After watching the documentary "What the Health" on Netflix recently, I have decided to try to go FULL VEGAN! I have been a "seafood vegetarian" for many years. I have a severe auto-immune disease, as well as PSC & animal products are just NOT for me. I do ok with seafood, but after eating any meat or eggs, I always feel terrible & regret it. This documentary, which I recommend EVERYONE watch, kind of opened my eyes as to why I may not tolerate these animal products well. I am also lactose intolerant, but can do cheese without any problem, and do, OFTEN! Cheese & bread will DEFINITELY be the 2 things I may struggle to let go of. I am now on my 3rd (& final- due to the fact that I have only 18" of small bowel left) Mayo Clinic, J-pouch total reconstruction & I have a significant emergency blockage history. (The 4 main times were: a broccoli stem, a mushroom, a piece of cantaloupe & most recently, cherry skins that had fussed together & made a mass.) I, obviously, have eliminated any foods that I have an issue with. Spicy foods are my favorite & don't bother me at all!? (I know that is a bit strange to many j-pouchers.) I DO have a good base of knowledge about the fruits & veggies I CAN eat, without issue, which is quite a few, but still limits me a lot from the FULL Vegan Diet. Also, no nuts at all, for me- even peanut butter! Does any one out there have a reasonable vegan diet for a J-poucher &/or are there any sites that I can refer to for vegan meal options? Soups & smoothies are ok, but they just DON'T fill me up at all! When I am hungry- I want to EAT REAL FOOD that I CHEW!
Thanks so much for any suggestions. Also- I have been around the block with 3 J-pouches & 15 major abdominal surgeries, so, I DO know the famous advice of : "every pouch is different & go by trial & error." I absolutely go by this 100%! I am just looking for suggestions. I am able to make my own calls on what is/isn't ok for me. Thanks for your time! Hope all my J-pouchers are doing great & having a great start to your Summer! EAT IT UP!!✌��️��
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Respect your decision but to be honest I find it strange you are going vegan of it's not for beleif reasons, especially as you like and get on with bread and cheese. Most people are keen to expand there diet and not reduce it. Also is easy to grab a cheese sandwich on the road lol
I take my veg in soup/smoothie form, so can't really help, but doing it that way pretty much guarantees no blockage as everything blended smooth.
I have had spell were I went without meat, basically living on stir fry and curry of differing flavours. Sweet potatoes and squashes are great too. So I had a smoothie and perhaps cornflakes/rice puffs for breakfast, rice or pasta for lunch (quorn mince is great) and then some Chinese/Thai out Indian dish for tea.
Hth
Thank you! Just looking for some vegan options or meal suggestions for a J-pouch. & I very well may try t remove a bit of cheese & bread, as tolerated & maybe just eat em, now & again, here & there. Just not constantly. My main things I wanna cut out are meats & most fried & processed foods. As many as I can possibly get rid of... My Mayo Clinic blood type "healthiest foods guide" says, for me is the "seafood vegetarian" choices, which I have been doing consistently for abt 10yrs. Red Meats, Poultry, eggs, & esp Pork do NOT MAKE ME FEEL WELL AT ALL! I always regret eating any of those, not too long after..;(. If I do have to stick to "seafood vegetarian", I can & will. Just really wanna give the FULL VEGAN thing a true chance & see if it's even possible for me? I KNOW it WILL make me feel better, overall & WILL help with so many of my auto-immune issues & diseases!! But if I am craving a bit of cheese or bread & just can't take it- I WILL EAT EM!!! Lol! Anyway, Thank you for your input.������✌��️
Just trying to get my body into the healthiest shape I can, so that I feel the best I can & am able to do the things in life I enjoy! Which are mainly somewhat active... Thank you!
I have no suggestions for you, but wish you luck. It not clear to me why you know that a vegan diet will make you feel better overall. In my mind, since you have already limited your nutrition choices so much already, AND only have a small amount of small bowel left, you need to preserve all nutritional options that you can tolerate. Hopefully, 18" is a typo and you actually meant 18'. 18 feet is plenty, 18 inches is hardly enough to sustain life with an elemental diet.
Again, good luck with it and it seems that you are not going to risk your health on this, but just do what you can.
Jan 
Thank you for your reply, Jan. 1st- It was NOT a typo. I only have 18 INCHES of small bowel left, as I am on my 3rd TOTAL j-pouch reconstruction, all done at MayoClinic, MN, & in addition to that, some of my small bowel was so damaged, each time, that they had to remove it. I know it it not normal or typical. I am a very complex case. I take MANY injections & infusions of nutrition & vitamins that I cannot absorb. But, I have NO regrets! And, second: The reason I want to eliminate animal products is not related entirely to my pouch, if at all-?? It is mainly because when I do eat meat products or eggs, etc, I have noticed that I always feel just horrible for a day or so after & have many AI symptoms. Even tho I may enjoy it, at the time, I almost ALWAYS regret it later in a BIG way!;( Like I said, I was a "seafood vegetarian" for MANY YR's & it worked GREAT for me, untill I was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) a few years ago. Since then, ANY processed foods or animal products just make me feel like DEATH afterwards for several days & when I have experimented with NOT eating these animal products, I have felt MUCH better, overall & my auto-immune skin lesions improve drastically, & I have significantly less rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, as well as migraines. So- I looked into it & what I found was overwhelming support in favor of the theory that people with many of the AI diseases that I have- do better WITHOUT animal products & too many processed foods, which IS frustrating with a j-pouch, (esp with my high emergency blockage history), because the foods that are "good" for my J-pouch are the foods "BAD" for my PSC & RA & other auto-immune diseases. I know I'm pretty much "shooting in the dark", asking here, because I AM such a rare case. Just figured it was worth a try. I truly appreciate your taking the time to reply. Thank you! I hope you are doing GREAT & loving this amazing life!!!✌��️❤️
It can be difficult for healthy vegans to meet their nutritional needs. BTW you can buy Vegan bread so i don't understand why you would remove bread from your diet unless you have an issue with it.
Can you tolerate beans?
If I was in your place I would remove the food you don't tolerate and plan healthy foods around the ones you can tolerate whether or not that makes you a vegan.
Very good advice, Anniki. Thank you!
Contact Vegan Outreach and/or Vegetarian Resource Group; they both have registered dietitians on staff who may be able to provide some helpful tips. Also try to contact Ginny Messina (MPH/RD) at theveganrd.com
I agree that you need the expertise of a registered dietician, as your situation is rare and complex. I do know that with short bowel syndrome you want to maintain oral intake as much as is feasible, as it helps promote better nutrient absorption. With less than two feet of small bowel remaining, it isn't posible for you to avoid TPN. I presume you are taking digestive enzymes with your meals, and if not, you should ask about them.
You probably have educated yourself about all this stuff, but here is a link with excellent information about your issues. There is even a link to clinical studies on treatments to stimulate nutrient absorption.
https://www.iffgd.org/other-di...-bowel-syndrome.html
Jan