IBS Sufferer - advice?

ELF_Winters

I suffer from IBS but I struggle to give up dairy I don't have too much of it but I do have cheese in certain things and milk when having Weetabix. I can sometimes get bad stomach and feeling sick even without having any dairy. Any one have any advice?

Rozlynmac

It sounds like you've never tried a proper elimination diet to see what foods are triggers.

To be honest, there's so many variations in how people experience IBS you could get 100 different answers to this. My own symptoms tend to mutate to some extent every few years. I've found being vegetarian, but eliminating most fruit works. Dairy for me is a nightmare, but I can take fully skimmed milk in drinks/porridge so long as I don't eat it too often. And as I love cheese I tend to eat it as much as I can, but avoid if I'm having a bad spell. It's a risk, but one I accept the consequences of. Fat seems to be as much of an issue as the lactose/dairy aspect, so I get on better with fully skimmed than I do with semi or full-fat iyswim.

Wheat/yeast based products tend to be triggers for me too, so the combo of Weetabix and full fat milk may be a problem.

The pain isn't always associated with something you've just eaten. Often I get ill during the night, having not eaten for several hours, or not knowingly having eaten anything that's a known trigger - sometimes it's a cumulation thing - just too many days of not quite right things building up until my body can't take any more.

There are plenty good books available on elimination diets if you don't want to/can't see a dietician (to be honest, you need one that knows about IBS 'cos mine kept suggesting stuff I already knew I couldn't eat). Follow the diet for as long as you need to & you'll learn what the problems are. Often things you think are a problem actually aren't, they're just secondary triggers because something else set it off.

Another option, instead of elimination diet if you don't want to try that, is to keep a very detailed food diary noting any symptoms and when as well as what/how much you eat of anything. So don't just list 'Spaghetti Carbonara', note the ingredients too. Like tracking your calories it gives a really good picture of what you're eating and the connection to any symptoms that you probably won't really grasp until you've done it.

HTH

FlynnMacCallister

Dairy is a common one for IBS, as is sugar (in fruits and sweet veg, not just in processed foods and soda!) but unless your gastroenterologist has specifically said to cut it, you probably want to see one about food intolerances and triggers. Don't try to do an at-home elimination diet; for it to be valid and safe, you need guidance from a health professional.

For me, I have intolerances to salicylates, amines and glutamates, but cutting them down as much as possible only helped my headaches and nausea, and barely made any difference to my bowel issues. Switching to soymilk (if you're in the US, get Edensoy or something -- Silk is dreadful! If you're somewhere the Vitasoy brand exists, that's the one I like!) and cutting my fat intake down as much as possible made a world of difference, as did adding a fibre supplement to my already pretty fibre-rich diet (I'm a big fan of my raw veggies and whole grains. XD )

But, yeah. Managing your IBS through diet is something that your doctor really should be helping with, even though they often don't do so automatically *grumbe grumble grumble*.

snowmanluv

For the longest time I didn't know what I had. After talking to a fellow employee she said she had IBS. I started eliminating milk (all milk). That cleared up a lot of symptoms for me but I have to watch dairy -- too much ice cream, cheese, or whip cream causes problems (bloating, cramps, etc). I can eat and do eat yogurt with probiotics. You can have tests to figure out what you are allergic too. My friends literally took a book that had anything and everything that can cause problems and went through them one by one noting in the book if they caused problems. From there she determined her diet. Mine was complicated a little further due to my wheat/gluten allergies. Can can start with a eliminating diet. Easiest thing to do is start juicing fruits and vegetables for about 3-5 days to clear out the gunk. Continue with fruits and vegetables then add in stuff. It's hard, very hard but you will feel so much better. The one friend's doctor said IBS is the same has telling something they have a cold...they don't know what causes it so they lump it under the umbrella terms of IBS.

Rozlynmac

Fibre is a funny one. My M-I-L adds Bran to so much of what she cooks, because she needs it to control her symptoms and it works beautifully for her. I on the other hand eat white everything as I can't touch high fibre stuff, it actually makes my symptoms worse.

It is a fine balance to work out.

raychilg

I suffer with IBS and was given tablets from my doctor called Mebeverine. They're really helpful, they say take three times a day but i only take them when i get stomach cramps and they eliminate them instantly. Would recommend trying them definately. I find that my IBS gets brought on more with oils and fatty meats, since I have been restricting calories and fat intake I have found it to be a lot better. But we're all different. Good luck with sorting it out!

Rozlynmac

Time of the month can be a kicker too as your hormones play funny beggars with your digestive system (I did check you were female before I posted this ) I found the pill initially made my symptoms worse, so spent several years avoiding it, then for other health reasons decided I had no choice but to go back on it and found a different brand actually helps quell my symypoms around that time.

It is worth discussing with a doctor, there are various medications available like mebeverine, colofac, fybogel etc and not all work for everyone, so some experimentation with them with the GPs support can be invaluable in finding what suits you.

lizard053

Figure out your trigger foods! Whatever makes you hurt a few hours after eating is a likely suspect. I found probiotics and clean eating were the best things to get my symptoms under control. With probiotics, I don't have to give up dairy! I do, however, have to give up a lot of starchy foods. I've never been diagnosed with IBS, but I've had 3 doctors ask me if I have been. Figure that one out...

shutterbug282

I know what triggers my IBS and I do steer clear of them although it's really not easy to. I would say go and speak to a health professional and they'll be able to give you some help.

scordrick

Hi! As many of the other postings stated, definately work with your MD on an elimination diet. I too suffer from IBS. My main trigger foods are corn, lettuce, and anything that's greasy. I'm lucky enough not to have milk as one of them. I know how painful it can be so I'd recommend working on it sooner than later. Good luck.

agentscully514

my IBS disappeared completely when I cut out dairy. Turned out I actually have lactose intolerance. I *love* milk and cheese, but the pain relief was worth it.

