Pregnancy and Eating Healthy
#143 - 01/30/03 08:35 AM
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I am about 5 months pregnant and have been struggling with my diet. My IBS seems to be even worse with the pregnancy...constant feeling of hunger even after eating and struggling to get the nutrients that I need. A lot of bloating and painful gas. I struggle getting vegetables and protein down. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas of what has worked for them. Thanks, lightysue
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I also have found that pregnancy has exacerbated my IBS, especially because I, unlike HanSolo, have severe constipation. Pregnancy exacerbates that, plus now that I am so frequently nauseous (still in the first trimester)I have trouble getting down a lot of the things that used to help, like fiber supplements (I spend half my paycheck on Citrucel!), lots of cooked vegetables etc. Even fennel tea makes me nauseous -- and the last time I had ginger tea I threw up, so now even that makes me queasy. The only relief I've found so far is in trying to eat frequent small meals, having peppermint tea every evening and never eating too much at once (or anything at all after about 7 pm). However, sometimes it's hard to hold back when I'm actually hungry and not to eat a lot in one sitting.
Does anyone have advice?
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Hi Sue and Julie! I have so much respect for both of you and my heart goes out to you. You are keeping strong through a tough situation for anyone, along with the IBS on top of it. You both deserve medals. We should start up an IBS and pregnant club! Soy milk is an excellent source of protein is it not? Have you tried that? Or some poached chicken breast? How a touch of low fat peanut butter on a saltine? (not too much peanut butter as even low fat is still a high fat food) Those are some ways to sneak in protein.
As for nausea, we can only do what we can do. If you have Heather's Eating for IBS, check the page called "what to eat when you can't eat anything." Try a bowl of plain rice, white bread, plain baked potato, Soda crackers, ... etc. If it works, it won't upset your tummy and help you feel full. Once you can get those down and staying there, then try to add some very safely and carefully prepared veggies etc. Sweet potatoes and bananas (unless they give you heartburn) are excellent starts as they are high in soluble fiber. I also like peppermint or ginger tea. Oh, my doctor prescribed me an anti-nauseant for pregnant women called Diclectin. You might want to ask your doc about it. It's an antihistamine. I found it helpful.
Keep trying to eat several small meals a day - always starting with a soluble fiber - such as bread, rice, soda crackers. Soda crackers are especially helpful I find if you can get them down. I keep them beside my bed and eat a few before I even get up in the morning. I always have a small bowl of rice before I go to bed. I feel I am sickest when i let my stomach get empty. Best to keep nibbling. Hope this helps. We're all in this together. It's great we can all be there for each other.
PS - if you can toleratie it, I like BOOST brand "shake" meal replacements. They're dairy free and i could keep them down almost all of the time. They help supplement your diet with vitamins. Are you all taking your prenatal vitamins like good girls? Take care!
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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Hi - I have never had a baby so my advice here is not personal, but I once read that if you can combine sweet, tart, and salty flavors the combination can help counteract nausea in pregnancy. The recommendation was for lemonade and soda crackers eaten together. This was from a medical source but it was several years ago and I don't remember the details. There was actually an interesting scientific reason for why this should work but I can't remember that either.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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