I need help.
#162202 - 03/19/05 10:56 AM
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Arben
Reged: 02/19/05
Posts: 4
Loc: Tennessee
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I really need some advice. I am so frustrated and confused. After being diagnosed with IBS a month ago I did my homework, and studied this site and others about what I should do. I have done all the right things, and I've taken what has been suggested in the way of supplements but my diarrhea is still driving me crazy. I don't know what else to do.
I basically eat the soluble fibers and take peppermint oil caps before meals, take calcium with each meal, and take Metamucil two or three times a day, but still diarrhea. The strange thing is that these things worked initially, but after a couple of weeks everything went crazy. What am I doing wrong?
I generally eat oatmeal and toast for breakfast. The bread is low in fructose and the margarine is soy margarine. I also will drink a glass of soy milk. It seems like I am getting started with soluble fiber so why am I getting the morning diarrhea. For lunch I usually have a grilled chicken sandwich and often have a BM after that. Usually I am ok for the rest of the day, and I might have a turkey sandwich for dinner. I also snack on oatmeal cookies that are low in fat and do not have fructose.
I have eliminated red meat, dairy products, egg yolks, fried foods, high fat foods, anything with caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, artificial fats, msg, and coffee (including decaf), and anything with high fructose corn syrup. It seems like I have done all that is suggested. Why is it still such a problem? Help!!!!!!
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First and foremost, dont give up!!
If your having problems with the diet you state here, change it!! On a personnal level i think most of the things you mention would aggrevate my ibs-d. I find chicken and turkey both affects me horribly as does bread. Not sure about oatmeal as i've never tried it.
Looking at those things it occurs to me u may be wheat intolerant like i seem to be. Try eliminating those things and see if it helps. Try eating more rice and potatoes too, they are a good source of soluble fibre, and make sure you are drinking enough water!
As for the suppliments u mention i only have experience with peppermint caps, and they seem to suit me sometimes, but everyone is different!
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Hmm... let's see...
First of all, have you tried taking Imodium for the diarrhea? There's absolutely nothing wrong with taking OTC medications for your symptoms while you're trying to stabilize. Start with just half a dose, and see how you feel - it might be just enough to slow things down.
Your diet sounds excellent, but it may be that the choices aren't the best for you. I know that some people have trouble with oatmeal, even though it's listed as a soluble fiber food. Maybe try cream of rice for breakfast instead? (Or one of my favorites, leftover rice reheated with vanilla soy milk & a dash of cinnamon.) Or try a safe cold cereal, such as rice chex or honeycomb, with a sliced banana?
I'd also take a look at those oatmeal cookies. If they're store-bought cookies, they may have some dairy in them that's causing problems as well. I'd probably skip the cookies until you're more stable, or go with homemade ones from a safe recipe here on the site if the ones you're eating are store-bought.
One of the things I found that kept me from getting stable for a while was that I ate too much at any one sitting - especially in the morning. Even perfectly safe food in large quantities can cause a problem with our touchy systems. I don't know how much you're eating at once, but it might be something to look at. If you eat to the point of feeling *really* full, you're probably eating too much at a time. Smaller frequent meals work better.
Another quirky thing about my system (and others'!) that could also be a problem for you is that I can't have anything cold. No cold drinks, no cold sandwiches, etc. Actually, I can have them now, as long as it's not first thing in the morning, but definitely when I was trying to get stable, cold things were a no-go. A turkey sandwich or a glass of soy milk would have me in so much misery! Something to consider, if you notice your symptoms happening soon after eating/drinking things that are colder than room temperature.
Also, if you've only been following the diet for a month, you haven't likely worked up to a full recommended dose of the soluble fiber supplement - which is fine, it took me several months to work up to a full dose. Remember that by "full dose" we're talking 12-15g of fiber a day, not whatever is recommended on the container. If that's the case, just increase slowly as you've been doing and try to be patient... I know it's annoying to still have symptoms, but it does take a little while to stabilize.
Those are probably my best suggestions... hang in there!
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Oatmeal was rather problematic for me and even now I can only have fine oatmeal, not anything rougher.
Immodium is great stuff. I think your system sometimes need a break to get out of the vicious cycle it's in and Immodium can provide that. I took one a day for a few months and it really helped me too stabilise!
Ditto on the cold...it's still one of my biggest triggers. Fridge cold soy milk is a problem, as is water from the tap when it's run for a minute or so!
Also, you really haven't been doing this very long! Give it time.
Are you being VERY careful with all IF? And Roid's comment about wheat might be worth considering...the best way to check for an intolerance is to cut it out COMPLETELY for about a month, see how you do, then re-introduce it and see how you do then. It's a bore, but effective. I did that and so know for sure that wheat is NOT an issue for me! 
