DIet with a Colonoscopy bag?? Good vs bad foods

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Mo67
Mo67 Member Posts: 17
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Me Again...I have been trying to locate info on google with regards to the good and bad foods you can eat with Colon Cancer. everything I found was more on foods that prevent colon cancer

Is it ok to eat nuts/Almonds with a colonscopy bag? And what about Salad - I was told by someone a while back that salad irrates the stomach. Is this the case? Are there any websites out there that I can pass along to my Aunt for her to read?

Thanks everyone for your help and guidance
Regards

Mo67

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  • neon356
    neon356 Member Posts: 137 Member
    #2
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    Hi Mo,
    When I was

    Hi Mo,
    When I was still in the hospital after my colon surgery I was visited by the hospital nutritionist, who was really of very little help. That was 15 years ago and perhaps things have changed for the better but I still don't see a lot of info out there that would really answer your question. I've learned to stay away from corn, 'cause as you know whole corn often comes out the way it goes in and it can cause a bit of irritation. I love corn on the cob, so I'll still have it but in more moderation. Never heard about salad being a problem. The body needs roughage to function properly and I never knew anyone who's had a problem with it. As you hear over and over again we're all different. No two colostomies are alike.The section that was removed is slightly different for each of us, and that to a large degree determines what if any changes occur in tolerance for various foods. It's pretty much a matter of trial and error. If you eat something and it bothers you it might be wise to avoid it. If the same food bothers you the second time you try it that's a really good sign that it might not be right for you. But overall I'd say that at least in my case once I was back to "normal" after about a year or so I could and still can eat just about everything I could before the beast attack. From a practical standpoint, it's a fact that for most people cabbage creates gas and if you've got a bag you know that your ostomy has a mind of its own and there's no way to keep that gas release (otherwise known as a fart) from happening. So I'd recommend that you don't eat cabbage when giving a major speech to a room full of people. But I think that the best thing to do is to experiment, listen to your body, and you'll soon learn what to avoid. Hope this helps,.....Carl
  • PamPam2
    PamPam2 Member Posts: 370 Member
    #3
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    foods
    Hi Mo.
    It is true, whatever gave you gas before, will still do so. I stopped using pepper, it comes out the same as it goes in and caused a lot of irritation. Peanut butter, rice, bannanas will make the stool thicker, and harder to come out, good if you get diarreah, but maybe avoid till your healed better. Try to chew rough foods really well so they don't come out chunkier causing irritation. Like the other posts said, try things in moderation and see how you tolerate, but I would advise to stay away from peppery, hot/spicy things. I did not avoid the gassy foods such as cabbage, broccoli, greens, brussel sprouts, beans, because they are all so good for you and I like them, my pouch had a clip at the bottom and when it filled with gas I could unclip it and let it out as needed. Good luck and hope you can eat what you like with no problems.
    Pam
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    #4
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    i agree
    I agree with what others have said. I've had a colostomy for 6+ years now. I eat normally and pretty much what I did before. I have only found 1-2 foods I can't tolerate now (mango boo hoo -- goes straight thro me in a rather dramatic way). I eat a LOT of fruit and vegetables, as I did previously. Nuts are OK for me. There is a little trial and error involved. Good luck to her.
    Tara
  • snommintj
    snommintj Member Posts: 601
    #5
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    taraHK said:

    i agree
    I agree with what others have said. I've had a colostomy for 6+ years now. I eat normally and pretty much what I did before. I have only found 1-2 foods I can't tolerate now (mango boo hoo -- goes straight thro me in a rather dramatic way). I eat a LOT of fruit and vegetables, as I did previously. Nuts are OK for me. There is a little trial and error involved. Good luck to her.
    Tara

    benefits of my iliostomy
    I've tried dozens of tricks to try and eat healthier my whole life. I love fresh fruits and vegetables but never made the full switch to them. Then I got my iliostomy and was able to see what my body did with the food. For 6 weeks I was able to monitor and track how my body digested food. Here are some things that I found out.

    Fried foods filled my bag with nasty goo that was very hard to clean out. I've cut almost all fried food. I still have the occasional Mcdonalds FF (a small about once a month because I'm still addicted).

    Sugary foods also filled my bag with sticky hard to clean goo. I try to avoid sugary foods and soda's, my wife makes koolaid for my son and I have the hardest time avoiding it.

    Fresh vegetables were very easy to clean out and I think fresh spinach and beet greens really clean out your system.

    Olives are the best. I don't eat olives often. But when I do I usually eat a bunch at once. I had been on a fried food bonanza while visiting my sister and my ostomy was just getting worse and worse. We visited Whole Foods and I noticed they had an olive bar. So I enjoyed an olive lunch. I bought some for the trip home and snacked on them during my 4 hour ride home. The next day was great. The olives completely cleaned me out and made my discharge very clean and manageable. Not only that, my discharge actually cleaned and polished the inside of my bag. To this day, at least once every two weeks I eat only olives for a whole day. The results speak for themselves.

    The good news is you'll be able to monitor your foods pretty quick with your bag and you'll discover what works for you. I think you'll find eating fresh fruits and vegetables will make your bag the most manageable.
  • vinny3
    vinny3 Member Posts: 928 Member
    #6
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    colostomy foods
    Hi Mo,

    I've had my colostomy for 3 years and pretty much eat anything. I do try to avoid getting diarrhea as that can clog the air vent on the pouch and then I constantly am dealing with a balloon. Much of what you do as far as diet is trial and error but I would just eat normally and go from there.

    ****

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