People with stomach/digestive issues (TMI I KNOW)

CorgiWaddles

Hello! I really didn't quite know where to post this so I figured "Support" might be my best start! Ive had digestive issues for a long time and have been to the doctor. I got the wonderful and arbitrary diagnosis of "IBS" which is kind of a broad term... Mornings consist of me waddling to the bathroom frequently where I stare at the walls and ponder life's great meaning. It's rather irritating! There for a while I kind of strayed from the wagon and noticed that my stomach was all over the place and my system was well? MISERABLE. PERIOD. SO. I decided to get back on the wagon and cut out almost all processed food for the most part (excluding taco-bell cantina bowls) I don't get a lot of cravings to often and already just drink nothing but Tea, water and coffee with the occasional drink of Silk Almond milk or Diet Coke every now and again but I rarely drink soda as it is. (I hate the taste of non-diet soda and I know diet soda will kill me so no need to point this out it's only 2 or 3 a month) Of course if I want something bad enough I will allow myself to have it in moderation because I'm not really dieting as it is, I came back more for my digestive system and getting healthy than anything. Needed a good life style change for my new happy life! My question to you who suffer the same irritating symptoms, what did you do to change the patterns? What was it you suffered from if you're willing to share? I would love to bond with you over stories about waddling to the bathroom.

singingflutelady

1- diet soda won't :kill" you unless you drink multiple gallons a day.
2- I have crohn's and find that my body digests processed food way better than raw veggies/fruit. Fiber is a huge problem. 1 piece of lettuce=huge agony.

you should create a food diary to try to figure out your trigger foods so you can avoid them

mbaker566

i have something similar
diet soda won't kill you
raw veggies and fruits were very hard on my system.
warm fluids sooth my stomach. tea, soup, and such
processed foods are easier to digest for me as well

acmorris77

I HIGHLY suggest getting on a probiotic along with adjusting your diet. I just posted a couple of weeks ago asking for advice and recommendations on a probiotic. I went with Renew Life 50 Billion capsules and it has changed my life!

LizSmith55

My stomach has turned against me for years now. Not so much your exact scenario but equally as irritating and uncomfortable. I have been on probiotics for years with no relief...I just dumped 45 lbs...but I did by a similar diet to Medifast...well the bars & shakes they had me on made my problem WORSE not better....back in March I stopped with the fake food & re-entered the world or "real food" and my issue has not totally gone away....but it is MUCH MUCH better. I think I am going to try @acmorris77 suggestion though & go find THAT particular probiotoc. I have learned that not all supplements are created equal so...I'm willing to give that a shot. I love my beer, bbq & diet coke...I am not looking to become an elite athlete or anything...Just trying to find what works to strike a balance between health & my current lifestyle & I certainly haven't mastered that yet...one hope is that by all my efforts that I can rectify this digestive issue once and for all though...I HATE IT.....

acmorris77

Here is the link to my post: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10397272/need-a-probiotic-for-digestive-health#latest

There are a lot of great suggestions on there and you may want to play around with them if one doesn't work.

CorgiWaddles

THANK YOU GUYS!!!!!

Owlie45

Diet soda will not kill you even at 2 a day.
As singing said track to find your trigger.
My mothers side all have stomach issues. I figured out mine, guar gum I'm allergic to it. If I eat it I get a slight ring around my lips, like I don't know how to put on lip liner and then stomach cramps and diarrhea. Complete eliminated it from my diet and everything's been great. Though I'm back to strictly tracking again, developed an even worse reaction to something. Worse stomach cramps I've ever had, vomiting, diarrhea even worse, and my hands feel like they're being stabbed by millions of hot needles. Lasts for 20 to 30 minutes and then everything is fine other than I'm pouring sweat.
So track and figure it out. No reason to eliminated foods you enjoy unless you have to.

CorgiWaddles

Oh I know it won't kill me, that was just a funny insert that I put in there. I hear all the time how soda especially diet of any kind is bad for you ^^ that was just my sense of sarcastic humor coming out. I know it won't literally kill me

beckydauber

I have chronic pancreatitis and many foods do not agree with me, so I am usually eating the same things. I too have the same symptoms as "IBS" but mine are due to the pancreatitis. I have to take digestive enzymes, I also have gastroparesis, basically food takes forever to digest as it basically sits in my stomach. Anyone else have these problems here.

