Finding Success with a High Fiber Diet: My Colostomy Experience

This is the only forum I've ever been on and only the 3rd post so I'm not sure if it's done correctly or even necessary but I'd like to try to share my info. The first post was a week after my permanent colostomy and I was asking for advice on not having any sign of output and I received several encouraging replies. Thanks. And yes, output did begin a couple days after. And the other post was about use of mineral oil as a pouch lubricant. And yes, in my case, mineral oil is what I use exclusively, with all pouch changes and as needed after emptying. This is with a Hollister New Image two-piece with a convex barrier.

My first few weeks I was constantly frustrated with thick, pasty output. Especially with the convex barrier, the whole opening over the stoma would be cemented shut with the mess and it was, as I said, frustrating, all day and night fighting with laborious cleaning and unclogging. I spend days researching, reading, and watching videos and experimenting. To shorten the story, I found for me the answer was a high-fiber diet. I know this is not for everyone, (as I've been told on this site), but I found that sticking to whole wheat and whole grain products, and the beans and brown rice, some fruits and vegetables with the peel, I have been able to keep my output the consistency I prefer. For anyone interested, the preferred output for me is the Type 3 on the Bristol Stool Chart.

There are scores of websites that talk about this Chart and the normal stool between type 3 and type 4. But of the hundreds of articles I've read, there are none that say "Here's how you diet to achieve Type 3 output." So you just have to read and experiment to see what works if that's your particular goal. For two months, I kept a detailed spreadsheet of what foods I ate, time of day, and approximate grams of fiber, with the goal of 30 grams per day. It worked for me.

That's a snapshot of my experience, as new as I am to the ostomy world. Hope someone will benefit from the information and will share theirs with me.

If there is anyone interested in more about the spreadsheet data I've kept for February 24 through March 28, 2020, let me know.

Cheers

Wow, what clear, sensible suggestions! Thank you.

Thanks for sharing. Glad you have gotten your diet worked out. Best wishes and stay safe.

Thanks, lovely. To be certain, I'd have to look back, but it seems you have been kind enough to reply to all my posts. Best wishes.

And thank you, Pirrip. Cheers.

Hi Keeper,

Great to see you back on the forum! It is wonderful that you have gotten your system to exactly what you want from it! Great job!

It is hard to believe, when we look back at our first few months as an ostomate, how uninformed we really were. They just rearrange our plumbing and send us on our way. We kick into survival mode and become experts in no time!

Keep us posted. So many benefit from our experience!

Take care,

Puppyluv

Thanks for the reply. It gives me confidence.

Hello keepers51.

Thank you for posting your experiences in this way. It is so important for everyone, new and old, to share their stories. There are so many people who participate on this site by simply reading the posts and gaining support and benefit by knowing that others are going through the same sorts of things. It is so important to have a supportive 'community', where we can simply have a constructive conversation about things that 'normal' people either do not want to talk about, or just haven't a clue as to the physical and emotional things we have to manage.

Your contributions are both educational and welcome.

Best wishes

Bill 

Hi Keepers, thanks for the info. I've had my ileo for quite a while, and back in the day, there was no internet. But what I found was that I had to take control and figure things out for myself. And that sounds like what you did. We all had the "why me" thoughts, but by taking control and figuring things out, we get on with our lives quicker.

Good morning, O'mates!

The Briggs Chart... is it for colostomates, solely? Or might ileostomates find valuable information from it, as well?

Thanks for bringing this "Chart" up for conversation, Keepers - it's the first time I've heard of it, and I may do some 'Net research.

Lily17