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I'm just over two months post-takedown, so still in the adjustment period. I know I haven't posted recently, so first just an update that I am doing well: all those post-op complications have been resolved, I have weaned off all drugs (pain-killers, prednisone, antibiotics), and I am now just experiencing perfectly normal, expected "newbie" j-pouch behavior. Unless I gorge myself on chocolate or some such nonsense, my number of BM's tends to stay between three and eight times per 24-hrs. However, I have noticed I am on the higher end of that range and am also pretty bloated as I try to add more fiber in my diet (e.g. raw veggies & whole grains), so I'm going to slow that goal down a bit and return to some more pouch-friendly foods as I start back to work.

I have done my research and am pretty familiar with what types of foods thicken stool and slow the bowel, but I'm getting a little tired of my same old stand-by meals...

I'd like to see if I can get some new ideas for pouch-friendly foods (or new ways to prepare them) from you all... So please list what your favorite snacks or meals are from when you were (or are) in your adjustment period that helped either thicken stool, reduce number of bowel movements, or at least didn't aggravate or increase BM's.

I will start us off by listing a few basic things I currently eat that make my pouch happy:

  • rice cake or toast topped with peanut butter & applesauce
  • scrambled eggs & instant mashed potatoes
  • macaroni & cheese
  • chicken or ground turkey & cheese burrito
  • chicken stir-fry over rice (veggies finely chopped and well-cooked)
  • turkey burger & sweet potato
  • tuna casserole



BTW, I know everyone's body responds differently to different foods, so I will of course use my own discretion when deciding what to try. Thanks!

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During the adjustment period you mentioned I was eating a lot of the same things, soft foods that were good binders, like scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, bananas (was a huge part of my diet then), peanut butter on crackers, yogurts, and cheese. I also had a lot of rice-a-roni back in the day. My mother would make a potato soup called vichysoisse, with milk and onions (the French make it with leeks, but my mother is not French) that was cooked and then pureed in a blender and served cold.

My diet these days is a lot different, but during that adjustment period most of the things you mentioned are good binders and easy to digest.
CTBarrister
Great list! In my early post takedown days, I ate a lot of those same foods (I admit I subsisted on A LOT of macaroni and cheese. *LOL*). I would add avocadoes; they're really easy to digest and high in potassium, and they fill your fruit/veggie quota. Omelettes, pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches were other easy go to food choices, and yes, I loved tuna sandwiches too. After a few weeks I was already eating cheese pizza as well. To get more veggies in, I also included a lot of pureed soups. I found some really good receipes for pureed carrot, potato, broccoli/cheese and lentil soups which I still make to this day. FYI - broccoli may give you gas but I luckily didn't have a problem with it. I have more of an issues with peppers, unfortunately, which I love but still eat in small quantities for that reason. Oh well. Can't win 'em all. Smiler

Like CTBarrister, my diet is also very different now, but in the early days you want to start with things that are easy to digest; basically it's whatever works for you. You can probably start gradually adding new foods now that you're a couple of months out. You might be pleasantly surprised to find out what you can eat.
Spooky
Hi!
I am almost four months post op from my takedown. I'm glad to hear you are doing well. I'm still experiencing s few things but did finally wean off of prednisone and pain killers.

These are the foods I've been eating and work for me.
Eggs - scrambled or omlet with Turkey sandwich meat.
Bananas
Fruity pebbles
Toast with butter
Chicken
Thin spaghetti with butter NO TOMATO SAUCE....OUCH!
tuna with mayo and saltine crackers
Applesauce
Tapioca pudding
Jello
Greek yogurt with fruit on bottom
Animal cookies
Coconut short bread cookies
Protein shakes - lactose free, wheat free

Foods I stay away from bit love!
Lettuce
Sweets. Chocolate
Peanuts
Red meat
Oatmeal
Cereal ... Except fruity pebbles
Peanut butter


I hope more people post on this subject and give all of us some more ideas on what to eat that don't cause bloating, gas, or diahrea! Oh and water and Gatorade G2 is what I drink only... Anyone able to drink coffee!? I miss it!!

Heidi

Diagnosed in 2011 with rapid unresponsive ulcerative colitis
April 2012 total colectomy with ileostomy
August 2012 rectum removed. Jpouch with loop ileostomy
October 2012 takedown
lovedby2
Not a lot of you mention my favorite pouch friendly food group...Potatoes
I love boiled or steamed potatoes (you can do them quickly in the mic)...I eat them with either butter or olive oil and you can add garlic or parmesan cheese for extra flavour or a ton of herbs or other cheeses...I have the flu right now and that and rice is about all that I can put into me (other than bananas)...they both contain a ton of potassium and other vitamins like C and are celiac friendly...I even make pasta out of them (gnocci) by mashing and mixing them with raw eggs and a bit of flour (corn starch if you have celliac's)and rolling them into a dough and then shaping and cutting them into pasta shapes...cook in 3 minutes and are really pouch friendly (tomato sauce on top makes for a full vit/mineral mix and tastes yummy)...
Sharon
skn69
I've had my pouch for a while so I can eat almost everything. For those of you who get sick eating tomatoes, have you tried peeling them? Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant bother me (pouch pain) but not when they are peeled. I eat salads all the time and while they loosen me up, it's usually a one time thing. I also drink coffee but I try to keep it to one cup a day or so but that is more because I get some stomach discomfort than pouch problems. In fact, my perfect breakfast is yogurt, a banana, and a big mug of coffee. The one food that always makes me really sick is oat cereal like Cheerios- it gives me terrible bloating, diarrhea, and irritates my pouch for days. One thing I've just discovered is a really good blender. My mom just gave me her Vita-Mix that she hardly ever used and I have been making all sorts of fruit and veggie smoothies. I am almost up to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables and I haven't noticed a big increase in how many times a day I have to go to to the bathroom.
L
I seem to be the only one who can eat chocolate with no problem, and I do mean gobbling down a 100 gram bar of 70% dark choc right after lunch. I'm set for the afternoon of work and it does not increase my bm's.
Yoghurt has been my best friend. And Quarck. Fatty foods and butter are not great for me.
Oh, except for fries. French fries have been really good. In fact, my pouch seems to really like it when I eat at McDonalds, but I don't do that very often at all.
Oats are very good and my pouch agrees.
A pancake made of one egg, a heaping tablespoon of oatbran and two tablespoons of Quarck (spoon into pan, wait for bubbles to appear and then flip) is very nice.
I've been adding very yummy dishes at a Viet Namese place nearby and haven't had much problem, but there are days when anything remotely spicey will give me D.
Peanut butter has been one of my everday-staples since my last uv flare.
There's a lot of other foods that are not coming to mind but I can add them later.
S
oatmeal (the real stuff not packages)
fresh mashed potatoes - not instant
baked potates with cheese
mac n'cheese with other stuff in it - like squash
all sorts of creamy,pureed soups - roast or cook vegetables and potatoes, put them in broth on the stove, hand blenderize them, add greek yogurt or milk to thicken
smoothies made with greek yogurt and fruit - even just bananas and pb if you are afraid of blended blueberries, etc.
sweet potatoes
roast chicken and over cooked veggies
bananas pancakes
omelettes of all sorts with cheese, cooked spinach, and other things inside it.
rice - again the real stuff
pasta with white sauce -
L

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