What Am I Supposed To Eat After An Ostomy

The main fear that I had with getting an ostomy was that I wasn’t sure what I would be able to eat or not. I mean, after all, an ostomy changes pretty much the core nature our bodies are made to do into something that is hardly natural. I’m not trying to slam anybody with a stoma or anything like that, because I myself have a stoma and have had one for years. This is not my intention at all. Rather, I’m trying to voice the fear of many soon-to-be ostomates that are unsure of what their diet will consist of after getting an ostomy. Well, I have a lot of experience with my own stoma and can tell you a thing or two about what you can and can’t eat. 

If you’re fresh out of the hospital, you are likely to have lost a lot of weight. In addition to this, you’re probably going to be feeling pretty awful for a bit. Your body is still adjusting to the new hole that the doctors put in you, and it makes sense that you will not be feeling at your all time best for a minute. The best thing to do after recently having an ostomy is to get plenty of rest at home. I spent the first few weeks after surgery lying on the couch in my sweatpants not doing much of anything other than watching netflix and scrolling through my phone. During this time you will definitely want to start eating some food because, like I said, you probably will lose some weight while you’re at the hospital. It’s best to start eating super bland foods at first that are easily digestible and will not cause any complications with your stoma. It may be true that your appetite is reduced and you won’t feel like eating, but you will want to start eating little and often during this time to keep up your health and recovery process.

Once you start eating more regular foods, it is important to start introducing new foods to your body slowly. While the end goal is to get you back to eating most of the foods you normally eat, it is truly important to take things slow in the early stages after surgery. Certain foods will cause the consistency of your output to change and these things are good to identify early on so you don’t have to pay for it later. Certain foods will also cause more backup in your digestive system and will delay output. Knowing this information means you can play what you are going to be eating for different days and social interactions depending on what you are going to be doing. For example, if you are out all day with friends, it is probably best to avoid eating a lot of fruits and other things that might make your output more runny.

There are also certain things that you should not be eating if you want to avoid gas. Certain foods are notorious for producing gas, like beans and spicy foods; however, there are others that are less known but will also cause a lot of gas if you’re not careful. Carbonated beverages, cabbage, cauliflower, and sprouts can also cause a lot of gas meaning you have to change out your ostomy pouch more than you would like to.