Looking for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) friends!

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2

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  • Lovee_Dove7
    Lovee_Dove7 Posts: 742 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Hello! I'm pretty free of symptoms now.
    And YES to the carrageenan post above. It's an industrial extract of Irish moss, and not a natural product at all, should not be added to foods, and is actually a GI irritant. It's added to a multitude of our foods. Nasty stuff it is!!
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    MissCatLady wrote: »
    ChristinaOrr65 wrote: »
    After 30 yrs of this diagnosis, I did an elimination diet and now I am much better after finding what I was eating that was causing the problem. For me it is wheat and sugars.


    At this point I will only be able to eat lettuce, and I hate lettuce haha. Even fruit now I'm very sensitive to. Had 2 strawberries earlier and wasn't long before I had griping pain. Glad you found the problem :)

    @MissCatLady it was about six months before the IBS went away totally after cutting out most all sugar sources and all grain sources. I have learned how to eat and enjoy eating without sugar and grains. @ChristinaOrr65 point about doing an elimination diet is good.

    My 40 years of serious IBS was not the reason I left sugars and grains cold turkey but to see if eliminating sugars and all grains would manage my joint and muscle pain. It did in just 30 days but it was six months in before I realized after 40 years I could control when I went to the bathroom.

    What works for one may not be the magic bullet for another. If you can learn your trigger foods then you can regain full control. I expect I had a leaking gut and they do no heal overnight.
  • Ea17greenwald
    Ea17greenwald Posts: 1 Member
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    I have IBS and celiac disease. Both are a struggle...

  • RunawayCurves
    RunawayCurves Posts: 688 Member
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    I have suffered decades with IBS , I agree cutting out grains and sugar helps me too. I feel much better when I stick to whole foods. It is frustrating because so many things upset my system and sometimes What I can eat changes. All grains seem to upset me even oats, most pulses cause problems too. Oranges cause me trouble but lemons are fine. Nuts and seeds have phases of causing me issues but then not always and seem to be better if eat them ground to a powder rather than chewed up whole. Dairy does not agree with me. I want to convert to being vegan. Finding things to eat that keep my mind and body happy is a challenge but I am trying to invest the effort as sick of being bloated and in pain all the time. Thankfully most veg is fine for me apart from rocket leaves which cause instant stomach cramps. Lettuce made me ill for while but thankfully got over that and it no longer makes me ill, probably something that was sprayed on crops for a season or something like that.
  • jennifer12202010
    jennifer12202010 Posts: 21 Member
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    I have ibs i find dairy makes it really bad! Wheat lunch meat I can't do subway makes me sick
  • jennifer12202010
    jennifer12202010 Posts: 21 Member
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    I recently bought ideal shake makes my stomach hurt so bad so I guess I can't do that either.
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
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    I too have IBS (and now type 2 diabetes)
    For the IBS symptoms-loose bowels - greatly improved after a month of pro-biotic capsuls-the type you keep in the fridge-from health food store.
    I was able to give up Metamucil that I had been using for 5 years.
    Now I can't have fresh salads-the fibre just shoots through me BUT I can microwave it and be fine. So even at restaurants I'll have them microwave my salad and then dressing on the side.
    We are each different but this is what works for me.
  • lexykassan
    lexykassan Posts: 19 Member
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    jennifer12202010 wrote: »
    I recently bought ideal shake makes my stomach hurt so bad so I guess I can't do that either.

    Check the ingredients and monitor if other things give you similar symptoms. I've noticed that anything with too much stevia makes my stomach hurt, for instance. And LOTS of shake mixes use that or artificial sweeteners.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    jennifer12202010 wrote: »
    I recently bought ideal shake makes my stomach hurt so bad so I guess I can't do that either.

    I found shakes, etc foods containing modified food starch would do me in. While I when off of sugar and all forms of grain for pain relief it stopping my IBS was not something I was thinking about.

