Testing foods with a new ileostomy

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UnXmas

UnXmas

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Oct 18, 2012
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I've had my stoma a month now. I was warned that fizzy drinks would cause a lot of gas, but I've been drinking coke with no problems. My stoma nurse reckons it's safe for me to start testing new foods.

Today I tried sprouts (yes I'm one of those weird people who like them :p ) , cooked until they were practically falling apart, and then put in a blender. If this goes well I'll start testing more fruit and veg. (I'm not going to try raw vegetables or seeds or anything too indegestible, just some well cooked veg and peeled fruits.)

What foods suit others with stomas? Has anyone had a blockage from something they've eaten?

Edit: one month since I started this thread, and I've just had a partial blockage. :yrolleyes: So I thought I'd add a message in this first post for anyone who comes across this thread but doesn't read it through to the end - be more careful than I was! ;)
 
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I love sprouts too, but haven't eaten them in a while. I often grow my own :)

Cooked veg is a great way to start.

Peels often cause the most grief for ostomates, so start by eating peeled fruits and veg first and then keep the skins on and chew well if you are comfortable adding them back. Blending (I.e. smoothies) are a great way to eat fruits and veg if you have problems with the whole food.

Good luck :)
 
UnXmas said:
I've had my stoma a month now. I was warned that fizzy drinks would cause a lot of gas, but I've been drinking coke with no problems.
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Hey UnXmas, I am going through the same as you, I'm roughly 3 weeks post op.

I had a can of coke for the first time in months and my god, the bubbles! They feel so good :ylol2:. You take the little things for granted.

I haven't experiment with much food, many white bread sandwiches, rice and chicken, and bananas at the moment.
 
During my 14 years of being an ostomate, I rarely encountered blockages. I'll speak for myself as we all react differently to food but I'll list the few problematic ones that I have encountered. Generally speaking, I can eat everything.... as long as it is a small quantity of it even if they are problematic in generous amount. So, the following have caused me some scary time and 1 ER trip (and on some other occasion, I should have been). Often, it can be the combination that leads to the problem...

1- My first event was raw carrots + all brand + a complete orange :
Regarding Raw carrot: they are ok... if I don't eat them along with only fruits and veggies... If I mix with feculent/ meat / + lots of fluid, I'm fine, or simply in moderation (like 6 baby carrots for instance))
Orange: oh dear orange... I have not eaten a complete orange since... If I do slice or quarter and leave most of the ... whatever you might want to call the skin of each part [Wow... here I am, I am having a language barrier] then it is all right. The flesh is fine but the thick skin is not. I apply that rule for all citrus.

2- The second happening was: "Learn the hard way that eating a bowl of bruxels sprouts (was that the kind of sprouts you were talking, if so, I love them too, with a dash of butter...) followed by a fresh granny smith is not ok":
Bruxels sprouts: oh dear green leafy filled with nutrients, how close to hell you brought me! Once again, with else than fiberous food I can have a few in their original form... just not 10 of them and an apple... This had gotten me sick like I've rarely been in the past 10 years.

3- The Royal Coconut: Discovering food while travelling is always great... until you decide that eating fresh coconut flesh is the most amazing thing in the world and that you can't face the truth that you have to indulge yourself with moderation... That was a rough cuban night but I did survive :p

4- The Couscous Royal (I'm not meant to be a Queen): Even though all was cooked... that thing still contains 7 vegetables and legumes. When Moroccans treat you with that on a friday, its generally a gigantic one that they share with everyone and... it should be eaten till its over... Did I said something about moderation >.>?

5- Mystery Restaurant Vegetarian food: So... I like to eat mostly vegetarian... and how could I resist to the thought of a vegetarian wellington.... Dear god, was it the most awkward combo for an ostomate: spinach, mushrooms and sliced almond... I never saw the slice almond but this is one of the worst nightmare for me... Oh that was delicious, and covered with tomato sauce and grated cheese, but I did pay the price for it.
Mushroom: a big no no for some but I don't have issue, as long as I chew them immensely
Almond: about 5 of them and chewing patience is fine. In form of frangipane it's also alright. Mysteriously hidden in a vegetarian wellington is not.

