I Have an Ostomy-What to Eat Is My Question

So now you have an ostomy. Many things are new to you. I found that one of the biggest things for me, when adjusting to the changes, was working on figuring out my diet.

Big Question is What To Eat?

It was noticeable to me within the first week of my ostomy being operational that some foods that I would eat, were responding differently for me than those same foods had before my colon operation.

This was noticed by me quickly because the changes created things that were bothersome and concerning as well. I knew at that point that this was and is a problem area that everyone was needed to pay special attention to.

Planning out things for better results could be done and should be done, to avoid any mishaps.

What To Eat Concerns With an Ostomy

So here is a list of the foods that involve me. Some situations you should be prepared to either avoid or learn to deal with.

• Foods that used to not bother you at all, now are proving to be gaseous for you. I found as some examples of this would be fresh broccoli, while good for you and your diet, for me has proven to be an item that can and has produced extra amounts of gases in my ostomy pouch.
• Another example which is easier to understand is beans. Beans such as baked beans (navy beans usually), kidney beans, or pinto beans. Maybe they produce smaller, less harmless farts for you, but for me it has been different. The difference for me is that now every ten minutes you have a large expanded ostomy pouch. One that needs attention by you. Is this what you need or want to do, maybe,? it’s your choice.
• I have found that soups, stews, and foods like chili, go in your stomach as liquids mixed with some solids. However, they always come out through my pouch as quite a bit of liquid, much more than I really like to deal with.
• Dairy products can be very interesting for you as well. I have found that ice cream definitely is diarrhea type discharge. Many cheeses like cheese that is (processed you know like cheese whiz), or Velveeta, or a cheese dip like a Frito Lay cheese dip or Tostitos cheese dip (those type of smooth liquid cheeses) will come as possible ostomy adventures.

So you can see just looking at this abbreviated list, that the foods you eat you will be dealing with, when it come time to empty your pouches. I guess this is just common sense. Be aware of this.

Some More Eating Examples For an Ostomy Owner

I have found some good examples of food not being a problem for me. Such foods as breads, pasta, potatoes, green beans, and salads, foods that possess a lot of roughage and carbs.

These foods (mostly vegetables) while very good for your health are also very good for a person with an ostomy. Your waste will be more solid, less gassy and much safer to deal with.

A Great Key Suggestion: You should go through what you are eating, as a project and for a few months keep track of what foods you eat, and how you respond to them.

I believe you will find that most foods will generally react now as they did when you had the normal waste management system.

But you also will find a few other things that you will need to realize and that you will probably naturally react to.
Here are the items that I find had the most profound of all of my new changes.

• Vegetables-Some foods just don’t digest well. So be prepared. Corn is one of those. I have also found that asparagus can be interesting for you as well.
• Soda or pop whatever you call it, basically carbonated drinks can create a lot of gas for quite a period of time. Many hours is what I am saying. Or things like sparkling water, or club soda, again the carbonation, be aware of.



• Furthermore just so you get the idea even better I have put together a list of my foods and If they are affecting or have affected me since I have been living with my ostomy. You may click here to have a look at a closer look at foods I eat and how I respond to them in my blog post titled What I Eat-How Food Affects My Ostomy Pouch.

Eating with an Ostomy Can Be Very Interesting

So I have found that it is just not what you are eating, but when you are eating that can make a few changes seems probable for you.

What I mean is that what your daily life today is (as a single day unit) or you can look at your life for the next 5 days as a 5 day unit. How you are viewing your life, either as take it a day at a time or a block of 5 days at a time. Your view will cause how your approach to all ostomy things is and what it looks like.

This is what I am going to be discussing, so let’s go it over that now.

An Example: Example One

If my next three days, let’s say as an example, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These next three days for me, are uneventful.

Nothing special is happening. I don’t have any meetings, any social gatherings, no road trips, nothing Nada. All perfectly normal.

So in this case, with my food I will be doing my normal 3 meals a day, with my Keto genic diet. The times are spaced out and my ostomy will respond as a normal time thing. No surprises should come up. Life is normal.

An Example: Example Two

Okay the second example is that the next 5 days are going to be on a road trip, visit my daughter 5 day event unit. So I have prepared for this. My eating alone should be kept under control.

It looks like this. Travel in a car, so the food to bring along is a few apples, some red grapes, and  a couple of keto snack bars, and we will be taking along a case of bottled water.

To supplement the trip with food we will be stopping at a couple of often visited fast food type restaurants on the over 300 mile to trip visit our daughter.

Foods I in the the past included on a road trip, potato chips, corn chips, and then we always had a few 6 packs of bottled Coca-cola and or Sprite, root beer.

