IBS - Help!

bump. i'm in the same boat. there are days, weeks, months where i'm fine and then days where i can't even get out of bed. and sadly i can't figure out what triggers it for me. i could eat the same thing for a year and at some point, the IBS is going to flare up. sigh.

I wanna bump this, too. I haven't been to the dr for this yet, but it's on my to-do list, as the urges and flare ups for it are getting more and more frequent. I can just be sitting here at work, and maybe 10 minutes after I eat, no matter what it is, I'm literally RUNNING to the bathroom. It can happen with anything I eat, and it's frustrating!

I so feel for both of you. My mother suffers with this and it's so frustrating for her that she cannot figure it out either. She thinks stress definitely plays a roll for her but how the heck can you 'reduce stress'. Even if you deal with it well, it is still there. Again, I am sorry you are both dealing with this. If you are consistent with logging maybe you can put in your notes a number (like on a scale of 1 to 10) how mpbad your flare up was and see if after, say 3 months you can find a correlation. Good luck!

I've had IBS for years now and am generally under control without medications. I have a bad flare up about twice a year and minor symptoms (bloating, discomfort, occasional irregularity) pretty frequently - mine is stress induced.

Here is what I do: (Remember, it may or may not work for you, but give everything you try at least a good month. This is your digestive tract, so it takes patience to get everything working right.)

1) Stay empty - The pain usually comes due to your colon being full, so practice good habits that will keep your colon cleaned out. Keeping empty also reduces how often you'll need to run to the bathroom if and when you do have a flare up.
2) Increase fiber - I eat a lot of fiber rich foods including whole wheats and dark green leafy vegetables. Kale, spinach, cabbage, and most squash are wonderful for this and can help clean you out. The closer to raw, the better. You can use Metamucil or fiber caplets, but I found they weren't as effective, convenient, or taste as good as actual food. (When you are just starting out, however, having some Metamucil can help loads.)
3) Reduce binding - I only eat about two or three bananas in a month. Any foods that will bind up in my digestive tract will slow the process down and result in future pain. So... little to no bread at all, little to no red meat, few bananas... if I eat these foods, I try to eat them with a fiber rich food to balance things out.
4) Practice stress reduction - Meditate, do yoga, clean your house, yell, jump up and down and have a tantrum like a toddler... whatever works for you. So long as you're dealing with stress in a healthy manner that doesn't hurt others, then who cares what they think? They don't have excruciating pain that feels like someone is twisting a rusted knife in their innards. Whatever you do, pick a few things so that you have multiple ways to deal with stress. Sometimes cleaning is great, but when you're in a hotel it's rather difficult to use that method - or maybe you like to yell, but you can't exactly do that at work.... so have a few methods for every situation.
5) Water! - Drink lots of it!
6) Don't tense up - Working my abdominal core tends to cause flare ups more often so I do that less often that most people probably would. I still do them, as it's still important, but exercises like sit ups, crunches, jack knives... whatever... things that tense your abdominal wall, can cause flare ups. Be prepared for that possibility for you and plan ahead.

As someone else mentioned, it could be other foods that trigger your symptoms. Many people with IBS also have Celiac Disease, lactose intolerance, and other dietary needs. Some can't have dairy, some can't have wheat, some can't have sugars... it really depends on the person. Probiotics, acidophilus in particular, can help greatly. If you can't get it through natural means you can take pills - particularly increase your intake of these if you've been on antibiotics a lot or frequently.

To deal with the pain of a flare up I often take an Ibuprofen or a Midol (ironically) and take a hot bath with some soothing candles and a good book. A heating pad can also help with some of the discomfort. Do not forget to stay hydrated and increase your electrolytes on flare up days.

Just a quick question.. do you drink energy drinks or chew gum in excess?

Keeping a food diary might help with figuring out your triggers. For me, it is greasy foods and foods high in fats. Almost all restaruant food makes mine flare becuase there is alost always an unreasonable amount of fat packed into them.

My other big trigger is stress. A big presentation coming up at work is sure to give me a flare up. This part really sucks becuase it is harder to control--this is when I still rely on medication even though I've been dealing with IBS(D) for about 12 years.