APPROPRIATE FOOD TO EAT AFTER COLON RESECTION SURGERY

Use calm aseptic for the burn an try aliyn for the probiotic it works

Oh thank you so much!!!! I am 3 months post-op and as usual was on my high fibre diet, big mistake. Your post is really going to help me, it is going to be difficult to get used to 'no raw' vegetables and also doing without nuts...but as you said, we are alive and these adjustments can be easily made and adapt to. Thank you again....from Australia!

I had pancreatic surgery June 3, 2016, I was prescribe Creon 24,000 units (took 2 capsules for breakfast,lunch & dinner and one capsule with snacks) to help me with the enzymes because they cut 60 % of my pancreas. The tail of the pancreas which what I had left was not producing enough enzymes and due to this I constantly had diarrhea. Then on November 11, 2016, I had an emergency surgery of my small intestine. When they started feeding me in the hospital I was eating only clear liquids then they started feeding me puree food. I had diarrhea everytime I ate even though I was taking to two capsules of Creon 12,000 units. I got out of the hospital yesterday (12/6/2016) when I ate dinner yesterday I took my Creon of 24,000 (2 capsules) and I started having regular stools. Maybe you should ask your doctor to prescribe you Creon at least for a while to see if it helps you. I hope it helps.

Very helpful post! Thank-you for all the details. I'm almost 3 months post surgery and have been experimenting on my own with different foods. I will definitely print the guide you suggested.

Thank you for the tips. I have a friend saying with me for a few days after her surgery before going home and wondered what to get a the grocery.

Thank you so much for all the info I thought that I was starting to loss my mind. I had my surgery 5 weeks ago. Things have been going along well but everyone in a while I notice extreme amounts of gas or I'm moving my bowls 3 to 6 times a day. I thought this was going to be the new normal for me. Now this really makes senses. I'm going to look up the book you suggested to read and hope this gives some relief. Greatful Michele

I had several feet of my small bowel removed and resected half a lifetime ago now. Back then, my doctor's advice was to go ahead and eat everything as before, just as many posters mention their own doctors saying. After struggling with that, I met with a dietician/nutritionist who recommended a low residue diet. Indeed, this was the key (and to this day, if I have any intestinal upset, I return to it). Mashed potatoes (no skins), white breads and pastas, mild cheese, and ground beef were what I essentially had to subsist on for a few years while my disgestive system seemingly rebuilt itself.

Nowadays, I am able to eat almost all foods, with a few exceptions: corn and corn-containing products (corn proper, popcorn, corn meal, corn flour, cornstarch, polenta, grits, corn chips, powdered sugar that uses cornstarch as an anti-caking agent, desserts and sauces thickened with cornstarch, and phyllo dough that uses cornstarch to keep layers separated) remain problematic, although oddly corn syrup is completely tolerable. Apparently, the surgeon removed a part of my intestine that digests corn!

Until recently, I couldn't eat cream (ice cream or creme brulee, for example) or I'd be repeatedly scurrying off to the nearest bathroom. I also have an inability to digest alcohol -- I'd get the same obstruction-like symptoms I'd get from eating corn and corn-containing products and would be miserable a few hours later, only able to ball up in bed and wait out the pain until the vomiting would commence, lasting through the night until the diarrhea struck (and then I'd be so thrilled that the vomiting portion of the long night was over that I'd happily accept this). And, to be clear, the tummy upset was after imbibing just a little alcohol (like when I would eat a stew with red wine as an ingredient) or a small bit of corn.

In all honestly, I've remained too terrified to test whether corn might someday be alright again (and whenever I inadvertently eat it, I realize it's still too soon to try it). I only recently tried ice cream and small amounts seem fine. I don't think I'll be trying creme brulee anytime soon (bad experience), and the same goes for alcohol. Funny how severe intestinal pain and nights of non-stop vomiting can keep a person on the straight and narrow! It just isn't worth it.

I do much better these days with raw fruits and veggies (initially, it was like those would come out of me the same way they looked going down). I still feel that plant cells are a tad tough for me to properly digest -- I'll find undigested bits of pulp and tomato skin and lettuce leaves from time to time following some bowel movements. And I don't know what it is about a burger, but whenever I have trouble, a burger (sans toppings like tomato and lettuce) seems to straighten things out when I'm ready to eat again. I've anecdotally heard many people with intestinal ailments (mostly Crohn's) relate to my digestive woes and share in my joy of being always able to eat a burger (even when early on after my surgery, my digestive system could not break down the fibers in a steak or even chicken, but meals with ground meat were always just fine).

