Food intolerance after a year - French fries causing stomach pain?

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freedancer
Aug 14, 2020 8:55 am

Is it possible to be able to eat a food for over a year and then not be able to tolerate it anymore? Case in fact: I was doing fine with French fries. I made them myself without the skin. I did not have any issues with them until three weeks ago. Now, no matter how much I chew them, they cause stomach pain and partial blockage. I can eat mashed, hash browns, and baked without the skin but not fries? Have any of you run into this before with food?

HenryM
Aug 14, 2020 9:51 am
Very helpful

Much to my chagrin, because I love potatoes, they will sometimes cause me problems.  Key word:  sometimes.  I don't have an answer or explanation, I can just tell you that I have experinced that.  I suspect that our systems, not being mechanical automatons, will occasionally have good days and bad days.  So, although the mashed potatoes I had last week didn't bother me, the baked last night thickened me up uncomfortably.  All I can suggest is chalk it up to experience and let that be your guide in the future.

Posted by: Primeboy

Hi Mike and all. I am not sure how panoramic my perspective really is as my peripheral vision shrinks with each passing year. I can tell you that when I came to this website six years ago I was truly ;impressed by the positive attitudes of so many members, especially the younger folks who refused to let their ostomies define who they were or what they would become. I also came to appreciate that having an ostomy is not the same thing as having a disease. Pardon ;my pun now, but ostomies and cancer don't belong in the same bag. One is a solution, the other is a problem. Celebrating National Ostomy Day ;is also well outside my comfort zone. That's like celebrating National Wheel Chair Day. Come on!

I think there is a ;need for improved ;public awareness of ostomies, but I am not sure how that's best done. There ;remains ;some social stigma attached to our situation, and it's acutely felt among our young. We need to get out of the dark ages on this issue, but not by going 'in your face' to everyone else. I think Bill and NDY are 'spot-on' when it comes to telegraphing the right message to friends and family. People will know how to react when they ;see ;how we accept the cards we were dealt. I also appreciate the contribution some people here are making to this effort through their publications.

On a personal note, my son has been suffering from ulcerative colitis for years just like I did. I am very concerned because people with UC are at a higher risk for colon cancer. Years ago my GI told me to get annual colonoscopies to be on the safe side. I am glad I did because he eventually found pre-cancerous cells which led to several surgeries and my becoming an ostomate. Since then I have always ;conveyed a positive attitude to ;my son about wearing a bag because it has kept me alive to enjoy many more years with my loved ones. I think he got the message. We both go to the same gastroenterologist in NYC and get scoped on the same day. Father and Son moments!

Someone once wrote that our children are the letters we write to the future.

PB

ChrisP
Aug 14, 2020 2:20 pm
Very helpful

Hi, yes - I can identify with this. Very few foods cause me a fast reaction that didn't before surgery (apricots are one!), but a few slow-building intolerances have become evident. I have to be very careful now with boiled rice (not more than once in three days), a particular brand of porridge oats (our usual being out of stock) has been an unrepeatable experience (if you see what I mean). The risk with me (exacerbated by a tendency to dehydration) is of becoming sluggish then near blockage. I am very fortunate, and can eat most things I enjoyed before. I can enjoy strong curry (with not too much rice) but can no longer wash it down with beer!

NJ Bain
Aug 14, 2020 3:09 pm
Very helpful

I too love French fries. And I was used to wolfing them down. I can tolerate them when cooked any other way. I noticed as long as I eat something to mix it up with the French fries and chew the combo really well, I don't seem to have an issue. Like burgers and fries. But do not eat fries alone.

I'm a huge fan of home-cooked fries, McDonald's and Wendy's fries. The only other thing I notice is that when I order fast food fries, I always get the small because by the time I'm done with my burger, I don't have the ability to eat the rest of the fries. Just my 2 cents.

Bain

ron in mich
Aug 16, 2020 1:41 pm
Very helpful

Hi all, yes I've run into that with fries also, but it's usually when I've had more than I should, especially those larger cottage fries.

 

Avoiding Ostomy Bag Leaking | Managing Ostomy Leaks with LeeAnne Hayden

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Puppyluv56
Aug 20, 2020 12:07 am

I am a French fry freak! I could eat them every day. I prefer fat, meaty fries to any other kind and have never had any problems with them except that they fill me up really fast, so I get a small and that is all I can eat. I do like McDonald's fries, don't tell MMSH (the all-time McD FF freak), but they are not on the top of my list as the best fries! Lol

As with anything that binds up, mixing something that frees you up with it works well!
Hope you find the answer because giving up fries would devastate me!
Puppy

NJ Bain
Aug 20, 2020 12:32 am

OOOooooo.....Forgot about Red Robin fries....or maybe the seasoning....

Bain

Puppyluv56
Aug 20, 2020 2:43 am

Yummy! 

bryancohnracing
Aug 23, 2020 5:07 pm

I don't think it's the fries, I think it's fried food in general, at least that has been my experience. I can eat a little of nearly anything, but when I eat foods that turn to starches and sugars in our body (potatoes, breads, corn products of all kinds like tortilla chips and so on), my digestive system literally blows up and I am full of gas for hours. I'll fill my bag repeatedly with air and almost nothing else. The same happens when I eat fried foods.

The end result is I've cut most things from my diet along with not eating dairy. No cheese! :( Luckily for me, my wife likes to bake, so she makes bread I can eat AND my fave, bagels from a shop in St. Louis are dairy-free, so I can eat them, just not often.

A limited diet is far better than feeling like crap all the time. It was tough at first as we all want normalcy to return to our lives after surgery, but the truth is this is our new normal.

Lost_Treasure
Aug 25, 2020 7:17 am

Hi Freedancer... any changes to the remains of our digestive systems should be discussed with our Stoma Therapy Nurse or healthcare professional.