Ileostomy and diet questions

I had my surgery in November 2019. I ended up in hospital for five weeks due to two internal infections. My stoma output was quite high and during chemo was up to 16 loperamide a day. This has now reduced to 9-12 a day. I have gradually introduced new things into my diet and like others have said, if you chew well you can pretty much eat everything. My output does vary and sometimes I don’t know why. I then just switch to a low fibre diet for a day or two if need be. I have also found that if I have fresh strawberries with some natural yogurt or banana then this really helps thicken the output. I’ve even been having a few grapes but cut them in half so the skin is smaller and chew very well. I’ve recently had nuts, mushrooms and popcorn too. Everyone is different though so you just need to try things in small quantities, but I did wait a few months before I tried more fruit and vege and all the things they tell you to avoid, but was very nervous at first. Just remember your small bowel can’t break things down so the fibre stays the same size as you’ve chewed it. I find pesto is fine as the pine nuts tend to be pretty small, although the fresh pesto does tend to have larger pieces of pine nuts, so just ensure you chew them a bit more. I try not to have too much onion as it can affect my output, but don’t worry too much. I hope that helps. x

I just want to say a big thank you to all of you that have replied and given me lots of information, encouragement and suggestions I am sorry I have not replied individually I don’t seem to get much time at the moment

we did get on fine with the pasta and pesto!! 

I will be back to reply more fully 

thanks again x

process

Hi, Hubby has had  his Ileostomy a year now. Rough start as developed a leak at the join. I’ve got to admit that I was totally paranoid about what I cooked for him in first few months. I even peeled and deseeded cherry tomatoes I was micro chopping onions, peeling chillis and peppers. The advice from stoma team and dietician was to take it slowly and try everything. . A year on, the only things he doesn’t eat are bean sprouts, sweetcorn kernels and potato skins, and he still peels apples. And yes,  I’ve stopped peeling and deseeding tomatoes, chillis and peppers as well we have had stir fry but no bean sprouts. I par boil peppers, carrots, brocolli and baby corn and then finish it off by stir frying with thinly sliced cabbage. It really is a case of trying and seeing how it goes.