Oh... and coleslaw; that's ok in small bit otherwise it's dangerous for me. Corn on cob and popcorn are to be cautious with!
 
Just be very careful. I was told one food at a time 6 weeks post-op. Obviously avoid anything you avoided before for general IBD and stay away from the dangerous foods on your hospital take home sheets. Other than that as others are saying cook them, purée or juice and certainly no peels or high fiber foods.
 
I eat whatever I want. I've never had a blockage, or problems with skins, seeds, or nuts. I've just trained myself to chew everything really well.
 
I can eat everything. I've only had two blockages and even then I could not determine what caused it, as everything I had eaten before it happened were super soft foods. Chew everything really really thorough.
 
i eat everything but like PJ in moderation. Citrus is the main problem for me as the stringy membrane is impossible to chew properly. Nothing has caused a blockage for me yet. I eat nuts, corn the occasional mushroom but again all in moderation and chewed well.
It probably depends on whether you have any narrowing of the bowel. All my bad bits have been cut out now and so other than causing a blockage right at the stoma Im not in any danger and eventuall the pressure builds up and pushes everything out.
Touchwood touchwood touchwood.
 
Still doing fine with the sprouts. I also tried a nutrigrain bar and that went fine too. Even before the surgery fibre would give me problems but nutrigrain bars were ok.

I'd really like to get back to eating more fruits (apples, pears) and salad things but not ready to try them quite yet! I tried some stewed apple but it wasn't the same.
 
Tried some peeled apple. Is it unusual to have tried all these things and have had no problems so far?
 
I think it's ok because you waited a while and peeling, mashing and cooking helps break down the fiber content. Normally most foods shouldn't be an issue so just continue being careful and slowly adding.
 
OMG, the other day I had a leftover mushroom dish and several hours after eating it I had pain in my stoma when passing stool... when I emptied my pouch I saw a WHOLE slice. I'm not going to see what a blockage feels like - CHEW YOUR FOOD! lol.
 
nogutsnoglory said:
I was told to avoid mushrooms at all costs.
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Yes, it's on all the "problem" food lists for ostomates, but I was being careless and have had mushrooms several times before that incident without any problem.

Mushrooms are so healthful that even if I have to blend them, I'll still be eating them. They are one of my favorite foods.
 
I waited for a whole year before trying mushrooms. I didn't have any problems, but yes, they practically come out the same as they went in, even if you chew them up real good!
 
2thFairy said:
I waited for a whole year before trying mushrooms. I didn't have any problems, but yes, they practically come out the same as they went in, even if you chew them up real good!
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Yup, they did that before my ostomy and I expect them to do that after... chewing is really the key, but when it's mixed into other food (rather than on their own), it's slightly more difficult to chew them completely.
 
I tried some onion which I think is also meant to be a common problem food. I only eat small portions and I chew a lot. As a guideline I'm kind of using the foods that gave me most problems pre-ostomy, and nuts and seeds were the worst for me, while vegetables weren't too bad in small quantities. I avoid high fibre cereals too, but did used to have some wholemeal bread, etc. before the stoma without noticeable problems.
 
UnXmas said:
I tried some onion which I think is also meant to be a common problem food. I only eat small portions and I chew a lot. As a guideline I'm kind of using the foods that gave me most problems pre-ostomy, and nuts and seeds were the worst for me, while vegetables weren't too bad in small quantities. I avoid high fibre cereals too, but did used to have some wholemeal bread, etc. before the stoma without noticeable problems.
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Onions haven't been a problem for me and the only nuts I've been eating lately are walnuts and I chew them well.

The only food I avoid are things like buns with sesame seeds or bread with whole bits of flax seeds or grains, which you simply can't chew down well enough.
 
