IBS

dshields2013
dshields2013 Posts: 11
in Introduce Yourself
If anyone suffers from IBS, please post a message on how you deal with it. I can't stand it anymore!!! My Dr. advised me to increase my fiber intake but it seemed to make my symptoms so much worse, so I backed off of the fiber. Then, I tried eating Activia for a few days, and was still feeling so sick. I go to the bathroom 6 or more times in a day. It's really interfering in my daily routine. I would love to hear from anyone who has this. Thanks!

Replies

  • eylia
    eylia Posts: 200 Member
    I have Crohn's, which is similar, but worse, we share some symptoms though. I would suggest your doctor is right in suggesting a diet change, though fibre may not be it for you, it does help some. Google is your friend, you'll find plenty of information from nutritionists and IBS sufferers that might help.

    I believe off the top of my head that the following things can act as triggers, that is, one of them, or a combination, everyone is different; gluten, dairy, raw vegetables, red meat, excess sweeteners... I'm not suggesting avoiding them all, but perhaps try eliminating/reducing different things each week until you understand the connections better for yourself. I know what's 'good' and what's 'bad' for me personally, and I generally avoid them, symptoms don't bother me as much as they should now (as I've had this since age 8) so if I'm in a situation the following day or so to deal with the side effects, I'll make a call to indulge.

    I understand it can be frustrating, and also embarrassing, but really in the big scheme of things it's quite manageable. Sometimes people get caught up wondering 'why them' and don't work for a way to live with what they have, and you'd be surprised at how many people suffer from similar things now! You aren't alone, and you'll get on top of it with a bit of focus. Wishing you luck!

    Edited to add: many people report finding probiotics useful, however a tablet form may be better worth trying to see, as the dairy in the activia might not suit you.
  • LishLash79
    LishLash79 Posts: 562 Member
    i cut all bread and grain products out of my diet.. made a huge difference.. i have to be careful with certain vegis still tho (eg.. cabbage, spinich, brussels sprouts etc)

    good luck ;)
  • srogers89
    srogers89 Posts: 190 Member
    IBS is a really tricky thing because a lot of the time it can be activated by psychological things like stress or can in fact be food related. Firstly you need to determine which category you fall under, I personally fell under the stress category, I would be bed ridden in pain approx. 2 weeks before exams or any stressful activity. I was hospitalized overseas once for dehydration from not being able to keep anything down, I had been away from home for 9 months and it was getting to me.

    If you fall into the food category side of things you need to basically treat it like you would an allergy. Go down to a bare bones diet and cut out ertain groups like dairy, wheat etc.. as you start to re-introduce them into your diet you will hopefully be able to identitfy what it is causing these issues. As the woman above said, for her it was grains, for you it might be acidic foods. IBS is one of those horrible things that affects everyone differently!

    Good luck, hopefully you get well soon.
  • jojo37696
    jojo37696 Posts: 93 Member
    We are still unsure if that is my husband's issue but some things that are helping in the meantime are peppermint tea and a heating pad. This seems to bring him out of the attacks faster. hope that helps
  • dshields2013
    dshields2013 Posts: 11
    Thank you all so much for you input. In a way, it's comforting knowing that many people deal with this condition and I'm not alone. Good luck to all of you. :)
  • mazamarie
    mazamarie Posts: 34
    You've got my sympathy, IBS is a daily struggle.

    My symptoms vary a few weeks with C and then a few weeks with D.. But these swings bring on Hemeroids, which make things worse. I just had a really bad case of them for last two weeks which stopped me from exercising on bike, elyptical and treadmill and swimming..

    I just struggle on really.. I try to eat healthy use fibre supplement and take vitamins etc.
  • microscrubbers
    microscrubbers Posts: 22 Member
    My doc put me on Questran, it is amazing. I was about to have to quit my job until this came along.....look into it. It's mainly for high cholesterol (which I don't have) , but use it for the side effects of binding you up.....!
  • lauraablair87
    lauraablair87 Posts: 3
    I've had IBS since I was 16 and suffer from both food and stress, the doctor told me to increase the amount of fibre in my diet and I've always found that increasing fibre in the diet always makes the IBS worse at first, but then it gets better and stay's better and now I only really get it when i'm naughty and I binge on rubbish food or i'm stressed.

    http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Irritable-bowel-syndrome/Pages/Treatment.aspx

    I found the NHS website helps because it also depends on the type of fibre your have.

