Day 9 since takedown and I am struggling to find a balance. I realize its early so I'm trying to be patient. Diet is mainly pb toast, turkey, noodles, rice. One immodium today and 1 tsp metamucil. My output is very thick and only a little at a time. I average 6 to 8 a day and generally in the evening go through bad cramps and gas with constipation, then I cut loose after about an hour and go 4 times or so. Up about 1 or 2 times per night. Any input on how to balance or foods to help regulate?
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Are you getting enough fluids? When you say noodles, what kind of noodles?
Egg noodles with turkey and broth. I'm drinking 16 oz bottles of water and propel, about 5 per day. Yesterday was actually a little better but still pretty thick. I'm going to try to add a few new things, like mashed cauliflower , avacado, maybe pears. I did some mashed carrots yesterday too.
Egg noodles okay. I was worried you meant packaged instant ramen noodles, which are made of enriched wheat flour (the natural wheat was removed during processing and stuff added to "enrich" it back to edible) and mostly chemicals as preservatives. Maybe later on, but not so good for a young pouch, can cause messy BMs, and there is almost no nutritional value. After my surgery, I ate pastas of all sorts and shapes made from a few ingredients: semolina flour, salt, egg, water. And lots of basmati rice, jasmine rice or plain white rice to help make solid output. Now I can eat brown rice and quinoa (which is a learning curve...) Your mashed cauliflower sounds good! Try drizzling extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil on top; it might help lubricate if you're having output that is too thick. Mashed sweet potatoes, sliced and roasted zucchini, wilted spinach, roasted chicken, all helped me as soon as I got home.
Look for soluble fiber foods for now, instead of insoluble foods. I started eating soluble foods from the first day, in small portions and chewed thoroughly, and it must have helped because now I can eat anything -- even broccoli and Brussels sprouts and mushrooms. See if it helps to drink fluids before or after a meal, not with a meal. Let your digestive juices work on the food.
Try oatmeal, the 5 minute long-cooking kind, or try steel cut oatmeal because these are less processed than the instant packaged (processed) highly sweetened, kind that you pop into the microwave. I ate slow cooking oatmeal with half a banana and almond milk for breakfast, or toast and peanut butter, and everyday one egg for the soft protein and B12. Get lots of protein because injured tissues need protein to heal and knit together. Everyday will get better for you. Your new pouch is still learning what to do and how long it can hold stool. Remember, it spent its whole life as your small intestine, nothing too strenuous expected of it except to absorb nutrients and pass it along to the large intestine. Now it's expected to be your new "colon" and it has to figure out what stool is all about. That's hard work.
Thank you! I got some avacodo, sweet potatoes, etc to add in here and there. Ate fish with rice and cooked carrots today. I didnt take any immodium this morning and was pretty stopped up til around 4, so I think I'm going to try a little metamucil in the mornings along with upping liquids. This evening I've seemed to loosen up. I know it's a balance I need to trial and error with.