Just to add that I have noticed a difference in the output since I started eating more of these potential-blockage foods. It's still only a small amount of output, and still only in the evening/late evening 90% of the time. But where as before I would have porridge-consistency output, with occasional water-consistency output (the ileostomy equivalent of diarrhoea?), the past couple of days it's been the same but with hard bits in, the size is as if they were pieces of gravel. (I'm not even bothering with an apology for TMI, I think this thread crossed that point a long time ago. ;) )

Seeing these bits made me realise just how possible it is for a blockage to occur should they be much bigger or in a large enough quantity to block the stoma. But I've also noticed how incredibly small my stoma is now to how it was even a few weeks back. So much swelling has gone away, I guess it's quite accurate when they advise you to wait 6 to 8 weeks before experimenting with fibrous foods.
 
Onions = bloated pouch to the point that it may pop. I love stuff with onion flavor though and can't stop my addiction.
 
Definitely noticing a difference in my stoma's output in terms of the amount of non-liquid bits. I think I'll take it a bit slower, only have one fruit/vegetable portion a day (besides the juice and avocados and bananas that have been providing my fruit and veg quota for the past six weeks. ;) ).
 
I had a scare today, followed by a laugh of relief.

My wife made a nice rice dish with cabbage, but the pieces weren't shredded, they were cut in approx. 1" wide strips. I made sure to chew really well, but in the evening, I noticed something big in my pouch - like I had swallowed a whole piece of cabbage without chewing at all.

I later emptied my bag, expecting to see whole pieces of cabbage everywhere, and at that point, I realized the mass I was feeling in my pouch was a Diamonds gelling sachet! LOL I had put one in earlier and totally forgot about it. The contents of my pouch were well processed - no cabbage :) LOL
 
VO I assumed you were female, not sure why. Maybe because most vegans I know are female. That's funny about the gel packet, I have had that before and was like what the heck is that. Do you use the Convatec diamond gel packs TR 104 or something? Do they actually reduce gas as they claim?
 
nogutsnoglory said:
VO I assumed you were female, not sure why. Maybe because most vegans I know are female. That's funny about the gel packet, I have had that before and was like what the heck is that. Do you use the Convatec diamond gel packs TR 104 or something? Do they actually reduce gas as they claim?
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Yeah, I'm outnumbered by all the vegan ladies! :ylol:

Yes, it's the Convatec Diamonds (a.k.a. Trio Diamonds). I originally purchased them because of the gas reduction claim, but to be honest, it's never been successful for that. I don't use them often, but if I notice loose output, I'll put one in when I empty my pouch so things are thicker the next time around. The only time I needed them consistently was after my last surgery, where I went almost a week without solid food and my output was liquid and hard to manage in the hospital. The diamonds worked well for that, but I know there are more affordable products out there, that likely do the same job (for gelling). If only the gas claim worked....

I'll be doing a review on them at some point. I plan on posting my review of the Osto EZ-Vent this week - that's a great product for gas, when our pouch filters no longer do the trick. You do have to manually vent the gas with that product as it's closed when not in use.
 
Yeah it sounded to good to be true. I use Ile-sorb by Cymed right now but was considering the Diamonds over the gas reduction claim. I tried the Nu-hope gel one which was really good at gelling so I may buy that one next time.
 
nogutsnoglory said:
Yeah it sounded to good to be true. I use Ile-sorb by Cymed right now but was considering the Diamonds over the gas reduction claim. I tried the Nu-hope gel one which was really good at gelling so I may buy that one next time.
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Almost all other gelling products are cheaper than the Diamonds (<- the price matches the name! :eek:), but with the Diamonds, I find the output has to be really liquid in order to dissolve the sachet properly or else it stays clumped up in a single spot.

You should be able to get samples. I think I got about 4 saches through this website: http://www.convatecdiamonds.com/ I see now that it links to Ostomy Secrets, so perhaps you need to go through them.
 
VO, I'm looking forward to your vent review. How do they work and do they work?
UnXmas, you are right to be careful about what you eat in the beginning but you should find as time goes on that you can eat more and more variety. Even though the hole in the stoma looks small it does enlarge when bigger bits go thru. Well it does for me anyway. :)
I find i can eat anything now, just being careful about quantity. Introduce new foods slowly and in small quantities and increase as you find you can tolerate them. so enjoy that xmas dinner, or unxmas dinner. :)
 
I've been cutting down on fibre-containing foods as I was getting stomach aches. It felt sore whenever something came out of my stoma, which is how it felt before it was healed. As I've said, my stoma seems to be active only for a couple of hours in the evening. Recently, before it became active, my stomach would feel full and bloated and painful, like everything was stuck. Then this discomfort would be relieved once the bag had filled up a bit. This was how it was just after the surgery, and, interestingly, also how my digestive system often was prior to the ileostomy. My bowel movements would be less predictable as to when I needed to go, but often my stomach would get fuller and fuller until finally I was able to go.

