IBS...

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Rach424
Rach424 Posts: 14
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all... I've dealt with IBS for the vast majority of my life and am used to the roller coaster it can be. I seem to be slimming down but the scale doesn't much care! I'm opening this up so I can hear from others who may be dealing with this too- your thoughts, experiences?
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  • NakeshiaB
    NakeshiaB Posts: 250 Member
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    Hi :smile:

    I've had IBS for a couple of years now, was only really diagnosed in the last year.

    I know what you mean about the scales!! I've found recently my old jeans are too loose but the scales haven't budged in 2 months. I think this may be due to lack of bloating from increased exercise and drinking more water as a result?

    Anyway just a thought. Having IBS can make it harder to loose weight, but one good thing is it makes you aware of what you are eating, and better nutrition is something everybody needs. I find MFP helps not only as a calorie counter, but is a great food diary and it has been invaluable as a tool in controlling my IBS.

    How are you finding your weight loss journey? Feel free to add me as a friend!
  • bradthemedic
    bradthemedic Posts: 623 Member
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    I have had diagnosed IBS my entire life. I've managed to isolate it to the following:

    - Dairy
    - Meat

    When I cut those out of my life my IBS disappeared. Sorry I can't offer more help. It's worth a shot though, I mean let's face it who likes having to plan days around where bathrooms are (within running or sprinting distance?)
  • bradthemedic
    bradthemedic Posts: 623 Member
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    I should add that I just lived with it for years, accepting that I had a rotten gut. I spent a year tweaking my diet and using flow charts and spreadsheets to find patterns and foods. It took a long time but I managed to pin it down and life has been good ever since. It's controlled and I feel great.
  • virginia65us
    virginia65us Posts: 106 Member
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    Hello - I take a product called "Pepogest," which can be found in health food stores and on Amazon.com. I had been to a few doctors and none really had any helpful advice. Pepogest is natural and has no side effects (at least I haven't had any.) I still have minor symptoms when I'm tired or eat badly, but I am so much better than I was several months ago, before I discovered this product. It's worth a try! Cut and paste this link for an interesting NY Times article on the subject of IBS relief from peppermint oil. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/remedies-peppermint-oil-for-irritable-bowel/
  • khloee1
    khloee1 Posts: 90 Member
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    Hello I was diagnosed with IBS last year. I eat an I'm miserable! Dieting is so hard because eating a high fiber diet with whole grains etc...kicks my gut! I started eating a gluten free diet as of yesterday...so far so good. I will continue it and see if it helps.
  • zen_mama
    zen_mama Posts: 51
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    I also suffered with IBS for years until I became a vegetarian. Cutting out the meat helped significantly, but the biggest change was cutting cheese and most dairy out of my diet. That was over 4 years ago and the only times I have a little flare up is if I consume lots of cheese (like half a cheese pizza ;-) ) or if I drink too many cups of coffee. I eat greek yogurt most every day to help keep my gut balanced too.
  • mslack01
    mslack01 Posts: 823 Member
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    I have had IBS my whole life also. Dairy is definitely a trigger for me and I try to limit my intake and drink a lot of water now. I sometimes supplement with fiber gummies also.
  • fitforlife34
    fitforlife34 Posts: 331 Member
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    Hello - I take a product called "Pepogest," which can be found in health food stores and on Amazon.com. I had been to a few doctors and none really had any helpful advice. Pepogest is natural and has no side effects (at least I haven't had any.) I still have minor symptoms when I'm tired or eat badly, but I am so much better than I was several months ago, before I discovered this product. It's worth a try! Cut and paste this link for an interesting NY Times article on the subject of IBS relief from peppermint oil. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/remedies-peppermint-oil-for-irritable-bowel/


    Thank you! I will try that.
  • BubbleGumKisses
    BubbleGumKisses Posts: 156 Member
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    I try not to eat anything after dinner, and stay away from caffienne and carbonated beverages.... really just recently started to do something about my diet and exercise, i was much like Poster Above, just accepted that my guts hated me!!
  • b757
    b757 Posts: 61 Member
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    I have it too, and switch from one extreme to the other. I have to be really careful. Coffee can do it if I drink too much. Soda is another one I have to be extremely careful with, especially Mountain Dew. One thing I have noticed is that I seem to do much better if I drink two full glasses of water in the morning, and as much as I love fruit, if I eat too much of fruits and veggies with skins and another trigger food, that does it too. Pizza is another one. Fatty foods are the worst it seems. If you are IBS-D and you are having an episode, the BRAT diet may work really well until you are regular again. Bananas, Boiled Chicken, Rice, (white) Applesauce (unsweetened), toast (white bread, I get potato bread), and avoid drinking water unless it is one hour before or after you have eaten, and avoid mixing hot and cold foods/liquids together in one meal. For constipation I could list a lot of tips as well, but for the the other way, IMO, it is so much worse if I am having an extreme episode. I was also able to tolerate dried fruits last time, and the dried blueberries are supposed to be helpful. I try to keep dried fruits and white rice on hand at all times. The probiotic yogurt is supposed to help too.
  • terraskye
    terraskye Posts: 370 Member
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    I have had diagnosed IBS my entire life. I've managed to isolate it to the following:

