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BarryM 2 months ago

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I'm new to all this kind of thing. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and had the most of my large bowel removed. That operation saw me through some 40 years but as I got older I developed bowel cancer and ended up with an ileostomy. That was 4 years ago. Must say my recovery was a lot better than 40 year ago. However all in the garden is not rosy. A few months ago I caught covid, and run a fever, which in turn caused some adhesion problems with my bags. I upscaled my resolve with thicker cera rings and flange extenders. Solved the sticky problem but hammered the skin. Ended up with barrier cream and Canesten cream. My main ongoing issues concern my diet. Being pre-diabetic, if I eat food to keep my sugars in check it results in rather a watery output. also I loose weight and dehydrate. Drinking more fluids makes it worse. When I eat food to keep my weight up and hydrate me, my sugars go up. A tricky balancing act. Any thoughts?

SarahH21 2 months ago

Hi BarryM and welcome to the group.

I hope that some of the other members in the group will come along with some advice for you. I have a permanent colostomy, so it’s a different situation for me, and I I’m sorry I don’t have the right experience and advice to offer you.

Hopefully someone else will be able to relate to your experiences and help.

Sarah xx

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Dulac 2 months ago

Hello BarryM,

I have a passive colostomy and an active ileostomy, together with Type 1 diabetes (since 1964) on 4+ insulin injections each day.

From its setting in the digestive system an ileostomy's output will tend to be more liquid than solid. Before my surgery I had excellent control over blood glucose levels for years. Post-surgery my glucose levels are difficult to control, even by taking extra insulin at times. I believe that this is due to a change in diet (I eat more plain carbohydrate than I used to and more frequently) and the speed at which a variety of foods pass through my system before the nutrients are fully absorbed. The same applies with medication in tablet form I suspect. Unlike you and those with Type 2 diabetes the ability to inject insulin gives greater control over glucose levels, but for all that I still can't get it right in terms of balancing blood glucose against carbohydrate intake - particularly the 'starchy' types such as pasta, potatoes, bread,etc.

I can quite understand your position but I am not sure there is an answer to the predicament we face in this balancing act where we are expected to indulge in carbohydrate rich bulky food little and often, yet restrict carbohydrate to keep blood glucose within acceptable limits. Does anyone else out there who reads these pages face this dilemma?

Dulac

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