    After I stopped sugar and grains I got mad at myself for not doing it 40 years ago. :)
  • coalz
    coalz Posts: 308 Member
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    Ever heard of Leaky Gut Syndrome? Well it is commonly misdiagnosed as IBS or accompanied with & is actually treatable & makes symptoms way less severe. I know because I am living proof!! So let me share my journey with you.
    I spent a lot of my childhood & early adulthood sick as a dog from IBS! I even ended up in the emergency room a few times & had to take a semester off of college because symptoms were so bad. I was poked & probed, colonoscopies & endoscopies, blood tests, stool samples even MRI's & Cat scans & guess what they found??? NOTHING! Not a damn thing! I was in perfect health which, of course, in western medicine, Drs declare welllll you must have IBS. So "here's an insanely large bill & a bunch of drugs to take to treat the SYMPTOMS. Best of luck kid." Needless to say I was livid and ready to take matters into my own hands.
    I tossed the pharmaceuticals & began self medicating with marijuana. I no longer felt constant extreme nausea. Then I started going to yoga to help with stress & anxiety. There I learned about healthier living & alternative medicine. I booked an appointment with a naturopathic DR & this is where I learned about leaky gut. I had the money & the time & so I took a chance on fixing this "hypothetical condition"
    A few weeks later & I am a completely different person! & have been ever since. :smiley: I can eat cheese & ice cream again! Spicey green curry is my new favorite food. I have regular BM's everyday & I don't even smoke pot any more. The only time I feel my IBS is if stress anxiety gets super high, I still get a little queezy.
    So go ahead & google it. Leaky Gut. You'll see a lot of sites wanting to discredit it. But I am telling you because I want you to have this option to take a chance on something that may alter the rest of your life. It worked for me and it could work for you too.
  • kacowgill99
    kacowgill99 Posts: 43 Member
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    I'm shocked but relieved of how many people are in a similar boat as myself. I was diagnosed with Chron's Disease at 18. While I feel I have had very mild symptoms for the past 12 years, it kind of took cutting sugar & grains to get myself to realize that all the bloating and being uncomfortable after eating was not normal. This literally went on for years before about 3 months ago when I changed my diet. After a mild flare when I transitioned from junk food to real food, I have been symptom free ever since.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    @kacowgill99 Crohn's sucks :( I am med dependant (Remicade and imuran). Sticking to a strict diet helps but I become deathly ill ( like close to perforating, severely anaemic, etc) without immunosuppressants :(
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
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    21 years ibs d for me I hate it it's ruined my life
  • kacowgill99
    kacowgill99 Posts: 43 Member
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    singingflutelady wrote: »
    @kacowgill99 Crohn's sucks :( I am med dependant (Remicade and imuran). Sticking to a strict diet helps but I become deathly ill ( like close to perforating, severely anaemic, etc) without immunosuppressants :(

    I can't say I've had it that bad. I feel for you and am lucky I've only seen mild symptoms thus far. I've dealt with the iron loss and also am prescribed Apriso for life. I wish you a healthier road ahead and will offer any support I can for you.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    @kacowgill99 thanks. I ignored symptoms forever thinking it was just my IBS (even though I was bleeding, etc) so I was very, very ill when diagnosed. My GI is even thinking my IBS diagnosis might have been mild Crohn's the whole time (they didn't do a scope at the time of IBS diagnosis) but after 15 years without treatment it went out of control.
  • Sarc_Warrior
    Sarc_Warrior Posts: 430 Member
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    I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder in January. I find everybody inspiring in this post and wish you the best.
  • arlzixxx
    arlzixxx Posts: 30 Member
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    I also have IBS/Colitis feel free to add me ☺
  • janet6567
    janet6567 Posts: 129 Member
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    Have had IBS-C as long as I can remember. Was told for years: more water, high fiber, more exercise. IF ONLY it were that easy. Was diagnosed 15 years ago as having IBS-C Have taken Zelnorm (worked but now off market) and am taking Amitiza. Works sometimes. This is a miserable disease!!
  • mhosner
    mhosner Posts: 264 Member
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    I have IBS-C and for years I have suffered with bloating.. I look pregnant all the time and I hate it. I can go days and days.. sometimes up to 2 weeks without a bowel movement. Then I will eat something like movie popcorn and bam in the bathroom for hours crying. Even dieting is tricky. So many veggies say lead to bloating. I don't want to chance it. What are some snacks IBS-C peeps have found that don't upset tummy either direction?
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    kacowgill99 wrote: »
    I'm shocked but relieved of how many people are in a similar boat as myself. I was diagnosed with Chron's Disease at 18. While I feel I have had very mild symptoms for the past 12 years, it kind of took cutting sugar & grains to get myself to realize that all the bloating and being uncomfortable after eating was not normal. This literally went on for years before about 3 months ago when I changed my diet. After a mild flare when I transitioned from junk food to real food, I have been symptom free ever since.

    @kacowgill99 that is an awesome report. I was trying to chase away my 40 years of joint and muscle pain when on a hunch I left sugar and all forms of all grains cold turkey Oct 2014. 30 days in my pain was well manage. Six months in my 40 years of life defining IBS or whatever it was had fully resolved and still is resolved today.

    The pain manage let me start moving much better. Resolving the 40 years of IBS gave me a new lease on life along with many other health benefits. Afterwards I got upset it took me until age 63 to learn my health issues were diet related.

    Best of continued success and thanks for sharing.

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