You Get the Picture

I don’t do soda or carbonated drinks on a road trip anymore. This lets to my pouch filling up with gas very often. That makes sitting and driving uncomfortable.

The visit with my daughter will be mostly eating out at a few local diners, or others like that. I try to eat sensibly and I certainly do not eat soups, stews, cheese dips, or things that will cause more gases or a more loosening of the feces waste.

Why because I am now dealing with changing, and emptying my ostomy pouch in strange bathrooms. This is always just not as comfortable as what I have set up at home.

Summation of Ostomy What To Eat Thoughts

Just my siting a few simple example you can see, that what you eat with an ostomy pouch can be something you need to pay attention to.

There are many situations that you always need to address, it’s just a matter of how successfully you navigate those waters that will matter.

Yes you can do it, using my easy to apply, common sense tips on living with an ostomy in 2018.

Proteins to Start My List Of Ostomy Foods

These are a few things that I eat in my diet. This list is far from complete. These are the only foods that I can share because they are my foods, my diet.

I am sure of this if you are looking at my list, it is just that it is my list, so here goes. I am likely to find that with different cultures and different countries and different foods that the list is only the tip of the iceberg.

Much more can be contributed to this page. Please share in the comments.

With the list, I will list food, and then I list a comment or comments about how my ostomy pouch and my body response to or handle this food.

• Turkey-light concerns-a little more leaning towards diarrhea
• Chicken-everything has been fine
• Steak-everything has been fine
• Ham-everything has been fine
• Beef Roast-everything has been fine
• Crab-everything has been fine
• Lobster-everything has been fine except very rich butter sauce has lead to looser stools
• Pork Chops-everything has been fine

Basically, most meat proteins have been fine, no problems however, please remember that you shouldn’t be eating more than 6 oz. of meat protein per meal.

This is a healthy recommendation. In fact, I have found that meat seems to solidify my excrement in my ostomy pouch.

Vegetables

A vast assortment of vegetables that I eat. Many are listed but I am very sure, there are many more veggies that other people eat all the time that I never consume.

So the list is only of ones that I have exposed myself to.

• Potatoes-everything has been fine
• Broccoli-as mentioned earlier this has caused a small amount of increased gaseous activity for me
• Cauliflower-everything has been fine
• Corn-fine as far as no extra gases, but it is usually passed solid and it has a tendency to make you pass more feces more often. I guess kind of like a laxative but not as active as a laxative.
• Green Beans-everything has been fine
• Tomatoes-everything has been fine
• Tomato sauce-used in sauce type dishes which unfortunately do produce more of a looser stools situation.
• Acorn Squash-everything has been fine
• Zucchini squash-everything has been fine
• Romaine Lettuce-what can I say about romaine lettuce. This isn’t meant to be too detailed, but at times it causes as kind of a string to be left and undigested. I probably need to chew it better or cut into smaller pieces when it is prepared. Stringy is hard when you are trying to empty the pouch.
• Celery-everything has been fine
• Beans navy baked- are almost instantly extra gassy and will last very actively for sometimes up to 4-5 hours. Not much fun, but sometimes I just have to include in a meal choice.
• Pinto Beans- a little bit of gas but not as much as the navy/baked beans
• Green peas- similar acting to corn. in fact almost identical to corn in it’s behaviour.
• Cabbage-very gassy. Started almost immediately and last probably 3-4 hours as well.
• Brussel Sprouts- very nearly the same as cabbage is. gassy to a fault.
• Onions-everything has been fine
• Garlic-everything has been fine as long as quantities are lower for me. Higher quantities make me a little ill
• Carrots-everything has been fine

Dairy

• Cheese sticks-everything has been fine
• Processed white and yellow sliced-everything has been fine
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Milk-everything has been fine. Again in limited quantities
• Cream Heavy-love delicious homemade whipped cream. But to need to limit as the ostomy will not like the rich liquid.
• Butter-in keto a major item, but I have not had any problems with.
• Ice cream-definitely a problem as far as does lead to more of an upset stomach feeling and slight cramps with the stoma. These cramps are hardly ever experienced but when I do then they are very painful. I almost always need to lay flat to alleviate the cramps.

PreFab/Prepared Meals/Boxed Meals

• Hamburg Helper-not any problem, but honestly almost never have as a meal anymore.
• Rice Sides-everything has been fine
• The Gravies-no problem as long as I keep the quantity low and reasonable
• Apple Sauce-looser stools. really hardly ever eat.
• Fettuccine Alfredo Sides-everything has been fine
• Stuffing-everything has been fine
• Bread-everything has been fine
• Hummus-use in moderation, so no problem
• Frosting-sweet, no problem. but very limited in every eating any.
• Ice cream cake-same as ice cream can be a problem. sweet and too much dairy causes stomach cramps sometimes and looser than normal stools. Only for a birthday.

