tracking trigger food

For me an IBS attack is usually what some call dumping (repeated bm's, that can go on for an hour or two, spaced out over 5 to 10 minutes). Or all out diarrhea.

I'm usually fine while the offensive food travels thru the stomach, small intestine but when it hits the colon, for me, trigger foods usually have an adverse effect. I just know I'll be spending a lot of time in the bathroom. Afterwards, I've had another mini-clean out and feel depleted. Starving actually.

Others here will likely tell you they may feel ill or nauseous, soon after they eat the offensive food.

My trouble is post digestive, can be hours after I've eaten the food or the next day.

Only a few times have I had immediate trouble (mostly from heavily fried foods or entrees with a lot of fresh garlic). These specific times induced severe heartburn, not my usual bm troubles.

You probably already do this, but if not a food diary/journal is very helpful while determining what works for your GI tract. Any notebook will suffice, 1 page for each day. Record every single thing you eat, drink, if you took medications, vitamins, were sick with the flu or a cold, under undue stress. And then what I did was in the bottom right hand corner of each page (I never used the back of each day's page, just left it blank) I drew a diagonal line and in that one or two inch space, I rated each day - great, good, bad - then later I could flip back thru my previous days and find a good or great day if I knew I had an important social event coming up. I looked closely at what I had eaten on that specific day and then duplicated that diet. So I had another good day when I really needed one.

You'll be surprised at what seemingly minor details are important. For example I'd notice a pattern begin to form in say the summer. When my husband wanted to grill out almost every night. After a while my insides were screaming for a simple dinner so I'd just buy a Stouffer's meal of turkey and mashed potatoes. He'd eat what he wanted to grill and I'd eat my simple frozen meal. I could feel my insides thanking me! Other examples were I noticed I had more bad days during the holiday season (all of December is usually just busier, you're shopping, not eating right, always on the go). So I decided to eat very light for the month of December and stay on my low residue diet. That tactic has worked every year since.

I kept a food diary faithfully for about 2 years. I wrote down the silliest of details but they really do paint a useful picture you take the time to complete the diary.

Good luck.

"IBS and diet

Both the act of eating and the type of food being eaten has been linked to IBS symptoms.

Eating is the first step in the digestive process. It causes contractions or spasms of the colon. The healthy response is an urge to have a bowel movement within an hour after a meal. Those who have IBS might instead have an immediate and severe urge to have a bowel movement.

Certain foods also have been linked to IBS symptoms. Fatty or greasy foods, dairy products, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages, orbital and gas-producing foods (e.g. beans, broccoli, cabbage) are common foods that IBS sufferers may find worsen their problem. Some people find it's helpful to keep a journal of their eating habits and symptoms, in order to identify and avoid problem foods. "

http://www.themonroe...om/c0612hea.htm

How you can have symptoms right after eating.

"The gastrocolic reflex, a partly neurogenic process, refers to an increase in colonic motility induced by feeding. Postprandial deviations from the normal motility patterns lead to altered bowel habits. For example, a spastic colon (eg, diarrhea-predominant IBS [D-IBS]) is characterized by an exaggerated motility response to food intake. This exaggerated postprandial response also occurs in response to intraluminal distention or to an injection of cholecystokinin (CCK -- a hormone released in the duodenum) in patients with IBS."

Researchers have found that the colon muscle of a person with IBS begins to spasm after only mild stimulation. There are two “sets” of muscles in the colon, longitudinal and circular, and the one that spasms with more force leads to the symptom of either diarrhea or constipation. The person with IBS seems to have a colon that is more sensitive and reactive than usual, so it responds strongly to stimuli that would not bother most people."

"IBS Triggers

Ordinary events such as eating and distention from gas or other material in the colon can cause an overreaction in the person with IBS.

Certain medicines and foods may trigger spasms in some people. Sometimes the spasm delays the passage of stool, leading to constipation.

Chocolate milk products or large amounts of alcohol are frequent offenders and can trigger attacks.

Caffeine causes loose stools in many people, but it is more likely to affect those with IBS.

