(TMI Post) IBS, Diet Change, Or something worse?

kaleas
kaleas Posts: 200
edited November 10 in Food and Nutrition
I've always had a sensitive stomach. This led me to become a vegetarian about 7 years ago. I'm extremely fiber sensitive and have to watch how much I eat, otherwise the bloating and gas is miserable.

In the last few weeks, I've switched to a mainly vegan diet, cutting out all dairy and cheese. I've eaten eggs here and there and had pizza once.

The issue is that all of a sudden, I've come down with the worst gas. It's wretched. It wakes me up at night. It chases me from the car. The pain in my stomach begins as soon as I eat ANYTHING. I can't' be far away from a bathroom within an hour of eating. I've had to force myself to eat and then stay home because I've been afraid of having an attack.

I've always been rather vegetable and fruit heavy in my diet. So I don't know if the increase in soy milk, the lack of cheese and dairy to bind, or what is causing this. IBS does run in my family and its something I've thought I've had for awhile. My father mentioned to me that a lot of this began when I got grapes about two weeks ago, and I hadn't been washing them before eating them. Could even something as insignificant as grapes and the chemicals be causing this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Replies

  • sar04tamu
    sar04tamu Posts: 27
    I recommend going to your doctor for a colonoscopy to rule out Crohn's disease, colitis, and cancer. If it is IBS (which seems to be the diagnosis when everything else is ruled out), you have to slowly alter your diet and exercise and see what helps.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    I agree wiht sar04 but also - some people don't do well with soymilk. I don't know why.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    I fixed mine by eating right and drinking water.

    Something that helps in the beginning is Prevention.coms Sassy Water mix.
    Also a good probiotic pill like Colon Health.

    As for soy milk...its poison for some people.
    SRS!

    It has a hormone in it that can really screw people up!

    Swap to almond milk and call it a day!
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
    How about gluten? It's another possible IBS trigger. Have you increased it at all?
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 961 Member
    My first reaction is that it seems the vegan diet isn't agreeing with you and you should reconsider some of your food choices. Maybe you're too heavy on beans, legumes, too much fiber...

    But aside from that... Hubby has some form of IBS, and soy milk leads to truly horrible gas that chases his co-workers out of the room. (And he works with an all-male staff!) He did find that his symptoms were nearly gone when he was deployed overseas and was drinking 10-15 bottles of water per day.


    But if you can nail it down to the same time as you ate dirty grapes, well... it certainly wouldn't hurt to get checked out. Something is obviously wrong!
  • Corryn78
    Corryn78 Posts: 215
    A friend and I have both been having stomach issues for the last couple of weeks. I have never had trouble before, but lately I'm in the same situation, it seems like everything digests super fast and doesn't settle well. I wonder if there is a bug going around causing these symptoms?
  • melbaby925
    melbaby925 Posts: 613
    I have problems with lactose, so I went to Soymilk exclusively and after about a month started having horrible issues from it. I would suffer from adema in my ankles and wrists, gas, bloating, and I started breaking out in horrible little bumps that would get whiteheads on them - like zits, but all over my chin, neck and chest. It was disgusting!

    I switched to plain water, and now I use unsweetened almond and coconut milks and have never had any problems with them. All of the above issues disappeared and I've been symptom free.

    If you have problems with high amounts of fiber, the fruit and veg might be your problem. I hate to say it, but it could be that.

    I would go to the doctor and have them test you.
  • wurgin
    wurgin Posts: 241 Member
    kinda sounds like it could be a food allergy....
  • kaleas
    kaleas Posts: 200
    Hey guys, thought I'd update a bit.

    After I posted this, I had an evening where I just ate plain brown rice and vegetables in hopes it would be easy on my stomach. Within two hours I was curled up in crying, excruciating pain. The same thing happened yesterday morning after eating plain oatmeal, about 1/2 cup with soy milk. Within two hours, I couldn't even walk to my class, breathe, move. I got taken to Health Services.

    The doctor there explained it's an air pocket in my intestines, and the pain is my intestines cramping trying to move it along. IBS runs in my family and she believes that's the number one cause of this, because I end up either with constipation or the other once the gas bubble passes. They gave me muscle relaxers for my stomach, and a list of foods to begin avoiding. She also recommended me to try as close to a gluten-free diet as possible, and if I'm eating anything high in fiber, to eat it in very small amounts.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    Don't go close to a gluten-free diet be completely gluten-free to see if your IBS improves. Are you going back to eating meat at all?
  • kaleas
    kaleas Posts: 200
    No, I really don't want to go back to eating meat. As a college student living on my own, I don't really have the funds to eat meat, or do a completely gluten free diet. At this point I'm already so limited on what I can eat, and as someone who bikes 10+ miles a day and runs, I'm already losing energy to do my every day things due to being scared to eat.
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
    Friend me. I am vegetarian, completely grain free, dairy free, multiple allergies. I run and work out 1.5-2 hrs per day. I work full time, single-income family, and homeschool my LD son. My diary is open to friends, so you can browse through and get some ideas of things that might fit both your diet and your income.

    Hopefully your doctor is right about this "bubble", but if not, you'll need to figure out what else is bothering you and avoid it.
    No, I really don't want to go back to eating meat. As a college student living on my own, I don't really have the funds to eat meat, or do a completely gluten free diet. At this point I'm already so limited on what I can eat, and as someone who bikes 10+ miles a day and runs, I'm already losing energy to do my every day things due to being scared to eat.
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