Smoothies

If you buy a high-powered blender, and I mean like a vita mix, you can break down your veges to a blended drink. The most tolerable is mixture of apple (peel), lettuce, spinach, carrot and maybe quarter stick celery but.... most all blenders unless you get like a Vitamix or similar will not break down greens enough to be smooth. The great thing about doing it this way is the food is broken down to its cellular level and is highly absorbable for those like us who need quick easy absorption. No all veges are going to agree with you. Some people can tolerate citrus like oranges but I can’t tolerate any citric acid or it burns. Therefore I Switch out certain items from the recipes. Banana in fruit smoothie is good with like an almond milk and maybe handful of strawberries. Check out you tube videos on the Vitamix to see what it does. Other blenders seem to leave green pieces which don’t make it taste great and weird texture.  I don’t think it’s good to stay away from vegetables but choose those that are softer and not so fibrous. I couldn’t do without my rice steamer that has an added basket on top to steam vegetables without oils or fats. I steam mostly carrots thinly sliced with thin sliced zucchini or similar more easily digested nutritious ones in the top basket while the rice cooks. You can steam quartered white or sweet potato as well. I have good luck with those and sweet potato is full of good nutrients. Also you can steam some fruits to soften as well. 

I purchased a cheap juicer which is much less then an expensive vitamix, i juice just enough for a shot glass, this way i’m getting nutrients without it being too much to upset my pouch. 

my smoothies usually include spinach easier to break down in a regular blender, you could also add canned veggies or baby food veggies,  

I have put veggies in my blender.  I usually use the leftover cooked veggies we had for supper the night before and mix them will almond milk, some berries, protein powder, psyllium, etc.  I did learn not to mix too many at once. It gave me horrible gas.  

I'd experiment and see what works best for you.  However, start with small amounts.  As mentioned before, we are all unique and therefore tolerate things differently.

Most J-pouchers have normal (or nearly normal) digestion and absorption. We don’t have normal elimination of stool, and some folks do have a problem with fibrous veggies. Some J-pouchers also have an additional problem with absorption, but that generally isn’t because of their J-pouch. The fact that some other folks have a problem with veggies is a terrible reason to stay away from them. Certainly if you find that a particular food (or kind of food)  gives you trouble then by all means avoid it or adjust the amount you consume, but other people’s experiences with food tell you almost nothing about what your experience will be.

I eat well cooked veggies everyday, even kale, collard greens etc. With fibrous greens, I remove the thick stem, keep the leaves and cook them until very soft. I have no problems with them. We need to invent our own recipes.

The only time I had issues with fiber was when I ate 10-12 large dates without chewing them very well. I had my takedown in March, so I didn’t know better...

Jay dog-I eat all vegetables without any need for a blender, so not sure where the information you are getting is coming from. Certain veggies are hard for me to fully digest, mainly the leafy green vegetables, so I try and chew them well, but they sometimes come out partially digested. This is absolutely not a reasonable reason to either avoid vegetables or put them in a blender. 

28 chews minimum and swallow. Cows can do it and so can you. A blender is a lazy substitute for chewing food well.

I struggle with veggies a lot - you are NOT alone.  But I eat them anyway.  One tip that helps me - combine veggies with a fat.  (I do not do this enough).  I used to do friend (healthy oil) zuccini with some parm cheese and a bit of breadcrumbs - delicious and (for me) this "sticks" in me better without hurting so much.  I absolutely do smoothies - both fruit and veggie smoothies - in a plain blender.  I add yogurt.  I agree you can chew your spinach, brocolli (steamed - not raw - that will cause me major probems), etc. a lot - and I do that - but sometimes, I am on the go and smoothies work better for me.  I think it's a very individual choice - and have been at it for 35 years.  BTW - some smoothies I know will make me explode pretty quickly - but I want to get the blueberries, banana, etc. in me - so I do those when I can be home for awhile.  Which during covid - is a lot of the time.  Great question!  Great to see we all do/try different approaches.  I always learn something on here. Thanks!

I would of thought the majority of vegetables are not actually digested, even with a Colon, as more often than not, remnants of vegetables eaten are normally unrecognisable and compacted within the stool, unless the stool is broken apart and examined ; however, we still absorb the nutrients and goodness within the small intestine after being broken down in the stomach.

I eat veggies all of the time. I can eat raw and cooked stuff. Each person is different. I love smoothies.

Thanks to all - yep - everyone is different in terms of what they can tolerate; it's good to hear from others what works and does not work for them.  I've found the people on this site to be - well - wonderful.  I'm grateful!

