Vegan & soon-to-be ostomate!

Hi and and very warm welcome to the online community and sorry to read that you're about to become one of us but it is pleasing to read that you're positive in your outlook which is a good way forward.

Can I direct you to the following, although it is a Canadian website it might be of help to you.

Vegan Ostomy

Diet and Nutrition

What I eat

With a few exceptions I think that your current diet can be continued but you have to, like the rest of us, be wary of foods that could cause blockages and these are the same no matter what diet plan we use.

Obviously I don't have to mention that you need to pay particular attention to your vitamins as you probably know more about this that me.

The general advice would be to work with a dietitian about meal planning and we can help you here we have a dietitian that you can ask questions to and she can be found here (Missing Group) and I'm sure she will be of great help (no worry if there is a slight delay in answering as they can upto 2 working days to respond but she will come back to you)

Whilst you are in hospital for the 5 or 6 days or so after your surgery maybe a Macmillan problem food wise as hospitals can be very restrictive in their menus and I would suggest that you see the hospital based dietitian prior to your surgery as she can authorise special menus for you and of course friends and relatives can bring you in some of the foods you normally eat, just in case.

I would also invite you to join our stoma support group and you can find us here Ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy and any other stoma support

We are a friendly group and swap tips and experiences freely and you're very welcome to come along and join in the discussions and start your own

All things relating to appliances etc I'm here to help to advise and answer questions no matter how silly you may think they are, nothing is too small to answer.

I hope that you find the above of interest and of help come back if you need more information or help.

Looking forward to seeing you over in poo corner soon.

Ian

By clicking on any of the green text above will open up new pages for you.

Much appreciated thanks - I will have a better look at the forums etc over the weekend

Hi and welcome to the board from me. 

Love your tag line and would Suggs-est that if they take One Step Beyond the bottom of the drive then you should ring the police

Karen x

Hi ,

As Ian mentioned, the only food that you really need to be wary of is those that can cause blockages. And as far as I am aware, colostomies tend to be less prone to blockages than ileostomies. My temporary colostomy was on my transverse colon, and I got away with a bit more than people with ileostomies.

The key things to watch out for are things like mushrooms, potato skins, fruit skins, nuts, sweetcorn. And if you do indulge: Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, and just before you swallow, chew again. If you don't have this in your kitchen already, do invest in a hand blender and smoothie maker.

You will probably have seen loads of lists for "foods that may cause blockage, foods that may cause wind, foods that may cause bad smell, foods that may increase output", etc. The blockage list is really the only one that you need to worry about. The rest is trial and error and see what works for you. For wind, I ended up staying away from carbonated drinks and for smell it was only tuna (which you won't be eating anyway) and broccoli that was causing me grief. 

All the best for the surgery.

Yolande

Hi

Yolande, so pleased that my message of , Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, and just before you swallow, chew again is still to the front of yourself and feel the need to pass it on, keep it up but above all remember you have to do it as well.

Have a good "sweltering" weekend.

Ian

De do do do da da da da is all I've got to say to you

Hi there. Sorry to hear you're just behind me going down    " Colon cancer road !"

I had a sigmoid colectomy on May 20th. Discharged May 23rd. I found it didn't matter what I ate, it stayed trapped in the stomach. For 7 days after surgery, stomach acid and bloating would start each mid-afternoon. This would lead to vomiting stomach contents out followed by acid pains during the night. Plenty of diarrhoea during this time as well. Then suddenly on day 7 the bowels seemed to wake up and everything went back to normal!

It's not a pleasant time but you'll get through it. Just BE CAREFUL with your wounds. One of mine was glued, then it split open and had to be packed and dressed. Just nicely healed now!

All the best.

Hi there - I am following a well trodden path & am taking guidance from those that have walked ahead of me! Thanks for the kind words & advice.

Once more unto the breach ..... etc ..... etc

Regards 

Paul