sound normal to you?
#129712 - 12/11/04 06:28 AM
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Hi everyone...
I'm new here but have been lurking for about a month. I was diagnosed with IBS in my 20s by two docs (without any tests whatsoever, just based on symptoms) but have been having stomach pain since I was about 5 yrs old. Anyway, I had what I guess was a flareup of IBS after my son and I had a stomach virus about a month ago. After reading the diet guidelines here I broke my coffee habit (was up to 4-5 cups a day of full strength coffee) and stopped eating chocolate (was eating solid dark chocolate every day), drastically reduced dairy (no ice cream since Thanksgiving) and started drinking lots of fennel tea. After about 3-4 days of this, I woke up with NO abdominal pain and my tummy has flattened unbelievably. Constipation gone, practically no gas. I didn't even know I was bloated, but now I can see that I was since my tummy has disappeared. I have also lost about 5 -6 pounds. All that remains is some occasional heartburn.
My question is --does this tummy flattening and weight loss seem like a normal response to the diet changes? And how long does it take to recover from a virus? I'm wondering if I should have the heartburn checked out or just wait it out. It seems to be very slowly getting better. It's kind of a new symptom for me though.
Thanks for any input. And thanks for this site. The fennel tea alone has been a revelation! 
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Hi there....welcome to the boards!!
Yes...the tummy flattening (less bloating) are normal reactions to the change in diet. The weight loss happens with a lot of people. I lost 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks of the diet and then another 5 a couple weeks after that. It's totally normal. Think about how much fat we're cutting out of our diet just from eliminating dairy!!
For the heart burn you should definately stay away from the peppermint teas cuz they can make it worse.
So glad you're feeling better!! Keep it up!!
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First of all, Congratulations. Giving up things like coffee and chocolate are harder than you think. You should be so proud! It is possible you lost weight from the virus but it is also possible from following Heather's guidelines. It's a low fat, sensible diet that a lot of people lose weight on - especially in the beginning.
It's great that the fennel tea is working so well for you! Keep up the excellent work. You get an A Plus!(sorry - former teacher here!)
--------------------
Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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Perfectly...I lost 6 pounds when I started on this diet (I then piled more on by eating too many brownies and things  but that's another matter!).
Well done on cutting chocolate and coffee. They're two of the hardest things to cut. At least a little dark chocolate after SF is still ok for me!
With the heartburn, there is alot you can do with diet. Some of it (no coffee, no caffeine, little alcohol, no carbonated drinks, eating and drinking little and often) is part of this diet anyway, but cutting out (for a while at least) all acidic foods will help. These include tomatoes, citrus fruits, some other soft fruit, etc. Plus spicy foods are bad for heartburn. Try Zantac to prevent attacks. If it gets really bad, your GI doc can prescribe some wonderful meds!
Good luck. And well done for getting this far! 
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What it sounds like to me is enviable!
I went from an already virtuous diet before IBS diagnosis (no coffee, no soda, no dairy except the occasional yogurt, very little red meat, very little sugar, lots of rice, fruits, vegetables, fish) to one that somedays is downright TEDIOUS, and still grapple with major bloating and occasional visits from the big C.
I congratulate you! Whatever you're doing, keep doing it!
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thanks for your reply. I guess I don't have as severe a problem as some here, but I am a bit of a hypochondriac. So I tend to scrutinize every little bodily change. Giving up the coffee WAS really hard, but man what a difference! I would urge anyone who is still drinking "one cup of decaf" to give it up altogether. The chocolate also really hard to give up but I'm not missing it that much.
Thanks so much for your friendly replies.
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