trying to add new foods?

I ate a very, very gentle, bland diet for six weeks after takedown and although extremely boring, it was very J-pouch friendly. It seemed as though I ate the same thing every day. Bagels, smooth peanut butter, baked/roasted white meat chicken...no skin...very well cooked green beans and carrots, white bread, sliced turkey or chicken, clear soups or cream of chicken soup, white rice, Italian ices, jello. Gradually added one food at a time and if it didn't work for me I waited a couple of weeks before trying it again. I drank coffee, tea, diet colas. Eventually, all foods/drinks were pouch friendly and still are some 10+ years later. Best wishes.

Tom-try oatmeal..even add a little peanut butter to it or another option is to add Greek yogurt to it.

oatmeal and peanut butter bloated the heck out of me and when im bloated my output seems to be very acidy so i back off and wined up playing it safe. the nights are way to uncomfy to take chances but im hopeful i can in a couple more weeks. im avoiding meat sugar wheat dairy and gassy bloaty foods. that pretty much leaves white rice type products. jeepers...

IMHO.....Your body is telling you what to eat right now. Don't worry about it not being what you want or think you should eat in order to be healthy. Just do it.

quote:

IMHO.....Your body is telling you what to eat right now. Don't worry about it not being what you want or think you should eat in order to be healthy. Just do it.

i like the sound of that it just scares me a bit because when i had uc everyone was puzzled about how few foods i could eat even when in remission on prednisone. im hopeful and excited about my future. just wish that "bowling ball" in my butt during the nights bms would "spare" me see what i did there? haha

It actually sounds like you're doing better based on the pun-age. Eat what you want and introduce one new food at a time. Measure your improvement weekly or monthly rather than daily.

kathy

Hi Tom, you can just check the post that I made on eating paleo, I have had a lot of luck with this particular diet and my stomache in dealing with the jpouch/pouchitis.

I would avoid the dairy, sugar, and wheat products period, and try introducing some meats, and maybe some easily digested cooked veggies. At least for me, eliminating them from my diet has had a wonderful effect of keeping my pouchitis under control. I now eat rice with every meal, and it works for me. Get some jasmine rice (sometimes walmart carries it, otherwise an asian store), and a rice cooker, and you will love this rice.

I've been drinking boost to help with the nutrition I'm not getting right now.

rice seems to constipate me for now but i eat rice products. i will add meats SLOWLY cause they turn up the burn on my butt.

i cant do the boost. so much sugar and i think the citric acid messes with my stomach. i wish it was that easy cause i used to like them years ago...

im the original poster of this thread and still cant eat a dang thing almost 17 months out...

Have you tried some Metamucil with each meal? I found it helped from the very beginning.

Tom,

Nowhere on this thread do you describe the true problem you are having. Weren't you diagnosed with paradoxical syndrome at the Cleveland Clinic, and weren't you prescribed a treatment plan that you have failed to follow up on? It's disingenuous to come to this board and just say that you can't eat since having surgery 17 months ago. You write these posts without any background information and garner sympathy and a host of well meaning responses from people, yet you don't explain in entirety what your EXACT problem is. You've been doing this all over Facebook too. What do you want? Do you just want to complain? Your story is getting tiresome and your inability to follow up with treatment is astounding to me. And why do you keep changing your name? Pouchington is your third or fourth name on this board.

Honestly, if I were you I never would have left the Cleveland Clinic until I was set straight. Sometimes I have to wonder if you enjoy the role of victim; that getting well might mean people will expect something from you. It might be time to analyze why you continue to stay stuck.

Sue

thanks for your reply sue, i have followed up with therapy but the therapists here quite frankly suck and caused more pain and swelling than without. i was at cleveland clinic for 2 weeks to the tune of more money than i have to spend and i dont have the luxury of borrowing money. of course i dont want to suffer like this. if this damn thing would just empty i believe id be a pretty happy camper. there are nights where i actually plead with my pouch to just please empty. i dumped my first account because of my inability to explain myself like here for example. my second name was dumped because i forgot my password and it was linked to a new email with the same password not allowing me to recover it. back to cleveland clinic. they prescribed lactulose and belladonna and opium suppositories. the only script my pharmacy ever got was the lactulose which even at half the prescribed dose causes explosive diarrhea and as for the belladonna and opium ive called and was told to message my dr through their private messaging portal and have tried numerous times to find out where the heck that script is and have been told each time that they will look into it and still no answer. i called again and was told again that these things are handled through emailing. so here i am saying after 17 months i cannot eat a single solid food without screaming in pain the whole night. its only been ensure this whole time and even then i need to add grape juice to move it through and all this sugar in my diet i believe dehydrates me and has cause terrible skin rashes but i have to choose the lessor of two evils. i have legitimate problems that im sure i go about the wrong way of addressing them but they are legitimate just the same. ive heard of a guy on here who uses a catheter to empty his j-pouch like you would do with a bcir and im private messaging him to find out more. it may not seem it but i really am trying. i want to be happy and enjoy my life and there are people who expect of me and get it regardless of my issues. im a loving husband, father, brother, son and friend and yes i do go to therapy as well. sorry for all the confusion but i sure could use some/any advice any of you have. thanks again, tom

My understanding is that the Cleveland Clinic Florida is nowhere comparable to CC Ohio. I have heard varying reports of the care received there.

As to the B&O suppositories, I think they can be difficult to get (although I am unclear what the reason is, other than that they probably are not a formulary item).

It seems rather odd that you'd need to drink grape juice to keep things flowing when you are on an Ensure diet, except that on an Ensure diet there is no bulk. Lactulose should have the same effect as the grape juice. If you are sensitive to it, just reduce the dose until you get the desired effect.

If your real problem is the pouch not emptying, using a catheter to empty makes sense. But, if you have slow motility, it may not help much.

Another thing to consider is the possibility that you have a failed pouch and maybe an ileostomy would work better for you, unless your real problem is adhesions. It is not normal to live on Ensure. It is meant to supplement, not be your primary diet. Better than TPN. But, if the issue is adhesions, you should be able to tolerate real food, but in liquid form (shakes, blended soups, etc.).

So, you can see why it is difficult to advise you. I forget, were you ever evaluated by Cleveland Clinic Ohio? I think they are your best bet.

Jan

yes it was ohio that diagnosed me. they definitely said the pouch was very healthy and the only issue was the darn paradoxical sphincter contractions so i will try the catheter but for the life of me i cant see how it would allow a more solid output flow out. i just dont understand catheters all that much. the conundrum is possibly because there is no bulk but bulk makes everything worse and then its "let the straining begin" lol. thanks jan, i think the catheter is worth a try as well...

Thanks for the clarification. You really need to get those B&O suppositories, as they will relax those tight sphincters. Then you should be able to handle some bulk in your diet. But you will need to do it gradually, if you have been avoiding solid foods for so long.

As an aside, eating solid foods does not mean you have solid stools. You need bulk for your GI tract to function properly. It needs the bulk to have something to move along. Without a colon, the stool will be liquid to loose to semi-formed, depending on what you eat. My output is always loose, even with Imodium and Norco.

Good luck with the catheter. You can also just use tap water enema rinses to help empty.

Jan

i like the sound of tap water enemas. just reuse a fleet bottle?

Yes. It is completely safe to do on a regular basis. Just know that if your sphincters are clamped down, you still may not be able to evacuate without a catheter.

Jan