first day celebration
#323953 - 02/04/08 12:24 PM
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welshsarah
Reged: 06/30/07
Posts: 297
Loc: England, UK
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This is going to sound ridiculous, especially as i've been on these boards for a while, but today has been the first day that i have actually strictly stuck to the EFI diet! My IBS has been so bad recently and affecting my quality of life so much so that i thought i should cut my losses and try the diet without any cheating. In the past i've always had a glass of wine, or a cup of coffee/tea, or some chocolate but today i haven't eaten anything i shouldn't have! Consequently, am feeling in a positive mental space for the first time in ages and my stomach is feeling a little better!
Just wanted to share this with you all. I just hope I can stick it out!
xxx
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Sarah
IBS-C
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CONGRATULATIONS!!! Keep up the great work! You have more will power than I do. I've never been able to stick to the diet completely. {{{hugs}}}
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Thank you 
It's taken me at least 6 months of worsening IBS symptoms to do it (have been diagnosed with IBS for 5 years and suffered with it since childhood).
We'll all arrive at stability eventually i reckon (or hope!).
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Sarah
IBS-C
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I believe I've suffered with IBS since I was a child, too. I have stable times that last a few days to a few months then have unstabel times that also last a few days or a few months. Wish there was a cure and more understanding of this syndrome. I'm almost 40 and am getting tired of worrying about my stomach issues.
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Tell me about it! IBS sucks. And because so many doctors i've seen tell me it's a mind over matter thing i can never stick to a diet because i get confused and worried about all the conflicting information. It's vicious circle!
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Sarah
IBS-C
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I totally can relate to that. It's so confusing sometime between what I've been told and what I've read and what I experience. Most of the time I just keep my symptoms and problems with my stomach hidden and to myself as much as possible because it's so hard to explain to people who have never experienced it. My husband and family members have told me before that I just need to stop worrying about things. Well, IBS isn't all about worry and anxiety. And what I go through with my stomach and IBS adds to the anxiety and worry. People who have never gone through this don't understand. I get tired of talking to doctors about it, too. So I research it on my own and test out different things myself hoping to find something that works for ME. Everyone with IBS is different. Doctors don't understand that. If I had a broken arm. Everyone would understand. Nobody understands IBS unless they have dealt with it themselves.
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That's great! I have been following the diet perhaps 95% cheat-free since the middle of November. I always feel better when I don't cheat. I have had the occasional glass of rye and ginger ale, and on New Year's Eve I had a little more chocolate and a few more cookies than I should have had, but for the most part I've been really good. 
A far cry from my first week on the diet - I was still drinking milk, drinking Diet Coke, eating yogurt, eating cheese - trying to convince myself that these things didn't bother me (I'm still pretty sure that Diet Coke doesn't bother me, but will wait a while yet before re-introducing it). The start date in my signature below is my official "cheat-free" start date. 
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IBS-A since age 12, and fructose sensitive; with the exception of my pregnancy, have been following Heather's diet since Nov. 19, 2007.
Taking 12g of Acacia per day. Relatively stable since March 2008!
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yay, let's celebrate  ! That's really great! So are you just sticking to Heather's diet as it is, or are also wheat free? Because I think that's the most conflicting info I've gotten - to wheat or not to wheat ! I'm really having hard times figuring this one out on my own because I just get sick from many different things so often (like chocolate) that I have no idea what makes me sick in the first place  . So now I'm just trying to eat wheat and not to cheat otherwise and see what happens.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Quote:
I totally can relate to that. It's so confusing sometime between what I've been told and what I've read and what I experience. Most of the time I just keep my symptoms and problems with my stomach hidden and to myself as much as possible because it's so hard to explain to people who have never experienced it. My husband and family members have told me before that I just need to stop worrying about things. Well, IBS isn't all about worry and anxiety. And what I go through with my stomach and IBS adds to the anxiety and worry. People who have never gone through this don't understand. I get tired of talking to doctors about it, too. So I research it on my own and test out different things myself hoping to find something that works for ME. Everyone with IBS is different. Doctors don't understand that. If I had a broken arm. Everyone would understand. Nobody understands IBS unless they have dealt with it themselves.
Nugget, I couldn't agree with you more! People really don't get the whole "makes me sick" part. They have a hard time really believing that I am in pain, even though I act normal. But if I had to be whiny every time I hurt I'd be wining all the time! I don't worry that I will be sick; most of the time I AM sick already!
