I'm back from my trip - results and a question!
#189260 - 06/26/05 04:02 PM
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e_mcmaster
Reged: 01/16/05
Posts: 520
Loc: Norman, Oklahoma
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Hi all -
As many of you know, I went to DC for a conference from thursday to today and I was very concerned about the lack of safe food and consistant bloating.
Well, I had absolutely no problems! My tummy was consistantly flat the entire time and I had no pain. I felt great and looked great.
So what's the problem? I didn't eat any vegetables and only ate applesauce for fruit. I don't want to keep fruits and vegetables out of my diet, but even pureeing them and eating them after a SF meal makes me semi-bloated. The only way I can be bloat-free (and pain-free) is to cut them out. Once again, I don't want to do this on a daily basis, although it is nice to know that it will work when traveling and before special events.
Any ideas? I'd appreciate it!
Love, Elizabeth
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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I went to MA for a week and shared a room with friends (dog agility camp). I was so paranoid that I'd be hogging the bathroom but everything worked out. I took an Immodium every morning and every night. Made me a little gassy but at least I had no D while there. I ate mostly bagels and spaghetti and they thought I was a little strange. I explained I had a problem and they stopped bugging me to eat all these fabulous dinners and desserts!!! I too also ended up eating almost NO veggies. The first day or two I ate some cooked veggies and did end up having to use the bathroom a little more than I would prefer and a little bloating. The rest of the trip, I was very selective. You are lucky you could get applesauce. Everywhere I went (including Ground Round, Friendly's and Outback)I asked for applesauce but no one had it. I couldn't believe it.
It is SO good to be home. Last night all I craved was a huge fresh salad. After all the bland food and Immodium, it didn't cause a problem and tasted SO good!!!
Cindy
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I brought my own applesauce and ate it warm. I've gotten to the point where I don't trust any restaurants with supposedly "safe" food. They always seem to screw it up, somehow. 
Glad you had a good trip! Did you enjoy MA? My family is from there.
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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Congratulations on a successful trip. Isn't it wonderful to prove yourself right? I'm glad you avoided discomfort/bloating.
Have you considered raw juicing, perhaps as an alternative to the veggies that cause you bloating? You won't be getting the fibers, but you will be getting the vitamins/minerals and benefits. I'm not talking about grabbing a pithy V-8. I'm referring to stuff like homemade fresh juice blends. It's as easy as a juicer and the raw goods!
Just a thought. You're such a vibrant dynamic energetic individual, Elizabeth.
Just curious: is applesauce the only fruit you can safely eat? Perhaps cooking fruit, i.e. stewing it and then sticking it in the blender might be a better option. Applesauce is basically babyfood apples. You could do the same with other fruits, too. I do. Are there any veggies that you find safe to consume?
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Interesting. I had to travel for my interview this week and I had terrible bloating last week. I was desperate so I cut out the fruit, vegies and SF supplements. No bloating or pain at all. In fact I feel great and thin. But I know that this diet cannot be healthy.
I am living on fish, egg whites, boneless chicken and turkey and soy milk. I bought some tofu and tried a little yesterday and was OK. I had a little bit of greens with my tuna or chicken on travel because I ate out and the tuna and fish came served on greens.
I am drinking constantly and still exercising. I do have to find a way to gradually add the other stuff back in. It is amazing how much I bloat from just a little of them though. I haven't been bloated since I dropped them out of my diet last week in response to stress and bad PMDD (severe TOM symptoms of pain and bloat).
Let me know how you make out now that you are home. I am open to what works. I think I am going to try one thing at a time in little amounts.
Thanks for sharing!!!
Mary
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It only takes a few committed people to change the world!
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we do have a delicious awesome cinnamon apples....
And did you know cinnamon keeps your blood sugar in check?? Bonzer!! I just found this out. i always have cinn. toast.
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Keep on keepin' on...
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I live in MA! Where were you visitingand did you have a good time?