Thanks for the replies. My takedown will be in november. Right now i have an end illeo and i can literally eat anything i want with 0 problems.

@Jaydog posted:

Thanks for the replies. My takedown will be in november. Right now i have an end illeo and i can literally eat anything i want with 0 problems.

Good luck with your takedown! Please be careful with everything when you get it done, remember to take it easy. You will be having many bowel movements a day but it gets better as time goes on. My early takedown days I was going close to 30-40X a day but now its 15-20. Each person is different but I am sure yours will be lower than mine as time goes on. It took me about a year to get use to my new lifestyle and I am happy with everything. I hope you will be too! 

Jaydog.... it’s not always so daunting after Takedown.... from the very beginning I was only having 3 to 4 BMs per day.

Within days of my Takedown, I had a 4 hour journey back home, 3 hours by Train.

I can’t remember the time I left the Hospital but I used the toilet before leaving and after various train journeys later, it was a good few hours, maybe 6 before I had to use the toilet again.

It will be 6 years in January 2021 since my Takedown and I still have 3 to 4 BMs per day; not every day; some days it can only be 2, other days maybe 5; in fact it’s never less than 2 and very very rarely more than 5.

There’s also hours and hours in between BM’s; more often than not I will use the toilet in the morning, then not need to empty my pouch again until 7 hours later.

I do tend use the toilet more so in the evenings but it’s easily controlled and doesn’t impede upon my life or day to day activities.

Hope the takedown goes really well.  Of course I do not know the specifics of your situation - but I want to encourage you.  My takedown was done in ....1987.  Yikes!  It was so much easier that the first surgery in terms of recovery; I think I was able to leave the hospital a lot faster - maybe 3 or 4 days.  I went back to work teaching high school full time within a month of that takedown. I was 23 and had youth and grit on my side; I also had no idea that I had any choice in the matter - you gotta work to put a roof over your head, etc.!  I think what Lauren was trying to say was just sort of go easy regarding what you eat - I could eat pretty much anything - but I would pay for it I needed to eat as I lost so much weight during the first surgery.  I was able to sort of modify my eating and I did not eat much during the days at work - no private bathrooms in a high school - and you can't leave your classroom, etc.  I think I ate a great deal of my calories at night.  You will probably be able to get all the nutrients you need without a problem - and if you do have one - you will be able to adapt and fix it.  (I am assuming you are young - maybe you aren't) - but if you are, you will have youth on your side.  I did have pain at times - gas would get stuck, etc. - but it was bearable - it was not "go to the hospital" pain and other people at work had migraines, or other types of pain - etc. - I tried to tell myself on some of the tough days - this too shall pass - and it did.  I think you will do great!  (P.S. If you do struggle - please don't do what I did as I got older - I wouldn't tell my bosses about my struggles (which were not all the time- but here and there throughout the years) - I would miss work and they really did not understand why - I was  so determined to not be a complainer - and people are more open to understanding about this type of thing now than in my generation due to the internet.  Also - laws are much stronger now regarding disability, etc. - not that you will need it - but my point is - there is no shame in take days off here and there if your pouch acts up at times - it's life.  I was really dumb about not wanting people to know about bathroom issues. - just a thought for you- something I wish I could tell my younger self).  Good luck!!  Life can be awesome with the pouch!

@Former Member posted:

Jaydog.... it’s not always so daunting after Takedown.... from the very beginning I was only having 3 to 4 BMs per day.

Within days of my Takedown, I had a 4 hour journey back home, 3 hours by Train.

I can’t remember the time I left the Hospital but I used the toilet before leaving and after various train journeys later, it was a good few hours, maybe 6 before I had to use the toilet again.

It will be 6 years in January 2021 since my Takedown and I still have 3 to 4 BMs per day; not every day; some days it can only be 2, other days maybe 5; in fact it’s never less than 2 and very very rarely more than 5.

There’s also hours and hours in between BM’s; more often than not I will use the toilet in the morning, then not need to empty my pouch again until 7 hours later.

I do tend use the toilet more so in the evenings but it’s easily controlled and doesn’t impede upon my life or day to day activities.

  

Dang you are soo lucky! That must feel great!

@Former Member posted:

Dang you are soo lucky! That must feel great!

Yeah, it most definitely does.

  Rather than accept your plight; why not attempt to resist the urge to empty your pouch when the sensation arises.

Once you’ve learnt to differentiate  the varying sensations and either fool the mind of stretching the pouch, maybe after a few weeks, your daily BMs may reduce.

Do your BMs decrease when you eat or drink less ?

@Former Member posted:

Yeah, it most definitely does.

