IBS Type Symptoms - no diagnosis

Hello - Sorry to hear that your husband is suffering, I can sympathise! Although some foods can trigger IBS symptoms, there doesn't always have to be a trigger. Keeping a food/symptom diary can definitely help narrow down what might not be helping, but you will need to do it over several weeks/months. Stress can also make it worse, as can tiredness, eating too much, eating too little, eating too little fibre, eating too much fibre, too much fat, too much spice...it's different for everyone. I am sensitive to dairy, especially in the mornings. I can't eat cereal with milk, or porridge made with milk first thing in the morning, although later in the day it is fine.

I would suggest if it is not diagnosed that your husband does go see his doctor - the symptoms of IBS are also symptoms for some other things that you should rule out, and only the doc can do that. There are also some medications that help, although I personally haven't had much luck with them.

Also, I do find keeping hydrated really helps, another reason to drink lots of water!

Send me a personal message if I can help any further - but do go see the doc.

Erika

The first time I've jumped in on the boards, enjoyed reading everyone elses comments. I have to agree with the lady about the ranch dressing. My husband and I both have had the same reaction after eating. Forgot one night and ate it, not long after was definitely feeling the affects.
Seems silly that something that simple could cause such a problem. Would definitely be worth eliminating from the diet and see what happens.

I also received a rx for an anti-spasmodic, which helps control the contractions of the intestines. Abdominal pain can occur when the colon doesn't contract in its normal wavelike pattern. I usually take them after a long run to ease discomfort.

I was misdiagnosed for years as having an ulcer. Finally a GI specialist determined I have on overly spasmodic intestine and gave me an rx for the same! I was so happy to hear the pain was just spasms, not an ulcer eating a hole through my tummy, lol.

My husband has seen countless gastro doctors and surgeons for IBS like stuff. He was at the end of his rope over it after an attack of diverticulitis. To make a long story short, one doctor said this one particular surgery might help him, but recommended he try biofeedback first. So, he did. This therapist had been through similar problems herself, and has been advising him on his diet (big advocate of clean eating!), relaxation, showed him how to massage his colon, and now doing the biofeedback, and it has been like a miracle cure. Ironically, she is located at a women's health center!

Hi, it is possible that your hubby has an intolerance to grains and therefore the reason for IBS symptoms.

http://www.graininformationservice.co.uk/content/1/59/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs.html

Hello Everyone,

I just came across a comment that eating cereal that contained aspartame triggered IBS - I was hoping maybe some of you have some insight.
Hubby suffers from some sort of IBS-type affliction. He has had a number of tests done over the last few years and has yet to be actually diagnosed with anything.
We thought perhaps dairy was the culprit but are not so sure, as there are times he has reactions when he hasn't had any dairy. Just this morning he suggested it was perhaps aspartame, as when we do drink soda it is diet.

Without getting too detailed, he is in the bathroom often several times a day, sometimes several times in an evening! He experiences abdominal discomfort, sometimes pain. This is usually not long after he has eaten.

It's been hard to try to pinpoint what in his diet may be the cause, mainly because he seems to - while obviously really bothered by this - lack the discipline to control his diet and try to narrow this down. He did agree to eat clean with me for 2 weeks a while back (no dairy, nothing processed, no sugar, nothing fermented - the Wild Roses eating plan without the supplements) and there was notable improvement. Where he faltered was being patient enough to add foods back in one day at a time to isolate the culprit.

So while it seems obvious that he needs to try to isolate, it may NOT be just a food-related issue or perhaps we are on the wrong track with the suspected problem foods. I wondered if anyone had gone through anything similar, and may have some suggestions or results that he can learn from rather than starting with such a broad spectrum of possibilities.
Any input appreciated. Thanks!

Could it be celiac?
Has he ever been tested for food allergies (seen an allergist?)

Kim

I have IBS type symptoms when I eat certain dairies like ice cream, cheese seems to be okay. and also when I used to raid my kids snack cabinet. I have been trying to eat clean and healthy lately and it seems to have curbed the symptoms for the most part. Every so often though they come back and so I take an immodium and that seems to help.

Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences - I really appreciate it.

I believe that Celiac was ruled out at one point and he's just had another colonoscopy after changing to a new doctor - all normal.

It sounds like really he needs to be a little more proactive in trying to figure this out, you've all mentioned varying triggers. I'll try to suggest to him to eat clean for a few weeks and then re-introduce food types one day at a time to try and isolate what he's reacting to.

Thank you all again so much for your input!

I'll add my two cents about eating clean and staying away from processed stuff. When I'm eating a cleaner lifestyle and avoiding processed carbs, my IBS symptoms go away. Another trigger for me is bagged greens - any type of greens that might have some kind of preservative kicks my IBS in high gear. But, when I"m eating clean, they go away.....

Any update? Here's hoping you find some answers! :flowerforyou:

I hope he feels better soon! I am lactose intolerant myself and have been diagnosed with IBS. I've attached a list of dairy foods and their lactose content, when I ate dairy I got to the point to where I would only eat butter and hard cheese, i.e. cheddar, provolone, small amounts of mozzarella. I usually bought it in the blocks so I could tell physically how hard it was. This is important because softer cheeses have more whey in them. Whey, which contains a whopping 50% lactose, is actually a waste product of cheese processing. They used to throw it away, now you can find it in just about any processed product in the grocery store. I had to avoid it even in small amounts. Label reading is the key, I know its not fun:) As far as pizza goes: Papa John's didn't ever work too well with me, pizza hut and domino's usually were okay.

I went vegan about 2 years ago and my stomach has thanked me ever since. I did a 180 degree shift in my diet, so I can't tell you if it was junk food, meat, or dairy that was the problem but I am now able to eat healthy stuff I never could before; i.e. beans, broccoli, soy, whole grain bread, oatmeal. Some say preservatives are also a problem for ibs. If I were to eat meat again I would stick to meats that clear your system easier such as fish and chicken and avoid red meat (pork and beef). Some say casein (protein) in milk can be the problem as well. Another weird thing that happened after going vegan was that I quit snoring. Some say dairy can cause mucus build up, that might be why.

I agree that he should see a doctor if he doesn't get better. I hope he feels better soon. Here are some low lactose foods/ingredients:

whey protein isolate
butter
provolone
cheddar
some brands of mozzarella

Feel free to message me if you have any other questions



http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/digestive-health/nutrition/LactoseContent.pdf