IBS Sufferer - advice?

It sounds like you've never tried a proper elimination diet to see what foods are triggers.

To be honest, there's so many variations in how people experience IBS you could get 100 different answers to this. My own symptoms tend to mutate to some extent every few years. I've found being vegetarian, but eliminating most fruit works. Dairy for me is a nightmare, but I can take fully skimmed milk in drinks/porridge so long as I don't eat it too often. And as I love cheese I tend to eat it as much as I can, but avoid if I'm having a bad spell. It's a risk, but one I accept the consequences of. Fat seems to be as much of an issue as the lactose/dairy aspect, so I get on better with fully skimmed than I do with semi or full-fat iyswim.

Wheat/yeast based products tend to be triggers for me too, so the combo of Weetabix and full fat milk may be a problem.

The pain isn't always associated with something you've just eaten. Often I get ill during the night, having not eaten for several hours, or not knowingly having eaten anything that's a known trigger - sometimes it's a cumulation thing - just too many days of not quite right things building up until my body can't take any more.

There are plenty good books available on elimination diets if you don't want to/can't see a dietician (to be honest, you need one that knows about IBS 'cos mine kept suggesting stuff I already knew I couldn't eat). Follow the diet for as long as you need to & you'll learn what the problems are. Often things you think are a problem actually aren't, they're just secondary triggers because something else set it off.

Another option, instead of elimination diet if you don't want to try that, is to keep a very detailed food diary noting any symptoms and when as well as what/how much you eat of anything. So don't just list 'Spaghetti Carbonara', note the ingredients too. Like tracking your calories it gives a really good picture of what you're eating and the connection to any symptoms that you probably won't really grasp until you've done it.

HTH

For the longest time I didn't know what I had. After talking to a fellow employee she said she had IBS. I started eliminating milk (all milk). That cleared up a lot of symptoms for me but I have to watch dairy -- too much ice cream, cheese, or whip cream causes problems (bloating, cramps, etc). I can eat and do eat yogurt with probiotics. You can have tests to figure out what you are allergic too. My friends literally took a book that had anything and everything that can cause problems and went through them one by one noting in the book if they caused problems. From there she determined her diet. Mine was complicated a little further due to my wheat/gluten allergies. Can can start with a eliminating diet. Easiest thing to do is start juicing fruits and vegetables for about 3-5 days to clear out the gunk. Continue with fruits and vegetables then add in stuff. It's hard, very hard but you will feel so much better. The one friend's doctor said IBS is the same has telling something they have a cold...they don't know what causes it so they lump it under the umbrella terms of IBS.

I suffer with IBS and was given tablets from my doctor called Mebeverine. They're really helpful, they say take three times a day but i only take them when i get stomach cramps and they eliminate them instantly. Would recommend trying them definately. I find that my IBS gets brought on more with oils and fatty meats, since I have been restricting calories and fat intake I have found it to be a lot better. But we're all different. Good luck with sorting it out!

Figure out your trigger foods! Whatever makes you hurt a few hours after eating is a likely suspect. I found probiotics and clean eating were the best things to get my symptoms under control. With probiotics, I don't have to give up dairy! I do, however, have to give up a lot of starchy foods. I've never been diagnosed with IBS, but I've had 3 doctors ask me if I have been. Figure that one out...

Hi! As many of the other postings stated, definately work with your MD on an elimination diet. I too suffer from IBS. My main trigger foods are corn, lettuce, and anything that's greasy. I'm lucky enough not to have milk as one of them. I know how painful it can be so I'd recommend working on it sooner than later. Good luck.

I found out it was medicine I as taking causing me all kinds of problems. Not sure what you maybe on. I thought it was the food but stopped taking meds and getting better now. Been 5 weeks for them and slowly improving.

This is NOT a medical advice forum. Consult your licensed, qualified, physician.

Agree with the previous poster on taking probiotics! I have had GI issues for a long time, ulcers, acid reflux, gall bladder disease/removal and probiotics really seem to help me out. Spicy or fatty foods and recently excessive amounts of sugar or artificial sweetners are some of my trigger foods. Which is really hard for me b/c I LOVE Mexican and have a huge sweet tooth, but I have found if I can limit these types of foods I do feel better.

This is NOT a medical advice forum. Consult your licensed, qualified, physician.

She was simply asking for suggest from others that may also be suffering from IBS. IBS has many verified triggers and symptoms hearing what has worked for someone else may be beneficial for her. I believe she has already talked to a doctor, but there really isn't much a doctor can do to help this condition, it really is identifying and trying to eliminate the triggers.

Here's a suggestion: keep a food/feeling diary for one month and that should pretty much tell you what is triggering your issues. I also have IBS and was diagnosed with it almost 7 years ago. I understand that if you log your food on MFP, you'll be able to immediately see what you're eating exactly. If you also keep a diary of how you're feeling both physically and emotionally as well, you might be able to tie the two together. For me, my IBS is mostly psychosomatic. It varies from person to person, though. I tend to carry my stress and emotions in my intestinal tract. Add certain "iffy" foods to that and my IBS can be almost unbearable. It really helped me to track it that way and now I can pretty much control it...without medicine