I'm not completely certain it was the new foods that have been causing the pain to return, but it seems quite likely. Would it be possible that these foods were just making it harder for things to move through the stoma, even though it didn't go so far as to cause an actual blockage?

Anyway, my new food today has been a handful of grapes. New food, but small quantity, and I'll make sure I don't have too many other fruits or vegies today. :) (Fruits and veg are the only potential-blockage foods I'm trying, because I crave them. I don't miss wholegrain cereals, I'm happy with the refined, white versions, and nuts and seeds are no big loss. But I'm a little sad I won't get any mince pies or Christmas pudding because of all the dried fruit. :( )
 
I had a really bad day with my stoma. I finished eating - it was safe foods and a very small portion, but the act of eating triggered stomach cramps. Then I started feeling sick too, which I rarely feel. After a few hours the pain was getting unbearable and then suddenly my stoma produce a massive amount of water-consistency liquid. Usually it's porridge consistency and in small amounts. This completely filled the bag and then I just stood over the toilet and what seemed like litres and litres poured out. :( But once this was over, the pain was relieved instantly.

I've felt fine since then, but this has knocked my confidence a bit. Would these possibly have been symptoms of a blockage? The meal that triggered the pain contained no unsafe foods, but I had been eating some over recent days. Not much, but a couple of small portions of fruit/veg a day, and I'd had a soup that had sweet corn in the day before. I know sweet corn can be a bad food, but it was in a tinned soup so I thought it would be soft. I didn't see any sweet corn in what came out of the stoma.

I think I'm going to go back to square one and stick with just safe foods for a while.

I didn't let a bit of pain interfere with my Christmas Eve though. :) I found I can be in pain and play games and watch festive tv at the same time. ;) Didn't dare attempt any more eating, but have eaten today and so far, so good. :)
 
Hope you're feeling better now.ive been trying to stick to safe foods as I'm only 6 weeks post op.my husband cooked Xmas dinner and I thought I would try some well cooked carrots,but unfortunately he couldn't be bothered to peel the carrots before he cooked them so I spent Boxing Day morning pulling strings of carrot skin out of my poor mr blob (as my kids call him!) thank god it didn't cause a blockage!
 
Thanks. I also had well-cooked carrots (without skin luckily!). I've been getting awful stomach cramps every time I eat, and very watery stoma output - much more than usual - today and yesterday, so even though I'm sticking to safe foods just in case, I think this might not be a stoma issue so much as a my-digestive-system-doesn't-function-well issue.
 
How are you guys on hummus? I love that stuff but always had pain before my ostomy from it but today I caved and tried it. I hope I'm not setting myself up for any weekend problems.
 
I haven't had houmous since my ileostomy, but would have thought it would be ok. It's usually smooth isn't it? Though you can get some weird flavours. Plain houmous I was always fine with before my ostomy though.
 
nogutsnoglory said:
How are you guys on hummus? I love that stuff but always had pain before my ostomy from it but today I caved and tried it. I hope I'm not setting myself up for any weekend problems.
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We make our own hummus and love it. No problems at all with hummus (or beans/legumes) in general since my ileostomy.
 
nogutsnoglory said:
Are you guys straining it or just avoiding the chickpea peel?
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We have a blendtec blender, so peels aren't an issue. But having said that, I eat whole chickpeas and don't avoid the peels as they've never been problematic. If skins are a problem, a good blender will help.
 