  Rather than accept your plight; why not attempt to resist the urge to empty your pouch when the sensation arises.

Once you’ve learnt to differentiate  the varying sensations and either fool the mind of stretching the pouch, maybe after a few weeks, your daily BMs may reduce.

Do your BMs decrease when you eat or drink less ?

Thanks for the advice but I accept my lifestyle, my motto is "if it is not broke do not fix it". When I had my colon I had severe constipation and I do not want to risk that happening again. I read some stuff about it being harmful to hold poop in, I have bad luck so I do not want to risk it.

And not really, if I drink less I tend to get dehydrated and feel awful and wind up straining. Drinking water the way I do helps everything with my body without straining. I already eat less most of the time, I eat a low carb diet most of the time- If I eat more its closer to 20. 

I tried immodium as well, that worked great in my takedown days but ironically it clogs me up now. I am just naturally in that 9% that goes over 13.

Jaydog, you could also try this: chop some of your favourite vegetables into small pieces. Put them in a pot of cold water or broth, enough to cover. Add herbs or spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer until soft or you can stick a knife through easily. Leave it in the pot to cool. Use a stick blender right in the pot to purée, or in a regular blender (let everything cool first). This will give you a nice thick vegetable soup. You won't recognize anything solid, but you'll get your vegetable nutrients. Add some almond or soy milk if too thick.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil to help everything "move along".  I used to simmer and purée carrots, adding nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, cardamom spices for soup, hot or cold.  

Here's another idea: in the grocery section at Ikea they sell vegetable "pucks". They are delicious. They are called Gronsakskaka. They are frozen, box of 8 pucks for $8.  Ingredients are (I'm reading from the box I just pulled from the freezer):  potatoes, cream, broccoli, leek, onion, cheese, sunflower oil, salt, natural vegetable flavour, spices. Delicious. 

Why is it suggested vegetable are blended into a smoothies ?

i eat all kind of vegetables, without issues and without blending.

Digestion takes place in the stomach and the small intestine; how do vegetables affect the J pouch ? 

I don't understand using a blender either. Just seems like a substitute for thorough chewing.

I can't speak for others' reasons for using smoothies, but I feel like I have a pretty good one. There are areas along my digestive tract that for whatever reason are susceptible to blockages -- scar tissue, strictures, whatever. My best guess is that it occurs at the pouch's inlet and is referred to as afferent limb syndrome.

I've also had chronic pouchitis that's becoming antibiotic-resistant and am starting Entyvio soon (please God let it work). My issues could all be pouchitis-related, but I'm fairly convinced much of the pouchitis occurs because of the partial obstructions I get. For that reason, I stay on a soft foods diet and prefer getting veggies via smoothies.

It's no fun, but the times I've had fruits with seeds, salads, and other things, my stomach will bloat and my lower-left abdomen will be in varying levels of pain. Over the last year and a half, I've gone to the ER twice when the pain became unbearable.

The first time images showed areas where food was backed up and my intestines were stretched so they pumped my stomach with an NG tube. The second time, I was able to throw everything up before getting the tube put up my nose and down my throat. I threw away my vomit-covered shoes, walked to my car in my socks, drove home, and stayed on a clear liquids diet for a few days. Since going on a purely soft foods diet, I continue to have pouchitis issues, but I haven't had any pain -- knock on wood. 

I see; it totally makes sense if you suffer from blockage and drinking  a smoothie helps eliminate the issue.

I’m cautious in regard to creating loose stools; currently my output is thickish, semi formed but loose and I experience 3 to 4 BMs per day, sometimes 5 and on occasions I endure accidents or heavy leakage, should I eat loose food, such as porridge oats, rice pudding, stews etc, then there’s a noticeable effect to my output, an increase in daily BMs and accidents.

KP - sorry to hear about all that.  I've had two blockages - but over a 35 year period - NG tube (which did not hurt a bit, btw - nothing to be afraid about) - and I've struggled with adhesions.  In a weird way - I had to have a really big surgery - full opening about an unrelated issue - this was about 15 years ago - the surgeon "cleaned it up" in there - said I was full of scar tissue, etc. - and I think they have something - a chemical?  a dressing of some type? they put in there to help reduce the formations of more adhesions?  I'm not sure.  It was a really difficult experience - but I have had fewer issues with blockages - I can feel it and I can fix it - for me, gaterade, lying on one side, then the other, heating pad - takes care of it now.  I am grateful for that.  I have friends with adhesions not even related to jpouch and they can be a really difficult problem.  I wish you all the best - I know it's not easy.  People on here care.