Side note: I also found that eating at my house was safer for my intestines somehow. I don't know if certain "good" bacteria had been killed off during my lengthy hospitalization and inability to eat food for a few months while my intestines struggled to heal (nourishment was provided through a central line) that made me more susceptible to bacteria in restaurants, but it seemed that whenever I ate out for a good number of years, I'd wind up having diarrhea afterwards (unless it was the aforementioned burger, which always seemed okay for some crazy reason).

I guess my main reason for posting is to let you all know that even though you are in the early stages of recovery still, and it seems like you may never be back to where you were before, time does heal your body, and your intestine will adapt and improve. I thought I'd never get back to regular BMs or even to going just once a day, but I got there. I thought I'd never be able to eat normally again, and for the most part I can. It just takes time to figure out what you can and can't eat through trial and error, which is painful at times, but rewarding when you get it right.

Take time for yourself, listen to your body and understand its new limitations. The worst things I ever did post-surgery were: (1) to try to pretend that I could handle stress and pressures on my body as I did before, and (2) to try to be polite and eat things that I knew would be trouble (big mistake always). Your body/intestine has changed, and your mind will need a little catching up to accept this fact. Be kind to yourself; you've been through a lot, and be sure to take the time out to lie down and rest to let your intestines calm down if you need to.

If I'm giving advice, then I suppose I should also recommend that you keep your B-12 levels in mind going forward (this might be better advice for small bowel resections, but I'll put it in here anyway in case any readers share my medical history). Despite taking vitamins and eating red meat and the like, I've had several B-12 deficiencies since my surgery. Apparently, I just don't absorb B-12 quite like I used to, but luckily our bodies store it in large quantities. I now get tested yearly and observe as my levels slowly plummet to below the normal range, get injections, go back up to normal levels, and then watch the levels slowly decrease again as the years pass by (even while taking 16,667% of the RDA of B-12 daily). If you suddenly find yourself feeling unbelievably sluggish, you might want to ask your doctor about that (it kind of creeps up on you so it's a little hard to recognize at first).

Finally, thank you to all who have shared their experiences on this site. I wish I had access to this when I was going through the worst of my post-surgery stuff so that I didn't feel so alone. It is reassuring to see you all reaching out to one another, offering support and advice, and lifting one another up. Everyone's healing process is different, but it seems that there are also many similarities from which we can benefit from knowing about. Keep sharing!

Thanks. This makes sense. Just 2 weeks out of laparotomy for sigmoid resection and although surgeon said eat anything - i can tell when my intestine feels irritated. A feww more months of little and slow low residue food and broths dorsnt seem like such a bad idea after a year and a bit of it to get here.

Thank you. Your info is a lifesaver!!

My colon busted 2 years ago/ on Dec. 23rd. I survived which a lot of people don't but I was one of the lucky ones. I was in the hospital 2 1/2 months. I eat anything that I want. I went in 6 weeks later and had my bag reversed, was the best thing that I ever did. I take 2 imbodums (don't know if I spelled it correctly) that helps, that's what the doctor said to do. I have days that you better know where the bathrooms are if out but I really don't feel much different then before. I had a great doctor that night, she saved my life. Your appetite will come back believe me.

Had 1 foot of sigmoid colon removed along with my appendix and a hernia repair. After 3 weeks post op the doc said I can eat whatever I want...so on the fourth week I had a healthy portion of broccoli.....ouch! Ouch!...lesson learned...just cook it a little longer so it is not crunchy. I eat out a lot and still eat everything, meat, fish, chicken, eggs broccili rabe asparagus etc... and I love very hot spicy food! Just finished a home made bowl of chili. i have eaten fruit in very small portions with no problems and will GRADUALLY increase them. The surgeon said the section of colon that was rejoined is very tight and needs to stretch....not to worry it will happen over the course of the year. My Stool is normal to hard, if anything, ocassionally I take a 1/3 piece of ex lax if constipated then wait 5 hrs and repeat until I poop. So far I must say I am glad I had the surgery. While I had a bout of diverticulitis with perforation in the past, my surgery was elective. I got in the best shape I could for the year prior to surgery. I was actually hoping that by eating healthy and cutting out alchol that perhaps I would not need the surgery. That didn't help but I saved a few grand on scotch : ). My surgeon was dr. Marc greenwald in great neck New York. All he does is colon surgeries and I highly recommend him. Ps. Take recovery slowly...I find that it is a two steps forward one step back process. As I start to feel better, I do too much and then i am exhausted. It has only been 4 1/2 weeks since my surgery

I apologize for such a long post, but I have a satisfying and healthy diet I'd like share for the Fastest Healing following Colon Surgery. My Doctor and Nurses say my healing is nothing short of miraculous.