So it turns out I did have a partial blockage. The out-of-hours doctor (so not a specialist) reckoned so anyway. Apparently my symptoms were absolutely typical - including the sudden gushing watery diarrhoea. Who would have thought that a blockage can actually result in more coming out? I guess it's like "impaction and overflow" diarrhoea, which I used to get pre-stoma. The doctor was basing his diagnosis on my account of my symptoms, so he wasn't 100% certain, but he reckons the first day the blockage eventually cleared on it's own, and he said that often you feel very sore or sick and get pain for several days afterwards, hence why I've still been hurting.

He also told me some ways to help clear a blockage on your own, and I've looked online and found a few other techniques too: massaging around the stoma; placing your little finger inside the stoma (carefully! and cut your nail off first!); drink a hot drink (which stimulates the intestine to move and push things out); change your body position and draw you knees up to your chest; take a hot bath or place a hot water bottle on your stomach (heat relaxes the abdominal muscles); take the bag off as the stoma swells a lot when pushing a blockage out.

Of course it's better not to get a blockage in the first place. So no more fibre for me! My fruit intake will consist solely of mushed banana from now on. ;)
 
Glad it resolved. Im doing a lot of juices to get my fruit and veg in and trying safer options like apple sauce, bananas and pumpkin or sweet potato. These are all mainly soluble fiber and should be safe.
 
nogutsnoglory said:
Glad it resolved. Im doing a lot of juices to get my fruit and veg in and trying safer options like apple sauce, bananas and pumpkin or sweet potato. These are all mainly soluble fiber and should be safe.
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Thanks. I think juices will be the way for me to go too. I hadn't thought of pumpkin - something else for me to try. :)

I do feel pretty stupid now for how proud I was that I was eating veg with no problems lol. I eat such small portions and small mouthfuls too. I can't imagine the damage I could have done if I had a big appetite or took mouthfuls the size most people do! But I had bad cramps after lunch today. The doctor seemed pretty sure the pains are just the leftover effect of a resolved blockage but it's been four days now. If they don't stop soon I'm going to start wondering if it's something else, something on-going.
 
I'm glad you've gotten over it. I'm sure it's frustrating to go through that, but perhaps with some experimentation, you'll find a happy middle-ground. :)
 
I've been looking online at the tinned pasta in tomato sauces you can get - spaghetti hoops, spaghetti with sausages, etc. Apparently they count as one of your "five-a-day" fruit and veg portions. They are so soft, I think they'll be a good substitute for vegetables.
 
Well, the episodes of cramping after eating/when the stoma was active got less painful and occurred less often over the past several days. No pain at all for a couple of days now. So I guess it was a blockage. Now I'm not eating any of the risky foods and my output is super-smooth and very thick.

But I guess that means the end for this thread as it's the end of my experimenting. But if anyone has any more good ideas for fruit and veg that can't cause blockages - or any alternatives to whole-grains, nuts, seeds, etc. - I'd be interested in hearing them.

One of the foods I've been warned to never attempt is coconut. But I've heard you can get coconut milk, would that cause a similar problem? I get confused sometimes about how much difference the form a food comes in makes. I'll miss Bounty bars. :(

Another great food I've found (a warning for any anti-junk food healthy eaters: you won't want to hear about it! :devil: ) is marshmallow spread. Jars of spreadable marshmallow that you can put in sandwiches and on toast. :) I haven't eaten marshmallows for so long I wasn't even sure that I liked them, I remembered the texture as being too much like polystyrene. But this spread is more like glue - which to be honest is a little off-putting, since it's white and actually really does look like glue. But it tastes nice, kind of like vanilla ice cream. Very sweet. If what I've read in the food guides for people with ileostomies is true, I'm guessing this marshmallow spread may be one reason that my output is so thick now. :)
 
UnXmas said:
But if anyone has any more good ideas for fruit and veg that can't cause blockages - or any alternatives to whole-grains, nuts, seeds, etc. - I'd be interested in hearing them.

One of the foods I've been warned to never attempt is coconut. But I've heard you can get coconut milk, would that cause a similar problem? I get confused sometimes about how much difference the form a food comes in makes. I'll miss Bounty bars. :(
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Are you able to speak with a dietitian? They'llv likely be able to offer lots of substitutions.