    Hope this helps
    xxx
  • claire671
    claire671 Posts: 93 Member
    I only eat wholemeal bread (if any) and brown rice, avoid alcohol as much as I can and spicy foods. For me it is more triggered by stress though. To be honest the one thing that I absolutely swear by is Colonic Hydrotherapy. I know a lot of people don't think there is much point to it but for me having one treatment every 6 months has helped hugely.
    Best of luck!
  • coral_b
    coral_b Posts: 264 Member
    I suffer from both stress and food triggers. It may seem a bit too much info but you need to specify symptoms as fibre can help with diarrhoea, but if it's IBS-C then too much fibre can completely go the wrong way, making it worse. (I mean is it always IBS-D or do you get both occasionally)
    Firstly.. PEPPERMINT! tea or capsules really helped me. Also running has helped, since I've been more active I've suffered less.
    Secondly, Probitoics!! Expensive but my god they help.
    Thirdly, FODMAP diet was my life saver. After too many nights of being up sobbing in agony I had a friend suggest this. Basically you eliminate food groups and re-introduce them slowly to assess their effects. I now don't have milk, onion or garlic EVER. I have gluten/ wheat only 3 times a week max, I don't eat yoghurt, only greek yoghurt is fine for some reason. Also, certain veg don't sit well with me so I have to have veg free days until my body has digested them!
    Unfortunately everyone is so different with it. I've seen specialists and done a lot of research. It's been a huge battle for 10 years- but i'm hardly ever in pain now ( 5 months and counting!)
    Feel free to message me, I've added you. It really is dreadful, and people who don't suffer thinking it's " a bit of wind or bloating" don't help matters.
    My struggle lately is, If I don't eat great, although I don't get as much pain or symptoms, occasionally I'll get a very mild stomach ache (just enough so I feel a tad uncomfy) then be really down and tired the next day. So many effects on the body that people don't realise! Good luck xx
  • lewandt
    lewandt Posts: 566 Member
    I had about 2 or 3 bad years of stomach issues. I went to the Dr and he said i had IBS. I was only in there about 10 minutes and he did not do anything but said if i have a sensitive stomach, i have IBS. I made him test me for gluten intolerance and that came out ok.

    So i decided to completely change my diet. I have found that eating smaller portions, staying away from fast food, cutting back on breads, fried foods, processed meats, things like that really help me. Going out to eat use to scare me but now i know to just eat a small portion and bring the rest home for the next day and i am usually ok. That time of the month is usually a bad time for my stomach so i am especially careful then.

    Knowing those things really help and i rarely have any issues now. Maybe once or twice a year. I have read that exercise helps too. So overall, everything i have done for my stomach has made me lose weight and become more healthier.

    I don't know if i had/have IBS or not but i am so glad i don't have to deal with it like i used to, it is awful, makes you not want to go out in public!
  • lewandt
    lewandt Posts: 566 Member
    By the way, i read this on IBS (from a local nutritionist in my area) and it helped me to understand it more. I also tried the white diet like she recommended in the beginning and it does help. I also used to use it when it was that time of the month and i was afraid of eating anything.

    http://www.karenhurd.com/pages/healthtopics/specifichealthconcerns/ht-shc-inflammatoryboweldisease.html (her story is kind of interesting too. She is all about using food to cure whatever is ailing you)
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    What are the side effects of the medication? There are natural solutions that actually work on cases as bad as mine...
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
    As others mentioned, try eliminating certain things, one at a time.
    Gluten. Was my problem. Well, still is a little at times.
    But I stay away from it as much as possible.
    Boy, can't describe the difference.
    No more bloating, abdominal pain, etc etc and even lost weight slow, but lost.
    Good luck to you.
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    I try to keep my fibre below 45g per day. I avoid gluten and dairy. Sugary foods, including fruit etc., can also make things worse.
    Probiotics don't work. Peppermint oil tablets are supposed to help, but I've not seen much difference from taking them.
  • necee99
    necee99 Posts: 52
    are you eating a lot of fatty foods and dairy?
  • roseundeutsch
    roseundeutsch Posts: 8
    So, I recently have been told I have IBS. The doctor put me on fiber con (a fiber supplement pill) and pepcid for the nausea. Has anyone used fiber con? If so, how long did it take to regulate your bowel movements? And, did things get worse before they got better (as in, did you go from constipation to diaherra before things got regular)?

    Thanks :)
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Do some research on FODMAPS. It's an elimination diet and then you gradually bring in foods to see what causes the problems.
  • hale03071
    hale03071 Posts: 63 Member
    The thing with IBS is each person is so different is that there is no one magic bullet or treatment. Me personally found that eliminating gluten entirely has helped a lot. Its worth mentioning that i was tested for celiac and it was negative, but eliminating gluten has improved my symptoms. Second, a probiotic is a MUST. They are not that expensive, I've ordered them from online drugstores or healthfood sites for less than $10 for a month's supply. Also, the least amount of sugar and processed foods does help as well and that includes fruit (which is high in sugar). Also, I have recently started putting a 1T of organic cold-pressed hemp oil in my daily shake and seen some improvement over the last couple of weeks. No other treatments, including increasing fiber, fiber supplements, RX meds have worked for me one bit.
  • charissh
    charissh Posts: 91 Member
    With me it was trial and error, but I now know to avoid certain foods (alcohol, fizzy drinks, Caffeine, orange juice, cabbage and other veg like that, a lot of dairy, a lot of bread) but mostly it is caused by stress for me, sometimes any food at all will make it flare up!

    I got a table called Mebeverine from the doctors and this helps the pain.

    But most of all I find the thing that helps for me is exercise! It is so hard to get motivated, and sometimes it is just plain impossible with the pain. But I started off doing low impact aerobics, yoga and swimming slowly and now my symptoms are amazingly better and I can run for miles and do hours in the gym with no bad effects.

    I really hope you find some way of improving your symptoms, and know that you are definitely not alone in this! xxx
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    The thing with IBS is each person is so different is that there is no one magic bullet or treatment.

    That's why an elimination diet is so useful. For instance, I always thought eggs had an effect. It's only after doing this that I have found that its actually the bread that I always had with eggs.
  • roseundeutsch
    roseundeutsch Posts: 8
    thanks for all the helpful comments! ended up getting an x-ray to rule out anything else because the fiber didn't help much. X-ray determined constipation. Now my doctor has me on a three day laxative spree to "clean my system out". Nausea has already started up...feeling horrible. But hopefully I get better! Definitely will try the elimination diets after all of this is over :)

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