Help! Restricted diet - what can I eat?

Hi, thank you. I stopped eating things with skin. No salad. I'm scared to eat stuff. But anyway, I have a question. Is this the pain site for ostomatedating.com? Please help. I paid for it and I got a cancellation. I don't know what happened. I'm going to call, I guess. Yo, that's you Victoria. NewlifeVictoria.

NewlifeVictoria,

I'm not sure what you are asking but OstomateDating.com is in no way affiliated with this site. This site is MeetAnOstomate.org. If you paid for a membership on OstomateDating.com, you should have a confirmation email. I would suggest contacting the administrator of that site.

Bain

Yep, it's just trial and error, but avoid nuts, sweetcorn, mushrooms, dried fruit... all the obvious stuff that you know you cannot digest normally well.

Basically, it is not rocket science.... eat what is easily digestible for the first few months.... and then try stuff... baked beans and all sorts of beans are not recommended...!!

Dear Bain, thank you so much for your kindness. It's well appreciated and I know that you live a life free of worrying about what you eat! It's awesome that you can eat everything! Amen. I hope you have a great day when you're reading this. I hope you're feeling good! I'm not feeling it, really. It has been a lot on me and I can't eat stuff that's good for us. I'm congested, but anyway, I'm hoping to feel better. Have a great day. Victoria

Hello, I'm new here. I've found that my diet has to be very, very bland, but within those confines, I still try to make interesting food.

There's a lot you can do with pancakes, waffles, egg dishes, stews, softer breads, yogurt sauces, potato dishes, and salmon. Veggies such as cooked beets, carrots, green beans, as long as they're cooked asparagus tips, you can do stir-fry with carrots and beans and chicken and tofu, just so long as there are no skins. Spaghetti, as long as the spaghetti sauce is pretty puréed. You can make

garlic bread as long as you use powdered garlic. I've done hummus by puréeing soft garbanzo beans and regular black beans so that the skins are totally blended, and that has worked. Refried beans have worked in a soft burrito shell as well. I'm sorry you're in pain. I sympathize and empathize as my ileostomy has become herniated and it just hurts all the time, but I don't have gastro problems. I don't know if that's what you're referring to.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Hi Carolyn, hi. How are you doing? Hope you're feeling good today. Thank you for all the info. I appreciate it so much and do just that stuff too. But I think some things are really turning to fat. That's it and I'm gaining weight on me I never had before. I'm trying to figure out what to eat differently because what I'm doing isn't working... So you're in pain too? People say they're not? You have scar tissue too? You please text me anytime. Please, thank you... Are you having good days? Please, let's chat, okay? Thank you, even if we just text, would be good if you like, okay? Sincerely, Victoria.

Bill, please write back to Victoria.

Hi everyone, I have to say I had a colostomy and now I have an ileostomy. I had 4 major surgeries, and I have to say foods of all sorts bother me. Anything, I'm going to do smoothies and baby food and chew the soft foods I cook like carrots (no broccoli and cauliflower). I have to say, just being careful and in time, I will try some other things but not everything mushy and soft. I do a little chicken and turkey and eggs, yogurt, soft things, and be careful. In time, I will not be in so much fear. I started to eat everything and had problems, so happy eating food to keep us healthy and vitamins. I gained weight, have to exercise. It's been a lot since Jan 2018 to now, so I'm going to try to be more careful. Okay, just saying, I'm reading most eat anything but I can't. But I don't want the cramps and have to pull stuff out of stoma as I did with the coleslaw. Okay, thank you, have a great time with trying new things and new foods and chew about 50 times? EAT TO LIVE, not just to eat. This is what I did. I like good, but it's different now. I'm watching what I eat, soup, and I'm not feeling good, so I have to make changes. Okay, happy eating and having fun. NEW LIFE VICTORIA

Try a bit of something at a time.. I can eat salads (without tomatoes etc) cut very small. That was a hurdle for me. Also, can drink carbonated beverages.

Hi. Try the low FODMAP diet. Book ref is ISBN 978-0-09-195535-9. Authors: Dr. Sue Shepherd and Dr. Peter Gibson. Onion and garlic, in particular, can cause a lot of problems for some people.
N.B. You probably know this, but if diverticulitis was the underlying/original cause of bowel problems, you should never eat seeds or nuts (unless well ground up) nor pips.

Hello Newlife Victoria. Thankyou for your post and the explanation of your own journey, which helps explain where you are now. 

There does seem to be a few differences between what is possible regarding food intake with colostomies and ileostomies. However, there are some basic principles which seem to apply to both. Start out experimenting with small amounts of food you like so that you can identify any which might cause problems ( and avoid them). chew everything well (possibly more than you would normally). If this is difficult, try putting food into a blender before it goes into your mouth. 

I found that there were foods that I could not eat at first, but further down the line I was able to introduce them slowly again and now I can eat almost everything I like.  If I have a problem I drink Metamucil, which has the effect of pushing everything through the system gently and it seems to relieve any pain that is caused by food congestion. 

Best wishes

Bill

I had a loop colostomy 15 months ago and eating is a nightmare. I am a vegetarian but find the majority of food goes straight through me. I kept a food diary for 6 months but unfortunately it just highlighted that my gut can't cope. I can sometimes spend a couple of hours in the bathroom 2 - 3 days a week.