Dealing with IBS

Last time I saw my doctor, we talked about how I have anxiety and it sometimes affects my stomach... so he shrugged, said I have IBS (with which I was passively diagnosed a few years back), and that a lot of women have it so basically I have to deal with it.

I have been steadily increasing my calories to better nourish my body, including increasing my fat. This seems to be aggravating my stomach.

What are good ways to deal with IBS? I take Metamucil, eat fruit and yogurt, and exercise regularly.

Also - I have heard that if you do have diarrhea, its not taking anything from your body because you have digested; but if you have IBS attacks shortly after you eat, is that still true?

I did suffer from IBS for a long time since I was 15 now 25. I have been to many doctors who say it is Ibs and even had both upper and lower oscopy's done twice... My stomach is not normal from the surgery's I had when I was 15. And food didnt matter good bad or the ugly ended up hurting me 4-5 hr later and the same thing happened each time...( I have a sluggish system)  I prayed to the porcelain god! It was the only way to stop my stomach from hurting. It got to the point where it was almost every night.  I have tried many of drugs to help me out even a super strict diet of healthy plain bland foods. But nothing helped until I got zegerid! Zegerid was a miracle drug for me! Since then I have not had a stomach ache or pain! And a month or two later I started to change my diet for good! ^___^  

Today I live pain free. It is a nice change from hugging the toilet everyday! 

IBS comes in a lot of forms.  For some people too much fibre acts as an irritant.  In others, it's lack of fibre that causes the problems.  I think anyone used to a very low fat diet will experience some problems when introducing more fats same as anyone not used to eating meat can find it a little indigestible at first.  So there is an element of working through the immediate problems rather than jumping to conclusions.

IBS attacks typically involve cramping and bloating rather than diarrhoea or sickness especially.  Diarrhoea badly dehydrates the body and you may need to take a preparation like Dioralyte if you suffer from it regularly, to replace lost salts and minerals.  And, of course, if it happens a lot then you need your doctor to diagnose why.  A 'lazy bowel' would be a bad result.

gi-jane, the attacks (sometimes cramping/bloating; sometimes diarrhea, it vascilates!) were before introduction of more fats, but I was eating fat before, just not in the form of cheese!

My IBS has improved tremendously since I've been counting calories.  I haven't had a severe attack the entire 6 wks. I've been on the diet. That is almost better than losing weight. :)

dkfox, when you say "the diet" do you mean a no-wheat diet or just the CC diet? I'm not currently trying to lose so I don't want to count my calories exactly..

I know IBS is different for everyone and it can change from day to day but is there a chance you have a problem with dairy?  You mentioned that you started eating cheese and that could be the culprit.  I have had IBS for the past 3 or so years and I finally realized that my body couldn't handle much dairy or cheese anymore.  I can still eat yogurt and ff products but no milk or regular cheese.  In my experience I've found that the fats my body seems to be okay with are like olive oil and really that is about it....

It really takes learning what your individual triggers are and trying to avoid all those triggers and dangerous foods.  Trust me it usually only takes one bad attack to learn...... I will never eat pudding again!

Dairy was such a bad trigger item for me, I could easily spend half an hour cramped over the toilet because of it. I changed to soy milk for my smoothies and starbucks drinks and it eased off - I also learnt my body did not like largeish amounts of liquid at once which also would trigger attacks fast.