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I found that all kinds of oatmeal gave me D, except....Instant Oatmeal. The kind you just add boiling water to. It's so nice to be able to eat oatmeal again.
Cindy
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Thank you all for the input. I will definitely take your advice on the Immodium. I have not tried that.
As to the cold things that does not bother me. I drink ice water all the time and that is ok with me.
I did think of something that could be a problem that I forgot to mention earlier. I still drink two or three Diet Rite Cola's a day. No caffeine but it still has the carbonation, so I will eliminate that and see if that helps.
I don't know about the oatmeal, if the Diet Rite elimination and the Immodium don't work I will try eliminating that. And I always eat the instant oatmeal, and sweeten it with Splenda. As for rice "yuk", I hope I don't have to resort to that one. Not a big favorite of mine.
I generally eat small portions so I don't think that is a problem.
I have not tried to eliminate bread but will try that if necessary also. That experiment will be after the oatmeal if necessary.
It could be something with chicken, but I really don't think so because sometimes I am ok after eating it, but if necessary I will try that too.
Thanks so much to all of you for your advice. It is greatly appreciated.
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Aha!
#162287 - 03/19/05 04:41 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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Artificial sweeteners are a HUGE no-no for people with IBS. The Diet Rite soda is bad enough because of the carbonation, but the artificial sweetener is a double-whammy. The Splenda on your oatmeal is no good, either.
Try eliminating the soda and artificial sweeteners first... I'm almost willing to bet those are the culprits. And yes, definitely give the imodium a try too.
Good luck!
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I definitely understand your frustration! After being sick for a week, I realized I was going to have to bite the bullet and try this diet. Yes, I too felt like I was living on turkey sandwiches for a while! But you learn about other options. I am now finally feeling good after dealing with this for 2 weeks, so be sure to read my suggestion posted above. Here's a couple other things to try: 1. I am DEFINITELY lactose intolerant. Be sure to check the label of the sliced turkey to make sure there is no dairy in it. Dairy words are lactose, casein, whey, etc. Same with the bread. I also agree with the gal's suggestion about the oatmeal cookies. I eat either animal crackers or honey maid graham crackers (chocolate or regular). They contain sugar and cocoa, but NO dairy. They are also pretty low in sugar. 2. I found that Psyllium husk fiber did absolutely nothing for me but give me gas. Then I switched to Fibercon, which is calcium carbonate, and I do much better on it. Acacia fiber is supposed to be good too. I really think Metamucil is too hard on the tummy. Just my personal opinion. 3. I have heard several gals on here mention that Soy products can disagree with people, esp. if you start with too much. You definitely should not drink a whole glass of soy milk at once, because soybeans can also cause gas. I might suggest switching to rice milk. I eat Cheerios and Sugar Pops with soy milk. You can just substitute the rice milk for soy. Also, if you're having diarrhea, it's important to stay hydrated. I drink Smart Water-it's just plain water with electrolytes-no sugar at all, like gatorade. You might want to go back on a rice and french bread diet until things stabilize. I also do well with bananas for snacks, as well as low fat pretzels. I know it's so hard to give up your favorite foods! The chocolate graham crackers have been a lifesaver for me because they are a little something sweet. Also, Heather's cookbook has a few recipes for chocolate cakes that are easy on the tummy. I also noticed on the grocery store shelf a brand of brownies called "No Pudge". They contain almost no fat, and no dairy. Simply prepare them with applesauce instead of the yogurt. The suggestion that was given to you to eat several small meals is also good. And wait a little while after you eat before you drink anything, and try your beverages room temp. Hang in there! Hope you're doing better soon! 
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we all know how you feel, what i did was monotered everything that i ate. I only ate heathers "what you can eat when you can't eat anything" it's a little rough...but then you gradually add things back in....i found that i've had a problem with HFCS which i had no idea it would make me sick....it's frusterating....as we ALL know...but then you can pin point your triggers SO much easier, because you will learn what bothers some, wont bother others...and visa versa
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I used to take Lomotil, which greatly helped me. Then my prescription ran out, and I was not able to get it refilled. I see that a lot of you seem to like Immodium. The problem I have with it is this-it stops the diarrhea for a while, and then I get a kind of "rebound" for the next couple days. In other words, I will have very small, hard stools because of the binding effect. Then the diarrhea will come back after a couple days if I'm not careful. I asked a nurse about this once, and she said when you take it too often, your colon gets into a "cycle" or something like that. For example, it gets full of feces and you need to clean it out (not to be graphic). So she told me to drink a bottle of Magnesium Citrate, which I did. Of course, it made me very sick. I don't know if there's an answer to this problem. Just wondering if anyone else has that reaction to the Immodium.
