IBS and diet

Hi everyone

This is my first chat. I have had IBS for years. The annoying things is I can not pin point any one thing that sets it off. I can eat something today and be fine and eat the same thing tomorrow and with in 5 minutes be in such pain I'm in the bathroom several times and the rest of the day and a couple more I spend in pain. I had the upper and lower scope test last week. The dr. said everything looks good. I asked about seeing a dietitian for help with my diet. After talking to one yesterday, she said had no help to offer because there is no pattern to pin point any particular food that bothers me.

I am vegetarian, I do eat a few eggs and cheese ( I have to give that up do to high cholesterol now) I do not drink milk. I eat a lot of fiber and only wheat bread. I do not eat a lot of junk food.

I all so have some problems with acid reflux with certain fruits and greasy foods. I told the Dr this and he was very surprised because nothing showed up on the scope.

I am so tired of this. I feel like there is no help out there and no one to turn to. I talked to someone at a Health food store who suggested food allergy test. Has anyone done that?
Has anybody had luck with what foods are more apt to bother IBS? Anybody had luck withfinding a diet that helps.

I look forward to hearing from everybody hopefully I can get some help from people that have been where I am.

Thanks

I find this frustrating too. I have my diet pretty much figured out now, what works, what doesn't. But even though I follow this diet, occasionally I'll have a bad day. Or I'll have several weeks of normal bm's then all of a sudden, several days of what I call the putty stage, a stage I can't turn around and I find it's best to let it work itself out. This is when I often wonder if my body has it's own schedule, it almost seems monthly. As if it's purging itself of something it didn't like. Yes I am female but I'm almost past menopause. I had a period back in May but it was my first one in 9 months. So I'm just about over with all of that.

One of the key things for me is to not get stressed out. If we have a very busy family schedule, I almost always have trouble. Stress/worries go hand in hand with my IBS woes.

I guess what I am trying to say is this - even if I follow a LRD, take Colace and now the nightly Nature's Way primodolphilis pill, I sometimes still have one or two days a month. I'm to the point now where I just chalk it up to my wacky body's own internal rhythm. Whatever the heck that is!

Thanks everybody

I guess the problem is everybody is so different, and there is no one good answer.

The Dr. told me to eat only whole wheat and at least 7-8 grams of fiber or more a day. If is funny that one person writes that whole wheat and fiber bothers them. I guess it is one of those things that we have to deal with the best way we can. I find that if I go out to eat I do not go to far from home in case I get sick.

I think like one person said it could be what is in the food. I believe that is why I can not eat meat. It would be nice if organic food was not so expensive.

I grew up on a cattle farm. We fed our cows feed, corn, hay and turned them out in the pasture. We did not have all the junk in the food or the animal. It is scary when you start looking into what they are doing to our food.

When I move and get a house with a yard I plan to grow my own food and cann like my grandmother did. Last year hubby and I put up several different veggies from the local farmers. It was the best food.

Let me give you my history when I had my temporary colostomy reversed: My doctor said to eat anything I wanted, possibly 4 to 6 small meals a day, not 3 but to live life, enjoy it, take Immodium.

WELL, that was the absolute worst advice I had ever been given!

I was having 3 bm's during one meal. As soon as I chewed, I had a bm. I could barely get to the kitchen sometimes, I joked I would take meals in the bathroom from now on. I mostly hung out in my bedroom and master bathroom. I swear but I thought that my life as I knew was over. Yes I had beat cancer but lost an important part of my colon and was forever changed.

Meanwhile I'm eating the diet I used to eat - you know, the one that we're supposed to eat! Whole wheat products - Brownberry breads, english muffins, bagels, bran cereal, brown rice, lots of fresh fruits (pineapple, strawberries, red raspberries, blueberries, kiwi) and fresh vegetables.

I was a MESS!

I went on the computer, found a colon cancer support group and forum. Someone posted my exact symptoms. Turns out they had severe D and multiple bm's, from chemo. They were pleading for help since they had to leave their home for treatments and then somehow get back into a car, without wearing depends (what I've always avoided).

Then bless this person's heart, someone posted a link for a very simple diet - the low residue diet. This person pointed out the person going thru chemo needed low residue and to avoid fiber. I looked at that list of foods and it was if a light bulb came on. It's the BRAT diet, the one you give children after they've had a severe intestinal bug go thru them. I would have never given my children whole wheat products and fresh pineapple after just experiencing D! It suddenly dawned on me I was irritating my colon - big time. So I went on this LRD and within 48 hours I was a new person. I could leave my home, I could get behind the wheel of a car and actually go to the mall with my kids. Of course I needed to know where the next bathroom was located but I could get thru an hour or two without a bm.

I thought I had died and gone to Heaven!

I saw my surgeon soon after that and told him about this diet. He paused for a long time, oh 2 minutes or more, pondering what I was saying. It was in those quiet, tense moments I had decided to lie thru my teeth if he said to go off that diet immediately. Sure doc, sure I will - NOT! Anyway, he said - you know Mary, that diet makes complete sense to me. You were probably raw from going so much and these foods calm the gut. Well, doh I wanted to say!

To sum it up, I stayed religiously on this diet for about 2 years. Then I began straying here and there. A chocolate chip cookie or fresh fruit. Now I'm on it for about 75% of the time and can sneak quite a bit in. Just not whole wheat - that is out.

Still cancer free, 10 years later and I haven't been told to go off this diet. LOL!

I am staying on it too!

That's my story....sorry, meant to make it short but got carried away. Yes, I do know how to type - the old fashioned way, "home row" and all that. You all probably knew that by now. he he

Has anyone tried and had luck with the fennel and peppermint teas advertised on helpforibs site?

I was thinking about purchasing, but so tired of getting my hopes up for nothing.
=/

please let me know. thanks.

Thank you karen. At this point, I'm willing to try anything!

What is everyone's take that fiber is not the cure for IBS, but perhaps flora restoration within the bowels?

How many people with IBS have taken antibiotics of any kind in the past or were forced post-surgery through IV?

Regarding probiotics:
I tried Flora Q which did nothing and now I'm trying Floragen. Still haven't noticed a difference.
I've taken lots of antibiotics in the past for respiratory probs, etc. Still, the probiotics don't seem to be helping. I guess everyone is different and they're worth a try.

Every specialist has something different to say, but they consensus seems to be (for IBS-D)-
no extra fiber, no uncooked vegetables, no fruit, no caffeine, no alcohol. I've tried this and there doesn't seem to be any change.

I've resorted to eating one or two small meals a day consisting of plain steamed rice or maybe some chicken broth and a multivitamin.

After a few rough days of being hungry all time, my appetite has decreased (thankfully).

I have a difficult time finding things to eat as well. Everything seems to hurt me. One of my doctor's thinks I may also be lactose intolerant. I also am having bladder issues and have had to cut out some foods that are hurting my bladder but some of those were the foods that actually helped with my constipation :( I also happen to be alergic to wheat. I don't know what I can eat :(

Hello,

I've tried the fennel and peppermint teas and the peppermint oil tablets from the helpforibs.com website for about a week now and they do seem to be helping!! I don't care if it's real or all in my mind, but I drink a cup before work and I don't get the awful stomach cramps like I was getting every morning. I mix about half fennel and half peppermint. I probably drink 2-3/day and I don't seem to be running to the bathroom or taking immodium as much. I recommend trying them. I thought it was probably another scam. I had tried over the counter peppermint tea and no relief. Not exactly sure what is in these specific, but seems to be helping.