IBS "symptoms"

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Christine_72
Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
edited January 2018 in Food and Nutrition
I was wondering how you guys with IBS would deal with this protein bar, particularly the bolded ingredients. It also has 26g Fibre in a 65g bar:

Milk Protein, Isomalto-oligosaccharide, Bulking Agent (Polydextrose), Oligofructose, Cocoa Mass (8.8%), Cocoa Nibs (4.4%), Low Fat Cocoa (2.2%), Flavourings, Salt, Sweetener (Steviol Glycosides)

Eating these protein bars kicked off horrific symptoms for me, and the only thing i can think of that caused it is the isomalto and/or oligofructose.
The weird thing is the symptoms continued for around another 6mths after i stopped eating them. Doctor has no clue, IBS was brought up but never really investigated, i did however have a bowel cancer test and colonoscopy, both were clear.
I had never had any gut problems before eating these bars, it came on quickly but took me months to get back to normal. I didnt think IBS came and just went like that...
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Replies

  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    If you don't mind sharing, what kind of symptoms did you experience?

    I only ask because I had perfectly normal bowel functions, then a while ago I bought some boxes of Quest and Mission1 bars and immediately after finishing the boxes (1 bar a day) I started suffering from weird bowel problems. That was October 2016, and I'm still having daily problems today. I had a C-scope and the doctor didn't find anything wrong and I can't seem to get rid of it.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    If you don't mind sharing, what kind of symptoms did you experience?

    Brace yourself Toxikon :flushed: I'm embarrassed to say what happened, but i have to in the hopes someone here will know what it was, as none of the doctors did...

    It started off with severe constipation, no amount of laxatives helped! It then progressed to leakage/incontinence. It just came out on it's own and I couldn't feel it happening, i had to wear a pad most days. The only thing that helped somewhat (not entirely tho) was using a suppository in the mornings. It was the most horrific and debilitating thing that has ever happened to me!

    Thanks for sharing! I know it's embarrassing, so I do really appreciate it. My symptoms are similar - except it's just been mucus (leaking and expulsion). Totally gross and embarrassing too, I hate it.

    I feel like some ingredient in the protein bars can really screw with your gut flora, and I think that's the cause of my issues (my gastroenterologist didn't see any physical trauma during the C-scope). I've kinda learned to live with it, since I can't seem to track any type of pattern in when it flares up (sometimes I'll have a few totally normal days, before it comes back full force). I think my next step will just be focusing on supplementing with pre- and pro-biotics and see if I can rebuild my gut flora.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Yep, I started taking probiotics geared toward IBS, and also digestive enzymes before every meal which i think helped start me on the road to recovery. I also got a squatty potty, but that didn't arrive until i was back to normal! But i still use it everyday now lol

    There was always a constant feeling of 'incomplete evacuation' and I also put on 8lbs during that time which i have now nearly lost.

    I also had a couple of normal days scattered through the ordeal, and that happiness and excitement was crushed when the problem returned :(

    I hope you get back to normal soon xx And throw those bars in the trash! I still eat protein bars, but I avoid those with the abovementioned ingredients, and I'm fine now.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    Yep, I started taking probiotics geared toward IBS, and also digestive enzymes before every meal which i think helped start me on the road to recovery. I also got a squatty potty, but that didn't arrive until i was back to normal! But i still use it everyday now lol

    There was always a constant feeling of 'incomplete evacuation' and I also put on 8lbs during that time which i have now nearly lost.

    I also had a couple of normal days scattered through the ordeal, and that happiness and excitement was crushed when the problem returned :(

    I hope you get back to normal soon xx And throw those bars in the trash! I still eat protein bars, but I avoid those with the abovementioned ingredients, and I'm fine now.

    Thank you! Glad to know someone else has been dealing with unexplained bowel problems, makes me feel better hah. And gives me a bit of renewed hope that maybe I can figure this out. I'll definitely keep a closer eye out on those particular ingredients. :)
  • iowalinda
    iowalinda Posts: 354 Member
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    Just a thought to consider. Try giving up milk and milk products for a few days and see if your symptoms ease. Sensitivity to milk can develop at any time and it is responsible for a whole lot of gastrointestinal problems.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    iowalinda wrote: »
    Just a thought to consider. Try giving up milk and milk products for a few days and see if your symptoms ease. Sensitivity to milk can develop at any time and it is responsible for a whole lot of gastrointestinal problems.

    Ha well I'm screwed then! I love dairy, and have since i was a kid. I'm back to normal now while still eating/drinking dairy every day.

    I always prided myself on having a cast iron gut, nothing affected me in a negative way until this... I'm also 45, so i would think a dairy intolerance would have popped up by now??
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    toxikon wrote: »
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    Yep, I started taking probiotics geared toward IBS, and also digestive enzymes before every meal which i think helped start me on the road to recovery. I also got a squatty potty, but that didn't arrive until i was back to normal! But i still use it everyday now lol

    There was always a constant feeling of 'incomplete evacuation' and I also put on 8lbs during that time which i have now nearly lost.

    I also had a couple of normal days scattered through the ordeal, and that happiness and excitement was crushed when the problem returned :(

    I hope you get back to normal soon xx And throw those bars in the trash! I still eat protein bars, but I avoid those with the abovementioned ingredients, and I'm fine now.