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I've had that reaction to the imodium when I take too much of it. The key is to take the smallest effective dose, which is often a lot less than what the package calls a "dose".
When I was taking it for maintenance purposes, I was literally taking half a tablet - 1/4 dose - every day. Now that I'm only taking it as needed (and not needing it more than a couple times a month, thankfully), I take a full tablet (1/2 dose). It's effective, and I've had none of the binding-up problems with it. (And I'm an A, by the way, so I'm almost just as prone to constipation as I am diarrhea... so if a low dose doesn't bother me, that's saying something. LOL!)
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Thank you for the tip!
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...was really BAD advice for anyone with IBS. TAlk about how to get into a major A cycle!!!! 
As Casey said, just take less to start with. The instructions on the box have very little relevance to IBS-ers.
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...except mine gets nuked for 2mins. But I saw in the HFS that what I eat is pretty much identical to the finely ground oatmeal they had.
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Re: Aha!
#162518 - 03/20/05 06:01 PM
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Arben
Reged: 02/19/05
Posts: 4
Loc: Tennessee
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I did not eat any Splenda today nor did I drink Diet Rite, but I still had 4 or 5 BM's. Grrrrrrrrr. And those oatmeal cookies seem to be completely innocent. Check 'em out.
Back To Nature
I guess it's time to try the immodium.
Edited by Arben (03/20/05 06:05 PM)
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The ingredients are good on your cookies but they're about 36% fat each - this diet recommends no more than 20% PER MEAL. So just make sure you're NOT eating them as a snack on their own, only after a safe, low-fat meal and then only one or two, ok?
And give it time - good job on giving up the soda and splenda. Stick to it, your body needs time to adjust and it *will* take a while to get stabilized - it's not going to happen in a day, unfortunately  Hang in there - we're rooting for you! 
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I still say substitute graham crackers for the cookies. Not much difference in taste. And no Splenda or nutraswet at all. Carbonation will give you gas. I also drink Vitamin Water, which is made by the same people as Smart Water. Here's the link:
www.drinkbetterwater.com
Did you consider what I said about the Psyllium fiber?? Check in with us tomorrow and let us know how you're doing. I'm not doing so great today myself. We'll all just have to hang in there together.
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Re: Aha!
#162546 - 03/20/05 09:05 PM
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annec
Reged: 03/20/05
Posts: 3
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I have a thought on the oatmeal cookies. I eat cooked oatmal every morning and find it is good to me and my IBS. Oatmeal cookies, made with "raw" oatmeal, on the other hand give me big trouble. Bacause the grain isn"t cooked, and therefore has insoluble fiber? Not sure, but seems plausible?
Good luck,
Anne
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I immediately wonder if you are celiac? d is certainly a main symptom of celiac. Try going gluten free for a while. You will know quite soon if you are gluten sensitive if you do. Go to your health food shop and get some rice bread. You will need to toast it! Substitute that for your normal bread. Make sure you eat nothing with gluten in. To start I would suggest the bread substitution thing, also soy products I find too harsh, try switching to rice milks, rice products. Much gentler on the old system. Get rice cakes, rice cereals (all from health food shops) gluten is everywhere in products, you have to be careful. I have suggered with ibs forever! and couldn't get better even on Heather's diet (which I stil follow though, just modified for no gluten), once I went gluten free recovered almost overnight from the severe bloating that I was getting. I used to eat a tuna sandwich (fine for ibs) but couldn't understand why it made me bloat. Now I can eat a tuna sandwich with toasted rice bread and all is fine! So, maybe give it a try. Celiac is one of the most misdiagnosed conditions out there. Good news though, I didn't really need any doc. to diagnose it, just stopped eating it and got better. Good luck, Neeta
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Plus you dont have to be a coeliac to suffer from eating wheat. I've been catagorically told im not one, after an endoscopy (apperently coeliacs lack villi on the entrance to the small intestine from the stomach, which i have), but i know that things with wheat in trigger an attack.
Plus there are things that you would never have thought wheat was in that actually does contain it. Normal chicken is a big no-no for me (as i guess they are wheat fed), but corn fed chicken is absolutely fine.
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Everyone had such great advice.
I just wanted to reiterate to just hang in there. I'm IBS-D, and noticed a small change in the first week, but didn't have a stable week until about 3 months into the diet.
(I've now gone and messed that up by drinking tequilla, but that was totally my fault )
What helped me get that stable week - and what I need to do again - was I spent a weekend eating only the "what you can eat when you can't eat anything" foods, like I did at the beginning of starting the diet.
Hope this helps. Hang in there,
Myra
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IBS-D
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Especially about the sweeteners...you need to cut them out for longer than a day!!!!
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