Eating and output with loop ostomy

I am happy you're on your way to feeling better. I have the loop right now too and it has been a struggle. People recommended to me pretzels, potatoes, peanut butter... I am drinking coconut water and a lot of hydration supplements in my drinks. I had no appetite until 10+ days after surgery. I still can't finish a meal, I just have a half a sandwich and save the rest for later. My output has thickened a lot since a few days ago. I am 2 weeks out today. You have to give it time but you have to stay hydrated or you will get very dizzy. They also say that water isn't good for hydration, it goes right through you.

I had a temporary ileo, mainly because, like you, I had a lot of inflammation around the site where I had a volvulus that resulted in 18 inches of my coon being removed. Like you, I had trouble staying hydrated and even getting sufficient nourishment for a while. My sister (an RN) recommended the BRAT and BRATY diets. The BRAT diet includes bananas, white rice, applesauce (unsweetened!) and toast (white toast). The BRATY diet adds yogurt. I found that if I had a yogurt and a banana when I first woke up, and then just before I went to be, my output firmed up nicely. The firmer output meant I wasn't losing as much fluid as the thin output was causing.

Even with the firmer output, I tried to drink a lot more than I usually did. The hospital recommended Gatorade, but I found that the sugar made my output way too runny. I switched over to Vitamin Water Zero (available at some Costco's) and that was good for me. Additionally, since I had lost so much weight and was anemic with the volvulus and then the surgery, I had to gain quite a bit of weight before my surgeon would operate on me. As part of my weight gain regimen, I drank an Ensure with each meal.

One thing to be certain NOT to do is to get any drink or yogurt (or anything for that matter) that has fake sugar in it. I developed a pretty bad cough that morphed into pneumonia and before I knew it was pneumonia, I had taken a dose of some kind of cough medicine that had fake sugar in it. My output was extremely thin and very, VERY rapid. I found out later fake sugar of any kind is infamous for that.

Sounds like a lot of scary stuff, but it's not. Just need to be careful. Good luck getting better.

You are right to be concerned and it's good that you are being proactive. I have struggled with my loop and didn't really work that hard in the beginning. As a result, I've visited th ER about 4-5 times for dehydration - about once a month. A coupe times I was admitted because it was so bad.

This is what I've learned. Imodium and Metamucil are great allies. I use them multiple times daily. Sour, salty liquid absorbs better than sweet for some reason. Something with the kidneys I think. Drip Drop is a new water additive that has the most sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium than other stuff like sports drinks, juice, and coconut water. If you're drinking water try to make it count by adding something to it.

You'll figure out what and when to eat through trial and error. Some of the recommended foods don't work for me and some do. Snacking is important, especially when drinking. Otherwise the fluid will pass straight into the bag.

It's a pain, but be patient and you'll figure it out. If you start feeling the symptoms of dehydration, do t hesitate to ask for help. A couple IV fluid bags can quickly get you back on track.