question about output/diet

rice, potatoes, pasta can have a binding effect on my stools not always but sometimes.

the most formed stools I ever had consistently was when for the first probably 18 years or so I religiously took some Metamucil powder mixed with juice in the morning. only the morning. they now have Wafers and on other posts here people talk about having a wafer before each meal. the pills didn't seem to work for me as they would fly through my guts and not have time to break down and absorb water.

I think they now make sugar free Metamucil, not sure about the wafers. I have never had them. some people also like to just go buy plain psyllium husk from the vitamin store. its probably cheaper and has less additives than Metamucil.

hey dewy thanks for quick response so sounds like adding the rice products may have in fact been the reason for firmer bms hmmm..it sure was nice for first time in 10 years having that as i said less irritation,itching burning and so on..like aside from going often  i felt almost normal!!!

so sounds like from what you are saying i should look into the psyllium husk..what is that exactly and how does one take it... hate the processed stuff if i can help it..

DeweyJ I take the wafers 2-3 times a day and they do keep things formed I prefer them over the powder I'm not worried about calories of the wafers being since my takedown 6 weeks ago I haven't gain a pound and I'm eating a lot carbs I'm stuck at 180Lbs for six weeks and to be honest it's kinda scaring my that I can't gain an  ounce .... 

Rebecca not sure if you are here in the states or across the pond or elsewhere, but Metamucil is (ironically for us) marketed as a laxative but it is comprised largely of Psyllium Husk which is mostly soluble fiber. Soluble fiber acts spongelike to absorb water, for constipated people that drawing of water to the bowel helps stimulate movement, for us jpoucher that same absorption of water serves to reduce output ie less bowel movements. I have never purchased it so I'm not your best guide but others have talked about going to say a Vitamin Shoppe type place and purchasing plain Psyllium Fiber. That would have less additives than Metamucil as again think of its target its trying to convince people to swallow the product so they make it flavorful. If you are curious to see its results mix a spoonful of it in a glass of water, stir let sit and watch how over a short period of time it thickens.

Sonny i am glad you are asking lots of questions but more glad to see some feedback from you as it wasn't obvious to me if you were following through on some of the ideas. Its interesting you mention weight gain or lack thereof post surgically over on the fb equivalent of this group which is much larger and freewheeling as you would imagine, someone asked that very question and i presumed she was shortly out of surgery, not the case so not as relevant for her. but i had my surgery at 23 years, in my mid 20's i started hitting the gym regularly, pounded back chocolate milk each workout, built muscle but couldn't really gain weight. i think for the first few years our bodies fight to recuperate from surgery. give it time. when i hit my early 30's i started the usual extra weight accumulation that comes with slowing metabolism. it will come be patient, go to the gym, go out for walks/runs, eat properly ie carbs and protein and the weight will come. 6 weeks out as you've heard repeatedly is VERY VERY VERY early post surgically. be patient and kind to yourself. i think you are making progress, albeit not as rapidly as you would have imagined. this dichotomy happens for many patients.

Thank you DeweyJ appreciate that  it's very reassuring to have a form like this where people give you their honest opinion and people that are very knowledgeable to this which I'm not and I appreciate everybody that reach out to me and tell me take time have patience is uplifting I guess I'm just gonna very scared stage right now and everything I eat and drink or do on a daily basis is just something I pay attention to and I value everyone's opinion that response to me I hope I can be helpful to someone in the future like you and others on here that help people out

SONNY NO QUESTION AS DEWEY SAYS YOU ARE VERY NEW TO EVERYTHING AFTER THIS SURGERY..Do not worry about weight gain  after any major surgery your body is using incredible amount of energy to regain balance..God knows i could not put on weight for years!!!But in my case aside from healing  i continued to have pouch problems outside of the healing...BUT you need a good year to see where you are at in normal healing which is the case for most pouch people.On this site you may find more people who continue to have pouch issues..But statistically it is a small per cent age of folks..

dewey i am in u.s.a. and have those products readily available ..just went out today to pick up some psyyllium husk thank you..going to give it a try..thank you

rebe

good luck Rebe I am thinking I need to restart using it. I'm just too lazy to get motivated though. lol. I mean I literally took Metamucil daily for decades. I don't even recall making a conscience decision to stop.

and yeah Sonny seriously I repeat be kind to yourself. I'm glad youre getting good feedback here, and I sense you are beginning to feel more comfortable. you've just been through major surgery so it WILL take time. adjust your expectations and I think you'll find in time that whoa this is working out just fine. and then you will also be able to come back and reassure others as they follow in your footsteps.

NEED SOME FURTHER HELP HERE ON PSYLLIUM HUSK..so today i tried my first tablespoon of it and mixed it in with my morning yoghurt and my other usual add ins(blueberries,sprinkle of some almond chips and cinnamon) thought i could kill two birds one stone however....

It thickened  yoghurt  all up pretty quickly lol!!!...but i went for it..not bad tasting ..

but ..after eating i felt like i was incredibly full like i ate three times as much food!!!  had to drink full glass of water after that ..

does that seem like it should not be like that?was recommended  1tablespoon to much? also they did recommend you have it before or in-between meals..was it mistake to have with meal? 

would it perhaps be better to divide up that 1 tablespoon maybe to two times a day instead?

and is that 1 tablespoon just too much anyway?

 i understand we are all different but hoping you guys may have advise from your own experience

i did not want to take wafers which probably have less P.h IN IT and other things because i am not interested in adding calories to my diet and sugar or sugar substitutes if possible..

will P.H bloat you..i feel so freakin full right now!!!!

main goal keep my output thickened up ..makes things so much better on my butt..and the problems having looser bms cause..lol..it took me 10 years to really register  by adding gutten free bread and rice back in diet(just by chance to be less hungry) i could even thicken output..i was so locked into cutting down my food feeding bacteria issue thus eliminating all starches and sugar my diet just did not have enough fiber ..

thanks for any suggestions i might try to get to a happy place with all this..

rebe