Fellowship of IBS-Sufferers

Hello,

I am new to the C-C and thought I should start a group for fellow sufferers of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  This is my first post.

Let us swap our IBS eating and survival tips, as well as our IBS horror stories, if you so dare ;)

So, whether you've got IBS-A, -C (like me), -D, or -P, please introduce yourself and let the discussion begin!

Wow, thanks for that! I was worreid it was crohns, but I'm pretty sure its not now. But i will get checked anyway. And I'm in australia. Haha

ser25: Excellent information! Thank you for sharing; that's exactly why I created this group.

japan_nz:  Your story proves that there indeed is light at the end of the IBS-tunnel :)

A week into the IBS diet and I feel GREAT! I didnt expect it to be this much better! The gas and pain have seriously reduced!!
You may as well give it a go guys if you're not sure> I was tired on day 5 as i wasnt eating too well and had no iron, but once I balanced my diet out I've been better

I'm starting to suspect that I have IBS. When I'm stressed out, the pain and bloating is a lot worse. I'm usually fine after breakfast and lunch, but dinner is really hard for me, especially if I go out to eat. I think my major triggers are broccoli, dairy products, potatoes, chocoate, and fatty or fried foods.

This just started pretty recently (like several months ago...I'm 17 btw). I'm not sure if it has anything to do with my recent weight loss or not. Does anyone else find that they get less pain and bloating when they eat smaller amounts, more frequently? If I wait too long to eat, I often get really bad symptoms when I finally get food.

It's really annoying, because I find that I'm avoiding dinner outings because of the pain I know will ensue afterwards. I can never stomach huge portions but I know I need to up my calories since I haven't had my period since April. Any suggestions? (btw thank you so much redviolin87 for starting this thread!)

I suffer from IBS and lately bloating has been a huge problem for me.... my lower abdominal area gets so bloated you might think that I am in my early stages of pregnancy. Not only does the bloating look awful, it feels awful. It has gotten quite painful. I take gas-x to try to relieve the bloating but it only helps a very small amount. Does anyone else suffer from bloating like this, if so what do you do?

Awesome news, red_herring!  That is very encouraging to hear.

To everyone who is unsure if they have IBS: I second red_herring's suggestion to give "the diet" a try.  Basically, if you've noticed that you feel particularly bad after eating a certain food, try cutting it out entirely for a week or so and see what happens.  Then, re-introduce it to test if that food really is the culprit.  If symptoms return, then you know you've hit the nail on the head.  If you're just plain unsure sure what's hurting you altogether, try eliminating the "traditional" IBS-triggers (dairy, caffeine, solid chocolate, carbonated drinks, rich cakes/pastries, sugar, anything too greasy/oily/high-fat, red meat, etc.)

Odalisque:  You're welcome!  Glad we could help :)  To answer your questions: Yes, it is definitely a good idea to eat small, frequent meals instead of trying to force down three big ones.  If you need to gain weight but are unable to tolerate volume (like me), choose calorie-dense foods like nuts, dried fruit, beans, lentils, oats, granola, low-sugar protein bars, almond butter or peanut butter.  Liquid calories are also a great idea. Glucerna and Boost make delicious (and IBS-safe) vanilla and chocolate shakes that are only 8 ounces but a whopping 200 calories each. They are fortified with protien, calcium, and every vitamin you can think of, but have no added sugar or lactose, and very little fat and cocoa.  Perfectly IBS-safe, nutritious, and yummy!  (As an alternative, you could put soy-protien powder in lactose-free milk or fruit smoothies.) Try drinking these in-between meals, (or even as a dessert!)

Cathys276: I do experience all the same symptoms as you (especially bloating) but I have not tried any medicines as of yet.  Instead, I just cut out foods that I know are my particular "triggers."


Keep the questions, suggestions, and updates coming, everyone :) 

Hey guys!

