Living with IBS? Success with IBS?

First off, I really do sympathise with you. I was diagnosed with IBS right in the middle of my A-Levels. It made studying pretty tough going, and having suffered from it for 14 years I know how horrible and uncomfortable it can be.

I won't go into too much detail over the things I've tried. But I don't take medication (I tried a few, and they all made me feel worse). I had my doctor recommend switching to de-caf. coffee and avoiding spicy food, and I enjoy both too much to give them up (even if I'm drinking more green tea now), as well as wear loose clothing. I also walked a lot when I felt bad, as exercise does help even if it might seem hard to do at the beginning. It's the same with that time of the month - even if moving about might seem the worse thing you could do, it actually helps a lot.

Past that...I'll share with you the one thing that's helped me. The one thing my doctor bless her never recommended, and the one thing that has taken me 14 years to work out.

That thing is fasting.

Seriously - I wish I had thought of this before. I began fasting in May this year, and it was to lose weight rather than because I thought it would help my IBS. In fact, after over ten years I had pretty much resolved myself to feeling bad whenever a flare up happened. This year however (and I usually get really bad in the summer), I had no IBS related flare-ups at all. As fasting gives your digestive system "a rest", your bowels aren't constantly struggling. Like you, I had days I simply couldn't eat. In retrospect it seems pretty obvious that my body was telling me I didn't have to. I don't know if this will be useful to you, but after 14 years of this condition, fasting every other day actually has me feeling like I did back when I was 17.

I feel your pain! I used to be sick to my stomach constantly and stuck in a neverending cycle of alternating constipation and diarrhea. Did elimination diet and ultimately cut out meat. Between 2001-2008 the only meat I ate was chicken and had occasional issues, since 2008 been completely vegetarian and have had zero problems..... I know this doesn't help all IBS sufferers but you might try it.

Agree about probiotics, although it doesn't have to be a probiotic pill. You can very easily eat yogurt and ferment your own pickles, kimchi, etc. It will help balance your gut microbes and the beneficial bacteria help you digest food. http://www.aboutibs.org/site/treatment/medications/probiotics-antibiotics Hope you feel better soon

Interesting. I was told that I have ibs. My stomach hurt so bad that it went through my back. I couldn't eat without vomiting, was in er twice....guess what. It wasn't ibs, it was pancreatitis due to Flagyl (which they gave me at the hospital). Thankfully, no long term damage done. I take 2 probiotics to counter effect the loads of poison that the hospital gave me. My intestines are much happier now.

sakurablush wrote: »

First off, I really do sympathise with you. I was diagnosed with IBS right in the middle of my A-Levels. It made studying pretty tough going, and having suffered from it for 14 years I know how horrible and uncomfortable it can be.

I won't go into too much detail over the things I've tried. But I don't take medication (I tried a few, and they all made me feel worse). I had my doctor recommend switching to de-caf. coffee and avoiding spicy food, and I enjoy both too much to give them up (even if I'm drinking more green tea now), as well as wear loose clothing. I also walked a lot when I felt bad, as exercise does help even if it might seem hard to do at the beginning. It's the same with that time of the month - even if moving about might seem the worse thing you could do, it actually helps a lot.

Past that...I'll share with you the one thing that's helped me. The one thing my doctor bless her never recommended, and the one thing that has taken me 14 years to work out.

That thing is fasting.

Seriously - I wish I had thought of this before. I began fasting in May this year, and it was to lose weight rather than because I thought it would help my IBS. In fact, after over ten years I had pretty much resolved myself to feeling bad whenever a flare up happened. This year however (and I usually get really bad in the summer), I had no IBS related flare-ups at all. As fasting gives your digestive system "a rest", your bowels aren't constantly struggling. Like you, I had days I simply couldn't eat. In retrospect it seems pretty obvious that my body was telling me I didn't have to. I don't know if this will be useful to you, but after 14 years of this condition, fasting every other day actually has me feeling like I did back when I was 17.

Ooops, just reread your post. I don't have the desire and perhaps not the willpower to fast every other day. I tip my hat to you.

goldthistime wrote: »

runnerfitness wrote: »

Thank you all for your input!
Dairy, in some forms, is a problem (icecream, cows milk, soft cheese)
I have noticed wheat is a problem for me. I can eat white bread with no problem as long as I don't have too much.
I cannot eat corn, that's immediate pain for me after the first bite.
Chocolate... oh, my dear chocolate... I've realized recently, at least milk chocolate, is an absolute no go.

