Does this diet work for anyone with IBS-C?
#183632 - 06/05/05 09:36 AM
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I'm completely exasperated at this point. I had to stop taking the Fruit-Eze because it was making the gas and bloating so much worse. When I stopped that, the temporary improvement in BMs stopped. Same story with magnesium.
So I decided to do the BTC diet for a few days to see if that helped. Still had tons of gas, bloating and cramping. I'm really beginning to doubt that I have IBS, or that this diet is helpful for people with IBS-C.
Arrrggghhh!
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Well, I have the same fear for myself. When I first found the sight, I was in seventh heaven. I thought I had found my solution. But like you, I have found no relief and I have been at this for about 8 months...having started it sort of, before registering. I never eat trigger foods, EVER, but have yet to see any relief. 
Maybe I don't have IBS either???
I know others C folks have found relief so it must work for some. But IMHO, it does seem to work faster and better for the D folks.
I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what other diet to try if not Heathers. That's why I keep hoping it will "kick in"...but I may be beating a dead horse. I mean, 8 months...isn't that long enough to feel some type of relief in either the gas, bloat, constipation, or pain? Relief in just one of those areas would be nice. But so far, all of them are the same degree of horror. 
I agree, Arrrgggggggghh!
Sorry your fruit-eze didn't help. I thought it might be too gassy. Have you tried just plain prunes at night? That is my current experiment for C. Just one large size prune on a piece of toast at night.
The BTC diet didn't help my gas, bloat, cramps either because I became more constipated and gas and bloat tend to increase for me when I am constipated.
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It does
#183687 - 06/05/05 01:43 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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Of course, I'm answering this as an A person, who gets both C and D, but whatever. The fact is that if you do the diet right, it will help - and yes, it DOES take quite a bit longer for C types to notice change than the D types. It's just the nature of the beast... and ANY diet for it you'll try.
Following the diet isn't as simple as "avoiding trigger foods". Eating safe soluble fiber foods isn't going to do it either. You must must must eat as many insoluble fiber foods on a daily basis as you can safely handle. Heather recommends this here on the site and in her books, and I've found it totally true based on my own experience. Don't just dig in and start eating salads, nor should you give up all the soluble foods in favor of insoluble, but you SHOULD be eating insolubles with a bit of soluble every single meal. As a rule, most C'ers can handle a LOT more insolubles than D's can, and, in fact, NEED more to get and stay stable. Heck, I'm not even a C, but if I don't eat my fruits and veggies and some whole grains every single day, the works stop up like concrete!
Other things that will help - and I'm not sure how much of this you're doing, I'm just throwing out ideas, so please forgive me if I'm telling you things you already know - drinking LOTS of water, aerobic exercise (I've found brisk walking to be just about the best), and increasing up to a full (15g) dose of a soluble fiber supplement every single day.
Please hang in there, be patient, and keep on doing your best. I had to wait 3 months to see even the slightest improvement and almost a YEAR to get to what I would call stable, but it was totally worth it!
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OK so I'm not a C, I'm a D, but I just wanted to comment on this quickly.
I agree with Casey in that this diet probably helps D's faster than C's - but just think about the very *nature* of C and D and the differences between them (um, ew yeah but you know what I mean) - it's simply going to take longer to remedy C than it is to stop D by the very nature of those two afflictions.
That doesn't mean us D-ers have it easy either though. Personally even when I stopped having to visit the bathroom 20 times a day (which, obivously, was a huge relief) I was still getting tons of bloating, cramping and gas, just like you.
Anyway, just wanted to lend some support and say hang in there 
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...I think you've missed the point of this diet. It's more about HOW you eat than WHAT you eat - that's how it works when eating gf, for fibro, or whatever.
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I too agree with Casey and Laurel. The speed of success with the diet is accelerate with those with IBS-D. It was a relief
to have the cycle of 20x toilet visits and explosive spasms, diarrhea and the cramps/bloating dissipate and disappear. It's a nice to trust my body to respond, too.
It just takes time to figure out the right balance for your body and to tune your gastro-colic reflex. Sometimes more fruits/veggies, a little more IF is needed for IBS-C. Yes, it just takes time to get a rhythm going, a momentum. Some mediation, creative visualization, hypnosis and yoga on the side could be helpful as well as lots of bottled water and some exercise.
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I'm so sorry you're still having such a terrible time.
I'm not C which means I can't speak from experience, but at the top of the BTC diet FAQ , Heather does say that constipation can take over 2 weeks to resolve. (That's 2+ weeks on her overall diet; the BTC diet is for a few days only). And it does seem logical that the step of beginning to add IF back in after 2-3 days of BTC would be crucial, especially for IBS-C. Plus, if you're starting at a low dose of SFS and going up slowly, it seems like it would take more than a few days before you're ingesting enough so your body even notices.
Having said all that, if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't. I'd like to think it would work for everyone with IBS because it was like a miracle for me.
I'd suggest you bump this on Monday morning when Board traffic picks up and see if you get more responses.
--------------------
[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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I really do appreciate everyone's effort to provide encouragement and support. That's why I'm here.
However, I have to vent a little bit. I exercise every day, do digestive yoga, drink peppermint tea and take the capsules, take SF supplements, meditate, am 53 days into the IBS hypnosis program (my 2nd time), receive regular bodywork/acupuncture, get a lot of emotional support, etc.
On this diet: if I simply followed the suggestion to add IF back into my diet, I wouldn't be doing anything different than I had been doing for the last six years. And that wasn't working for me.
Yes, I really do want this to work for me. But I bristle against the idea that it absolutely works for everyone, and if it isn't working, it must mean they aren't doing it right or they haven't done it for long enough.
In Cyndy's case, particularly, if she hasn't found any relief after 8 months of diligently following the dietary principles... is it at all rational to just say "keep at it?" Someone please explain to me why it should take more than 8 months, or even more than one month for that matter, for this diet/approach to work.
I'm not trying to be difficult. I just get irritated when I imagine that people are being dogmatic - in this case valuing belief or opinion above experience (what is actually happening). It's a sensitive issue for me because so often I've been told "if you just do this, you'll get better." And when it doesn't work, I'm informed that 1) I've done it wrong, 2) I have to try harder, or (my personal favorite) 3) I must not WANT to heal.
Heck, I don't even know that I have "IBS", or what it means if I do. All I wanted to know is if this program has been helpful for folks with "C", not "A" or "D".
Chris
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Hi Cyndy,
This probably isn't the right place to offer this possibility, and others might not like it. But when/if you want to try something new, I know a lot of people who've had success with the Body Ecology Diet.
It didn't work for me, but perhaps it would for you. It makes a lot of sense to me and I like that it focuses on restoring the normal functioning of the digestive tract, rather than simply controlling symptoms.
I don't want to confuse you or add another log to the fire, but perhaps it's worth a try.
Also, have you had any stool tests or GI screens by reputable specialized labs like Great Smokies or BioHealth Diagnostics?
Chris
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Sorry, not following how I've "missed the point of the diet"?
I have dutifully followed the principles outlined here and in the book... eating small amounts of fat and IF always with/after a healthy dose of IF, if that's what you mean.
Chris
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