Raw vegetables, including salad e.g. lettuce, celery, raw bell-peppers and spring onions. Hard to digest vegetables, including beans like butter beans or green/runner beans, sweetcorn, peas, mushrooms, cabbage, brussel sprouts, spinach, kale and spring greens.
Fibrous foods are difficult to digest and may cause a blockage if they are eaten in large quantities or are not properly chewed, so for the first 6 to 8 weeks after your operation you should avoid fibrous foods such as nuts, seeds, pips, pith, fruit and vegetable skins, raw vegetables, salad, peas, sweetcorn, mushrooms ...
It is normal for some food to pass through to the stoma unaltered. However, foods high in fibre may cause a blockage because they are difficult to digest when eaten in large quantities or not chewed well. Foods that may cause constipation or blockage: Vegetables with skins or stalks such as celery, peas or sweetcorn.
Applesauce, Bananas, Boiled white rice, Creamy nut butter (such as peanut butter), Oatmeal/porridge, Gelatin containing foods (jelly babies, marshmallows).
In general, people with an ostomy can eat and drink what they want unless the surgeon or ostomy therapist has given counter-advice. But as before the surgery some food may be easier to digest than others – and right after surgery it may be helpful to pay some extra attention to the signals from your body.
Foods to include in your diet
Low-fiber foods, such as: Well-cooked vegetables without skins or seeds (such as peeled potatoes, peeled zucchini with the seeds removed, and peeled tomatoes with the seeds removed) Lettuce. Strained vegetable juice.
You must still include fibre in your diet. Choose some foods from the following list daily: Wholemeal bread. High fibre cereal e.g. Weetabix, porridge.
Roast potatoes – enjoy as is. Yorkshire Pudding – enjoy as is. Roasted root vegetables e.g., parsnips and carrots, neeps and tatties: peel them, cook them until soft and enjoy with your favourite flavourings such as honey and spices.
Foods that are reported to help thicken the stoma output include apple sauce, bananas, buttermilk, cheese, marshmallows, jelly babies, (boiled) milk, noodles, smooth creamy peanut butter, rice, tapioca pudding, toast, potatoes and yoghurt.
One major issue to watch out for with a stoma is the laxative effect of some chocolates. The caffeine and fibre within the chocolate can increase the rate of motility (which is the contraction of the muscles in the digestive tract that encourage bowel movements).
Once your appetite has returned and your stoma output starts normalising, you can gradually reintroduce more foods. Try to include a range of foods from each of the following food groups to make sure you have a balanced diet: Protein rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, nuts, lentils and beans.
Raw vegetables, including salad e.g. lettuce, celery, raw bell-peppers and spring onions. Hard to digest vegetables, including beans like butter beans or green/runner beans, sweetcorn, peas, mushrooms, cabbage, brussel sprouts, spinach, kale and spring greens.
A guide to foods not to eat when you have a colostomy bag
Stay away from these foods when you've recently had colostomy surgery: Dairy products, with the exception of small amount of yogurt. Fried food or any fatty meats, including potato chips.
Beans are soft and generally fine in moderation, but the shells on baked beans particularly can cause problems, like blockages or wind. We say: try them out & see how you go!
Eat starch carbohydrates such as white bread, low fibre cereals like rice crispies or cornflakes, potatoes (no skins) and white rice/pasta for energy and to help thicken your colostomy output.
After the first few days after surgery, you can take liquids such as clear soup or juice, followed by easily digestible foods like oatmeal. Gradually thereafter, other foods that will likely be suitable are well-cooked rice, pureed fresh fruit, as well as cooked and pureed vegetables.
Food options for people recovering from a colostomy include: non-fat or low-fat skimmed milk. lactose-free dairy products. yogurt.
Foods such as bananas, pasta, cheese, applesauce, peanut butter, and tapioca have been known to produce thick stool. You can experiment with the food items to prevent stool from being too thick; thick stool could affect the functioning of the ostomy.
Facts about gas (if you have a colostomy or ileostomy)
Some foods may also cause wind. These include: Green beans and baked beans. Cauliflower; broccoli; and winter root crop vegetables, such as carrots and beets.
For people who wear two-piece appliances, gas can easily be released by “burping” the pouch. Slightly separate the pouch from the flange at the top of the appliance (complete removal of the pouch is not required) to allow the gas to escape. Once the pouch is empty, reattach the pouch to the flange.
Air from the stoma causes the bag to expand and detach from the skin (ballooning) Ballooning occurs when air from the stoma inflates the bag and cannot escape through the filter. The resulting air pressure can cause the adhesive to detach from the skin.