Hi Andrew,
I had my entire large bowel removed, as well as between 6-9 feet of small intestine removed due to two failed j pouches and one failed koch pouch. All of the above advice is good, but it's not something I worry about. I'm not sure how much intestine you have left, but it's more concerning if you have small bowel syndrome and I think that can occur when you have left than 50% of your small intestine.
As for diet concerns, you will naturally get more thirsty so be sure you are staying hydrated. I normally don't do a great job at that and when I had my last annual physical a few months ago, my doctor looked at my blood work and the first thing she asked me is how much water I'm drinking. That's easy enough to fix. However, because the colon is all gone you won't absorb salt or potassium as well as before (they are mostly absorbed in the colon), so I add them back in my to diet. Specifically, I'll make my own sports drink (lots of homemade recipes) and I'll add Morton's Lite Salt to my lemonade, ice tea and juice drinks. The Lite Salt has extra potassium. I also will also snack on pickles at home. The only thing that bugs me is I pee more often than I'd like, but that's a small problem to have.
The vitamin levels and such your doctor will watch, so do make sure to have at least an annual physical. My doctor wants to see me every six months now since I've had a flare up and she's not familiar with how I respond to these yet (I have a separate GI doc for my Crohns). But overall, taking a good multivitamin would do you more good than before these surgeries. Anything other than that is up to you- try the suggestions and see how you feel.
Ooops, I just read your post again and realized you still have most of your colon so the dehydration issue may not be so relevant to you. So, you have a colostomy now? Still a good idea to stay well hydrated as that does help bowels, but ignore the salt and potassium recommendations I made above- it wouldn't do you much good.
