frustrated newbie here
#165665 - 03/31/05 08:37 AM
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Hello, I was searching for help for my IBS..gas,bloating.stomach pains,constipation..etc..and found this site,the more I read about Acacia the more excited I became,could relief be that easy?
Now after reading some of the messages here I am totally confussed,seems many of you are unhappy with it. I've been using psyllium,it does help me with the constipation,but the stomach pains,gas and bloating are terrible.
as I said,I'm lost..will Acacia help with the pain and bloating to or is it just being hyped up too sound like a great product?
thanks, Betty
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Welcome- ALot of good people and info on this board.
I personally haven't used the acacia- but as you have said there are mixed reviews. SOme people have great results others do not.
I personally use citrucel. I used to use Metamucil but found I got alot of gas with it. I truly don't know if that was causing the gas or the IBS-C was causing the gas. But I switched anyway.
Enjoy the board.
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Melissa
Pain predominant w/occasional C.
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thank you for the welcome. I'm at the point were I can't stand the pain and sick feeling anymore. my stomach is always bloated and making loud noises..sounds like I'm starving,but its the pains EEEERRR
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Are you IBS-C or D or A?
I have alot of pain also- Crampy pain- especially after I eat.
They can be pretty intense sometimes.
You most definately aren't alone.
Keep checking the board though- I am sure someone who is experienced with the Acacia will reply soon enough.
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Melissa
Pain predominant w/occasional C.
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I'm IBS D
what is A? never heard that one before?
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IBS-A is when you've got both D&C.
I used to use Metamucil, but it gave me horrible gas and bloating.
I tried the Acacia and love it. The problems (gas & bloating) went away really quickly.
The Metamucil did help with the D, but seemed to make the other things worse (and the gas was causing me some pain as well).
It seems to me that different sfs work differently on different people and the only way to find out which is right for you is to try it.
I'm lucky that I found mine on the second try-but I know other people had a little more trial and error time.
Good luck and welcome!
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thank you for the help. I'm just so sick of this,my belly hurts 24/7,I seem to be in a flare the last few weeks..if I eat it hurts if I don't eat it hurts? can't win!!
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I'm IBS-D and acacia has been great for me, but different people do well with different soluble fiber supplements. If you do a search on "Acacia", you should find lots of posts where people discuss what it does and doesn't do for them and what other soluble fiber supplements they've tried and found helpful or not.
If you've only checked the message Boards, you really need to look through the whole site. Heather's help for IBS is not based just on a soluble fiber supplement, so relief is not just as easy as taking Acacia or any other supplement. (I wish!) Heather's plan is also based on avoiding trigger foods, basing your meals on soluble fiber foods, and eating insoluble fiber foods very carefully. Beyond what you eat, you can be helped by the use of some herbal teas (nothing too weird, so don't worry  ), exercise, and stress management.
This plan has been a Godsend for me and the people on the Boards are great, so welcome and I hope it helps you, also.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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ESPECIALLY for causing gas/bloating. I was on that before I tried Acacia and Oh MY! is the Acacia easier on me! I LOVE the stuff.
Like Sand said tho, it's isn't that simple...but I HIGHLY recommend getting "IBS: The First Year"...I learnt more (that made sense) from that book than from anything else.
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It's great and well worth the price.
One of the things I love about Heather, though, is that you can find the basics of her plan on her Website for free. So, while you're waiting for the book to arrive, go to the main message board page and under the Eating For IBS Board description you'll see a bunch of hyperlinks that you're asked to familiarize yourself with. Read these and you'll have a firm handle on the basics. What you read on the Boards will make a lot more sense.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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the books sounds good,but to be honest the more I read the more confused I get reading the messages here, If the products,diet,book,advice that heather sells are so helpful then why are so many of us here looking for help? shouldn't there only be new members like me looking for relief? I'm seeing post from members with a very high post count still complaining of severe IBS symptoms,so Gere I am questioning all of this..are we all just getting sucked into lining Heathers pockets?
I just opdered from her this morning,hoping against hope...
I'm deprerate..maybe I'm in denial,but I find it very hard to believe IBS can make me this sick,just drinking water hurts!
thanks for listening
Betty
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Well I've lost track of how long I've been on here! I WAS doing great - messed up big-time tonight  - Heather totally turned my life around. I am now in control of my IBS...completely. The only problems I have is when I mess up...like eating far too much tonight when I KNEW it was a bad idea. 