Try substituting soy or almond milk for a few days. They taste better than you might think. And read labels. A lot of baked goods, energy bars, and other foods have nonfat dry milk added. and milk chocolate has powdered lactose in it.

I also agree that it would probably help you to do a proper elimination diet to see what other foods could be setting you off.

C00lCountry

I found out it was medicine I as taking causing me all kinds of problems. Not sure what you maybe on. I thought it was the food but stopped taking meds and getting better now. Been 5 weeks for them and slowly improving.

Annette_rose

For the longest time I didn't know what I had. After talking to a fellow employee she said she had IBS. I started eliminating milk (all milk). That cleared up a lot of symptoms for me but I have to watch dairy -- too much ice cream, cheese, or whip cream causes problems (bloating, cramps, etc). I can eat and do eat yogurt with probiotics. You can have tests to figure out what you are allergic too. My friends literally took a book that had anything and everything that can cause problems and went through them one by one noting in the book if they caused problems. From there she determined her diet. Mine was complicated a little further due to my wheat/gluten allergies. Can can start with a eliminating diet. Easiest thing to do is start juicing fruits and vegetables for about 3-5 days to clear out the gunk. Continue with fruits and vegetables then add in stuff. It's hard, very hard but you will feel so much better. The one friend's doctor said IBS is the same has telling something they have a cold...they don't know what causes it so they lump it under the umbrella terms of IBS.

I completely agree that it is a mystery diagnosis they give you when they can't figure out what to do about it. I take Bentyl to try and help with the pain but doesn't help much. It is a very bothersome problem. My dr said I would have to eat baby food or all food pureed in order to not have any problems...ugh. Have not resorted to that yet. Just suffer the daily pain.

fitzie63

This is NOT a medical advice forum. Consult your licensed, qualified, physician.

scatgash

Similar story to everyone else, I suffer from IBS and cutting out dairy has helped massively. I recommend getting some oat milk, it's so delicious
Also, when I have really bad bouts of IBS, I find sipping peppermint tea or having a peppermint oil capsule soothes the pain quite well.

kjensen15

Agree with the previous poster on taking probiotics! I have had GI issues for a long time, ulcers, acid reflux, gall bladder disease/removal and probiotics really seem to help me out. Spicy or fatty foods and recently excessive amounts of sugar or artificial sweetners are some of my trigger foods. Which is really hard for me b/c I LOVE Mexican and have a huge sweet tooth, but I have found if I can limit these types of foods I do feel better.

SilentRenegade

I lived with issues for years and accepted it after a while. However, I decided to try an elimination diet and took all gluten out of my diet. Needless to say, it cleared up and a lot of my stomach pains, constant fatigue, joint pain, and other fun pains went away. I reintroduced it ONE NIGHT and it was like I had set myself on fire. Sadly, I just lived on aspirin, coffee, and fiber supplements (ate them like candy) for a long time, but now that I don't need that anymore, I'm totally cool with keeping the gluten out of my diet... I miss bread and pasta sometimes, but I remind myself that I'll be in a world of hurt for about a week after I eat it. I've seen two doctors and both suggested I stay away from gluten, because it has also helped with my depression and anxiety. I am meds free now!

kjensen15

This is NOT a medical advice forum. Consult your licensed, qualified, physician.

She was simply asking for suggest from others that may also be suffering from IBS. IBS has many verified triggers and symptoms hearing what has worked for someone else may be beneficial for her. I believe she has already talked to a doctor, but there really isn't much a doctor can do to help this condition, it really is identifying and trying to eliminate the triggers.

FlynnMacCallister

Fibre is a funny one. My M-I-L adds Bran to so much of what she cooks, because she needs it to control her symptoms and it works beautifully for her. I on the other hand eat white everything as I can't touch high fibre stuff, it actually makes my symptoms worse.

It is a fine balance to work out.

So true! The high-fiber approach is like poison for my mum, but works really well for me!

piglet1643

Here's a suggestion: keep a food/feeling diary for one month and that should pretty much tell you what is triggering your issues. I also have IBS and was diagnosed with it almost 7 years ago. I understand that if you log your food on MFP, you'll be able to immediately see what you're eating exactly. If you also keep a diary of how you're feeling both physically and emotionally as well, you might be able to tie the two together. For me, my IBS is mostly psychosomatic. It varies from person to person, though. I tend to carry my stress and emotions in my intestinal tract. Add certain "iffy" foods to that and my IBS can be almost unbearable. It really helped me to track it that way and now I can pretty much control it...without medicine

Anomalia

Try drinking 1/4 c of aloe vera juice daily.

mountaingirl222

I have to take Hyomax and limit my fiber, fiber for me makes it worse

Gt3ch

This is NOT a medical advice forum. Consult your licensed, qualified, physician.

I'm assuming the OP has an IBS diagnosis from a Dr. and didn't just decide it's IBS because of GI distress. It would be great advice to go back for more help if doctors were qualified for these issues. They're not. An IBS diagnosis only means the Dr. has excluded a short list of serious conditions and is unsure of the cause of the GI distress. For a lot of Dr.'s that means it's therefore an emotional issue (& the OP is therefore SOL). The reality is the cause could be any of a number of things. An IBS patient is on their own to figure out the root cause and how to manage it.

A food diary and a rigorous elimination diet are absolutely the first places to start. Food allergies and intolerances are very common and often present GI distress. Even if you were consulting with a Dr. it's always up to the patient to sort these issues out anyway. There simply are no 100% accurate tests for these in the Dr's office. A Dr.'s or nutritionalist's consultation wouldn't go beyond basic common sense advice on these matters.