Researchers also have found that women with IBS may have more symptoms during their menstrual periods, suggesting that reproductive hormones can increase IBS symptoms."

"Diet, Stress and IBS

Many people report that their symptoms occur following a meal or when they are under stress. Eating causes contractions of the colon. Normally, this response may cause an urge to have a bowel movement within 30 to 60 minutes after a meal. In people with IBS, the urge may come sooner and may be associated with pain, cramps and diarrhea. One reason may be the gastrocolic reflex. Gastric distension stimulates colonic activity to make room for an ingested meal. Volume, fat content and other more difficult-to-digest items make the gastric reflex more intense. With a spastic colon, there is an overreaction of this reflex. The colonic muscle stretch provided by fiber, such as cereal fiber, lessens this response.

The strength of the response is often related to the number of calories in a meal, and especially the amount of fat in a meal. Fat in any form (animal or vegetable) is a strong stimulus of colonic contractions. Many foods contain fat, especially:

Meats of all kinds.
Poultry skin.
Whole milk.
Cream cheese.
Butter.
Vegetable oil.
Margarine.
Shortening.
Avocados.
Whipped toppings.
Stress also stimulates colonic spasms in people with IBS. This process is not completely understood, but scientists point out that the colon is controlled partly by the nervous system. Behavioral-health counseling and stress reduction (relaxation training) can help relieve the symptoms of IBS. However, doctors are quick to note that this does not mean IBS is the result of a personality disorder. IBS is, at least partly, a disorder of colon motility and sensation. "

http://www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=4032

This is kindof an individual thing. A lot of people recommend no dairy, but unless you actually have lactose intolernence, I would still eat diary just not a lot at one time. Its also fats in diary that can be part of the problem.

A lot of foods might be erractic like that, because some of this has to do with the act of eating and not the specific food itself.

This is part of having IBS. Some people go overboard and start cutting every food out and that can be bad as well. Then they don't eat enough or might not get enough nutrients from food.

The key is to try to eat a healthy balanced diet. Going easy on fruits and diary and other food triggers. If you eat something and get symptoms on a regular basis then I would cut it out for a while and see what happens.

So an occasional scoop of ice cream may make you happy. I wouldn't eat a lot at one time. You may pay for it or you may not. It can depend on a lot of things, even your moods when you eat.

Its also important to remember foods are not the only triggers.

Everyone just needs to go to this link!!!!!! I feel SO MUCH BETTER!!! I have suffered from IBS for 15 years!! It is because I can not digest certain enzymes/sugars which are fructose, lactose, and some others. I was always told I have IBS but I feel better after following this diet. Everyone just needs to try this! Go to this link!

http://www.healthhype.com/foods-high-in-fructose-sorbitol-fructans-and-fodmaps.html

I'm like this but it's two fold. The act of eating starts up the on going bm's (spaced 10-15 minutes apart and can go on for an hour or two, I joke they're like labor pains). If I've eaten non offensive foods my bm's the next time shouldn't be messy or D. But if I have eaten foods I shouldn't have, then about 12 hours later I pay for them. I had 2 glasses of dark keg beer at a party and experienced full blown D the next morning. That was the last time I drank beer like that - yes it tasted good but it wreaked havoc on my gut when it got to the colon. Another example would be chili. Our city has spicy, unique chili that is served over spaghetti that is quite tasty but it's an acquired taste. I hadn't had it since my colon resection so a few years later I was feeling very good and risked it. My husband kept watching me eat it in the restaurant, shaking his head saying - I can't believe you are eating that. Sure enough about 12 hours later I paid for it.

So now I know I have to eat pre-emptively (if that's a word, I know it's not...lol) but I also know that just eating will bring on a round of bm's.

When Shawn returns from his vacation he can give us a simple explanation for why just the simple act of eating induces bm's. But I've definitely noticed this and now work around it. I eat very, very light if socializing or not at all. Knowing what will happen.

You just need to plan for what might occur.

After my colon resection I was experiencing 3 bm's during one meal. The sheer second I began chewing and producing saliva I had an urgent bm to release. It's thankfully gotten better than that!