Can I hear some of what you all eat on a daily basis?? I'm 6 months post TakeDown and having trouble w/ pretty much what I try to eat....So I've been living on crackers, everyday. That's getting old!!!!!!!!! I've tried mac & cheese, Jelly Toast, a Hamburger( and the lettuce did not change at all...if you know what I mean!!). Because food has gone through me so fast, keeping me up at night, I have just givin' up. What should I be eating? Help...I'm tired of not feeling well. I thought this was suppose to get better.

Thank You, Catherine

It takes a while for your body to adjust. Try to be patient (no pun intended-- lol). Try what you ate when you first had your ostomy. Cream of wheat, bananas, pasta/noodles... take it slow and experiment. It will get better as time goes by.
Good luck!

Stay with the boring stuff, although I love good mashed potatoes and curried rice(YUM!)
What I can tell you is, that if all goes well, you can be eating the following...
Thai food, Chinese, Vietnamese, and home cooked stuff, raw vegies etc.
So, hang in there! Your body can take up to or even more than a year to get completely adjusted. I am now 6 1/2 yrs out and can eat pretty much whatever I like..
Julie

I eat oatmeal almost every morning. I drink fruit juice through out the day.

I eat mostly what I want but I'm still experimenting to find what's best for me. And my take down was almost 6 years ago.

The first year was the toughest. It does take time.

I had TD 11 months ago and still have a heck of a time with food. Most of the time it is peanut butter sandwiches and a banana in the morning. Chunky soup with crackers for lunch. Pasta, peanut butter sandwich or mashed potatoes for dinner. I try to eat normal foods every now and then but it almost always ends up being a royal PITA...literally. I am having a problem going too much, even if I don't eat that much at all.
Doc has me on immodium and tincture of opium to try and slow things down. I also take probiotics everyday. I had the same problem when I had my ostomy - seemed like I was emptying the bag 10 - 12 times a day. At least there was no butt burn issues when I had the ostomy.
Good Luck with the food roulette game. It is still better than the UC life...
Have a butt burn free day!
David

Hi Catherine
I too am one year out from takedown. My diet consists of things like bagels with cream cheese, mashed/baked potatoes, LOTS of yogurt, mac and cheese, pasta, crockpot chicken, etc.
The things that give me trouble are tomato products in excess, chili products, potato chips, and too much sugar. It does take a while to adjust. P-nut butter on toast should help get some protein in you. Don't stress too much over it. It does get better.

Hi Dave,
Just responded to your long ago message! I seem to be on Cipro constantly & it is not doing the job! My problem that really effects me in a bad way is every time my head hits the pillow, soon after I have horrible cramps sending me to the pot! I try to stay away from things i know will be a major problem. The sad thing is, for me to get a night with a minimum of 3 or 4 times up is very rare & it is tough to work 5 day weeks & 40 hours like this! I am about to schedule for my old U.C. doctor ( Helper) which you also had! When you suffer like this, the old end ostomy doesn't seem so bad! Problem is, I have no leave left & it will take until june of 2009 to get back to earning! I am minus 70 hours now! There has got to be a liveable answer to keeping the j-pouch & getting adaquate rest with no accidents! One night I was so agrivated & exhausted I put on a depend! Who in the world can sleep in a constantly filling diaper is more of a man than me! Sometimes this whole issue is just plain intolerable! I thought me having my colon removed was a door to a life without suffering! Wrong! Danny

Thank you to all who have responded so far, I really appreciate your stories & kind words !!!
Can some of you really eat lettuce & celery(cooked)?? WOW !! Does one need to be concerned with "blockage" with a J-Pouch ???

Once again Thank You everyone & wishing you all the best!!
Catherine

I can eat lettuce and celery raw. Carrots raw, whatever. One needs to make sure you chew it throughly.
It has been said that food doesn't contribute near as much as believed to obstructions. This being said...I have had one food related blockage and that was a combo of popcorn and a salad within a 24hr time period. I have not had that problem since and I do eat popcorn on a regular basis...
All the food issues are so individual, what works for one doesn't for another..
Julie

I've had my Jpouch for 4 years now. After my takedown I started out with only soft, bland, low residue foods and gradually tried new things. If something didn't work, I just put that off for a few more weeks. It honestly took me a whole year to get to a "complete" diet. Raw, hard veggies were the last thing I added back to my diet. At some point I found that including a whole grain helped me. Cheese grits or a bowl of oatmeal seems to really help. Realize that you have a different system now. It will never be the way it was. My output is frequently "identifiable" also, but that doesn't keep me from eating the foods that I like.

Now at 4 years post surgery, I honestly can't think of anything I can't eat or drink. Sometimes something doesn't agree with me and I just deal with that when it happens. Seems like things don't always agree with my husband's digestive system either, and his plumbing is the original issue. Happens to all of us from time to time.

Keep trying. Things will get better!!

A year and a half after td, I have noticed that a powerbar and pear usually works well, often with only two bms the rest of the morning. A bagel will often do the same.

I have not noticed much differentiation in what I eat for lunch or dinner. Most things have a price. Instead of the old sugar line, one lumps or two, it's one bm or two.

So regardless of what I eat for lunch and dinner, I am averaging 12-15 bms a day. Not good, but it beats the $%%^#$@% out of UC.

Thanks again for the advice... Tried pasta today and of course it didn't take long for it to pass, but I'll keep trying.Having a lot of lower left side pain though...

Is it hard to maintain a job??? I have not worked for sometime now; I also fight w/ panic attacks. Will I get hired if they know I'll be "running" to the bathroom MANY times a day ??? Any stories good or bad?

Thank You everyone for the support!
Catherine