In general, the more processed the food, the easier to pass through. So cooked or juice veggies, nut/seed butters, white rice instead of Brown, "smooth" bread vs. the type where you see the actual grains in it (which simply don't digest). If you don't mind v8 vegetable juice, it's a great way to get nutrition if you can't eat more veg. Canned fruit works too and is quite soft, same with applesauce.

I've only been warned against whole coconut (like the shreds), not coconut milk, water, oil. I've had macaroons and didn't notice any bits when emptying my pouch, but if you are prone to blockages, you might want to avoid the shredded type.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I've already switched to white bread rather than wholegrain. I've been wondering if avocados are as safe as I thought they were they've not given me any problems, but I've noticed they sometimes contain stringy bits that pass through the ileostomy undigested.

I did see a dietician when I was in hospital, but only to talk to me about the TPN I was getting at the time. My stoma nurse gave me some very general advice about foods which cause blockages, but she didn't seem particularly concerned about it and the impression I got from her was that most people manage to eat pretty much what they like (maybe she just doesn't want to put people off eating fruit and veg?!).
 
UnXmas said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I've already switched to white bread rather than wholegrain. I've been wondering if avocados are as safe as I thought they were they've not given me any problems, but I've noticed they sometimes contain stringy bits that pass through the ileostomy undigested.

I did see a dietician when I was in hospital, but only to talk to me about the TPN I was getting at the time. My stoma nurse gave me some very general advice about foods which cause blockages, but she didn't seem particularly concerned about it and the impression I got from her was that most people manage to eat pretty much what they like (maybe she just doesn't want to put people off eating fruit and veg?!).
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If you can find guacamole pre-made on containers, you won't find those strings in it. Or else, just cut up your avocado shop you can remove problem pieces.

Yeah, the hospital advice is mostly for immediately after surgery, but if you can find a dietitian now, they could likely help. See if any offer a free first time consultation and decide if it's worth continuing.
 
Avocado is mainly soluble fiber which is the safer less scrapy kind but I like VO's idea of prepared or of course cut or strain your own. I think within moderation it should be ok but don't go eating 20 containers of guac.
 
VeganOstomy said:
If you can find guacamole pre-made on containers, you won't find those strings in it. Or else, just cut up your avocado shop you can remove problem pieces.

Yeah, the hospital advice is mostly for immediately after surgery, but if you can find a dietitian now, they could likely help. See if any offer a free first time consultation and decide if it's worth continuing.
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I can see a dietician on the NHS, so no free consultations needed. My GP is always trying to refer me, but I'd seen a few in the past - not about the ileostomy, obviously, but about what I should be eating to gain weight and manage my various digestive symptoms - and they weren't helpful, so I'm not sure it will be worth seeing another one. When they were trying to help when I was getting diarrhoea and feeling too full, their advice basically involved trial and error - e.g. try eating more fibre. That didn't work. Try eating less fibre! - and I can err perfectly well on my own.

I figured seeing a dietician about eating with the ileostomy will most likely involve them saying - try this food. It causes pain. Try not eating that food.
 
UnXmas said:
I can see a dietician on the NHS, so no free consultations needed. My GP is always trying to refer me, but I'd seen a few in the past - not about the ileostomy, obviously, but about what I should be eating to gain weight and manage my various digestive symptoms - and they weren't helpful, so I'm not sure it will be worth seeing another one. When they were trying to help when I was getting diarrhoea and feeling too full, their advice basically involved trial and error - e.g. try eating more fibre. That didn't work. Try eating less fibre! - and I can err perfectly well on my own.

I figured seeing a dietician about eating with the ileostomy will most likely involve them saying - try this food. It causes pain. Try not eating that food.
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I can totally relate. I don't think they'll be super-helpful with ostomy-specific issues, but they may be able to give substitutions for foods that you know don't affect you negatively (i.e. low fiber). It's up to you or you can just use the experience of other ostomates and do your own trial and error :smile:
 
Honestly I didn't find most nutritionists helpful for general crohn's issues so I'd be really skeptical of them knowing much about Ostomies.

I think your own plus others experiences are the way to go.
 
There are some good nutritionists in hospitals that are helpful with ostomy issues. Well, at least there are some in my area.
 
