IBS sufferers?

its_whisper
its_whisper Posts: 112 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm hoping anyone who suffers IBS can help me. I can't stand how bloated I am all the time! when I first wake in the morning my belly is normal but after breakfast I'm bloated so badly I look pregnant..and no matter how much water I drink it doesn't get any better. If you have IBS what do you do to beat the bloat? I was told to cut out bread/limit salt and avoid dairy products. Will doing this help?

Replies

  • BekahC1980
    BekahC1980 Posts: 474 Member
    i have had IBS since I was 14 years old. and I am followed closely by a GI doctor. and she has told me personally that nothing I do to my diet will reduce the bloating effect.
    BUT each person is different, so talk to your doctor.
  • camilledaisy
    camilledaisy Posts: 33 Member
    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.
  • gillian_nalletamby
    gillian_nalletamby Posts: 38 Member
    CharonCharon wrote: »
    Google - Paleo Diet.
    It's not hard to do.
    Cuts out all the garbage food that includes flour, lard, sugar, etc.
    Get rid of the junk in your life.
    And say no to fast food !!!
    Your brain depends on you. Feed it well.

    This website is a good starting point. The founder had IBS: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/grain-pain/#axzz3h8iLyALA
  • JdoubleJ
    JdoubleJ Posts: 37 Member
    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.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    edited August 2015
    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.
  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
    I have a bunch of GI issues and bloating is one of my major symptoms. I'm pretty sure it is related to SIBO and fructose malabsorption. My GI specialist recommended a low FODMAPs diet. I try and stick to that and cut gluten and lactose and it has helped dramatically - no more pregnant belly. If I slip up and drink a beer or something I get bloated :(
  • GreenGoddess22
    GreenGoddess22 Posts: 3,818 Member
    I'm going to message you!
  • clairehannon
    clairehannon Posts: 2 Member
    Hi I'm Claire and I suffer from IBS as well as a shot liver. I just wanted to say I cut out all grains, wheat and gluten from my diet as well as dairy and this has helped me a great deal, I follow the Paleo diet, I use my fitness pal to make sure I am eating enough and the correct food, I make all my own meals with fresh ingredients but if I do buy something made I have to make sure I read the label to see what is in it. don't get me wrong I have fallen off the wagon many times but you just have to dust yourself off and get straight back on when you are ready, I hope this has heiped
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    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.


  • gaelicstorm26
    gaelicstorm26 Posts: 589 Member
    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.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    WorkInProgress909 wrote: »

    I am a big believer in naturopaths but I still have not made it to one and hope to someday. I have seen some naturopaths that have "Dr" before their names, so I am assuming some of them are Drs but specialize in naturopath and then there are others that are not Drs but have some certificate in naturopath? Is this how it works?

    I suppose so. The one I went to wasn't a medical doctor - she was just a naturopath doctor. But I used to go to an acupuncturist who was a western trained "normal" doctor as well as a traditionally trained acupuncturist, so I'm sure that if they have "dr" in front of their name and can show you a certificate of graduation from medical school then they are the real deal! :)

    Many normal synthetic medicines are related to their plant-based originals anyway - but $$ and BigPharma and all that (and no, not a conspiracy theorist, but there is some truth to it all)

    I sound like a basket-case LOL!

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