IBS...

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?)

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/

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.

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.

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.

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:

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!

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.

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.

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.

I had tests and Celiac and Crohn's was ruled out. My doctor is nice but not as helpful as i had hoped. I'm supposed to get referred to a GI specialist but they haven't called yet. I'm soooo tired of having "attacks" two or three days a week.

I had a soft taco tonight hamburger meat/kidney beans and my stomach hates me now :frown:

Last Thursday I had a attack so bad (around 1am) I was curled on the sofa crying ...finally a heating pad offered up some relief

Pretty sure I have it, as (supposedly) Celiac was ruled out. I'm going to get a second opinion this year - I really want something definitive so I can have answers/plan. Since I've started MFP, I've noticed I don't eat a lot of carbs in general and when I do, my stomach bothers me. Coffee is a major ding, but every once in awhile, like today, I'll have it, just to have it and for the caff. Milk usually is a prob, but after not having access to soy/almond milk, I tried 1% in low doses, so I think it's all the "pure", whole and fatty milk I have probs with. Beef is another one I try to avoid, unless I'm craving it, which is rare. Beef and sandwich/baked bread are the worst to me. I think the fillers have a lot to do with it too. I have a feeling I'm allergic to preservatives.

I havent been diagnosed but have experienced symptoms a while, just never been to a doctor as i know theres no treatment as such. I would highly recommend Psyllium husks, you can take them as capsules or powder an hour before 3 meals a day and is a very good colon cleanse.

Does Miralax cause any bloating?