    Thank you! Glad to know someone else has been dealing with unexplained bowel problems, makes me feel better hah. And gives me a bit of renewed hope that maybe I can figure this out. I'll definitely keep a closer eye out on those particular ingredients. :)

    I never even told my husband what exactly was happening! I just told him "I'm having toileting problems" and didn't expand into the gory details. Now the whole MFP world knows lol :lol:

    Please keep me updated @toxikon , You are most definitely not alone in this :heart:
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited January 2018
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    moosmum1972 wrote: »
    Cramps so severe they put me on my knees...I didn't suffer constipation but I did suffer 2am volcanic diarrhoea if I ate something that disagreed with me. Sad thing is I could never really pinpoint what set it off other than yeast and moulds.

    I never experienced any pain/cramps or diarrhea, even though i wished for an explosion to happen at times.. I just wanted that empty feeling!
  • Marilyn0924
    Marilyn0924 Posts: 797 Member
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    I had the same issue with the Quest bars, the unpronounceable ingredient is the culprit. I switched to the Kirkland Signature Protein bars. Very similar macros, and no scary stuff. My system is able to deal with it just fine.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Marilyn0924 wrote: »
    I had the same issue with the Quest bars, the unpronounceable ingredient is the culprit. I switched to the Kirkland Signature Protein bars. Very similar macros, and no scary stuff. My system is able to deal with it just fine.

    Yeah I'm too scared to eat quest bars these days.. After i was back to normal for a month or so, i ate 4 of those Fibre one bars in a row, and the symptoms returned the very next morning and stayed for a week.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    yep,many a problem, I never eat the whole bar. a couple of bites now.
  • MarylandRose
    MarylandRose Posts: 239 Member
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    Fistbump of sadness to weird gut issues. I got sick after dinner one night this year on vacation with my family, which I attributed at the time to eating slightly different/more processed foods with them (not that my normal diet is unprocessed, but, like I make rice from a 5lb bag, not a box with spices, preservatives, etc already in). But the weird sickness and mucus lasted ~4 months, so all I can figure is that something I ate destroyed my flora. Probiotics, yogurt and kefir seemed to help, but things finally returned to normal just before I saw a doctor.

    On a related mystery-ingredient note, I have never, ever, ever in my life (including the time I got a stomach bug and spent a night trapped on the toilet while also throwing up into a trash can) been as sick as I got from trying Shakeology. 1 tbsp in a 20 oz smoothie made me violently ill within 30 minutes of ingesting it. Even tried a blind study in which I didn't know if I was being dosed poisoned or not. And then BB called me a liar when I cancelled my subscription that a college acquaintance pressured me into in the first place. But at least those symptoms didn't linger...and I was able to sell the virtually unused shake mix to someone else.
  • iowalinda
    iowalinda Posts: 354 Member
    edited January 2018
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    iowalinda wrote: »
    Just a thought to consider. Try giving up milk and milk products for a few days and see if your symptoms ease. Sensitivity to milk can develop at any time and it is responsible for a whole lot of gastrointestinal problems.

    Ha well I'm screwed then! I love dairy, and have since i was a kid. I'm back to normal now while still eating/drinking dairy every day.

    I always prided myself on having a cast iron gut, nothing affected me in a negative way until this... I'm also 45, so i would think a dairy intolerance would have popped up by now??

    Then it's not dairy that's causing the problems for you, but it could be anything and sometimes we just have to keep investigating until we figure it out. Daily food journal helps a lot. Every day, keep track of not only what foods you ate, but also how your gut felt and reacted. Also, I've found that the offending food doesn't always cause the issues to show up on that same day they are eaten. Sometimes, the issue shows up the next day. Something that shocked me is that something I'd eaten all my life could suddenly cause me grief.
    Wishing you all the best in figuring this out. I know from experience how miserable it can be.

    BTW, I always had a cast iron gut, too, when I was young LOL :) Edited to add: just re-read your message and see you are better now. So glad for you :)
  • spdaphne
    spdaphne Posts: 262 Member
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    Agreed, documenting how you feel after you eat snacks and meals, etc is very valuable. I'm currently doing it right now to pinpoint some issues. Things like BM, headaches, cramps, sluggishness, etc., can be triggered by what we eat. As an above poster said, eating whole foods will make your body a lot happier than bars. I rarely eat them now because they're processed and I feel icky after. Plus, they have loads of sugar. Good luck!!
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
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    Ibs can come and go, and it can certainly be triggered by certain foods, bit it's not particularly normal to last for months after stopping the trigger food. I would guess there is either something in the bar, that you were still getting in other foods later,or the original upset just caused enough inflammation that ANYTHING iffy was setting it off, and making it harder to heal. Logging regularly is really the best way to catch patterns. In my case,I discovered that soy, anything acidic (o.j. chili and Costco dogs are definitely out, but yay dairy is still good) or being incredibly stressed or tired will kick off hours to weeks of agony. Even two nights of insomnia will do it for me.
    Everyone is different though, so logging really helps pinpoint issues to avoid.

    Glad you're doing better now though, long term ibs attacks are miserable, because you can't just stop living, and others just start thinking you are faking it when you are calling in "stuck in the bathroom" a few times a week.
  • holisticpradise
    holisticpradise Posts: 7 Member
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    Thanks for sharing your experience. My IBS in trigger by vegetables, rice, wheat, dairy products and over eating. Stress also affect my bowel function.

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