Dietary Considerations For Colostomy, Ileostomy, And Rectal Pouch

Certain conditions of the colon require surgery. In some cases, the surgeon must create an opening in the abdomen to divert a part of the bowel away from the lower GI tract. This surgical procedure can be an ileostomy or colostomy. The opening created on the abdomen is known as a stoma. This bowel diversion can be temporary or permanent, depending on the underlying medical condition.

In most cases, you are going to have to wear an ostomy bag over the stoma to manage the evacuation of fecal materials. Some forms of bowel diversion, however, eliminate the need of wearing such bags. The surgeon creates an internal reservoir that collects stools. To draw waste materials out of this reservoir, you will need to use a catheter, which is a thin, flexible plastic tube.

In some cases, the surgeon may opt to connect the end of the small intestine to the rectum, allowing you to expel waste materials through your anus. This internal reservoir is known as the ileoanal pouch. The surgeon creates the reservoir by folding the small intestine into itself and stitching the fold. The reservoir has an opening in the bottom, and it sits over the anal canal.

Because these bowel diversions have everything to do with food digestion, you may wonder whether or not you need to make some dietary changes. Here is what you may want to know about the diet with a colostomy, ileostomy, or rectal pouch.

Dietary considerations

The good thing is that you can maintain a balanced diet with a colostomy, ileostomy, or rectal pouch pretty easily. You may have to keep a check on the nutritional value of everything that you are eating. For this purpose, you will need to stay in contact with your doctor or nutritionist. Here are some special dietary considerations if you have a bowel diversion.

• Since your body and type of bowel diversion you have are different from those of the other patients, there are no standard recommendations. In most cases, patients can return to a usual diet. Staying in touch with a doctor can help in a better dietary adjustment.
• Instead of eating a few larger meals a day, consider eating several smaller meals. It will help you promote a regular bowel pattern.
• If you think that it is time to reintroduce any type of food back into your diet, do it slowly. Introduce one type of food at a time and see how it affects your bowel patterns. If this inclusion is tolerable, go ahead with it. If it is not, stop taking it, wait for a few weeks, and try it again.
• Make sure to chew your foods properly while eating. It will help the digestive process quite effectively. Avoid swallowing large chunks of foods.
• Eating fresh fruits can result in loose stools.
• Make sure to drink plenty of water a day, especially when you have an ileostomy.
• Maintain healthy body weight. Being overweight can cause difficulty in the functioning of the stoma.
• If you have a diarrhea problem, you may want to take Imodium, Lomotil, Levsin, or Bentyl. Be sure to speak to your doctor before taking these medicines.

Make sure to follow these dietary tips if you have a bowel ostomy or a rectal pouch. You can discuss special dietary considerations with your doctor.