Question:
How do you know if you have a large stoma?

Hi, I was just wondering how does a person know if they have a large stoma? I am 4 mths. post-op and can eat more now than I could of course starting out and sometimes I feel like I can eat too much,Can anyone give me any suggestions on what they were able to eat at this stage? Thanks a bunch!    — Melodee S. (posted on May 26, 2003)

May 26, 2003
Those with large stomas say that they never feel full and can just keep eating-this is because their stomas are so large that food falls through the pouch instead of staying in the pouch and emptying slowly. As time goes by you will be able to eat more than you did as an early post-op and that is a good thing. If we all ate the amounts we did at 2 months post-op, we'd eventually end up anorexic from not getting in enough nutrition and calories so eating more as time goes by is a good thing. Its what you eat and how often you eat that can get you in trouble. By this stage you should be taking no more than 15 minutes with a meal, not drinking with or right after a meal, and eating between 800-1000 calories (average). Amounts taken in will vary as everyone's pouch size is different, and it also depends on the food consistency-more dense, you eat less of it. At 4 months (if I can remember that far back!!), I was eating 1 scrambled egg with melted cheese for breakfast, 1/2 a meat sandwich on multigrain bread (usually without the top layer of bread) or grilled chicken over salad, 1/2 a protein bar or some fruit or a few cups of popcorn as a snack, and for dinner some type of grilled meat/fish/poultry (2-4 oz) with a veggie, or 1/2 a lean cuisine or some chili with beef or chicken. After dinner, another snack-usually the other 1/2 of the protein bar and somewhere in there 1 protein shake a day. So, I basically ate every few hours, just small amounts and healthy stuff. Keep in mind though that depending on pouch size, I know some people who can barely eat a few bites of that 1/2 sandwich and others who could eat a whole sandwich...
   — Cindy R.

May 26, 2003
I'm also worrying about this too. I'm 4 months out and I can definitely eat more now than I could before. I usually weigh my protein on a food scale and it used to be bearly 2 ounces, but now it's usually 3-4 ounces, depending on what it is. I eat a lot of shrimp and scallops. I drink a protein shake for breakfast and I usually have another one late afternoon. I eat my 3 meals a day and usually have a snack in between, which could be cheese, some nuts, beef jerky or 1/2 of a protein bar. I eat very little crbs, but if I want like a slice of pizza, I will have it. I have been a slow loser, but I'm happy with the 50 I've lost. I hope this helped a little. Kelly*
   — Kelly* P.