I definitely need to add probiotics! I've looked a bit into different brands and things but haven't quite settled on one. I used to take fish oil... I'll add that back into my daily.
Again, THANK YOU! I'm just st the start of healing myself to have more good days than bad so any advise helps!

Perhaps you have something more specific than IBS. My husband is lactose intolerant and gets stomach pains when he eats ice cream, cows milk and soft cheese. He can eat aged cheese (parmesan and asiago for instance) and cultured butter with no problems.

Doing too much scanning today. I see that you have ruled out lactose intolerance already. I'll shut up now.

runnerfitness wrote: »

goldthistime wrote: »

sakurablush wrote: »

First off, I really do sympathise with you. I was diagnosed with IBS right in the middle of my A-Levels. It made studying pretty tough going, and having suffered from it for 14 years I know how horrible and uncomfortable it can be.

I won't go into too much detail over the things I've tried. But I don't take medication (I tried a few, and they all made me feel worse). I had my doctor recommend switching to de-caf. coffee and avoiding spicy food, and I enjoy both too much to give them up (even if I'm drinking more green tea now), as well as wear loose clothing. I also walked a lot when I felt bad, as exercise does help even if it might seem hard to do at the beginning. It's the same with that time of the month - even if moving about might seem the worse thing you could do, it actually helps a lot.

Past that...I'll share with you the one thing that's helped me. The one thing my doctor bless her never recommended, and the one thing that has taken me 14 years to work out.

That thing is fasting.

Seriously - I wish I had thought of this before. I began fasting in May this year, and it was to lose weight rather than because I thought it would help my IBS. In fact, after over ten years I had pretty much resolved myself to feeling bad whenever a flare up happened. This year however (and I usually get really bad in the summer), I had no IBS related flare-ups at all. As fasting gives your digestive system "a rest", your bowels aren't constantly struggling. Like you, I had days I simply couldn't eat. In retrospect it seems pretty obvious that my body was telling me I didn't have to. I don't know if this will be useful to you, but after 14 years of this condition, fasting every other day actually has me feeling like I did back when I was 17.

Interested in fasting. Going to try that. I have been having a small flare up today, and like most of the times this happens, I go to comfort foods. Many poor-me cookies consumed today. Homemade pumpkin oatmeal cookies, but still cookies.

OP I also had this all start after my first daughter was born, and a good friend of mine had the identical problem.

Lately I have been trying to battle any problems with kefir. Just forgot today for some reason. I think it helps.

Isn't it crazy how much your body can change after pregnancy?? I never had problems like this before. My family actually didn't believe me that I had problems with dairy (before I realize it was much more than just a lactose intolerance). They believed it was some silly attempt at weightloss like everyone going gluten free in recent years when they don't actually have a problem with gluten.
I hear you on the comfort foods and cookies! When I have a flare up I tend to snack (and not on the best things) just to get something in my body when I know I can't make it through a meal.

I had an aunt who died of MS. It started after the birth of her daughter. Apparently it is very common for autoimmune diseases (like IBS) to begin after childbirth. Btw, I had what used to be called to toxemia (I think preeclampsia is the term they use now) during pregnancy. Another clue perhaps.

I too, feel your pain! A few times I've vomited from the pain, and I've come very close to passing out. It's a nightmare, and very stressful when it happens and you're not at home. For me, it can come on very quickly and with no warning, so that doesn't help the panic attacks I also suffer from (and seems to go hand in hand with IBS).

I can almost guarantee I'm going to have issues if I haven't been drinking enough water. That's the only common denominator for me.

If it helps any, please know that you are definitely not alone! Sometimes I would feel so miserable and cursed, but in the ten years I've had IBS, my symptoms have greatly improved. Part of this is learning how to deal with my symptoms, but I really feel like it's gotten better with age, oddly. When I was younger, my biggest curse was frequent bathroom "episodes" (as I fondly call them), but now my main issue is bloating after meals (which is annoying, but so much preferable). I have an episode maybe once or twice a month now, which is much better.

I agree with others who have given the advice to determine your triggers. For me, it's fast food, rich/creamy types of food or eating a lot, which has made it so much easier to eliminate more unhealthy foods from my diet. However, if I want to have these foods and know it will trigger me with certainty, I take prescription Dicyclomine prior to eating. If I don't feel like it will be that large of an issue, taking papaya enzyme by GNC (also before meals) is something I'll do. The papaya was recommended to me by a friend whose symptoms stopped after being pregnant (funny how things work, huh?) and it has been a LIFE SAVER. I used to be so ill after meals and would take it with everything I ate, but things are much better and now I rarely take it (though always have it with me!). I also used to take a chewable fiber supplement, which helped, but I don't feel I need it anymore.

