Determining how to focus on stress vs. diet to alleviate pain
#363093 - 01/23/11 08:03 PM
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Hello,
I was diagnosed with IBS over a year ago. I am wondering if anyone has any tips for me on targeting the cause of my acute pain and multiple BMs. Here are my facts:
46 years old, 5'7", 130 lbs., exercise 6 days a week
Healthy eater: typical day is oatmeal or oat cereal w/blueberries, banana, juice; sandwich or pasta lunch with fruit (apple, peach, whatever is in season); dinner is lean protein (grilled fish or chicken), cooked veggie and potato or rice; snacks of yogurt, string cheese, Nutri Grain bar, a couple of cookies.
I take 4 tbsp. of acacia fiber + 6 Citrucel tablets a day. I also take Digestive Advantage once a day and a multivitamin, calcium, fish oil and magnesium.
I have been to 2 GIs who both didn't think I need to make adjustments to my diet. I have been on Elavil which helps me sleep but does not help with pain. I have tried anti spasmodics but they seem to cause me to wake up in the night with pain and I can't deal with the dehydration as I exercise quite heavily.
I have been tested for celiac. I have had any gynecological issues ruled out. I have tried eliminating dairy, wheat, coffee, with no improvement.
My predominant symptom is acute abdominal pain on the left side, terrible gas, and multiple BMs throughout the day, although I am never worried about having an accident, thank goodness.
I feel the very worst at work, and always feel better when at home, although not perfect. My job is not stressful as much as it is boring and leaves me time to concentrate on my IBS pain.
My question is: should I seek out a dietitian or allergist for more research on my diet, or should I look into the hypnosis program for stress relief?
I am totally perplexed as to what has caused my horrible pain.
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You are still eating dairy (yogurt and cheese). Maybe thats the problem?
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Welcome to the board,
You might look a like closer at the EFI diet . Things like stringy cheese (dairy) and Nutri-grain bars (whole grains) are known IBS triggers that you might avoid.
What do you have in your lunch sandwich or with the pasta? What kind of cookies?
The links in my signature may provide some useful information too.
Ask lots of questions. There are loads of people here with answers to help you. 
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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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Syl,
I have studied the EFI diet at length and follow it eating complete meals. (Soluble fiber first, insoluble last and adhering to cooked veggies, etc.) As I put in my first post, I have tried eliminating wheat and dairy from my diet for weeks at a time with no relief.
I take the peppermint caps between meals and drink peppermint tea.
Sandwiches are half sandwiches of seedless rye or french bread, turkey and cheese (as I said before, tried eliminating dairy with no relief, so I feel it isn't a culprit). I eat the fruit afterwards. I also tried quitting fruit for a few weeks to see if I have fructose issues, again, it didn't matter!
Cookies would be 2 chocolate chip cookies a day, for example. I tried limiting my diet to "approved" cookies on the EFI diet ... vanilla wafers, graham crackers ... made no difference.
Pastas are the frozen Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine varieties.
Both the doctors I have been to say diet has no part in this, so I am totally CONFUSED.
Typically, the painful gas attacks hit at work after lunchtime and are accompanied by BMs which aren't watery, are formed but thin and small. This seems to happen no matter what I eat.
I appreciate your taking the time to respond. From your experience, should I take a few days and eating nothing but plain rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. and see if this helps? I feel like it won't matter.
I have not been a person with digestive problems my whole life. This cropped up about a year ago, and I have added nothing new to my diet.
It's too bad doctors are of no help and we need to become detectives! Thank you again.
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shelleys480,
Here are a few things to consider.
Diet may be of little help for some individuals. Sometimes merely the process of eating can cause symptoms. Check out the video interview with Prof. Whorwell, an internationally recognize GI doc who has published a great deal about managing IBS. And you might read Heather's description of the gastrocolic reflex too.
I am IBS-D. Two things that made a big difference for me. First thing I did I dramatically reduced the amount of insoluble fiber foods I was eating. And the second thing was I managed FODMAPs consumption, particularly fructose, polyols, lactose and galactans. I have been using a modified version of the EFI diet and the FODMAP approach with reasonably good results for a couple of years. I guess the other thing that made some difference was I quite eating commerically prepared meals. I only eat meals that I prepare myself so I know precisely what they contain.
Another thing I noticed was that it was until I had removed all trigger foods for a period of a couple months before I noticed the most improvement. Foods that I thought weren't bothersome turned out to be problematic after I removed all potential triggers and then slowly started to eat trigger foods one by one until I figured out which ones weren't a problem.
I do have a base diet composed of oatmeal, banana, white rice, chicken, fish, seafood and peeled boiled carrots and zucchini that I fall back to when I start to have a flare-up. I usually get control back within a 2-3 days.
Have you had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy to check for celiac disease? Did your IBS show up following a GI infection? Have you considered trying gut directed hypnotherapy? The IBS research has been shown to be quite effective for managing IBS symptoms.
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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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Syl,
Your reply was super informative.
Yes, I've had a colonoscopy, been tested for celiac, etc. I will keep working on figuring this out and your advice is so valuable. Thank you again!
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IBS is a tough condition - you have a lot of good info here - I have had IBS since 1983 and tried many things - take a peek if you wish at the link below for my journey - and if you have any quesitons, I would be happy to help. After all the meds, diets, etc. the IBS Audio Program of clinical hypnotherapy was most helpful. Everyone has to find their way, but the nice thing about this program is that you can do it alongside any other treatment, to help address the brain-gut, anxiety aspects as well as symptoms and there is plenty of support along the way.
Some folks have found that reading and researching about the IBS condition can delay progress if you are doing hypnotherapy, as the program is designed to lead you away from IBS thinking and patterns - so if you do decide upon it, that is something to keep in mind - it doesnt stop progress, though, just delays it!
All the best in your quest for your journey to feeling better.
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My Journey and Success with the IBS Audio Program Hypnotherapy Program: www.helpforibs.com/messageboards/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=hypnotherapy&Number=224850
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