Well, I've joked about it long enough, but today I really did accidentally swallow a piece of gum. In a few hours I should be able to tell you if it comes out in one piece or becomes a reenactment of what happens when a cat swallows string.

Or maybe Bob will start blowing bubbles. Hahaha!
 
One small, peeled apple (no skin at all) set me off cramping after eating again (not after eating the apple, but later when eating triggered the stoma to start working, exactly as it happened before). :( I guess I really am just going to be living off bananas.
 
I found that cooked/stewed apples were good for me when I had my Stoma, they also seriously thickened up my output!
It can be really hit and miss, I decided to get myself a latte one evening and thought I'd broken myself, my bag filled up with liquid output so quickly about 10 times that night!

You'll find something that agrees with you, just keep it simple.
 
Absentminded said:
I found that cooked/stewed apples were good for me when I had my Stoma, they also seriously thickened up my output!
It can be really hit and miss, I decided to get myself a latte one evening and thought I'd broken myself, my bag filled up with liquid output so quickly about 10 times that night!

You'll find something that agrees with you, just keep it simple.
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Thanks, yes I've had stewed apples and apple sauce with no problems. I was just missing the crunch of raw apples, pears, salad, etc. But it's just not worth it when even a tiny amount seems to send my stomach cramping.
 
UnXmas said:
One small, peeled apple (no skin at all) set me off cramping after eating again (not after eating the apple, but later when eating triggered the stoma to start working, exactly as it happened before). :( I guess I really am just going to be living off bananas.
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Does this happen only with apples? Does it happen with other peeled hard fruits (like pears or peaches). Did you have problems with apples before your ostomy?
 
VeganOstomy said:
Does this happen only with apples? Does it happen with other peeled hard fruits (like pears or peaches). Did you have problems with apples before your ostomy?
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At first I was eating well-cooked veg without problems, but as soon as I increased from more than about one small portion every few days, I got the major problems I described earlier in the thread. Since then, I've done alright with tiny portions of very well-cooked veg, e.g. broccoli, as long as I then don't have anything else fibrous for a few days. I had tried grapes, and although they didn't give me the same severity of symptoms that I got with the blockage, they did give me a stomach ache (usually I don't get any pain with Crohn's, so this was abnormal for me). I had had a small peeled apple once before without problems, but eating fruits with no cramps seems to be the exception for me rather than the norm.

Before the ostomy I had a lot of problems with fibre. It wouldn't cause me pain, but a lot of discomfort and increased diarrhoea. I could manage more fibre pre-ostomy though; I could eat maybe a couple of small pieces of fruit (including fruit skins, pips, etc.) and veg (including salad, beans and other harder-to-digest veg), or maybe a small portion of wholegrain bread with no noticeable problems. But much more than that - especially nuts and seeds - and I'd be uncomfortable with worse diarrhoea than normal.
 
UnXmas said:
At first I was eating well-cooked veg without problems, but as soon as I increased from more than about one small portion every few days, I got the major problems I described earlier in the thread. Since then, I've done alright with tiny portions of very well-cooked veg, e.g. broccoli, as long as I then don't have anything else fibrous for a few days. I had tried grapes, and although they didn't give me the same severity of symptoms that I got with the blockage, they did give me a stomach ache (usually I don't get any pain with Crohn's, so this was abnormal for me). I had had a small peeled apple once before without problems, but eating fruits with no cramps seems to be the exception for me rather than the norm.

Before the ostomy I had a lot of problems with fibre. It wouldn't cause me pain, but a lot of discomfort and increased diarrhoea. I could manage more fibre pre-ostomy though; I could eat maybe a couple of small pieces of fruit (including fruit skins, pips, etc.) and veg (including salad, beans and other harder-to-digest veg), or maybe a small portion of wholegrain bread with no noticeable problems. But much more than that - especially nuts and seeds - and I'd be uncomfortable with worse diarrhoea than normal.
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I can understand how frustrating that must be.

What foods are working for you then? Perhaps it's not a fiber issue, but something else, like fructose in fruit or something else along those lines. If you compare what works to what doesn't, do you notices any similarities/differences?
 
