How you guys identify possible triggers.......
#305689 - 04/23/07 07:03 AM
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AndrewIBSC
Reged: 03/23/07
Posts: 159
Loc: PHiladelphia, PA
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I am having some difficulty identifying foods that are potential triggers for me. I have been on the diet for about 2months, actually one month with the correct balance, and I feel much better and have BM's pretty regularly. However, sometimes when I get an attack I feel like there are so many variables (ie stress, amount of food, different foods in one sitting) that could be causing it that I am unsure of whether to eliminate a food. For example, The other day I ate instant oatmeal w/ raisins and had bloating. First off, does bloating constitute an attack? I have been doing fine with oatmeal and raisins and then that happens. Would you guys eliminate it? I am hesitant to because I feel like it was helping with IFand it is EASY to make at work. I am just confused so I wanted to see how you guys decide to eliminate a food. Thanks in advance for the input!
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Personally, both oatmeal and raisins would send me into a painful attack! But we're all different. I would try eliminating the raisins for awhile and see what happens. If you still are having symptoms, try eliminating the oatmeal. I used to LOVE my morning oatmeal, but had to switch to cream of rice, which I'm now addicted to. 
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Lisa, IBS-C (Vegan)
Stable since July 2007!
Mommy to Rhiannon Marie (Dec. 13, 2008)
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For me, the raisins would be the problem (fructose, etc. I guess). I can't eat any raisins unless I soak and boil them first and add them to something else.
Anyway, I've noticed that in the dry breakfast cereals and instant ones, the raisins are super-dessicated. So the small time the hot water touches them may not be adequate to hydrate them--making them harder to digest. Plus, those small packets don't contain much oats--not enough to balance out the raisins. And, maybe they're too "easy" to eat--go down too quickly.
For me, bloating constitutes "an attack" because I am SO sick of eating, then 5 minutes later, I can't button my jeans and have to put the belt in the loosest notch. Then my abdomen gets bigger and more uncomfortable till that's all I can think about. UGH!
C
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Funny you say that about the oatmeal with raisins. Originally I was just having oatmeal when trying to get stable. Then once I was stable I was looking for an EASY IF like you say and I started using the raisins. Then my d turned more toward some c with gas/bloating and a few people suggested that the raisins could be a culprit. But I felt the same way as you...that I had been doing okay with them for awhile. I think what happened to me is that the more stable and closer to c I became, the less bms I had, and the more IF foods started to cause me some gas/bloating. Not sure if that makes sense. Also, I increased my amount of IF so maybe TOO MANY raisins was the culprit and could be for you.
I hear you about the difficulty in identifying triggers. The only way to successfully do it is to eat the same foods for a few days and make just one change at a time. For example, eliminate the raisins in your oatmeal, but keep you lunch and dinner about the same (maybe chicken/rice/pasta and a veggie you know you can tolerate). If you feel better, than you know the raisins were a problem. But if you have a different veggie one night, you won't know if it was the veggie or the raisins.  So annoying, I know. But worth it when you can figure it out. And yes, stress plays a role so keep tabs on your stress levels, sleep, and exercise too. Good luck.
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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C
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Thank you for the input. I don't know if you guys ever went through a "pissed off at the world" stage when you were stabilizing but I am there right now. I want to go and fist fight....yes physically every doctor, dietician, and so called expert that gave me advice over the past 7 years. I have to deal with this anger in the proper way but right now yoga isn't doing it for me. Also, I am having a lot of problems with stabilizing. I don't know if I am eating too much too little, too much IF or too little, sleeping enough, working out enough, drinking enough water, taking enough SFS or not enough. I just want to give up at times. And then when I do feel better (which I have been) the anger engulfs me. Right now I am having daily BM's but get gas and bloating. I am unsure of whether to accept this or to start eliminating foods. I am just so damn confused. The word Irritable could not be more spot on. Anybody else go through this?
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YES YES YES!!! It a terrible feeling being mad at the world or are we just mad at the food! Just when I think I've figured it all out........them whamo I feel like I have to reread everything and start over. Also, I'm trying to quit smoking at the same time. I feel like I'm in a whirl wind of emotions every moment of every day. Good thing my hubbies very patient.
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Definitely been there! Still go there once in awhile, though the ADs really help with all that. Have you thought about trying one, at least while you're stabilizing? Hypno is another great way to help reduce all that anger and anxiety.
If it helps at all, gas is usually one of the last symptoms to go away. I've been on the diet since last July, and I'm still battling it once in awhile. Not daily like I used to, and not to the degree I used to, so it's definitely gotten better.
Yes, it's extremely frustrating, and I certainly couldn't have come as far as I have without the support of this board.
As for the raisins, I can't eat anything even remotely related to raisins: prunes, grapes, currants, etc. They all give me gas.
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Lisa, IBS-C (Vegan)
Stable since July 2007!
Mommy to Rhiannon Marie (Dec. 13, 2008)
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My approach
#305734 - 04/23/07 02:49 PM
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Syl
Reged: 03/13/05
Posts: 5499
Loc: SK, CANADA
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When I notice that I am becoming unstable I fall back to my base diet. Once I am stable I re-introduce foods that I had included before I became unstable one at a time.
My base diet is oatmeal, white rice, chicken breast and carrots. It usually takes 2-4 days to become stable again.
I have also found it can sometimes take 2-3 weeks before I feel the effects of an offending food that is a trigger. So when I am stable I re-introduce foods that I feel that I know are safe first in order to expand my variety of opttions. A suspect food I only introduce when I know I am stable. However, once I introduce a suspect food I wait a few days to see if I can feel its effects.
Here is a recent example. I am fructose malabsorber. When a food contains more free fructose than glucose my bowel cannot digest the fructose and it produces gas, bloating and D. From past investigation I found that maple syrup contained more glucose than fructose and hence was okay for me to eat. I introduced homemade cinnamon buns into my diet made with brown sugar and maple syrup. The syrup added a nice glaze to the buns. I eat one for my evening snack.
About 3 weeks after I introduced them into my diet I started to become unstable. I dropped back to my base diet and stablized in 3 days. And I did some more research. I came across an interesting report that gave the amount of fructose, glucose and sucrose in various grades of maple syrup. The most commonly sold grade of maple syrup in the US is Grade A medium and it can contain more free fructose than glucose (0.7:0.6).
Unfortunately, Canada does not use the same grading system as the US and the information about the sugar content will not be available until later this year. I have to wait until this information is out before I can repeat my experiment with maple syrup. On the other hand I am stable again
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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When I was in the adding-foods-back-in stage, I did it like this: introduce one new food at a time, and then try it more than just that once. If it bothered me every single time, I figured the food was a problem. If it only bothered me once out of, say, 3 times, then I figured it *wasn't* the food.
In the case of something that you've been eating successfully and you suddenly have a bad day with it, I would assume that it's NOT the food, and rather, the attack was triggered by one of the other things you mentioned (especially if you *know* you're stressed out, not sleeping well, etc). I might give it a day off, but I would definitely not eliminate it.
As for whether or not bloating constitutes an attack, I think that's entirely an individual thing. My symptoms were D and C, and I never considered bloating and gas "attacks", because while they were uncomfortable, they were such an improvement from the D! But that's just me.
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Thanks guys you have really provided much needed support. However, I need to ask does the bloating and gas go away? I am a high school teacher and today the administration was seriously looking for a stink bomb. LOL, but I am not joking. Is it just my body getting used to the insoluble fiber? Thanks again and I look forward to reading your replies.
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How do you find a safe basic diet? I can't identify any food that is safe all the time.
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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I don't think I will ever not have bloating. They really don't know a whole lot about what really causes it (besides some obvious foods) or how to treat it. 
bloating
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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Re: My approach
#305794 - 04/24/07 07:44 AM
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Syl
Reged: 03/13/05
Posts: 5499
Loc: SK, CANADA
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First, I define a base diet as one that if you stick to it for 3-5 days that your IBS symptoms are signficantly reduced. An example of a base diet is Heather's breaking the cycle diet ( BTC).
For a base diet I would identify a source of high protein, low fat (e.g. fish, seafood or meat), a carbohydrate (e.g. rice, potato, or pasta) and a couple of vegetables that you could eat for lunch and supper. Also, I would identify a simple breakfast meal containing no dairy or soy products. If you are IBS-C I also would include a small amout of IF such as brown rice, potatoes with skins and/or unpeeled vegetables.
Personally, I think that it is essential to identify a base diet on which you can fall back in case of problems before you start experiment with other foods and supplements.
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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