Spices

Spices, in general, don’t seem to affect anything in either direction for me. But I have found they are invaluable in helping with preparing the Keto Genic diet food I prepare. It makes the food recipes work better. But no effect on the pouch.

Fruits

• Apples-everything has been fine
• Strawberries-just noticed more grit in the emptying the ostomy pouch.
• Red Grapes-like with strawberries when emptying the ostomy pouch everything is a bit grittier than from other normal foods. The small seeds are still there.
• Pineapple-everything has been fine
• Watermelon-the main thing here was that I needed to pee more often and I did have a few larger bag emptying sessions if I ate a large piece of melon.

Other Foods

• Bran Muffins-extra fiber extra help in firming up things for you.
• Juices green vegetable juicer juices-they are extra healthy but they are all liquid. This did lend itself to being looser stools, and some more gases being released
• Isagenix Isalean shakes-protein shakes-or any other high fiber mixed shake drinks. A meal of itself a protein shake. These have lead me to be gassier at times as well as I do get looser stools when I drink them.
• Spaghetti-tends to make things a bit looser for me.
• Noodles-everything has been fine
• Cookies-no effects from cookies. The exception would be they usually are invading and destroying a diet for me

My Summation

In summary, it appears from my experience that if I consume foods that have more liquid, my stools will be looser. More solids like meats and things go to the firmer side.

But to me, the thing that bothers me more than this is the gassy situation. Sometimes for hours, I keep going to the bathrooms to release the gases from my ostomy pouch.

This is always embarrassing since it seems that no small amount of air freshener will handle the smells anywhere nearly as effectively as I wish they would. Very smelly and very embarrassing at times.

At the end of this discussion please remember I am only discussing openly with you the way it is for me. One single person with an ostomy.

I believe we all have some things very much in common, but please allow your individuality in looking honestly at you and your personal life. God Bless!

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You Want to Know Who Pays For Ostomy Supplies

Having an ostomy requires ostomy supplies. So naturally, the question who pays for ostomy supplies comes up.

So back a few years ago when I was waiting to get discharged from the hospital I realized that I wasn’t really sure how much I was going to be paying for the ostomy supplies I had to have from then onward.

Or maybe I wouldn’t have to pay for the ostomy supplies?

Well, I figured that we had better find out who pays, and who pays how much if it is a split responsibility.

My First Exploratory Steps To Deciding the Products For Me

So when I arrived home, I first relaxed and I have to tell you openly I was very happy to be home. I am sure you would have been as happy as I was.

As things settled in, by the next few days, I had a visit from my home care nurse and I realized that I needed to investigate other supply companies and what they had available.

The nurse talked to me about what other patients used and things that they have done that helped them out. We talked about the types of bags and wafers. Especially the bags there is an enormous amount of selection to choose from.

She even gave me a few company samples to see and use. That would then help me out in figuring out what would work for me. What I was comfortable using, as I would be the one dealing with and using the equipment.

Determining the Cost: the Steps to Take

During my first few weeks the equipment I was using was some ostomy bags and wafers the hospital nurses gave me when I was being discharged.

At that time I was paying little attention to the whole thing. I just wanted to get home after 6 days in the hospital.

Now I was paying attention. I decided from my sample examples what worked for me, (at that time), I say at that time because things will change for you, the more experienced you are, and the more you see what your needs are.

I called a supply company that was recommended by my colo-rectal surgeon’s office. We got an account set up, and I found out what my co-pay would be on each order.

Now that part was done. I now had an idea what my per month cost was going to be as I planned out when I was going to change everything, and then how long my supply would last for me.

Where the Payment Responsibility Lies

Your order will usually arrive at your home within a week. Once It does you will have an invoiced cost, and then I checked in week number two with my account with my supplier online.

Usually by the 8 to 14 days after your order has been shipped and processed with your insurance then you will be billed by your supply company for the part of the order the insurance company did not cover.

That then will be your cost and your responsibility. So that is how it works for me. It may work differently for you as everyone’s insurance situation will probably not be the same.

So there will be some payment that you personally will need to pay for. They are treated under insurance programs as what is determined to be a medical device.

Since I am now on government mandated (because of my age) Medicare, I know that Medicare covers these supplies as prosthetic devices.

Difference Between a Prosthetic Device and a Medical Device

So a Prosthetic Device is defined the following way: “Referring to a prosthesis, an artificial substitute or replacement of a part of the body such as a tooth, eye, a facial bone, the palate, a hip, a knee or another joint, the leg, an arm, etc. A prosthesis is designed for functional or cosmetic reasons or both”

So as you can see an ostomy is an addition to my body that now serves the purpose of a normal body function. This body function used to be that my normal functions are the same for well over 99% of the population, but having an ostomy puts me in with a very small minority.

