IBS sufferers?

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I've suffered with IBS for more than 20 years and finding out I was lactose intolerant was a huge help but the biggest help I've found is the low fodmap diet. Just google it to find out about the research. While it's not perfect, It is the only thing that has helped me to reduce the daily bloat. Hope it helps.

Firstly, any changes need to be done with a medical professional IMO.

That said, I've just finished the restriction phase of the Low Fodmap diet and the bloating has really improved. Have a look and discuss with your doctor.

I'm with Workinprogress - I've met far, far too many people who had lazy doctors who diagnosed them with IBS rather than really explore to see what they had. And if you DID have IBS...the information you were given to control it is ALSO lazy, because there's no magic diet for IBS. It's individual, although with some guidelines that seem to be helpful to many IBS sufferers...which you weren't given either, because it's not just avoid dairy and bread and limit salt. :-/


But some ideas you could explore, with a better doctor, or by yourself as well, that are often misdiagnosed as IBS.
1. Celiac disease- were you ever tested? You have to be eating gluten daily to get the test (for a few weeks), but this is commonly misdiagnosed as IBS.
2. food intolerance - of any kind, like lactose intolerance
3. fructose malabsorption - requires a low fodmap diet (which is helpful for many IBS sufferers, and is the #1 dietary change I've heard recommended). monash university has the most up to date information on the diet
4. SIBO - bacterial overgrowth. Also requires a diet change. May require antibiotics - involves bloating as a main symptom, that only happens after eating food. A breath test is required to diagnose.
5. food allergy - can cause bloating. Usually more pain issues are involved.
6. parasitic infection - usually other symptoms than bloating, I believe.

I'm going to message you!

I had IBS many years ago but cured it through a naturopath (cue in the haters!) hey it worked for me. I had to go on a really hardcore cleanse type thing - I drank a veggie juice diet for a month before re-introducing real food.

The juice was spinach (that silverbeet stuff), carrot, celery, beetroot and watercress and possibly parsley from memory - this was about 20 years ago so yeah...

Anyway - on top of this I was also drinking some sort of herbal concoction (I dont knwo what was in it - a few different herbal tonics that tasted really bitter but cleaned out liver etc etc) as well as something called "life capsules" which helps with peristalsis of the gut AND colonic irrigation (joy! not.). To me - it was better than getting operated on and being or corticosteroids for the rest of my life - that was what the specialists told me to do. Give me a session of colonics any day over that!

After a month of this I started to eat food - paw paw, grilled fish, plain pasta with olive oil, salads, steamed green veggies etc until slowly re-introduced all sorts of real food.

I found that if I even looked at anythign fried or fatty for a few years after I did this cleanse thing it would make me bloat and I'd get the constipation/diarrhoea combo happening.

Nowadays I can eat whatever I like.

If you know your trigger foods, avoid them when you are having a flare.

My triggers seem to be acids. When I'm having a flare I can't have coffee, pizza sauce, etc.