the cob and is sweet and tender it has been ok.

Others will chime in and give you their personal experience with the type of foods you love....moderation will be the key I think.

Grape juice is a good thing to thin things out if output is too thick.

With all the suffering my husband had, the few diet limitations he now has and eating slower, smaller portions and mindful of hydration more now is a small price to pay to have his life back and the suffering is over with.
Posted 9/4/2011 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
     I agree with UC wife.  My surgeon told me I could eat anything as long as I chew, chew and chew some more..lol.  I have taken his advice and so far, so good.   I finally attempted corn on the cob (you know us Jersey girls have to have corn!).  I avoided it last year as I was a newbie  to the stoma and didn't want a problem with blockage.  I had no problem with it.  I eat granola bars all the time, no problems.

     My advice though is not to eat too soon after surgery.  One of the residents told me I could eat three days post op.  The 4th of July weekend was coming up and I think she wanted to get rid of as many patients as possible, without the knowledge of my surgeon.  Well, I ate alright.....and it all came up, plus some.  They had to stick that nasty NG tube down into my stomach smhair .  When my surgeon visited me that day, he was furious with his resident.  He said, "Don't let ANYONE tell you when you can eat!  Your body will tell you when you can eat."  Of course, I was on liquids prior to that and had to go back on a liquid diet for a few more days.  So that episode set me back a bit.

     Eva, you will be fine.   Just think positive thoughts and take things easy.

Posted 9/4/2011 4:11 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Eva Lou,
It's good that you're doing all of this research before hand...an informed ostomate is usually a happy one.

The only things I avoid are: skins on fruits (but I eat blueberries...I could probably handle it; I'll try it at some point), corn/popcorn, nuts, mushrooms, celery, and onions. I don't really like most of those things so it doesn't bother me. Keep in mind though, that's just how I do things. Many ostomates eat those things and are fine. Chewing is always good, regardless of what you're eating.

The bottom line is you won't know what you can tolerate until you try it, and each person is different. Once you've healed from surgery, you can try things starting with little bits at a time.

Don't be overwhelmed because most likely it won't feel like you have to watch everything you eat...I eat TONS more things than what I ate when I was sick with Crohn's.
Posted 9/4/2011 8:45 PM (GMT 0)
The only things I avoid are mushrooms and tough stringy meat. The mushrooms after one very chewy latge one didn't digest proper;ly and got stuck, managed to get it unstuck but quite scary as thought might have ti have surgery. Other thing, the chewy meat, ate a pork loin steak and was a bit chewy, well yet again got stuck and this time managed to massage it along at home, but darn painful.

Apart from that, I eat anything and everything.
Posted 9/4/2011 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
I have been slowly introducing a lot of foods, and I really haven't had any problems. I haven't tried coconut, popcorn, or a lot of raw and a few cooked vegetables yet, but things seem to be OK. I started eating things like refried beans, veggie burgers, and whole grain bread a few months ago -- hadn't been able to eat them for years, and that's been great.

There are some weirdnesses..... like, if I eat multigrain bread that has little seeds in it (millet I think?), they all pretty much come out whole, no matter how well I chew, and I don't really like that emptying the pouch.

I had corn in a stir fry this weekend, and I chewed a lot, and I was surprised that I couldn't even see it in the output -- it was fine.

Moderation is your friend too, along w/chewing..... you probably don't want to have four bowls of granola or half a loaf of whole grain bread .....

Really, you will be fine..... at first you're recovering and it's so natural to be careful, at least it was for me..... then when you start feeling better it's just so exciting to feel better. Honestly, I have not felt deprived at all .... it's just been exciting every time I add a new thing. I was so limited before.... now I'm a little bit limited in different ways than before, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. I also found that after a few months I was a lot less scared of making mistakes....
Posted 9/4/2011 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
I just ate liquids ( soups from my families regular dinner all blended up) for the first three weeks and tried things one at a time.

Mushroom and nuts have blocked things, but never went to ER. Was painful though. The chew thing is IMPORTANT! 2 years now, and I'm still trying to chew things enough. I cut up friets very small and then if I don't chew things enoughat least it's not a big piece that I swallow. Ate a Bounty Bar (coconut and chocolate, like Mounds Bar in states) once and couldn't figure out why output was so thick and painful. Oh never trying that again.

Having your illeostomy will be great! Definitely beats staying sick!! Good luck!!
Posted 9/4/2011 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
I eat pretty much everything, I don't eat carrots. I didn't have a problem but no matter how much I chew they come out still looking like carrots, Ick. I haven't tried coconut I don't like it enough to risk it.
For the first 4-6weeks you have to be careful, like everyone said then after that one thing at a time. If you eat something like popcorn that could cause a problem, have some bread with it and lots of water! I've had 3 problems, one with popcorn when I didn't eat anything else with it. And twice with fried cheese sticks. All 3 times I managed to handle it at home.
It can be worrisome but don't let that stop you from trying stuff. I was kind of like, ok uc took this away from me for 8 years, I have this bag to get my life back, and I'll be darned it its gonna take my food away too!
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply