Yes, maam!
#208973 - 08/26/05 06:16 PM
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Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
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My doc had pretty much the same response, as I too, am still hurting while following the diet!
He may or may not have a point. I don't know what to think, to be honest. While I don't think eating cheeseburgers and ice cream is recommended by most docs, they don't seem to accept the SF before IF theory. Most seem to believe that a high fiber diet is most important, meaning whole wheat breads, brown rice, fresh fruits with skin and veggies all the time, etc.
Did you're doctor actually say it was okay to eat cheeseburgers and ice cream? Mine did say he doesn't understand why I don't eat dairy products since my lactose intolerance test came back negative. He thinks I am totally food focus and obsessed and that I should just eat whatever I want (including fats, dairy, eggs, meats), but high fiber.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Do you mind if I ask what part they thought was bull? The diet? The stress management? Exercise? Perhaps some doctors don't feel that diet or certain foods can be a trigger since there haven't really been any specific studies on that? Really, I'd like to know what parts they disagreed with!  I'm trying to learn as much as I can as well.
Maybe I worded it too strongly, but the book seems to have had positive responses from physicians and gastroenterologists.  I've had doctors recommend almost exactly what she covers in the book, regarding the diet, using an SFS, seeking out support, etc, but perhaps not in as much detail.
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...the diet itself is well-balanced, high in fiber (both kinds!) and low in fat, which is a diet that the entire general population should be following anyway, not just people with IBS. And the lifestyle recommendations - exercise, stress management, etc - are things that "healthy" people should be doing as well. I'd actually be kind of suspicious of any doctor who listened to an explanation of what the book recommends, and then calls it "bull", because it's sound lifestyle advice, even if it doesn't help the IBS symptoms!
My doctors - I've had 2 and a therapist since moving here - have all thought that it sounded perfect, for pretty much the reasons I just mentioned... so I'm curious!
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I am talking about the diet ONLY. It really is very specific and isn't just low-fat with a fiber base. So I explained the diet with the SF vs. IF, the SF *before* IF, no HFCS, no carbonation, low-fat, no caffeine, no red meat, etc. etc. etc. They agreed about high-fiber but kept pushing brown rice, whole wheat bread, raw veggies, Metamucil, whatever. Stuff that would kill me. The low-fat part was slightly iffier but they agreed it wouldn't do anything but good. The rest of the stuff they thought was nuts. You know, like they thought eating dairy was OK as long as you weren't actually lactose intolerant. I will grant you that the new GI I went to did tell me to avoid artificial sweeteners. I about died in shock when he said that -- acknowledgement that what you ingest has an effect on the GI tract!  (is it just me or does this look like a skull?)
And no, my doctors never recommended specifically cheeseburgers and ice cream! They have all told me that since I am miserable anyway I should just eat what I want. So that was just an example of what stupid advice that was.
I hate doctors. 
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jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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My GI guy thought the high SF recommendation was fabulous - just what he'd suggest. He sort of shrugged at the no red meat, no alcohol suggestion - he wouldn't have said that, but he didn't have a problem with it if it worked for me. (I have a sneaking suspicion that he himself is a steak and scotch guy.) My Family Practice doctor and my endocrinologist love the diet because my cholesterol and my triglycerides took a nose dive.
As far as doctors saying, "Eat whatever you want", I don't think that's necessarily bad advice if restricting your eating isn't making any difference. In other words, if following Heather's diet makes you feel better then follow it. But if it doesn't, why would you? I follow Heather's diet because it works for me, not because I "believe" in it. As I've said before, if I had tried the diet for, say, 6 months and didn't get results, I'd be eating differently.
Before I found Heather's diet and her explanation of exactly how food triggered attacks, when I was first having really serious trouble with my IBS, my Family Practice physician cautioned me that, since IBS attacks were so unpredictable, I was likely to get one no matter what I'd eaten. She said she had seen patients therefore assume that something they'd just eaten had triggered the attack and eliminate another food with each attack. Eventually, those patients were eating practically nothing - and still suffering.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
Edited by Sand (08/27/05 10:03 AM)
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I follow Heather's diet because I am afraid of feeling worse. As in, if I get attacks from FF saltines and organic applesauce, how would I feel if I went back to eating "real" yogurt and grapes for lunch?
I was on a varied form of the BTC diet for probably my first six months or so. I finally started to add stuff like soy products and peanut butter into my diet because I felt so bad anyway. It didn't make any difference -- I didn't feel worse or better.
I figure that it doesn't do me any harm to follow Heather's diet, so why not stick to it? I mean, if I'm not going to stabilize on Heather's diet, I'm not going to stabilize off it, either, so may as well follow the more gut-friendly diet.
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jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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I'm not trying to be a pain, but how do you know if real yogurt and grapes would make you feel worse? (Sigh. This is one of those times when typing just doesn't work as well as talking.) If you felt bad before Heather's diet when you were eating whatever you wanted and you don't feel better now, then I guess I don't see the value of restricting your diet. That is, if you don't feel any better on Heather's diet, then it seems like you wouldn't feel any worse off it.
I agree there's no harm in following Heather's diet - it's certainly heatlhier than fast food, high fat, and junk food - but I guess I think of it as being gut-friendly only if it actually helps the IBS. That is, I don't think real yogurt and fresh fruit are bad for the gut, so the only reason to avoid them is if doing so keeps you from having an attack.
Can you tell I'm super results oriented? 
I imagine you already have, but just in case: you have had all the tests to rule out other conditions, yes? I only ask because I think it's pretty rare for someone who's D to get so little help from Heather's diet, especially combined with anti-spasmodics and mega-Immodium.
I do hope you start to feel better.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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I do know it is only the anti-spasmodics & Imodium that keeps the D manageable. I have tried weaning myself off Imodium, but I get D-ish on the second day and on the third day I'm back in the bathroom. I guess I feel like, well, if I'm getting sick like this on Heather's diet, then won't I feel worse w/ trigger foods like dairy products, or eating insolubles like grapes? You're right, though, I haven't tried it so I can't say I truly will. I don't know if I'm brave enough to do so.
I've had all the major tests -- gallblader checked, colonoscopy, endoscopy, capsule endoscopy, CAT scan of abdomen, tons of bloodwork (not sure for what exactly but the bill was $1500!). I'm getting a second colonoscopy next month because I've had several episodes of blood in my stool. I don't have an ob-gyn so I've never been checked for anything gyno-related but the GI didn't think my symptoms warranted it. I have my yearly pelvic next month w/ my PCP and am going to get referred to an ob-gyn since I want to get pregnant next year (if I can manage to feel better ), so I'll definitely bring it up with the ob-gyn.
Crohn's runs in my mother's family, and one of my mom's cousins swears that I have it, because it took her four years to get diagnosed. I don't know a whole lot about Crohn's but I think it's pretty easy to spot, so I'm not worried about that. OK, so maybe it took her a long time, but that was twenty years ago. I'm sure things are a lot better today.
The other stuff I can think of seems awfully far-fetched. For instance, when we bought our house, they had to drill a new well because the water in the old well was not safe to drink because of high bacteria levels. The new well tested out OK, but if there's something in the ground then maybe the new well has also ended up with bacteria? But I don't know how plausible that is, so I'm still drinking the well water. I guess I could get it tested just in case. We also ripped out everything in the second story of our house and it has been exposed for a long time. I also worked up there handling stuff chock-full of asbestos and lead without a dust mask. So I've been told I ought to get tested for lead poisoning. I don't think that's likely because then wouldn't my husband be sick too??? I checked up on the lead poisoning tests and it looks like it's not that reliable anyway.
I just figure I have plain old IBS, only it's being stubborn. I do plan on going gluten-free after my colonoscopy to see if that helps. The GI told me not to change anything until the colonoscopy is done. I think that's stupid because it's not like I'm getting an endoscopy or anything, but I guess I need the time to use up all the wheat products in my house anyway.
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jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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Quote:
My doctors - I've had 2 and a therapist since moving here - have all thought that it sounded perfect, for pretty much the reasons I just mentioned... so I'm curious!
Mine too. He said it was great! and I couldn't do better. He hadn't heard of Heather but was very impressed and excited. I haven't needed to see him since!
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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My gut feeling is you might have something other than IBS. For IBS D Heather's diet is going to get good results and pretty quickly. To be on it so carefully for so long without being able to ease up on immodium sounds suspicious. If I were you I would definitely worry about Crohn's or something other than IBS.
A side point. To answer your question about wouldn't your husband be sick too if it was from something physical around you, not always. Sometimes certain people react to things and not others. Like those towns with toxic waste- only a portion of the population gets cancer, if you know what I mean. I think my husband got a bug from drinking water we both were drinking and I was ok. So you never know!
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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