I'm confused about what to eat after stoma surgery - anyone know any recipes and what i can eat?

I'm no expert but I got my stoma recently (Aug 7) and can share my experience.  

I was told to stick to a low residue diet for the first 6 weeks. After that I could add regular foods back slowly and was given no limitations on what I could eat at that point. 

Low residue is low fiber soft foods that are easily digested. Think pasta, rice, plain meats like chicken, etc. It's pretty boring but it's only for 6 weeks. So no fruits and vegetables during this initial period. 

After that, the sky is the limit. I have not yet added back things like whole nuts, sweet corn, and other notoriously difficult to digest foods or foods I fear may not pass easily. But that's my personal choice. 

I'd think you could return to your preferred diet soon after the initial period is over. I suggest you take it slow and back off anything that doesn't settle well, give it a little more time and try again later. 

The initial period will be a bit tough but keep in mind that this is a very time limited period and doesn't require a permanent change to your diet. 

Of course you should double check with your treatment team and follow their advice.  Hopefully my experience will give you a framework to better understand their advice. 

Good luck! 

https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_experiences/ileostomy-and-colostomy-discussions-forum/f/general/179191/dining-with-an-ostomate---what-i-didn-t-find-was-any-decent-recipes-for-tasty-meals-to-cook-from-scratch#pifragment-13906=2

You might find this helpful . Not sure if it’s for after the six week period but some lovely recipes.

Court 

Hi James 12568 You’ve had a great reply from Susan so I’m just going to pop this link up which has sone low residue information on. My nurse also told me that I could eat everything eventually but don’t be surprised if you see some of it in your bag - I was changing mine once and saw a piece of mushroom come out! 

 Low Residue Diet

A very knowledgeable gentleman who used to post on here had the wise words of chew, chew, chew and chew some more. Just be wary of things like nuts that could clog together and block the stoma - I remember a lady having an embarrassing incident in the hairdressers after eating a coconut biscuit. 

Please think about joining the stoma board too?

 Ileostomy, colostomy and stoma support

Take care

Karen x

Hi.

You don't say what type of stoma you will have. I have a colostomy and can eat anything. The stoma nurse who came to my house to mark me for the surgery told me that after the initial recovery period, I could have any kind of food. I  cook homemade curries, stews etc. I eat a lot of fish and my breakfast muesli is full of nuts. The one thing she did mention was sweetcorn could be a bit of a challenge. Like Karen's mushroom incident, I often have sweetcorn pop out undigested. Just take it slowly to begin with. It won't be long before you have an idea of what does and doesn't agree with you.

Take care 

Kim