My husband & I are always exploring new & different places to eat. I managem well most of the time, with very few problems. I never limit myself in what I eat or drink unless I'm having a severe pouchitis flare. Here's what I do to prepare:

If it's a new type of food I've never had, I make sure that we are going straight home after eating in case I react badly. If I think it's something that may make me gassy (lots of vegetables), I will take a digestive enzyme before and some GasX after. If it's something spicy, I apply Calmoseptine in preparation for the outcome that will no doubt occur.

I have never been one to limit my diet since getting a j-pouch. I limit dairy & gluten as those do not agree with me, but I eat a wide range of foods with little trouble.

I'd say pick something you like and try it. I guarantee
you I'm not going to give up eating Mexican food after takedown
without a fight.

I'm not a foodie, don't really know what a foodie is, but I do eat a varied diet, and all cuisines. I haven't found any food that I CANNOT eat because of my j-pouch. There are foods I won't eat, like Brussels sprouts, but it's because I just don't like them, not because of how they affect me. Why are you living with a limited diet? Did you recently have your reversal surgery?

Sue

I am absolutely a foodie and so far the pouch hasn't stopped me from trying anything new. I guess the key, as with everything, is balance and moderation. When trying new foods for the first time, you can always balance out your other meals with rice, oatmeal, and other things that bulk you up or calm the digestive tract. Certainly, if you've been living with only bland foods since takedown, you can't expect to go from eating the BRAT diet to having a full fledged Mexican fiesta overnight. As with anything, when experimenting with different foods, try smaller amounts at a time, and add new foods gradually. You might find that many of the foods cause you minimal, if any issue at all. The key is, you don't know unless you try!

I eat everything and here's what I found so far...
CERTAIN fried foods (must depend on the kind of grease used) will cause me to feel really ill right before passing it and then it comes out as pure yellow liquid but after it passes (on the toilet every 10 minutes for 30 mins to an hour)then I feel fine again.
Spicy food that burns my mouth going in burns my butt going out.
I still eat it all though!

I eat everything too. Certain foods may make me go more or give me butt irritation but I eat them anyway. After all the years with UC and really not being able to eat anything, I'm not depriving myself now.

You had takedown recently so you will get there, don't worry.

I am a foodie, and can eat anything and everything. Despite the pouchitis/Crohn's issues I am experiencing and treating I can still eat anything. I have a disposition towards spicy food and this manifests itself in forays to eat dim sum with spicy sriracha sauce, szechuan cuisine (spicy dumplings with peanut chili sauce being my favorite), Kung Pao pork and chicken with peanuts, etc., any sushi with wasabi horseradish, and my favorite seared ahi tuna salad with soy-ginger vinaigrette dressing and a side of wasabi.

Lately I am trying to cut back on carbs and am imposing some portion control in order to lose a few pounds and see if it improves my overall pouchitis/Crohn's situation. This regimen so far has resulted in some minor weight loss and no change in pouch function. It's hard because of my need to do business lunches/dinners/happy hours on a frequent basis.

I think most people who have functional pouches can eat anything, with maybe a few exceptions here and there. In my case red wine is a problem but other than that I can really eat anything.

yes, takedown was recent - 6 weeks back.

thank you for all your responses! that's what i meant, i like to eat all that u mentioned.

DJBHusky wow that is very spicy stuff! Sounds healthy too. I am opposite and trying to gain weight right now.

I guess I need to wait another few months before getting too adventurous? I will take it easy and slowly slowly (slowly) try a little bit.

thanks for giving newbies hope

fq

In the early days of Pouchhood, I was told that eating foods rich in sodium and potassium and drinking lots of fluids was important. This resulted in my infamous hospitalization with a sodium overdose after consuming an anchovy pizza, a bag of Lays BBQ potato chips and V-8 juice to celebrate my 30 day takedown anniversary. I could probably have that "sodium party" now without going to the hospital, but I could not do it then. The body is still adapting to assumption of the colonic functions of regulating electrolytes and do not forget this. This means too much of anything is not a good thing even though sodium and potassium rich foods were encouraged.

I ate tons of bananas and potato chips at the same stage of Pouchhood as you. I have a more varied diet now. You can gradually add things but stay hydrated, consume lots of electrolytes, add foods one by one and in reasonable quantities. Do things in moderation and DO NOT have a sodium party/orgy like I did. Use common sense and you will be fine.

