Sick of ibs

tahinilove

Hi,

i get terrible bloating all day, cramping and just major tummy flare ups most days. I think i have a mixture between the two types of ibs which sucks. I dont want to go on meds with it (I'm anti taking anything unless it is life/death), so I was ondering if anyone had any dietary tips? I know dairy kills my stomach and garlic & onion too. I also think, after paying more attention, that when i cook things/fry them in oil or butter it aggravates my ibs too.

Any tips?

jzammetti

Wheat is a common culprit of this sort of stuff - maybe try to go gluten free for two weeks and see if it helps. It gave my friend complete relief and she had been dealing with ibs for years. She had to restrict just wheat for her first two weeks to see if it truly was the cause

tahinilove

Thanks for the advice! I actually am gluten free due to this. every now and then I'll have shredded wheat and i pretty much explode!

jzammetti

Thanks for the advice! I actually am gluten free due to this. every now and then I'll have shredded wheat and i pretty much explode!

Your photo does not seem to imply you need to lose weight - I presume that is the current you? I mention this because just being overweight had an ibs effect on me - It was caused by my overeating (I know this to be true because when I took that under control it finally went away).

jfsears

I take a supplement called nutracleanse it's says 1/3 cup a day but I use one tablespoon a day, 2 on bad days and have noticed a big difference also I take a probiotic everyday. It has made all the difference in the world. As far as food it's such an individual thing I feel your pain.

zumbalinda22

You could try peppermint. The easiest way is peppermint capsules which you can get in heath food stores. I've also used peppermint oil, but the taste is overwhelming! I'm not sure, but I think it's supposed to calm spasms; you could look it up. At any rate, it's natural and I don't think it will do any harm. Oh, and I agree - foods that are oily or contain a lot of oil are a definite problem! Better to avoid them. Good luck!

tahinilove

No i'm not trying to lose weight, actually looking to gain muscle so ibs ruins eating for that ha! Interesting about the overeating though! if i ate by my ibs hunger i would be significantly under my maintenance.

rmhand

Check out the radio shows on http://www.weightandwellness.com/ they have a few in the archive on IBS and digestion issues. It could be related to too many carbs (even from gluten free sources) and a lack of bifido bacteria in your intestines. If you have the time give these amazing ladies a listen!

sillygoosie

I second the peppermint recommendation. I also take acidophilus and psylium fiber. I recently started taking Digest-All and it's helping a lot. I found it at my local health food store. IBS sucks the big one.

deb3129

I can't really help a LOT with what dietary changes to make, but I can tell you that I have struggled with IBS my whole life, since I was a teenager, and now I have absolutely no symptoms. I am 100% sure that this is because of dietary, changes,but I completely changed my diet overnight when I decided it was time to get healthier,so I don't know exactly what part of it helped with the IBS. My opinion is that a big part of it was the dairy that I gave up, but I don't really have anything to back that.

I switched from a typical, fast food, junk food, american diet to a plant based, whole foods diet, and it has erased all symptoms of both my IBS and reflux. My suggestion would be to try to cut back on the known culprits(fried food, dairy, etc) and see if it helps. Or try cutting back or eliminating one thing at a time to find what helps you.

tahinilove

Rmhand-ill check those out! My carbs are around 270g a day!

Deb3129- I'm so happy for you recovering from it! I eat a really 'clean' diet which makes it more annoying! Plus all my favourite foods are dairy. Boo!

Peppermint really helps then? Great!

Does anyone have any veggies that trigger it?

ScottyD135

Alcohol and chocolate are two more "avoiders". Daily fiber supplement helps a LOT. Don't use the pills, drink it down!

cherry5oda

I was never diagnosed but my doctor suspected IBS for the pain I was having . I found my only triggers to be caffeine and very sugary foods (i.e. ice cream, chocolate bars). I probably would have figured it out much sooner if I had kept notes on when I got pains and what I ate that day.

TJMiddaugh

i recently stumbled across a supplement called lactoferrin. its a prebiotic. i use it for low iron issues also. but this product is like a super supp and actually supplies a ton of healthy benifits, i also take a high quality probiotic (make sure to research your probiotic most are useless) theres also a brand called apolactoferrin which eliminates the iron (so you dont overload the system if its not needed) you should check this product out online and read a bunch of their reviews and what they treat. i know one thing, proper stomach and intestinal micro flora is necessary for proper digestion and overall health. ive been using biotrust's pro biotic, a little spendy. but im thinking of going back to hmf forte (hmf stands for human micro flora and is about bout 20 bucks a month) i would suggest starting with a few weeks of hmf replete (prob like 30 bucks for 1 week treatment, spendy but extremely benificial to begin with comes with 7 packets, when i took it i was advised to take half the pack in the morning and half at night for 2 weeks then switch to forte for daily maintenance). these are just high quality probiotics. replete is the initial flush and recolonization period, then forte is for daily maintenance. you can justify the cost difference between the two by comparing the micro flora count) you would be surprised how many daily problems originate in our stomachs and intestines due to over chemicalized and treated waters, veggies, meats and so on. they all disturb the natural balance from herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, flourides, chlorine's, preservatives etc...which promote unknowing major imbalances inside of us. i would try something natural like this first but im no doctor either. i was amazed at how good i felt and how many nagging symptoms and health related issues cleared up by doing this

zumbalinda22

Yes, I think caffeine can be a problem. (though I can't give up my coffee!) Also watch out for some of the artificial sweeteners (if you use them). I had something recently that had sorbitol in it, and I thought it was going to kill me!

Vehicon

Alcohol and chocolate are two more "avoiders". Daily fiber supplement helps a LOT. Don't use the pills, drink it down!

You gotta be careful with fiber supplements since a lot of them contain insoluble fiber, which is bad for a lot of people with IBS. Especially the chewable ones since those also tend to have artificial sweeteners, which have a laxative effect. No good if you've got IBS-D.

I personally have learned to avoid alcohol and anything resembling lettuce because they pretty much destroy me the day after I consume them. Especially spinach, which is a shame because it's supposed to be very healthy.