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You are so encouraging, Wind. I appreciate all the time you take to respond to my inquiries.
Before heading on this trip, I had thought that I handled veggies pretty well. I knew that they had a tendency to make me bloated, but I thought that most of the bloating was coming from other factors such as stress and the occasional randomness that is IBS. However, since I did so well (especially considering the high level of stress and relative lack of sleep) without eating them, I feel as though they may be one of my biggest triggers.
I am absolutely open to the idea of juicing. How would I juice vegetables? Zucchini and squash are pretty water-filled - would they work to juice? If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
I consider applesauce and apples "safe" foods for me, so I suppose I don't even really think of them as fruits. I've done pretty well by pureeing mandarin oranges, pineapple & peaches and mixing it (on a 3:1 ratio) with applesauce. I've always eaten that as a "dessert" after a SF meal, though. As for vegetables, I think I tolerate tomato sauce pretty well... but that may just be wishful thinking since I love it! I'm more than willing to experiment!
Thanks so much!!!
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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I'm glad you both had good trips!
And I'm glad you realize it isn't healthy to totally avoid fruits and veggies on a daily basis. Although it is probably tempting since you felt better.
I would rather deal with bloating than give up my spinach, zucchini, nectararines, squash, and green beans! I love veggies!
I don't know what to tell you about how to eat them safely, except for what Heather already suggests. I just think that if you don't eat them, you will definately be doing your body harm. 
Can I ask, how the heck you and Mary were able to have BMs without your insoluble veggies/fruits? I would think that taking them out of your diet would cause you more pain from being constipated.
What the heck did you eat? Did you even avoid all soluble veggies like carrots/squash?
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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I seem to have great BMs with 12.5g of Citrucel/acacia and 17-34g of miralax a day.
I forgot to mention that I did eat carrots. I eat a lot of carrots every day - like 4 huge ones. They seem to help my BMs enormously. And prior to the trip, I was eating a bunch of veggies.
How are you feeling, Beth?
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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I'm so glad that your trip went great as well. You and I can stick together with Wind's help in figuring out what veggies we can have. I'll let you know what works for me and you can let me know 
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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You combine the citrucel with some Acacia for a total of 12 grams between the both?
And did you eat your carrots raw or cooked? I want to try raw carrots but I'm scared. Haven't had a raw veggie in over a year or more!
I have some citrucel caplets, but I'm afraid to try those too because of my past failures with SFS.
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Hi Elizabeth!
I just read something really neat re: babies and fruit. Note: I now follow a pretty low residue diet and just about all of my symptoms have subsided. I'm still experimenting too!
For babies under 8 months, it is recommended that all fruit is cooked, i.e. steamed/stewed, prior to blenderizing! Henceforth, I deduce, that is why most IBS'ers are so successful with applesauce! I tried it today with strawberries with tremendous success. It was delicious. The only thing I may do, to ammend this idea is incorporate a little applesauce or something to that effect with the berries. It was more readily digestible than raw pureed strawberries. Perhaps cooking helped breakdown some of the fibers/sugars and a little water made everything more soluable?
Veggies are generally more challenging. I won't touch anything raw ever again. It's too painfully agonizing for me. When you toss some veggies in a juicer, though, the fiber factor that causes obscene pain, etc. and often triggers attacts, is eliminated. Basically, all I used to do was toss some assorted veggies/fruits in the juicer. I haven't done this in awhile, though. I found I was more successful with veg. juices than fruit being a D'er. Carrot, beet, greens, celery, cucumber juices tended to sit the best with me. I might toss in a little apple as natural sweetener, though. I've never juiced zucchini.
Another thing I do, is use fine chopping/shredding devices before cooking anything. Usually with sf it sits well with me. With greens, I find a source of pectin and/or sf helps make it more digestible. I've been adapting babyfood recipes with great success. Now that I think of it, the reason that applesauce is so effective is because it is a source of pectin as well.
If I come up with anything else, I'll share.
