I had colon resection in 1978. The first 10 years was really rough, but in time one learns what their particular system can and cannot tolerate. My suggestions: stay away from citrus fruits and drinks. I could always eat watermelon, canteloupe, tomatoes, but not many other raw veggies or fruits. Before the surgery I ate all kinds of veggies. Don't overload your stomach at one meal. Eat several small meals daily. Easy to digest are green peas, green beans, potatoes, rice, apple sauce, bananas; pretty much what you would feed toddlers. Meats didn't seem to bother me nor did bread.
I met a lady in college who had had a resection the same year I did. Her resection was higher up whereas mine was at the end of the colon. The only thing she couldn't eat was spinach.
Just in the last 5 to 8 years I have been able to eat salads. However I had to introduce them little by little. I could only eat like a tablespoon to start and not very often.
I wish your friend well. It's been a rough road at times. But it's better than having a colostomy. God bless you both!
I don't know if this is the correct place to reply. 30 inches of my colon was removed in March of 2011. Most of the sigmoid and rectum and about 9 inches on the right side and a portion of the ilium.
I found information on line that helped in training my bowel to function somewhat normally.
It involves taking Metamucil in a way that helps bulk up the stool. It helped but because in my case a portion of the ilium was removed I was plagued with constant diarrhea(loose stool urgent calls to the bathroom and 10-20 bowel movements daily). The ilium as I understand things helps your body recycle bile acid so that it does not travel through the colon causing irregular, frequent and painful episodes. My gastroenterology guy decided to prescribe "Cholestyramine". I take it twice daily and have since October of 2011. Cholestyramine is a prescription drug that was widely used prior to the "Staten Drugs" to reduce cholesterol by sequestering bile acid and allowing it to pass through your system without the Diarrhea effect . The added benefit is that it lowers cholesterol as well. I find the items in my diet that disrupt a harmonious result are sugar, simple carbohydrates, excessive fats and dairy. With the regimen of the cholestryamine and Metamucil twice a day my trips to the bathroom have been reduced to 5-10 daily. I do find that when under stress my system is not as kind to me as when I am calm. :|
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13 years down the line and I still have runny stomachs which leave me very tired. I have tried most diet plans and they do not work-I do find that fats, rich sauces, bread, ONIONS & GARLIC are a definite no no for me.
I am 10 days past colon resection surgery, and I have been given little instruction as what to eat. But with forums like this and Dr Google I made my own 'soft food diet': mostly cooked potatoes, white rice, white pasta, cooked chicken, broth, cooked and pureed vegetables soups, grilled cheese sandwiches with low-fat cheese, low-fat kefir with probiotics, cranberry and apple juice. All this seems to work well, no gas, no diarrhea.
I have 2 questions:
does anyone have an estimate as how long to stay on a soft diet? weeks? months?
how about fresh pressed juices? do they fall in the categories of 'no raw vegetables' or not -- since most of the fiber is filtered out? I tried fresh pressed carrot, beet and apple juice with some ginger yesterday and it was ok, although some tweaks in my intestines.
i just had colon resection 2 wks ago and my dr. said "no red meat" and to eat several small meals , opposed to 3 large ones. and try not to eat large raw vegatables., cut them up very very small hopes this helps some
I am so happy to finally find a web-site that people are having the same problems as I am. I cannot believe the Doctors just say "You will have to find your own way, everyone is different" NOT THAT DIFFERENT!! I can see we all cannot eat vegies anymore, we all cannot eat salads anymore, we all can only eat small amounts per day, not 3 meals, we all find that milk is not our friend. So what is the problem Doctors---There are things you can share. Do not get me wrong, I am very THANKFUL, however, I really believe there is more that the Doctors can do to help people with what to eat after colon surgey.
Boy you are so right on that Frank....I had to learn everything from the intranet. Seems like they should send you home with a diet sheet....only makes sense. So true about not eating too much at one seating....I'm two weeks out and I can't eat much at all. Through much trial and error I just hope I'm beginning to get a grip on it. Sure have suffered a lot in the mean time....lots of issues with pain after I eat and my surgeon just looked at me with no answers when I tried to talk to him about this. He was so different before surgery.
As another respondent said, everyone is different. However, although my doctor said I could eat anything I wanted, I have found that I do not tolerate large meals, or high fat foods such as cheese, reg. or 2% milk, pork, raw fruits or vegetables (therefore salad), high fiber grains, potatoes, ice cream, chocolate, or pies of any kind. Eating out has been a disaster, which has made me suffer the rest of the day with loose stools. Lean cuts of beef, chicken with no skin, fish, rice, bananas, orange juice, low fat milk, well cooked beans, carrots, broccoli, white bread and low fat canola oil margarine seem to be fine. However, the other day I made chili with Bush's Seasoned Chili Beans, canned chopped tomatoes, chopped fresh green pepper, celery and garlic (no onions in the house) and ground sirloin and let it simmer for several hours. I was amazed that I tolerated it well. Because of the limited food tolerance I am experiencing, I have been afraid to eat meals other than at home and have turned down parties in the neighborhood during the holidays and offers to go to the beach for a week. Sure hope this situation improves with time as it is rather a boring life!
Hi Kerrie,
I am 66 and had a sigmoidectomy. I felt the same way as your mom. It took me 6 weeks to get over the pain and discomfort and I slept a lot. Eventually, she will start to feel more like herself. Right now, she has permission to rest and let nature do its healing work.
Claudia
I just returned home today from having a sigmoidectomy, i went online to WEBMD and searched for a low residue diet. I am a nurse and all the sites I have researched has said the same thing, WEBMD seems to be more informative.Good Luck.
i want the same answer as i am going to have it done in march
Wow, I Feel Lucky, only 2 weeks out and I am eating turkey burgers, chocolate cake and lots of stuff im am not suppouse to eat, so far no problems. I hope for everyone that is still having problems that it is only temporary.
This sounds like an answer to my problem. I have had 2 resections and little bowl left. I had no problem after my first (2000), but this second one (2008) has been giving me a fit. My surgeon did my regular colonoscopy 2 years ago and said everything looked great and I could go 3 years. Well 2 years to the day I had to have another one, mainly because I could not take it any more. Dr. said everything looked just like it was suppose to and he was pleased. Welllllll, you guesed it!!! I am still having the same problems and at this point in my life (71) I don't even think of going out to eat or even to visit due to the fact I have no idea what embarressing situation I may find myself in.
Does anyone have any suggestions???