Dr told my 9 yr old son he needs 2 grams of salt every day. Why is his so.necessary? He mention something about kidneys? So much info n meds. Im.lost

The colon regulates sodium and potassium levels in the body. When the colon is removed the Pouch SLOWLY adapts to this very important function that the colon formerly performed but is no longer around to do. In the beginning or early days of Pouchhood, the Pouch is not good at electrolyte regulation. It is like a baby trying to walk. I think it takes a few months before the Pouch learns to walk as far as sodium and potassium regulation.

The week after step 1 my potassium level shot down to a dramatically low level. I was still in Mount Sinai and a nurse rushed into my room with a dixie cup filled with a blood red liquid: liquid potassium. She told me I needed to drink it and drink it fast. I baby-sipped it and it tasted disgusting. I told her it was gross and I did not want to drink any more. She then gave me the Nurse Ratched look from "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" and said "you must drink this now!!!!!!!!!!!"

I drank it. really awful tasting stuff. My potassium level was restored. It was dramatically low and then went to kinda low on my blood tests. The electrolytes can get out of kilter at this stage of Pouchood that your son and FQ are now in.

When I had the sodium overdose my symptoms were SEVERE kidney pain. You cannot have too much or too little. I way overdid it with the sodium party/orgy. I am sure what the Dr prescribed for your boy is reasonable.

I eat anything and everything. The only thing that I can ever really pinpoint that has given me liquid output is dayquil. Even with that, I'm not sure if its because of the cold, or the dayquil.

Same here MickZagger. In fact all cold and cough remedies give me faucet-like diarrhea. I think they must have sorbitol as an ingredient which I am obviously intolerant to.

Sue

After each surgery I was told to eat extra protein. I ended up with very painful kidney stones. I stick with moderation in everything unless there is a demonstrated deficit. I find it fascinating that we react to treatments, diet and surgery in unpredictable ways.

i had a milkshake last night after dinner and was up all night in the bathroom with lots of gas!!! tasted good going in... NOT fun coming out!!

Was this too much too soon?????

jpouch - 6 weeks

I would either avoid dairy at this time or else take small quantities of it. I can eat large quantities of ice cream but generally I do get some gas from it. I do not not feel like a helium balloon filling up but there's a lot of farting. I also feel a tad bloated when I drink cow's milk. I now consume soy milk exclusively. Honestly, I think Silk soy milk tastes better than any cow's milk I have ever had.

I had Jalapeños on my food today and frankly it was worse going in than coming out.. Not sure why I ate that.

It takes time but it can get better.

I eat anything that I want to. No issues here w/ a boring diet. The first few weeks after surgery obviously you have to take it slow but I'm 2+ years now w/ a Jpouch & I honestly eat whatever I want to. Some foods w/ high fiber will give me slight gas pains (once I empty pouch, I'm fine). Did your doc tell you to eat a very restricted diet?

My screen name pretty much says it all!

I eat pretty much whatever I want. Luckily, I don't like spicy foods, so thoses aren't an issue. When I had a large snack of nuts, it was difficult to go for several hours. After years of UC/j-pouch it felt odd to be constipated.

I have to watch my sugar consumption - too much and my output is pure liquid. Caffine with the sugar and I might as well not leave the bathroom.

I will only eat a few pieces of popcorn, that gave me a belly ache long before UC, so no need to eat it now.

Salad does give me 'confettii poop', but it doesn't keep me from eating it. I do remove the seeds from cucumbers and squash because it looks the same on both ends.

I do avoid artificial sweeteners as well as pop but I don't consider that real food anyway so it probably doesn't count!

Artificial sweeteners go straight through me.

For those of us who are still intestinally challenged may I suggest Gaspacho? I have re-discovered it just lately and am enjoying the fact that I can eat just about every vegetable in nature without the nasty side effects that I usually have with fiber, skin and seeds...my favorites right now are cucumber/mint, carrot/cilantro/lemon and red pepper/orange...all generously made with fesh herbs and good olive oil.
So far, so good...I use a glass to sip them before meals and am actually trying to control my weight with them too...They fill me up nicely without the caloric load.
A plesant side effect is that my leg cramps and summer dizziness is gone.
Sharon