If I'm having issues, I like to eat graham crackers or pretzels - just to get something in my stomach to settle it. I haven't tried a lowfodmap diet yet, as I don't eat a lot of meat and the foods I love and eat frequently seem to be offenders. If I were more ill, I likely would, but bloating isn't enough of a reason for me to change my diet at the moment. Not sure if you're like me, but wearing loose clothes around the stomach to eat, along with making sure you eat slowly is a must. I can't get right up and get moving right after eating either, and need to give myself time to digest, or risk an episode.

Apologies for the book, but I hope even some of this helps. My sister was also diagnosed 3 years ago and it helps so much more to know someone else going through it. The shame and embarrassment can be just as painful as the symptoms. I hate to wish IBS on her, but having someone who gets it and is close to me has made a huge difference in my outlook. If you'd ever like to reach out, please feel free to add me! Sending good vibes your way.

Does anyone have a recommendation for probiotic? Having stomach/digestive problems makes me so nervous to try anything new... afraid I'll make it worse.

RobynLB83 wrote: »

I have IBS. It's the worst! I did a full elimination diet to determine my triggers (eat nothing but plain rice and plain chicken for 2 days or so until all symptoms go away then reintroduce fodmaps foods one per day to determine tolerance). Once you determine what you can eat without symptoms you will gain a lot of peace of mind. It's tedious and disappointing, but it's worth it not to live in constant pain and fear of eating.

I did the same thing! NOTHING but rice and chicken for a few days. It was the best thing I have ever done for my IBS. Introducing fodmapss to my diet slowly helped me realize some of my favorite foods were triggering my IBS. Bye bye popcorn and peaches.

My mom's IBS is under control these days. Stress was a big contributor, and a chronic issue that was causing stress has since been resolved. She does yoga and gets lots and lots of exercise.

I don't remember all the foods things she did, but she did avoid a lot of foods at one point and slowly brought them back in. Softer bread was easier for her than less processed bread.

One thing that was key for her was eating her insoluble fiber foods like salad at the end of the meal, after she'd consumed some soluble fiber. See http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/fiber2.asp

Heather's Tummy Fiber (acacia senegal powder) helped her as well. I think that's the only part of her IBS regimen that she still does.

^^^^^

YES and YES!!!

To the above 2 posters I totally forgot about stress making IBS so much worse......I have found along with food changes meditation and mindfulness to be very helpful in calming my tummy and gut down. Try to lowel your overall daily stress as well....easier said than done I know.

Changing food issues have been a highlight of my journey too.....you "think" you have it licked and then Bam!!! out of the blue another food will start to cause you problems where there had been no issue before.

Have often wondered whether that might be due to diet limitations putting you body under pressure from eating a diet that has less variety.

I'm currently in the elimination phase of the low FODMAP plan. I've been following it for 6 weeks and have another 2 to go before I reintroduce the food groups to find out what my triggers are. For five weeks I was pain free but for the last week I have been suffering pain and constipation, which I am really annoyed about because I haven't been eating anything outside the plan. Anyway, it is possible mine is stress related. I will continue with the next two weeks and start to reintroduce the various food groups. What I have learned is that IBS covers a whole range of symptoms, and what might be right for one person may not work for another.
I wish you luck with finding out what your triggers are. [edited by mfp moderator]

Didn't read any of the above comments, so what I do may have already been discussed.
I've had IBS-D for 11 years now. It's fairly manageable once I figured out what triggers it and got into a good system.

I don't take any medication, other than 2 OTC Loperamide tablets every morning when I wake up, before I eat anything. I generally wait up to an hour after taking them to begin eating/drinking. Things I absolutely avoid are spicy foods (sadly, I love them), foods with high fat content, coffee, dairy products (especially creamy sauce), and excess carbs like bread. Also eating at the same times every day seems to help my system expect whats coming.

I also take pepto as needed as I'm also prone to bloating/cramps. I always have the little pink tablets with me for when I'm out and about, just in case. I've also found that overeating or eating until I'm really full seems to trigger my symptoms, so in a way it helps control how much I eat.

I've tried various pre and pro-biotics with no luck, other diet regimens, the only thing that works for me is above system.

Good luck!!