I am SO happy that this forum exists...I have been dealing with a horrible digestive system my whole life (literally since I was a baby). and have never been diagnosed for anything. It's awful. I have been to SO many doctors and either they say, "sorry, but there is absolutely nothing that can be done for gas pains and irregular bowel movements" or they say, "well stomach pains are just something that runs in your family". Seriously? how about a freaking diagnoses :(

anyways, I have always kind of assumed that I have IBS, but i don't really know what to do about it. I am a pescatarian, so the majority of my protein and calcium and lower calorie foods come from fat free yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheese. I am really health conscious so I don't eat anything white, just wheat pasta, whole grain bread, ya noe, the usual. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies (lots of broccoli). From what I've read on here so far, apparently I am doing EVERYTHING wrong. :(

Can someone help me out with how exactly to eat low fat/low cal but stick to the "ibs diet". I don't have any trigger foods as I have never NOT felt gassy and bloated and looked like I'm 4 months pregnant... Also, maybe if you could give me some ideas of tests that are typically done to find out whether or not you have IBS (so I can sort of try to help the doctors that know nothing)...

Thanks so much in advance!

Hello adrenabeana, welcome to the "Fellowship"!  I have also experienced a lifetime of digestive problems, so I hope I can be of some help to you.

I do not know if you will take comfort in this, but receiving an "official" IBS-diagnosis from a doctor does not give you much more than if you were to diagnose yourself.  What I mean by that is, doctors do not have the answer to our problem.  IBS is incurable. Chances are, he or she will give you the same recommended treatment as you would give yourself:  For example, all my doctor told me upon diagnosing me with IBS-C was "Eat fibrous foods, aviod triggers, and take laxatives."  That's it.  So, I'm basically on my own in handling my condition.  In another forum, I read the following comment from an IBS-sufferer: "Telling someone that have IBS is like telling a person with a sore back that they have Sore Back Syndrome. It doesn't help."  I wholeheartedly agree with this.

However, even though medical science cannot cure you, it is still important to get an official diagnosis from a doctor in order to assure that your symptoms are not caused by another (more serious and/or treatable) digestive disorder or disease.  For example, many people who think they have IBS-D (which is not cancerous) could, in reality, have IBD.  The confusion exists because many of the traditional IBS symptoms mimic those of other conditions.

Unfortunately, there is no one "test" for IBS, because it is a functional disorder (not a disease) in which the intestines appear normal but do not function properly.  Basically, a "negative" result on every test = a diagnosis of IBS (it's a catch-all.)  Tests that my doctor recommended for me include: An endoscopy, colonoscopy (with biopsy), ultrasound, CAT scan, and blood-test.  If everything on all five tests come out "normal," then I know I have IBS.

Until then: What kind of IBS do you think you have?  (-A, -C, -D . . . etc.)  Depending on the type (and on peculiarities of the individual sufferer), "the IBS diet" varies dramatically.  For example, people with IBS-C generally tend to avoid white-flour products because those are known to cause even more constipation.  Conversely, those with IBS-D deliberately eat refined flour for the purpose of hardening their stool.  Many with IBS have a wheat and "leafy green" intolerance; I, however, find that my particular case is not aggravated by those foods – quite the opposite (the fiber helps move my bowels).

So, all in all, composing your own, personalized IBS-diet is part guessing-game (eliminating and re-introducing foods to see what "triggers" you) and part research (of your specific type – ie. People with IBS-C tend to react poorly to refined flour and vice versa for type -D, etc.).

Hope this helps :)

It really does help! thanks so much for all the info, redviolin! I need to figure out what type I have....do you know of a website or something where I can get more specific information?

Adrenabeana: Like the college student that I am, I must recommend Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritable_bowel_ syndrome

I find this site to be a good starting place for research on any topic, as it provides a breadth of foundational knowledge.  (Don't cite it as a primary source for term papers, though - professors will get you! They say Wikipedia is for "self-edification," not formal research.) ;)

Hi Guys! Just to clarify, IBD is not cancerous. It increases the risk of colon cancer, but certainly doesn't cause cancer in everyone who has it. IBS does not increase the risk of colon cancer.

Adrenabeana: how were you diagnosed? Did you have any tests, or did your doctor base his diagnosis on a conversation with you?