Probably one in a hundred thousand people will actually have an ostomy

For more information, if you are coming up on 65 years of age and Medicare you may go to the Medicare page for what and how ostomy supplies are covered by going to this page, CLICK now for Medicare.gov.

So is an ostomy bag and the wafer that is part of it considered a medical device? Great question.

Actually the FDA the federal Drug Administration has deemed an ostomy bag a medical device. See this page for this description, go HERE NOW for the FDA Description.

All of this to say with each insurance company they may have your ostomy supplies list as either covered or not covered and the percentage of coverage will no doubt be set up according to how they list these supplies under your present medical insurance policy.

Ostomy Supplies and Choices

So it’s in your court as you can see. It is up to you how you wish to keep your ostomy in operation. What type of bags do you choose to use? Here are a few of the choices. Some are more economical than others.

There are a couple of Ostomy supplies companies that will give you some choices in name brand products that you trust for quality ostomy supplies. They are Convatec and Coloplast. I personally use products manufactured by Hollister. That is so because I was exposed to products that matched my need.

You may also like to take a look at a few of my suggestions. They are three of my favorites and the good that I found in them.

These three are all from the manufacturer Hollister. These are from the product lines that I personally use and have extensive experience with.

&

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It Will Never Be the Same Again

So in the aftermath of all of the things you are going through, like before the surgery, the surgery, the 6 days recovery in the hospital and then the healing at home you start thinking.

About What You Say?

Well, there are a ton of thoughts that you are living with.

Questions first?……..

What do I do now? Where do I go from here? Well, the answer to that one I am still trying to grab onto. I was told be everyone, that you can resume your normal life. Well for me that really hasn’t worked out.

What do I mean?

Let’s start with the fact that at the time of surgery I was 61 years old. Next I had made my living, pushing racks of bread, baked cake goods by Entenmann’s and SB Thomas’s english muffins and bagels on and off trucks for almost 18 years.

How do I follow that up with the limits I now have on me. Very Different…..

Time To Get Up & Going Again

After I had to shut down it was going to be hard to get going again. Every day for those years I was up at 3 am and off and running for 4 days a week of anywhere from 10-12 hours a work day delivering to accounts. Saturdays were usually only an 8 hour delivery day.

That was my exercise. It had gotten to be a tiresome thing. So being shut down the previous 5 months plus with the Chemo-radiation treatments, and then two months after that my (6 hours plus surgery) had me where I was now.

What Now, I tried to gather up my thoughts. Time to get some goals and dreams going again.

You find that while you are going through the treatments you are focused in on a daily goal. One more day I need to get through.

Then one more week, etc, etc. Or sometimes only two more days of not feeling so well, before I should be feeling better again.

So you are in survival mode much more than looking at things 6 months, a year or 5 years out in front of you.

So I Didn’t Forget the Exercise Question

So as I recovered I still needed chemo treatments every 2 weeks from February until the end of May. I planned on exercising as soon as I had the energy. But that took a good 4 to 5 months after the chemo treatments were completed.

Now I deeply considered what I felt comfortable doing as far as workouts. I knew I wasn’t comfortable bending and folding up, nor putting much strain on the abdomen or lower stomach area.

I had deep concerns about hurting anything or a strains on muscles as well.

So I limited myself to walking, and lifting weights with my arms only, like arm curls and again moderate weights nothing really heavy. I would get my cardio from walking at the mall.

So with time I did discover that I did indeed have two hernias, even though I had been really careful with physical activities.

You can read about my hernias on Discussing My Parastomal Hernia and my other post titled Hernia Belts-Do They Provide Hope or Am I a Dope?.

So I guess returning to my normal work wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t bend over like I used to. I certainly wasn’t going to be able to push racks of product anymore.

I also wasn’t able to do all of the lifting I used to do. I now had an ostomy in my lower abdomen this does prevent me from doing this type of work.

Determining Exercise For You

So I guess you will need to measure yourself for the following areas.

• Your age and your physical shape going into this
• Your ability to focus on the task at hand and have a positive outlook
• The size and amount of chemo that you are getting. How often are your treatments
• Your response to the chemo side- effects that do accompany the treatments you receive
• I found out just how important my faith in God was to me as well. Are you a believer? Do you have a religion or a faith to hang on to?

What I Discovered

I found during my year that often I drew strength to continue from my believe in an eternal God and my faith in him as a loving and healing God as well.

Prayers do help and they can be felt. I was told numerous times by the doctors that I was responding in the upper 95 percentile. They were very pleased with how I was dealing with the chemo and the side effects.

I would respond that “prayer does work”.

Take Good Care Of Yourself It Is Worth It For You and Those Around You.

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