CorgiWaddles

Ouch. That sounds rather miserable, I hope you can find some daily relief and aren't uncomfortable!

beckydauber

thanks. I deal with daily pain and nausea. So eating sometimes is a chore for me and end up NPO, nothing by mouth. The month of March I was NPO and ended up losing over 20 lbs. So my brother uses this app and I thought that I would give it a try as well.

Dragonnade

Another IBS sufferer here. It never ceases to amaze me that I can be both constipated and have diarrhoea, but there we go.

Two things that really helped me: Low fodmap and VSL3 probiotics.

Low fodmap is a bit of a pig to maintain and reintroducing food is a weird headf**k of wanting to be able to eat something but scared of the consequences. But it's brilliant for when everything's a mess and you just need everything to calm down.

VSL3 has basically made it not necessary to eat low fodmap. I don't have many consecutive poor days and try to keep it to one poor meal every other day. But it's so liberating! I can eat out again.

Also fibre. A few psyllium tabs a day and everything's more stable, even if it smells bad.

I also have a hugely supportive boyfriend and a best mate who never grew up. So there's no judgment when I need to sleep in the spare room, and I can vent about the minutae of poop to my mate.

Support is key, especially as you experiment to find out what works. And sometimes, your guts just like to troll you. Last weekend I had full on crippling spasms and the cause, as far as I can work out, was the stress relief of finishing part of my course. Go figure.

Good luck finding out what works for you!

roxannesgoal

Hi I have had digestive problems for years, and still do occasionally. Let me point out that my dad died from stomach cancer, so you can imagine my fears. Here are a few things that I have found to really help.
First of all, getting rid of ALL coffee has done wonders. It was a HARD decision but I haven't regretted it.
I also ran across a book called "21-Day Tummy Diet" (got at Amazon), and it is amazing. It is for ALL types of digestive problems including IBS. I haven't been following it lately but the Shakes (products from any store) really help the tummy. Some people have trouble getting use to them, but it consists of Greek Yogurt, fruit, coconut milk, flax seed, cocoa, tsp natural peanut butter, and other things you can put in it.
It is worth looking into.

AddieOverhaul

Fellow IBS sufferer here, since my teenage years. The things that trigger mine are eating too much greasy food (like a burger and fries, sadly), eating large portions at one time, and steak, oddly enough. Also, the more stressed I am the worse it gets so trying to reduce stress helps but that obviously isn't always possible. Raw veggies were hard on my stomach at first but I have gotten used to it although keep the portions small. I go through stretches where I am fine with dairy, and stretches where it is immediate disaster, however, I've always been able to eat yogurt and it actually seems to help. I hope this is helpful to someone out there!

beatyfamily1

Don't you know Taco Bell is known to cause diarrhea? lol It makes me have to go.

1. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. I think it's half your body weight in ounces.
2. Foods like leafy greens, seeds, and peels from fruit are insoluble fiber. It helps with pushing out blockage if you are constipated and problems with controlling bowel movements.
3. Foods like nuts, berries, and legumes are soluble fiber. It helps with soaking up water to bulk up waste to make it more solid.

ringrosie

Your story reminds me a lot of my own experience, I coped with IBS for over a decade, with periods in my life being more severe than others (from vomiting to that which won't be mentioned). Its exhausting to feel that way every single day. I find that when I eat a lower carb lifestyle, my stomach issues go away entirely. Through trial and error, I learned that I also had a sensitivity to nuts, which impacted my IBS symptoms in a huge way. Now I'm symptom free, have more energy, and feel as though I have more control of my life. Hope you can find what works for you

pie_eyes

Um ... I get umm... the runs alot

I'm not kidding , not really sure why. I cook meat to optimal temps so it's not food poisoning

I was wondering if I have crohns or IBS , somebody said I might have celiac which I think is true, I can eat gluten but I can't in large amounts

I usually try to add a lot of fiber to my diet because I used to have constipation issues um

I feel like I've said enough to embarrass myself

Any help?

Zipp237

singingflutelady wrote: »

you should create a food diary to try to figure out your trigger foods so you can avoid them

I will second this. I figured out early in life that dairy did not agree with me, but if someone had told me to start a daily dairy, listing foods and amounts as well as symptoms, I'd have figured it out sooner.

You might find out what helps and hurts.

Needing to poop when it's not the best time to poop...it sucks. No other word for it.

I hope you figure it out.

Whitezombiegirl

I have ibs. Its mostly stress related - mostly gut spasms and cramps and constipation. I went paleo and never looked back. I have yoghurt though. When i do have grains or pulses in any quantity my symptoms return. Coffee kills my gut but it can work to stimulate things though.