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Zara....
isn't it sad that with a condition like this, or depression, or anxiety, etc. people don't understand...because there isn't any "proof" that they can "see" that we are sick. Whereas with a broken bone or something obvious, there is all kinds of sympathy, support, and understanding when someone is on crutches or in a cast. Maybe that's why I was so relaxed, calm, at ease and IBS-D free for the first 3 months after my hysterectomy....because everyone understood. I didn't have to explain anything or feel like I had to come up with an "excuse" as to why I couldn't do something. Everyone "knew" I couldn't because...duh...I just had surgery! Then three months later when I was supposed to be practically "healed" after surgery....my anxiety, IBS-D, etc. all returned. Does that make sense? It does to me.
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Thanks 
I'm still trying to combine Heather's diet with my wheat-free one. It's so hard! I'm the same- can't decide if it's the right move because of all the conflicting evidence. I really want to start eating wheat again and see how that effects me but at the mo i'm not having a decent BM without magnesium and the bloating and discomfort is constant so i'm going to wait for that to settle first before trying out wheat. I conclusively know that dairy is a problem though because weekend before last i had a yoghurt smoothie and i'm still recovering from it almost 2 weeks later! This tempts me even more to try out the wheat. How's it going for you eating wheat?
The hardest thing for me on the EFI diet though is not having my morning cup of coffee, a couple of squares of chocolate and my evening glass of wine. These things i love about my day. So need to find good replacements!
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Sarah
IBS-C
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First, congratulations on your first day of following the diet! If you ever feel stuck or bored, I recommended checking out Sand's post on Exuberant Eating. I hope you start seeing results and feeling great soon!
Actually, on the EFI diet, if you eat a safe meal, you can have a square or two of chocolate and even a glass of wine (wine seems to be the easiest for most of us to tolerate). ALthough, you'd probably want to wait until you feel that you're stable.
from the Diet FAQs:
Quote:
How you drink as well as what you drink could make quite a difference here. A single glass of wine enjoyed after a high soluble fiber meal may be very tolerable for you, especially on an occasional (instead of daily) basis. Judging by reader feedback on this topic, white wine may be safer for IBS than red, and beer seems to be particularly problematic. Having a drink when you're feeling relaxed instead of harried can make a difference as well. On the other hand, a double martini on an empty stomach after a stressful day is practically guaranteed to cause trouble.
If you do decide to take a chance with alcohol, please make sure to have at least one glass of water for each alcoholic drink. Alcohol is very dehydrating, and becoming even slightly dehydrated can seriously impact constipation and bloating.
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There's another aspect to portion control that has some happy possibilities for IBS. The risk of trigger foods can be tremendously minimized if they're eaten in tiny quantities following soluble fiber. In this regard, it is as much how you eat as what you eat that will help you manage your symptoms. While this is most important as a tool to allow you to incorporate all those healthy insoluble fiber foods as often as possible, it's also a means of treating yourself to a "mini-splurge" every once in a while. Let's say you're well-stabilized and just dying for a Snickers. Eating a full-size candy bar as a snack when your stomach is empty will likely wreak havoc and send you into an immediate downward spiral of attacks (why? because it's sky high in fat and dairy, and has very little soluble fiber).
However, if your symptoms were well under control and you instead decided to treat yourself to a snack-size individual Snickers bar (a tiny portion equals a tiny quantity of fat/dairy triggers) for dessert, immediately following a nice low-fat, high soluble fiber meal, you'd likely do just fine. I eat solid chocolate almost every day in this manner. (Of course, this may just be sheer willpower because as God is my witness I will not go through life without chocolate, but I think this is probably the less likely explanation.)
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Thanks and thanks for the quotes - that's good motivation actually, it gives me something to look forward to when i am stable
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Sarah
IBS-C
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Quote:
How's it going for you eating wheat?
I was doing pretty ok for the past couple of days but I'm bloated today. I think it's because I was eating large quantities of chocolate (I'm an addict ) over the past few evenings (it was just chocolate and no SF). So I've been really good yesterday and today so hopefully my gut will settle down soon. Not that that will really help since I have my CAT scan on Thursday and have to drink all that yummy, gas causing barium again.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Oh, Zara
#324089 - 02/05/08 06:25 PM
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Jordy
Reged: 08/12/06
Posts: 2095
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Quote:
! That's really great! So are you just sticking to Heather's diet as it is, or are also wheat free? Because I think that's the most conflicting info I've gotten - to wheat or not to wheat ! I'm really having hard times figuring this one out on my own because I just get sick from many different things so often (like chocolate) that I have no idea what makes me sick in the first place .