    - Dairy
    - Meat

    When I cut those out of my life my IBS disappeared. Sorry I can't offer more help. It's worth a shot though, I mean let's face it who likes having to plan days around where bathrooms are (within running or sprinting distance?)


    I'm trying to get diagnosed with IBS also....I've had to cut out eating red meat most of the time..I hadn't thought about dairy too but I'm gong to keep an eye out on that now
  • rmarie1017
    rmarie1017 Posts: 58 Member
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    I was diagnosed with IBS-D a few years ago. It was pretty bad at one point and I lost a lot of weight. Now that I have it under control (for the most part), I have put on more weight than I wanted and it won't seem to budge. My doctor really pushed the fiber supplements, but I have noticed that high fiber foods seem to be the worst on my gut and were no help for me. It is also worse at times of high stress. Although my D episodes are far less frequent, I have noticed that since I have changed to a healthier diet, I am bloating like crazy!

    Yogurt seems helpful if I eat it on a regular basis and I also take a probiotic supplement. If you haven't already done so, I also would highly recommend making a food diary. You might be surprised. I handle dairy just fine, but I can't even eat a salad...:sad:
  • bradthemedic
    bradthemedic Posts: 623 Member
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    IBS-D here also.
  • lovelylovebug
    lovelylovebug Posts: 27 Member
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    I was just diagnosed a few months ago. I'm on medication that seems to help a bit, but I know that eating high fiber products, bread and dairy are huge triggers. It seems I am always bloated!
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    As a 340 lb guy, I suffered from a severe case of volcanic as-sinosis. It turns out it was just that I had so much visceral fat in my belly that it was smashing my internal organs. It got better as I lost more and more weight. I was scared that I had cancer or something, so I lived with it for a long time without going to the doctor about it. Then one day I was reading Dave Brockie's blog and he actually had the same problem and he lived with it for years, because he was afraid to go to the doctor too, thinking it was cancer or something and didn't want to hear the bad news, but he did go to the doctor. The doctor helped him clean up his diet and that's all there was to it. I figured if Oderus Urungus can fix his dumper, I can too. I went to the doctor and he gave me a bunch of nutrition reading material and then I got the myfitnesspal app on my phone and the rest is history.
  • childofArtemis24
    childofArtemis24 Posts: 334
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    i have Crohn's disease which has almost all the same symptoms as IBS. I get the weight lose, and the constant need to be or find a bathroom, runs my life. Every time we go to a theme park I have to map out all the bathroom locations.
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    You know, it's kinda funny in retrospect. I learned a lot about nutrition, lost more than a hundred pounds of weight and even became an avid weightlifter just so I can poop better.
  • jowings
    jowings Posts: 157 Member
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    I was just diagnosed in the past few month with IBS after having issues the past couple years. I am still trying to figure out my trigger foods. I know that eating mostly vegetarian and incorporating some chicken and fish has helped a lot. I try to stay away from anything heavy: fried, cream sauces and other dairy (ice cream is terrible, cheese seems fine...), super oily etc. My doctor recommended a supplement called Align that you can get over the counter. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to! Sticking with lean proteins and mostly veggies has already worked wonders.
  • naomi8888
    naomi8888 Posts: 519 Member
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    I put up with symptoms for years, I was checked by a gastroenterologist and celiac was ruled out. As a vegan with a high fibre diet it was the worst. Now I eat seafood, dairy and limit grains (no wheat at all) and I find my symptoms mostly gone.

    Sounds like different foods trigger it for different people, you will need to play around with your diet and see what works / doesn't work for you.
  • da_sammit
    da_sammit Posts: 238 Member
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    sufferer over here too!! im currently getting over a bad day and i look pregnant hahaha. yay for bloat :P

    but i also have a million food allergies and intollerances that have wrecked my guts and my liver so it just seems like its all the same thing to me. i avoid my "triggers" and still have really bad days- sometimes lasts for a week. ive been ruled out as celiac. i find high fiber, heavy oils and coffee to be my worst triggers.

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