Welcome back.
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I take the Citrucel capsules. I love them - I have a bottle in my purse and a bottle by my computer always. I take 2.5g 5x daily, so 12.5g a day. Usually, I mix acacia into my protein shakes in the morning and my smoothies at night, so the rest is Citrucel.
I eat my carrots raw. I usually dip them in hummus, but I have to eat a lot of carrots with a small amount of hummus for the fat to be a low %. The hummus I buy has 3.5g fat per 2T, so I usually eat 3 or 4 big carrots with 1T hummus. The carrots really stabilize my tummy and this is probably TMI, but they turn my BMs orange from all the little carrot flakes in there. I really believe that they help my BMs to bulk up more.
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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That sounds fantastic. I will start looking for a juicer immediately - it's always worth a try.
Thanks again for your help!
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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I've had orange ones too from sweet potatoes and carrots! It freaked me out until I realized what was causing the colorful stool!
So, how many tablets do you take a day?
I am always surprised when some people say food causes them bloat, but not the SFS and other people swear at the SFS for causing more bloating and they rely mor on the foods to help with the C. Bodies are crazy mixed up. Wish we one thing could help us all...this would be a heck of a lot easier to figure out!!
Thanks for your reply. I'm glad you had a great trip? You must be interested in politics.
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Lol!
When I was about 2-3 years old, I refused to eat anything except carrots and sweet potatos, and I actually turned orange!
The doctor told my mom that it was fine, so long as the whites of my eyes stayed white (otherwise it's Jaundice).
But yup, all my todler pics I'm sort of a dark/ burnt orange color.
Incredible bodies we have indeed....
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~~~Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.~~~
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Because you are a D? I would think you are still getting fiber even though you cook and process your veggies. I think I remember that only peeling removes the IF, but cooking/pureeing just makes them easier to digest.
Also, how do you add pectin to greens? What form? You add applesauce to the spinach, etc???
Thanks
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Raw carrots? Wow. I could never handle that! I'm jealous/impressed.
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Raw food causes huge stomach cramps, spasms, bloating, and explosive torrents of D beyond belief with me! It even makes me want to vomit. Low residue is generally painless for me and quite gut soothing and pleasurable with sf. Raw food is a huge trigger. I used to be a raw vegan (more a fruitarian than anything else!) and my fridge was basically the "enchanted broccoli forest!" Raw IF hurts me, now. Naturally there's IF in foods, but cooking/pureeing the food makes it easier to digest, process and assimilate.
And there are lots of foods that I will never touch again.
I appologize for being extreme. For me to consume an acceptable vegetable it must be cooked and quite often pureed, like a smoothie or baby food and with sf or else I will be in the depths of "the cycle" again.
Re: adding pectin to greens. Basically different fruits and veggies contain different types of fiber, not just SF and IF, like pectin and cellulose and hemicellulose, etc.
And spinach and apple is actually not a bad combo, but I'd stick some carrot in there. Celery would be nice, but it's disagreeing with me lately, so I'd use parsley as it's a member of the same family as celery. I dream of an onion--like a character from a Margaret Atwood novel--THE ROBBER BRIDE. A tomatoe has pectin. A banana has pectin.
Green beans have pectin. I'm just rattling off a few examples that come to mind.
Nothing rattles me with low residue.
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They don't seem to bother me much, but I assumed it was because they were listed under the "safe" foods on Heather's list - all the SF, I thought.
Today I ate pasta with cooked spinach, mushrooms & tomato sauce and my tummy looks like I ingested a basketball. It's so sad that I can't handle anything besides the simplest of foods. I'm going to take your advice and buy a juicer, Wind.
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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Congrats Elizabeth! YOU DID IT!!!!!
I find I have to eat a LOT of babyfood jars to break my IBS C into IBS NORMAL And juicing seems to make me even more C  Anyone have any suggesions on why my bod reacts this way?
STILL figuring out my bod 
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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