Yes, everyone is different. I live in Canada, and as soon as I came home, I was eating all soft foods and told to focus on HIGH PROTEIN. My surgeon was excellent and told me just to avoid 'hard' foods and eat anything soft. In my 3rd week post op, I was even eating nuts such as almonds/cashews if I chewed them well. Avoid and/or limit your sweets and you won't crave them... after all you've just had the worlds best cleanse ;)

I hope this plentiful diet helps those who are afraid to try things, as you should not restrict your diet from the foods that are good for you. I had Stage 2B Colon Cancer and surgery on December 20th/2017 to remove 2 tumors along with 3 ft of my large bowel, and here's what I am still eating 4 weeks later...

Eggs, milk, plain pro-biotic greek yogurt with a small amount of jam stirred in, small amounts of cheese, small amounts of soft breads (including 12 grain that I just chew up very well), plenty of mashed potatoes cooked with garlic, cooked fresh veggies such as carrots, asparagus, spinach, even well chewed small amounts of corn, brown beans and applesauce (I prefer unsweetened organic).

To drink... I always have my orange juice in the morning with 1 tbsp plain metamucil (to keep things soft), at least 5 big glasses of water daily, 2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp raw honey to a mug of hot water (1-2 times daily) and a mug of essiac tea. Also can have apple juice, POM and gingerale with the bubbles stirred out (too gassy if not stirred out).

But the REAL powerhouse/fast healing foods that I consume daily are GARLIC, apple cidar vinegar and honey drink and Essiac Tea (just google to find it for less than a health food store charges.) Amazon is great!

If you don't like the taste or smell of Garlic, take Kyolic brand pills as it's the only regulated one on the market, that's proven to be as beneficial as the cloves themselves, and it's odorless to boot!

I love taking a whole head of garlic, slicing off the top to expose each clove, placing it on a small piece of tin foil, drizzling it with about a teaspoon of olive oil, then wrapping it in the foil and baking it at 400 for about 20 minutes. It become so soft you can just dig it out of it's papery shell, no need to peel it at all! It's buttery/nutty flavor is good enough to eat plain, but you can mash it into your potatoes or veggies, or eat it on soft crackers or bread. Mmmm good! And if you can stand to eat it raw, even better, but it's a little hot so best to have some milk/bread handy. To rid of the smell, chew on some fresh parsley, then spit it out of you don't want to eat it.

I even had several Christmas dinners upon returning home (I was only in the hospital for 7 days following surgery), including cooked cranberry sauce, yum yum! Thanks to my wonderful Chef/stepson who cooked/prepared and froze everything in double meal portions, for my husband and I. After all, remember your caretaker is exhausted from all the stress and needs to eat well too!

Another tip, don't eat too much food at one sitting. 4 oz of meat is all one needs per day. Fill the rests of your plate with cooked fruits/veggies. Apple sauce is great with a meal. Remember, baked pears and apples with nothing but a little maple syrup and butter drizzled over them, make a delicious nutritious snack/dessert.

So stop limiting yourself... eat what you like... just make it soft. Try to add a few new things daily and remember, you should poop after each meal... that's not excessive. Plenty of water keeps everything moving well. All my best to all of you!

I'm 47 and was told I need this surgery and that recovery is 6-8 weeks but will I be able to return to full time work?
Or should I be saving my pennies

Thank you for this info, and sharing your experience. It is really helpful. I just had a foot of my sigmoid colon removed last Thursday, March 16.

Water is the key, I had ascending colon cancer and they removed 1/3 of my colon 5 weeks ago. I take miralax everyday and drink water. If you don't drink water, no matter what you take, it will not work, you will be constipated, I also take colace when needed. My bms are usually normal, not too watery or too hard although that happens at times due to my eating something that doesn't sit well and or not drinking enough water/fluids.

I am diabetic and prayer has kept my blood sugar down without resorting to insulin injections with just using glypizide/metformin 5/500 twice a day, I was on the way to insulin before the surgery but I am ok now. A lot of people praying to Jesus for me. I am eating a low residue diet and for the most part sticking with it and eating smaller meals more often, although when I feel really great and get really hungry, I have a problem with restricting my intake of food at one seating but when I do, I feel a 100% better. I miss my salads, grainy breads, grains and nuts, legumes and some veggies but I can do this for as long as it takes to heal thoroughly. Then, in the future I m hoping to re introduce fiber and see how it goes.

We are all different and react differently to our condition, the thing to remember is one day at a time, don't get depressed about the diet, it's not going to be forever. Don't give up.