some questions about ileostomy and eating

I have a few questions for anyone who has had or has an ileostomy. I had my surgery 4 weeks ago, it was my 9th colon sugery, and second time with the ileostomy.  My memory of my last ileostomy, which was only 9 months ago, does not include having this much of a problem eating or the pain associated with eating. When I was in the hospital, I was told I had to have my calorie intake up to 800 calories before I could go home,so I ate till I would vomit just so I could go home thinking the nausea would stop once I got home. Well, during the surgery the Doc also inserted a "J" tube, a feeding tube that goes into the small bowel so you don't throw up the feedings.  If it were not for this J tube, and the 6 cans of feeding I do everyday, I would be dead right now from starvation and malnutrtion.  I'm just wondering if it's just gonna take a lot of time to resume eating.  I try to eat, a little at a time, low residue diets, bland diets, even liquid diets, but at one point or another, I end up being sick, or having so much pain, like a cramping pain.  My feeding tube has fallen out for very bizarr reasons twice in the last week. I just had it reinserted through outpatient surgery today, and I did ask again about eating like a normal human being instead of out of a can through a tube, but my Doc is just so happy I'm not malnurished anymore, I don't think he is listening to me.  Even with the feedings, I find myself 75% of the time dehydrated.  I'm hoping someone on this forum will have a similar situation to bring me a bit of hope, or maybe some advice.  If you are that someone, please reply, I'll be waiting.

Thank-You in advance....Tammy

myrt,

I hope this post finds you able to eat more, it's been a few days since I logged onto this site. The answer to your question, yes, I was very malnurished before this ileostmy, I have not been able to handle solid foods for almost a year.  the feeding tube was placed to keep me alive.  It is working, but has fallen out 4 times, and when this happens I have to go back into the hospital and have an outpatient procedure to have it put back in.  For as much grief and pain it has caused me, I LOVE it!!  There is no preasure as to having to eat to stay alive, I just run 5-6 cans of feeding through a machine much like an I.V., and I'm not only full, but I'm well balanced with all the nutrients a person needs. Don't get me wrong, I do miss eating, and I don't have the will power to stay completely away from food, but even the nibbling I do sometimes will cause me to be sick.  For you, the best things I tried, and still do munch on, were crackers...saltines, triscuts, wheat thins, pancakes without syrup and butter, and dry cereal, and rice cakes.  Almost everything else made me super sick.  The other thing I did, was sucked on suckers.  If your stomach seems more upset before bedtime, try the crackers. If you have ever had a baby, it's almost like treating yourself like you have morning sickness, but we can honestly say we have sickness ALL the time.  Has your Doc prescribed compazine?  it helps me out quite a bit.  Also, you can ask him/her about Reglan.  I still take both these meds, and I'm pretty sure it keeps my puking at bay.  So tell me, do you hate your ostomy as much as I hate mine?  I would love to connect with someone who feels the same way I do about this disgusting thing, but it seems the people on this board are for the most part really happy...or they are really good liars!  Anyways, I hope this info helps you out, everytime I try to eat something, I'll say a prayer for you and remind myself I'm not the only one out here with these types of issues!     Blessings!