This is exactly where I am at. I don't know what to do...what's okay, what's not. Keep me updated on your wheat tolerance test!
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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Again, me too!!!!!!!!!!! Sarah, welcome back. I missed you!
Why did you decide to go gluten free to start with? Do you take Acacia? I forget.
Good luck with your quest. I've been doing this "by the book" but haven't gotten anywhere.  I know you are gonna have positive results, though!!!! 
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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Re: Jordy
#324094 - 02/05/08 06:30 PM
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Zara
Reged: 06/07/06
Posts: 883
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Jordy, I'll keep you updated, but be patient - at this rate it may take me years ! Seriously, I feel like I've been really trying out different dietary approaches for about 2 years now (before it was just eating healthy common sense way - no fried foods, etc) and I have yet to see results . I think I have some general ideas such as no coffee, no dairy, but I'm not so sure about other stuff. I don't know about wheat and I'm not even really considering other carbs perhaps being problematic (potatoes, rice...) because I feel like I would just slowly, yet surely drive myself nuts! I hate having to think about what I can/cannot eat all the time.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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I'm right there with you, sweetie! What a way to live....trying to solve the puzzle of our lives!
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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Are you gals doing wheat free or all gluten free? Which forms of gluten can you eat?
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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I am eating wheat now so I guess all forms of gluten, haha! I'm just going to try and give the EFI a proper shot again with my own tweaks - limited sugar, etc. I feel like if I exclude too many things at once I'll never know exactly what bothers me. My problem is that I'm not patient enough and want results fast . So this time I'll try to take it slow and see where I get.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Good luck with your mission!
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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I'm with you both too! Sometimes i think it's too many carbs that makes me worse, sometimes i think it's too much sugar and the list goes on and on and on! It's crazy isn't it.
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Sarah
IBS-C
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I'm doing gluten free but not worrying about things like barley malt extract in products so really i'm just not eating wheat, rye bread and barley in their pure form. So tempted to ditch this though and just stick with Heather's diet! I'm so unstable at the mo tho that i don't have the courage to try it out.
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Sarah
IBS-C
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Thanks Jordy, i missed you too! My hubbie blocked the site for a while because he thought it was making me worry too much but in fact the opposite is true. You guys provide me with so much support and encouragement and are the only people who understand where i'm coming from.
I went gluten free to begin with because my dietitian suggested i did it. This helped with my bloating but everything else was the same - constipation, nausea etc. So she suggested i give up dairy in addition and this seemed to work to a degree. However, i'm thinking that maybe wheat isn't a problem because i'm still bloated a lot of the time and the BMs aren't great (but nowhere near as bad as before i cut out the dairy). So, in light of this i'm thinking Heather's diet maybe the one for me. Just need to muster up the courage to eat wheat now!
Unfortunately, after my first day celebration i back-slided and had a cup of coffee in the morning two days in a row. Hasn't caused any pain or bloating (no more than usual at least) but not sure yet if it's effected the BMs. I'm so weak when it comes to coffee!!! Seriously, how do you follow the diet to the book??? This i am in awe of! Have your symptoms not cleared up at all on the diet?
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Sarah
IBS-C
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Chocolate and lots of sugar makes me SO bloated too. Hope the bloating calms down soon. Good luck with CAT scan tomorrow! What are they looking for?
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Sarah
IBS-C
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Thanks! My doc wants to see if there is any obstruction in my intestines that would cause my problems. But I feel like at this point he's looking for anything .
I felt exactly like you did. Wheat free, dairy free, felt great for a couple of days and then I was still bloated and BMs got worse. I tried eating dairy again and pain came back on top of everything. So now I'm back to eating wheat, no dairy and I don't really feel any worse then when I was wheat free. I try not to overdo it and eat a lot of other things, too (potatoes, rice, quinoa, buckwheat...).
I really hope we all get stable one day
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Yeah me too
I've started yoga in the hope that it'll destress me so that it's easier to determine what's food and what's stress. But then i suppose it's not that straight forward... I think i may try wheat again tho. Would make eating a lot simpler!
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Sarah
IBS-C
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