Raw fruit and veg have never been a problem - salad was always my favourite meal as a kids so maybe im just used to it.

Good luck.

P.s buscopan cramps does nothing for me but gentle massage or rubbing my stomach in large slow circles does actually help me with the cramps and bloating. If its gas pains, a hard massage often helps me too.

Kelene616

beckydauber wrote: »

thanks. I deal with daily pain and nausea. So eating sometimes is a chore for me and end up NPO, nothing by mouth. The month of March I was NPO and ended up losing over 20 lbs. So my brother uses this app and I thought that I would give it a try as well.

I just read your message about gastroparesis. I personally do not have that, but my best friend does. I do have other problems tho. If I eat too much of anything with gluten or fat my stomach swells and I usually have to be in the hospital for a week or so. Most of the past few months have been NPO for me. It's crazy how hunger just fades. I'm not usually hungru at all, what helps stave it though is that I drink a lot of water, between 80-130 oz a day. How long have you had gastroparesis? I tried to message you, but couldnt, I'd love to chat with you

Kelene616

pie_eyes wrote: »

Um ... I get umm... the runs alot

I'm not kidding , not really sure why. I cook meat to optimal temps so it's not food poisoning

I was wondering if I have crohns or IBS , somebody said I might have celiac which I think is true, I can eat gluten but I can't in large amounts

I usually try to add a lot of fiber to my diet because I used to have constipation issues um

I feel like I've said enough to embarrass myself

Any help?

Has anyone checked you for c diff? It's a form of collitis which causes uncontrollable diarrhea among other things... I'm sorry you're going through that

shaumom

pie_eyes wrote: »

Um ... I get umm... the runs alot

I was wondering if I have crohns or IBS , somebody said I might have celiac which I think is true, I can eat gluten but I can't in large amounts ...
Any help?

I would highly recommend getting the blood test for celiac disease. And then if that's negative - which you actually have a higher chance of - I'd consider doing a celiac-level of compliance gluten free diet and see if it helps after a couple months (it takes 6 months minimum to heal after going gluten free - can take up to 5 years. Every time a celiac eats gluten, it will take up to 2 more weeks to heal that damage)

Because celiac disease WILL kill you, quite literally. It slowly destroys the inside of the intestines until you stop being able to absorb nutrients. And the body will either die of starvation - which typically only happens on faster cases of celiac disease - or more likely, it will die because some part of your body starts to give out after months or years of nutrient deficiencies. So, things like scurvy, beri beri, other diseases of nutrient deficiencies? Yeah, celiacs can get those. Or organs giving out, or the body unable to fight off a tiny little infection because the immune system can't do it's job, etc...

The ONLY treatment is a gluten free diet, but to a compliance level that requires some information to follow - celiac forums are a good place to find that info out.

But as to why you might have a negative test, it's because our testing is still rather crude. We only have tests that can detect when you are reacting to gluten, and even then, you have to be reacting ENOUGH. So if you are gluten free, or gluten-lite, you may not be producing enough biomarkers of a reaction and the test will give a false negative. It requires eating 2 slices of wheat bread's worth of gluten, daily, for about 2 months, for a test to be accurate.

If it is not this, I'd consider an elimination diet, myself, to see if something else is going on. Even if the doctors can't figure it out, there are a number of conditions that can have food triggers that an elimination diet might at least help with.

singingflutelady

And a colonoscopy for Crohn's which can also kill you

sllm1

I gave up gluten due to a completely unrelated health issue, and I no longer have that problem (except when I get cross-contaminated in a restaurant).

sgt1372

I'm on a high protein/carb & low fat diet - - 40/40/20. This has been on an ave of 1900-2500 cals per day of food consumed; 1600-2200 net after exercise.

This works out to about 190-250 gms of protein per day. I now weigh 171#, so this works out to 1.11-1.46 grams protein/# BW, which is well w/in the general guidelines for cutting to lose fat/weight which what I have been doing.

However, eating so much protein has 2 effects on me both related to the inability to fully digest all of it: 1) the runs and 2) gas. I take psyllium as a fiber supplement to address the runs and 2 digestive enzyme supplements (papain/papaya and bromelain/pineapple) to address the gas during each meal.

They seem to solve the problems for me.

GillianSmith2

IBS sufferer here as well, My main trigger is onion. as well as pasta. the only thing i have found that helps calm it down is ice cold peppermint tea.