Another good site, created by the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: http://www.aboutibs.org/  

Awesome forum--I've had IBS symptoms since I was eight.  I've seen three different doctors, had blood tests and ultrasounds done, and no amount of medications/stress relief therapies (which the doctor recommended) helped at all.  I have IBS-A, which is the kind where you're constipated for nine days then spend three hours on the toilet with explosive diarrhea.  Fun stuff, I'm telling ya... :(

Anyway, most of my symptoms went away when I started avoiding fat and fast food, exercising regularly, eating lots of fiber, and drinking a ton of water. 

Does anyone else suffer from midnight attacks?  I'm frequently up between 1100 at night and three in the morning, and it really messes with my sleep patterns.  Just curious if that's a common thing...

I have developed IBS over the course of the past 5 years...It was brought on by many different things, and then when I developed eating disorders, that worsened it. Bingeing purging and starving yourself makes EVERYTHING worse. Now I have even more issues than I did BEFORE my disordered eating came into play. I swing back and forth between the extremes of constipation and diarrhea, so I always either have one or the other...and this is NO FUN. Ugh...I take acidophilus (Good bacteria) for my digestion now, and it seems to help...hopefully I can find a way to make it go away for good...wouldn't that be nice?

bricole - waking up at night to "go" is NOT normal for IBS. However, it is a sign of inflammatory bowel disease. Have you been biopsied?

Yep.  Free and clear of IBD.

Hello all!  Just found this site and forum; my friend/personal trainer sent me here to help with my weight loss goals. 

First, thanks for being out there.  I was diagnosed with Chrone's/Ulcerative Colitis when I was twelve, am now 26 and off meds for several years.  Yeay! 

Unfortunately, because I was so sick so young, and because I believed myself "better" during most of my adulthood, I don't really feel I understand my body and my illness.  I did what everyone else told me I needed to do, so that I wasn't constantly throwing up and in pain, and ignored everything else.  If I wasn't throwing up, then I wasn't sick, right?

So now I'm determined to take charge more in my life, and I'm looking forward to learning a whole lot more!  Thanks in advance.

Hiya,

I've had very mild IBS for a few years but I only ever "suffered" if I was particularly stressed.

However, since I had a period of ill health for 6 months, it has gotten much worse depsite the fact that I'm now (apart from the IBS) 100% better.  My GP tells me to be patient and see if it settles but apart from throwing some very general leaflets at me, hasn't been much help (I'm changing GP soon so fingers crossed I get some better advice!).

I can't eat some of my favourite foods without suffering from bloating, cramps, etc.  For example, as I type this, I've discovered that I need to add strawberries to the list

I love lentil soup but can't eat that unless I'm willing to put up with the pain.  Spicy foods are out.  Chocolate is out (maybe not a bad thing if I'm on here!). Coffee is out (and I LOVE coffee).  Brown rice is out.

I think you get the idea!

Anyway, please feel free to add me as a buddy and maybe we can swap some recipes.  Hopefully, I'll learn a thing or two about my condition other than, to quote the leaflet, "the triggers vary from person to person" (yeah, but what are the triggers??!!)

Donna

Hello,

Great idea to start this thread, redviolin.  Thanks! 

I'd love to learn some more recipes (or discover more great low cal ibs recipe websites).  Any suggestions anyone?

I'm ibs-a/p with chronic gastritis to boot.  Have just started on new meds for the tum problem which leave me very fatigued. Any energy boosting recipes would be highly appreciated (though at present I'm allowed no raw fruits so ideas that also avoid these would be great)!!

Feel free to add me as a buddy.   

 

New thought, everybody!

I was just wondering about too little fat.  We all know, as IBS sufferers, that a low-fat diet is treated as somewhat akin to a Maggic Bullet.  We're encouraged to eat between thirty and sixty grams of fat a day.  (Not an easy thing to do in this era of Big Macs and Chili's Molten Cake.)

Dieters know it's easy to go overboard with a cutback.  I was wondering exactly how much fat a person needs in their diet for hair and skin health--not to mention lipid cell walls, but we won't go there.

If you only get ten or fifteen grams over the course of several days, can it make you sick?  Do you need to (gasp!) eat more?  Does it matter?

Just curious to see what people would say--I'm going to go do some research on it right now!