About
It will not take too long for you to return to your routine diet after ostomy surgery. The good news is that foods that have been healthy for you before surgery are still healthy and good for you.
Your ostomy care nurse will give you tips and instructions on your diet. In this article, we are going to share a summary of how you should go ahead with your diet plan after surgery.
Your ostomy care nurse will give you tips and instructions on your diet. In this article, we are going to share a summary of how you should go ahead with your diet plan after surgery.
Start small
Instead of having big meals a couple of times a day, you can consider increasing the number of meals while reducing the quantity of food in each meal. And to regulate the bowel movements, eat these meals at the same time every day. Small meals tend to benefit your digestive system in a better way.
But remember, you should not deviate away from a restrictive diet plan immediately after surgery. For the first few weeks, you will need to rely on a diet consisting of softer foods and more fluids. Introduce high-fiber foods back in your diet gradually.
If you want to try new foods, make sure that you try one at a time. And after eating that food, you should avoid trying any other challenging food that particular day. Take note of how your body responds to that food. If no problem occurs, you can add that food to your diet list.
But remember, you should not deviate away from a restrictive diet plan immediately after surgery. For the first few weeks, you will need to rely on a diet consisting of softer foods and more fluids. Introduce high-fiber foods back in your diet gradually.
If you want to try new foods, make sure that you try one at a time. And after eating that food, you should avoid trying any other challenging food that particular day. Take note of how your body responds to that food. If no problem occurs, you can add that food to your diet list.
Drink more liquids
A significant part of your diet should consist of fluids. Drinking more water or other healthy drinks is more helpful if you have an ileostomy, which results in a stomal output coming directly from the small intestine. This stomal output consists of more water than wastes. That’s because of the absence of the colon, which absorbs water from the stool as it moves along.
With more fluids evacuating from your ileostomy, you need to drink more water or other healthy fluids to compensate for the water loss. The aim should be to avoid dehydration, which can prove to be very harmful to you. Typically, you will need to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.
With more fluids evacuating from your ileostomy, you need to drink more water or other healthy fluids to compensate for the water loss. The aim should be to avoid dehydration, which can prove to be very harmful to you. Typically, you will need to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.
Stay away from problem foods
While most of the food items shouldn’t cause any problem for people with ostomies, some foods do not have a good reputation in this regard. These foods can cause gas, blockage, inflammation, and several other problems. Those foods include:
While most of the food items shouldn’t cause any problem for people with ostomies, some foods do not have a good reputation in this regard. These foods can cause gas, blockage, inflammation, and several other problems. Those foods include:
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Popcorn
- Mushrooms
- Dry fruits
- Crunchy vegetables