Hello..IBS can anyone help

Hello rblee2010,

Glad you found MFP, it was exactly what I was looking for with my new lifestyle.

I was diagnosed with IBS many years ago but I believe a lot of mine was stress induced. This past three years was probably the most stressful of my entire career, my IBS didn't act up but my weight sure shot up.

My profile and diary are open, I'm an open book. If I can help you, I'd be glad too.

God bless!

I understand the frustration of trying eat right and or work out with having IBS. I've suffered on and off with it for over 10 years now. Lately I have come to realize that highly acidic foods like oranges, grapefruits and even too much tomato can upset my stomach. Like someone else mentioned, stress can do a lot to make it worse as well. My doctor has always told me to work out more or find ways to mentally and physically burn off energy, and that it would help. I've kicked off this year with being a lot more active and I am working on eating healthier and I've found that it has helped.

I had the problem for years and then my thyroid Dr suggested Flaxseed Oil...like magic problem solved ! My daughter had her gall bladder removed several years ago and so she tried it and like magic problem solved ! Why do so many Dr's avoid telling you something so simple, I take 2000mg twice a day...it takes about a week to build up in your system. Hope it helps you!

Just wanted to add...I did the food elimination thing and it worked for a while and then something else would become a new trigger... I have been using the Flaxseed Oil for over a year and free of symptoms!

flaxseed oil and probiotics. My mom has IBS and swears by the probiotics. You can get them at any drug store over the counter.

I agree with this! Also try using almond milk, or coconut milk. They both taste pretty good.

flaxseed oil and probiotics. My mom has IBS and swears by the probiotics. You can get them at any drug store over the counter.

I also have IBS. I agree with those who suggested an elimination diet - especially if you suspect certain categories of food might be the issue. Just make sure to cut out everything that might be an issue...I spent several years thinking lactose was my big issue, when in reality, I only have a problem with dairy when my system is already irritated. For me, my IBS is triggered by high fiber foods, especially insoluble fiber (the kind in raw veggies and unprocessed wheat, versus the kind in oats and some other things). It makes eating healthy really hard...I can't eat most leafy greens or raw veggies, and even cooked veggies I have to be careful which ones and how much. Lactose and grease will make my IBS worse once it's started, but don't trigger it on their own. For me, sticking to a low-fiber diet and taking Beano (which breaks down the stuff my body can't) before eating offending foods helps.

There's also been some research that low vitamin D can cause/exacerbate IBS. So maybe have yours checked at your next doctor's appointment. My IBS definitely improved a lot after I got that sorted out. Mine was low enough that they had me on prescription-strength supplements for a month to get it back up to where it should be, and now I take regular 1000mg ones to maintain it. (So getting it checked might be better than just trying supplements.)

If you're not sure which foods are triggering your symptoms, maybe create a "food" for yourself that's got no calories or water, but just says something like "flare-up", and record that any time you have symptoms, under the closest mealtime to that time of day. Then you could go back after several weeks and see if you could find a pattern.

Hi Rosalie. I was diagnosed with IBS 5 years ago. I cannot have any dairy what-so-ever. I was told I was simply lactose intolerant, but I found every part of milk causes issues for me (beware of foods with whey or casein in them as this might be causing some flare ups!) I also cannot have red meat and caffeine anymore. Recently corn, black beans and tomato skins have been bothering me. I have recently found that taking an OTC Probiotic has been helping to control some flare ups. Also, if you start to have a flare up, I recommend peppermint extract tablets (or a piece of peppermint candy) to help calm your stomach. As most of the pain and quick changes in bowel movements are related to stomach spasms caused by your stomach not being able to easily digest the food, peppermint is a great way to calm the stomach muscles.

Additionally some tips and tricks I can offer that I have discovered through reading articles related to IBS, do not drink after you've started eating a meal. Most people with IBS do not produce enough digestive enzymes (a reason they have trouble digesting foods) and drinking will dilute the the enzymes you're already producing. Drink right before a meal or 1 hour after. Also, treat fruit the same way. If you eat fruit after you've started your meal chances are that it will rot before it is digested. Also, think about drinking pineapple juice or eating pineapple before you eat. The acid in pineapple juice closely mimics human digestive enzymes so this will give you a boost in how you digest food.

Using MFP is a great way to track what you are eating and seeing what causes your flare ups so you can avoid some of the foods that may be triggering flare ups. Sometimes it can be the littlest things; like the skins on the tomato. This may sound weird, but one way to find out if something is bothering you is to look at your bowel movements. If something looks undigested in it, it could be what's triggering the flare ups.

Some good dairy alternatives I've found. Silk Live! Yogurt, completely soy based and has some nice flavors that don't have the strong soy taste. Almond Dream or Rice Dream milk: since most dairy alternatives are soy based, I like to drink something different for milk just to keep from putting too much soy in my diet, as soy can increase estrogen in the system. Coconut Milk Ice Cream has a delicious mint and carob chip ice cream, so I can have "chocolate" and ice cream, but the soy delicious ice creams are nice. I also enjoy a sorbet now and again. The same company that makes the Rice and Almond (and Soy) Dream milks, ice creams and such make a delicious 100% pure dark chocolate bar (I cheat sometimes!) that has no milk in it. I use Earth Balance butter, I prefer the whipped kind as it has a consistency more like real butter, but the soy and no soy versions aren't bad, Smart Balance has a flaxseed butter that is also dairy free. A note on the butters is to take it out of the fridge about 15 minutes before you want to use it to soften it up. Galaxy food has some decent dairy free cheese alternatives (make sure to get the vegan or rice ones as their other shreds have some form of milk in them), but I think my favorite is Daiya cheese shreds.

Hope that's helpful! It's been hard adjusting to the new restrictions. I don't always stick to them and then have to deal with the flare ups. It gets frustrating at times, but hang in there!

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