What would you do?
#105445 - 09/13/04 07:35 AM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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Can one's system get used to otherwise IBS-safe foods that are a trigger?
This is my problem: I can't seem to drink rice milk without an attack. I don't know if it's the rice milk itself, or the fact that it's so cold, but I'm leaning towards the "cold" theory. Most of what I eat is room temperature to hot; I drink "cold" tap water, but cold-from-the-tap and refrigerated-cold aren't the same thing. This morning I had a bowl of Honeycomb with refrigerated rice milk, and within 1/2 hour, I was doubled over with cramps and D.
So... do I force the issue, and keep trying cold things, in hopes that eventually my gut will agree with my brain that it's a good idea? LOL Or do I just accept that I will never again be able to eat cereal with "milk", smoothies, "ice cream", refrigerated beverages, cold pasta salads, etc?
I'm also wondering this because there are a lot of IBS-safe things in general that seem to trigger me - like all of the quick breads and muffins.  I'd love to be able to eat them, but they all give me D and cramping. Should I keep trying to eat them? Or just give up?
You can tell I'm feeling better... up till now, I was content to just avoid all those things, and I've literally eaten little more than pasta, bread and chicken for the past month or so. Now I'm getting bored with that and I want to eat tasty things, but I can't seem to eat anything!
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Hey Casey,
That definitely sounds like a tough situation! You said that you've really not eaten much more than the pasta, rice, etc for a while now, so it's possible that the colder foods and drinks, and more variety are just coming as a shock to your system.
I personally have more problems with cold drinks, but sometimes I have them anyway because I'm tired of tea and water!!! As for the other foods, I wouldn't necessarily cross them of your list, because as you slowly get better you may be able to begin tolerating some of them in small amounts. However, as you know, it is possible that you may have to give them up for good if your system just can't handle those things. Sucks, i know! 
Still, its awesome you're feeling good enough to try other foods again. Take it one day at a time and experiment (with small amounts!) and see what your stomach can and just can't handle.
I'm sure you'll have tons of other suggestions coming your way but you're always great in answering everyone else's questions that I thought I'd chime in 
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Casey, I think you're right about the cold food thing - I really find cold foods intolerable and almost cramp up just looking at a glass of ice water.
I've also found, though, that the longer I'm stable, the more I can tolerate. Just trying to eat irritating stuff does not help - I only add possible triggers when adding them doesn't do anything bad!
So maybe you could nuke the rice milk up to a more bearable temperature before putting it on your cereal and see if that helps? I definitely wouldn't force down anything that gives you D and cramping - you're just irritating your system more and moving it away from stability. Our colons do not want to be forced to do anything they don't like! You'll be able to eat more stuff sooner than you think, and you'll know when that day comes because you'll eat it and feel fine.
--AC, up to one chocolate chip cookie every other day
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Hi there. Gosh, I don't have any suggestions for you. But I can sympathize with you as I cannot eat too much either. It's so annoying! My "do not eat" list keeps growing.
I think that once things are triggers they can EVENTUALLY be reintroduced once you're stable for a while.
Maybe the AD is still giving you side effects? I think it's what is causing my nausea. It's either that or acid refulx.
I'm actually having a bit of a bad day today as I was so stupid and ate things I should not have: ice cream and veggie lasagna and I drank a ginerale. DUH!!! I am paying for it today, but I did get my fix to last me a while.
Hang in there, Casey. Things can only get better.
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Casey,
Have you been tested for *gulp* celiac? Rice milk often has gluten in it. And obviously so does bread.....
What other things give you problems?
Bread should not be a trigger for a person with IBS...that's usually indicative of a different kind of digestive problem. 
On the hopeful side...it may be the sugar in the bread/muffins/rice milk that you are having a bad reaction to? Does sugar seem to be a trigger for you?
I hope in any case that it's NOT celiac and that you figure this out soon. (I don't have celiac...but I am gluten intolerant so I eat like a celiac does). If you do learn gluten/wheat is a trigger for you....we'll all be here to help you adjust!
Let us know how you're doing and what you figure out!
Love,
Ruchie
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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Bread and pasta doesn't trigger me... quick breads and muffins do. I'm not sure if it's the sugar content, or the "heaviness" of them, but something about them bothers me terribly.
I haven't been tested for celiac, but I highly doubt I am. Good thought, though! 
Other than the usual IBS triggers, the only "unusual" triggers are the rice milk and the quick breads/muffins/cakes/sweets. I had an attack from a marshmallow once. Seriously! But I can eat sugar in smaller amounts without problems.
I'll also add that I find this all pretty frustrating because I WAS stable for 6 weeks. I guess some of it could be that I'm still getting used to the antidepressants, but it's annoying to be back at square one all over again!
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I think you might be right about the AD's... I stopped experiencing all the other side effects, so I assumed I was good to go, but it's probably still making my system touchy. It's just really frustrating - I keep losing weight, I'm down to 105, I look awful, but I can't eat anything with enough calories in it to make me gain weight. I'm starting to feel like I'm going to starve to death or something.
Sorry to hear you're having such a bad day... hope you feel better quickly! Hang in there!
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Once poured over the hot cereal, the rice milk will warm up a little to a more tolerable temp. I love my oatmeal/rice cereal with plain rice milk and a little brown sugar! 
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~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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I hope you're right about being able to eat more things as I become more stable. It's frustrating because I WAS stable for 6 weeks, and as soon as I started an antidepressant, I found myself right back at square one. (But I like the AD otherwise and I don't want to stop it!) I'm losing a lot of weight because I just *can't* consume enough calories in a day... and all the high-calorie stuff is what I can't seem to tolerate right now.
I'm going to try a little warm rice milk - probably not today, but in a couple days, when I'm feeling better. I've never been a warm-milk person, but for the sake of finding a trigger, I guess it's worth a shot.
Thanks for the encouragement, AC!
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I haven't eaten hot cereal in months... and even when I did, it was cream of rice, and I didn't put milk on it. Oatmeal makes me *go* anyway, so I'm afraid to eat it. I've never been much of a hot-cereal person anyway. Good thought, though!
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