But stabilising took me 6 months initially! So I got a lot of posting done in that time. Now, well I like the people on here and I want to put back some of the help I got! 
Also, some people have a harder time than others...maybe they have a separate health issue or something like gluten intolerance. Or maybe they are just more sensitive than others and so struggle to find their personal tolerance levels.
So no, I totally disagree. People stick around here even if they're still pretty ill b/c this site HELPS. If you have questions you can come here and get advice any hour of the day and night. Plus, the diet isn't always easy and Heather no longer has time to reply to all diet queries personally, which is where the message boards come in!
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Thank you for taking the time to answer me,as I said it is all very confusing, I was just looking around the board and read the NO No list of foods..then jumped over to the recipes..heres more confusion..lots of the recipes have foods we are NOT suppose to eat??
do you know where I may gind a list of the good and bad foods? I think that would be very helpful, I always thought I was doing great eating 7 grain wheat bread,now I see I should be eating white bread,which turns to sugar and causes weight gain.
I have to give you guys credit for sticking to this...seems very tough,almost nothing to eat either
the book looks interesting,would you say that is the best place to start as far as learning how to change my diet?
thanks again
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I agree it's disconcerting to see people who've followed the plan for quite some time still having problems. As Linz says, people do fall by the wayside, as my mother used to say, and some people have more than just IBS to deal with. I suppose it's even possible that Heather's plan might occasionally not work for some people with IBS. But there are 3 reasons I think you should give it a good try.
First, even the people who still have problems are presumably getting some help from the plan or they wouldn't still be on it. They might not be well, but they're probably better.
Second, it worked for me. I'm not where I want to be in terms of having my IBS under control, but I am so much better it's like night and day. And I haven't been working the plan for very long.
Third, it's completely possible to follow Heather's plan without ever giving her a dime - that's part of what convinced me to try it in the first place. You can read about all the basic elements of the plan on this Website. You can buy soluble fiber supplements in any drugstore. You can get peppermint tea at any supermarket. So, if your concern is that this is just another scam - and I agree there are some out there - then try the plan without using any of Heather's products. Read through the whole Website to learn the diet without buying her books, buy what you need at the regular stores, and see what happens. As Linz says, the people on the Board will be happy to help - no one knows whether you've bought any of Heather's products or not.
When I found this plan I wasn't sure it would work, either. But I figured I was so sick and so miserable that I couldn't be any worse off if I spent a month or two or three eating the way Heather suggested. It was one of the best "oh, what the heck" decisions I ever made.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Hmmm...well it's complicated! [Are you getting why we all need the boards now? ]
There are the trigger foods which are bad, then there is Insoluble Fibre (IF) which can be a trigger but is neccessary for health and for C people. AND THEN you have the situation where stable people can cheat with some triggers - usually occasionally and little - without too bad repurcussions.
So cut out all triggers. Do the breaking the cycle diet (ie. nothing remotely difficult) for 3 days and then start adding IF in SAFELY. Again, I really recommend the book, although most of the info is on this site - the book just goes into more detail.
And there are LOADS of food for us to eat. Especially when you add in stuff like soy alternatives. Eating For IBS or the Recipe Index is a good place for inspiration.
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Linz,I just read the list of foods we can't eat..the only meat allowed seems to be white meat chicken?
looks like no dinner tonight LOL
Is The " breaking the cycle diet" here on this site somewhere? there is so much to read, I'm getting lost
thank you for all your help
Betty
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The Breaking The Cycle diet is one of the links on the main message board page. Click here and you'll go to the main message board page.
You'll see columns. At the top of the left-hand column you'll see "Eating For IBS Diet Board". Read down that column and you'll come to "BEFORE POSTING, please familiarize yourself with:" Under that is a bunch of topics. One of them is "Breaking The Cycle of IBS Attacks". Click on that and you'll see how to do it.
There's a lot of information, so it's no surprise you're getting lost. If you hang in there, you'll eventually get to it all. Remember you can always get back to the home page and start again from there.
The book "IBS:The First Year" is laid out in a step by step, day by day format, so you get the information a little piece at a time. It's probably easier to digest that way.
By the way, for meat you can have white meat chicken or turkey and any seafood.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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thank you very much 
you've all been so nice and very helpful
I'll need to read a little everyday
hugs,betty
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