Hi Ann, 

Welcome to the forums! 

Diet and food options are always worth talking about, so I'm glad you've asked. 

You will find various "safe food" lists around the internet, but I find them to be far too conservative and they  apply to the majority of ostomates.

I have my own lists, but I also like to teach the principles of HOW to eat. 

In general, you can introduce just about any new food, but keep the following in mind :

• Try one new food at a time. 
• Start in small quantities. 
• Chew  really well.
• See how it comes out! 

You might find that a food dairy can be helpful, but that's totally up to you.

If you feel more comfortable, peel and deseed your fruits and veg until you know how much you can tolerate. 

Here's my long article on the topic 😀

https://www.veganostomy.ca/ostomy-diet-beyond-recovery/

Morning Anne, Great to see another new member, yep that's right what Eric says a lot of the info is very conservative, follow the good advice above.

You guys are the best! Thank you! I'll try some berries today and chew very well and keep track of what happens.  :-)

PS Eric, I live in Florida now but I was born in Canada (just outside of Toronto) and lived there as a child.  I get a kick out of hearing your Canadian accent. Reminds me of my family!

Yep Anne you will find out one food and fruit at a time which sits well. the only one I have trouble with are Oranges, but some one else could be different

Posted by: john68

the only one I have trouble with are Oranges, but some one else could be different

Do you take the skin off of each section so only the pulp is eaten? This helps considerably with any citrus. 

@ann-c haha! I keep hearing that I have a Canadian accent but never notice it myself! Also, I miss Florida and hope to be back in December! 

Yep, but I seem to have a lot of pulp still left no matter how much I chew! no bother with the smalls clementines etc . On the  accent I have been told the easiest way to offend a Canadian is to say you sound so American lol

Posted by: john68

Yep, but I seem to have a lot of pulp still left no matter how much I chew! 

Yes, I see some pulp in there sometimes but I also eat more than just one orange at a time 😂😂

So the berries were a success yippee! So happy to eat something other than a banana. Tomorrow I am going to try an apple.

And I love Canadian accents! I wish I had one "eh"!

Yay! Pretty soon it'll be a full fruit salad 😀😀

Hi Ann

I was leery of different things too at first but as Eric said try it a little at a time and chew well . Bout the only thing I haven't really tried yet is apples with skin . Other than that I eat chili seeds sesame seeds on buns  (when I forget to ask for a regular bun) even corn n corn on the cob . Lust take it all slow . Hey John easy on the American accent Lad ! Lol JK .

Sooo....I think I goofed. I was too lazy to peel the skin off of the apple, and even though I *thought* I chewed very well, I don't feel so great. I ate it this morning and I've only had liquid output since. My stoma has contracted nearly flat with my skin and there is a lot of pain/pressure behind it. Some nausea too. I've tried massaging around the stoma and I took a long hot shower to let the water run over it but there hasn't been a change. I am so dumb to have eaten the skin! Should I be concerned? At least there is liquid output so I guess that means I don't have a total blockage, right? Do you think it will resolve on its own? I don't plan on eating anything else until stuff starts moving.

Sorry for all of the questions. Thanks again for all of your help. I have no idea what I am doing obviously.

Hi Anne, first stay calm, you have done right with a hot shower, long soak in the bath would help! yep don,t eat but a hot drink would be good. also rub yer tummy. if you start to feel sick go to ER!! don,t say ye doin know what yer doing as it still new and we all make mistakes and you have done the right things so far. plus keep moving about

Ok thanks Eric! I'll try the hot drink/walking around now. 

Remember seek help if you feel unwell!!

Hi Ann I actually  haven't had a blockage yet so I can't say for sure.  But when my output is getting thick because of what I eat (which is pretty much every day ) or I get a little nervous cause output slows down I drink grape juice it seems to thin things out . Other juices will also work from my experience anyway . But John has good info with the running your tummy and hot fluids . 

Dear Anne,

Two thoughts. 

1. Drink a lot of water. This will help move things forward. If you  expel some back from your mouth, then get yourself to the best place to get an NG tube inserted . Don't delay.

2. I suggest that you use an immersion blender.  This will break up your food before you put it in your mouth. 

Sorry for your pain and worry. I hope that everything comes out alright. 

Let us know what happens. 

Morning Anne, any relief.

Good morning ugh not really. I ended up going to the ER last night but they didn't see anything on X-ray so they sent me home. I've been outputting a ton of liquid bit nothing solid.  Sticking to lots of liquids today. I think I am losing the hydration battle though. I have a lot muscle cramps and am very tired. Not very nauseous though, which I guess is a good thing? I guess I just have to wait it out? Also, are Ensures ok to drink today? I am still building back muscle loss so wanted to get some protein in, but I don't want to make this worse.

Lesson learned....I will NOT eat fruit skins in the future!!

Thanks for the suggestion! But what exactly is an immersion blender?

also I forgot to mention that my stoma is still pretty retracted, which has caused leakage and a lot of skin irritation. Should I just keep changing my bags? I worry about ripping the skin/making the skin irritation worse with so many bag changes. But the stool is so liquid and it's getting on my skin.