IBS - help needed

I was diagnosed with Crohn's since 2006(IBD) (which seems to have started as IBS earlier) after 2 years of pain and finally, hospitalization. At first I was terrified to eat, anything. I didn't want to aggravate things back to where they had been.
For me my biggest trigger was pork pre-diagnosis, but after i learned that cooked football ham/deli ham or lean pork roast wass ok for me, bacon was worse, but manageable, but pork sausage was (and still is) to be avoided unless I plan to be at home and crampy.

I fully agree with starting out simple with a base diet of relatively 'safe' foods. You probably have already learned what food source/group is a trigger for you. Before I knew i had Crohn's I knew what made me feel worse. If not you will quickly find out.

When i was first diagnosed i did a lot of reading and a lot of talking with other people and learned that everyone with IBS/IBD is completely different diet wise/trigger wise. Some people can't handle raw veggie, some can't do only certain veggies, some can't handle any. Some people can't eat spicy, others, like me, do fine with spice. Some are aggravated by legumes (beans), others aren't. Some struggle with dairy or beef.

There are some things I noticed most people I met with IBS/IBD could eat - fish, poultry (chicken/turkey), and oddly enough, game meats (venison etc). Water vegetables were ok for most (cucumbers, lettuce, peppers).

Good yogurt will support good GI health.

Take it slow and figure o ut which naturally occurring foods are ok for your diet. Then you can go back to trying some of your favourite, if you have any, processed meals or treat. Then you can figure out restaurants/fast food. For me KFC/taco bell is the devil, can't eat it, but Burger king or wendys seems to be ok. I can eat italian style take out pizza (thinner crust, smaller toppings, authentic taste), but commercial (cardboard) pizza (think little caesars etc.) will casue me agony.

It has been almost 10 years since diagnosis and have currently been off meds, for about 4 years with very few if anyflares.

I do have to say that since I started on MFP and focused on really adding wholesome foods to my diet, my IBS symptoms have drastically reduced.

Crohn's and Colitis Foundation in US and Canada has a very supportive base that I found quite helpful. I don't know about overseas groups, but that's the beauty of the Internet

IBS/IBD can be quite manageable and try to focus on you and what works for you, just like MFP take in the info, evaluate, try it and do what works for you!

Wishing the best for ya!

Stress is a huge factor to IBS/IBD. I forgot to mention as I got so caught up in t he diet aspect. Meditation sounds like a great idea!

I had some symptoms for a bit and saw a homeopath. The remedy he prescribed addressed the symptoms for the most part. My remedy was ignatia 30c. 6c may also help. I am still dealing with my anxiety levels in different ways, but the external symptoms are not as severe.

So, I have had IBS since I was in Middle School. My doctor said one of my biggest triggers was stress. Almost every ailment I have had in my life a doctor asks, "Do you stress easily?" Ummm....yes! I have noted that my IBS acts up after dealing with a stressful situation, eating too much dairy in one setting (usually milk or eggs), too much sugar (If I went anywhere near a soda before 11am, I would be in crampy pain!), and if I binge (which happens). My IBS tends to be diarrhea, not constipation. My gastroenterologist recommended Accidopholis, which has helped out a lot, but the biggest help was getting my Macros under control. Activia helps as well.

I was also diagnosed with Diverticulitis in 2004, which doesn't allow me to eat large amounts of small of seeds or nuts. A week of Poppy Seed Dressing had me hospitalized for over 4 days. Then in 2010 I had my gallbladder removed which just increases IBS issues. In 2011 I started eating healthier and exercising and my IBS symptoms basically disappeared. In 2013, I went back to my bad eating habits and immediately I was having IBS pains daily, In March this year, I started eating healthy again and no more symptoms.

I think everyone is different, but you are definitely on the right track by getting healthy! Good luck, and your welcome to add me as an MFP friend!

I have had IBS for 11 years. In the last 2 years I started on a low-FODMAPS diet, which is definitely something to try if you have IBS-D; it took me from just-about-nonfunctional to someone who can comfortably exercise outdoors without constantly worrying about the bathroom. I also got bloodwork done last year which revealed I have pernicious anemia - the inability to absorb vitamin B12. After oral supplements (which made me sicker) I got a few B12 shots and this has really helped my stomach tremendously. It's something to get checked out. And finally, consider whether hormonal birth control, if you're on it, might be making your IBS worse. That was the case for me - there are other options out there, of which the IUD is probably the least likely to result in pregnancy.

So, part of the reason I'm on here is that low-FODMAPS worked really well for me, and I gained weight from eating easily-absorbed starches on the diet, and eating too much. Calorie tracking would definitely help you to manage this. I'm grateful I can finally focus on something other than eating to avoid a flare-up, though of course all my meals are chosen with being gentle to my stomach in mind.

Good luck! I know IBS doesn't have a one-size-fits-all solution so what I've experienced may or may not work for you. In the past I've tried taking tons of probiotics, virtually every commercially available one on the market (which did nothing for me, though others have had good success with it) and taking daily calcium supplements with meals to cut down on stomach acidity (which sort of worked, but left me with frightening heart palpitations).

My youngest daughter has ulcerative colitis. I have symptoms of IBS, but it's really hormonally driven(worse at AF), and undiagonsed. My daughter started having problems at 3 yrs old. We worked with doctors for a year trying to manage the symptoms, finally had a colonoscopy when she was 4 and that's when they diagnosed the colitis. We were able to get her into remission with immunosuppressant meds. That worked for another year or so. Last year we had to make the decision to go with hardcore nasty medications or surgery to remove her colon. The meds only help about 30% of the people for maybe a year or two. She had her colon removed. She's basically almost normal now. I find for her a "bland" diet is most tolerated. easily absorbed protiens and starches. simple fruits and veggies. anything like kale or greens is too much. Milk is tolerated for the most part. Colitis is different than IBS- the main thing is to find your triggers.

Thanks for this thread. I'm currently going through this right now and my doctor has me working with a nutritionist to help find my triggers. I have been diagnosed for years. Occasionally, my monthly hormones would cause havoc to my body and no one knew why. They would just say take aleve or midol. I now know that Sara Lee whole wheat bread and dairy are just a few of my triggers. Also, I don't like taking prescription meds so I asked people at my local whole foods what did they recommend. I was given a probotic. HTH

Some people might need to look into SIBO if you are not having any results on the low fodmap diet. Also, anxiety can really affect IBS. Anyone feel free to add me, I eat low fodmap now for a month (open diary). Mind you can still have gut irritants that are not fodmap

I've been in pain for 15 years, and my latest GI doc just suggested the the fodmap elimination diet. And my hida scan was abnormal, so I'm talking to a surgeon about my gallbladder next Monday. When you add in my kidney transplant and impaired renal function, things get tricky. I'm limiting sugars, fats, and protein. I don't want to be in pain, but I really, really don't want to lose my kidney.

Anyway, when I hit my calorie goal (painful fasting days are very common lately), and when I don't binge (it's hard when you can't eat for three days), I've been pretty proud of myself. I feel like I could live like this. It's most of the food I preferred as a child, which makes me wonder if maybe I didn't want to eat some foods as a child not because I was a fussy cow, but because they didn't feel right. I branched out a lot with food when I realized my parents cooked things to mush. Pain coincided.

I'm also managing stress differently. I have bad racing thoughts, but I've been trying to catch them and take even 15 seconds to check in with my breathing with the intention of resetting my brain with positive thoughts. I've always been a skeptic, but our brains lie to us all the time. It's the hardest to do when I'm already in pain, but it can't be bad for me to stop and be gentle with myself.

I'm happy to be added by anybody!