VeganOstomy said:
I can understand how frustrating that must be.

What foods are working for you then? Perhaps it's not a fiber issue, but something else, like fructose in fruit or something else along those lines. If you compare what works to what doesn't, do you notices any similarities/differences?
Click to expand...

Besides the fibre I seem fine with pretty much anything. I can have fizzy drinks, which I was told might cause gas, with no problem. My diet is pretty much the same as before the ileostomy - I eat very small snacks every couple of hours rather than big meals (feeling too full is a major problem for me, and that was the case pre-ostomy too).

My family does a lot of cooking at home, so I have one home-made meal a day - e.g. home-made pizza (though without the peppers and other toppings I'd have had before), rice, shepherd's/cottage pie, roast dinner, pasta. I'd have a small portion of veg with each meal. The only meals the family have that I don't eat are spicy things - that's because I just don't like the taste, so I've never tested whether spicy things upset me. I snack on a lot of junk food - chocolate, ice cream, biscuits, some healthier things - home-made bread, yoghurts, bananas, tinned fruit, crackers. Before the ileostomy it would have been fresh apples, pears and other fruits instead of tinned, and I would have had things like raw tomatoes and cucumber where now I just have very well-cooked veg like carrots. Low-fibre cereals for breakfast. I don't like tea or coffee or alcohol, but drink a lot of milk, fruit juice, coke, lemonade. I don't like anything too rich or stodgy.

I realise whilst typing this that besides the fruit and veg, I haven't tried any fibrous foods since the ileostomy. I'm so used to choosing white bread, white rice, low-fibre breakfast cereals since that's what suited me pre-ostomy, and since I am quite happy eating the low-fibre options and can easily go without nuts, seeds, dried fruits, I just haven't tested any out. With fresh fruit and veg, there are so few low-fibre options, so that's what I've been trying out.

So could it be the fructose? I seem to do fine with a banana a day, fruit juice and tinned fruit - unless these are low in fructose? It seems to me more likely the fibre's the problem, especially since that's the only issue I'd identified in all my years of being ill pre-ostomy, and I'm not sure testing out whole-grain bread or nuts or something would be a good idea?
 
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UnXmas said:
Besides the fibre I seem fine with pretty much anything.

I realise whilst typing this that besides the fruit and veg, I haven't tried any fibrous foods since the ileostomy. I'm so used to choosing white bread, white rice, low-fibre breakfast cereals since that's what suited me pre-ostomy, and since I am quite happy eating the low-fibre options and can easily go without nuts, seeds, dried fruits, I just haven't tested any out. With fresh fruit and veg, there are so few low-fibre options, so that's what I've been trying out.

So could it be the fructose? I seem to do fine with a banana a day, fruit juice and tinned fruit - unless these are low in fructose? It seems to me more likely the fibre's the problem, especially since that's the only issue I'd identified in all my years of being ill pre-ostomy, and I'm not sure testing out whole-grain bread or nuts or something would be a good idea?
Click to expand...

Isn't it ironic that the least healthful foods are the ones that cause the least number of problems with IBD? Considering you can drink cola (which is often made with high-fructose corn syrup) without a problem, I doubt it's the fructose in fruit which causes the problem.

If you do try higher-fiber non-fruits/veg, keep note which (if any) cause you problems.

Have you ever been tested for food allergies? It may be a long-shot, but perhaps something in those specific foods are triggering something unrelated to fiber.
 
Its obviously different for everyone but I found that foods that gave me problems when I first got my ileo don't now. I think over time the bowel adapts and you may find that in the future you can eat foods that are now causing you problems. Could you be lactose intolerant? just a thought since the latte caused problems. i also have found that I have problems more if I eat a lot of fibre in one go rather than a little several times a day. good luck with it all, I can understand how frustrating it is for you, and scary too since you don't know what is causing the problem.
:heart: anna
 
I have no food allergies, and dairy is and has always been a very safe food for me. I did try going dairy-free a while ago and found no benefits, and have tested negative for lactose intolerance and coeliac.
 
It was me who had problems after drinking a latte :) I'm ok with dairy since I've had my Stoma reversed, which is weird.
 

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