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Hi Penny, thanks for replying. You say you have pain predominantly at night for the last seven years. Is it your evening meal that is causing this, or is it a build up of gas from what you have eaten throughout the day. When I do a stirfry I don't use oil, I should really have said steamed mixed vege, also the bacon is chicken and grilled and fat removed. I haven't found out about the almond milk here, but I will. Thanks for taking your time to respond.
Pauline
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PaulineNZ.
IBS is extremly complex and no worries on questions.
Heather or someone can help you with specifics on the foods.
However "large portions" are not a good thing. The sizes of the meals and the fat content and calories are important.
This stresses the digestive system.
Smaller meals through out the day are better. Part of this is to keep the bowel slightly distended. Its part of how the bowel works.
Also Heather wrote this for me here and I have some food information on the page, until you can get Heather's book's.
http://www.ibshealth.com/ibsfoodsinfo.htm
On vegetables some are more of a trigger then others and the same goes for fruits. Fruits high in frutose can be a problem. Vegtables with a high acidty can be problematic for some people.
This is also some info on that.
http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/chronicdiarrhea.html
That's a slight clue.
"Also she is better on the days that she has had no fruits or vegetables "
Because they can be triggers and these can be individual to the person.
"weight loss"
That is an issue, if its weight loss and she is still eating enough food as well as how fast and how much weight.
Or if she doesn't eat enough food, because foods=pain?
We also totally understand your concern as a mother. As some one who had this at a young age and with the help of others here we will try to help you out and this is important, there are things to do and try that will make her better. Not all of them will make total sense at first, but things can be done for sure. A big part of that is education and questions and all questions are no problem.
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My website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com
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Thanks so much once again for your caring and educational posts, also thanks for not making me feel a real 'idiot'.
Her weight loss came about four weeks after the constipation started, she and some friends came down with a stomach bug, she got the vomitting but no diarrhea - we were hoping it would clear the impaction but no! She had a violent bug for 24 hours and virtually had about 4 hours where she wasn't vomitting, we kept pushing the fluids even though she couldn't keep anything down, just so she didn't become dehydrated. We had been to the Dr the day before and she weighed 3.5kg heavier (we had checked her on our scales as well). What followed was 8 months of trying to get some weight on her. I think the big thing is that she was always such a big bread, cereal and pasta eater and she has had to go gluten free, which is different in taste and she is still getting used to g/f foods. She has put on a about a kilo and a bit. She was never a big child so the weight loss is noticeable and of concern. But her energy levels are good and she is able to do sports and function completely normally during the day unless she has been 'glutened' it is the pain at night that is just such a ....pain :-)
Thanks once again
Pauline
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I don't think brown rice can serve as her SF base. I think that is IF just like the veggies.
What types of veggies does she eat with the potato for lunch? That sounds like a yummy lunch! Does she eat the peel of the potato? That may be helping the C or causing more pain...hard to know which one. And are the mushrooms and veggies cooked? I think cooking the mushrooms would help...but maybe some people do okay with fresh mushrooms. I just feel better mentally, cooking everything right now since I hurt so badly. No time to experiment.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Hi there, thanks for this. After posting I spent a lot of time, getting my head around the whole sf and if thing.
Yes you are right brown rice is too if. I have changed it to basmati rice.
Yesterday I made sure that all her meals were mostly sf.
she was a bit better last night - she didn't get sore until about 7.30, she was sore but coping, not sobbing in pain. We are off to the specialist today, I am hoping he will have some insight.
I struggle with the 'healthy side of things'. i.e. we have always eaten a lot of brown rice, jacket potatoes, lots of broccoli, cauli, green beans, garlic, tomatoes,cabbage, lettuce, etc etc.
This has been the basis of all our lunches and dinner, with chicken and fish and red meat, organic eggs and yoghurt and good quality tasty cheeses. Lots of homemade organic wholewheat breads, apples, bananas, pears, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, so you can see it is a whole different mind set for me, and although I have been trying the sf thing, I realise I have been making a lot of mistakes in this area, thanks for helping draw attention to some more. For years this country has pushed the importance of good quality proteins, high fibre vegetables and fruits and lots and lots of whole grains.
This way of eating had never been a problem for us, I have lots to learn.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Pauline
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Hi Pauline,
I'm still trying, after all this time, to figure out exactly what triggers the pain, which is a burning and sharp pain that gets worse the longer I stay in one position at night. Sometimes it starts right away when I go to bed and other times in the early hours of the morning. Of course, I've had every test under the sun to rule out anything life-threatening. I've recently discovered this site and was not aware until now about the differences in soluble and insoluble fiber.
I seem to be doing a little better since I've started cutting out certain foods or preparing them differently. As to your question, I tend to think that it may not necessarily be the foods that I've eaten that day, but could be from the day before (which makes it even harder to pinpoint exactly what causes the problem).
When I get a bad attack of IBS-C I take a laxative as a last resort and get very narrow stools. I get the feeling that I'm swollen inside and this is causing the blockage. This seems to be caused by a reaction to certain foods that irritate my colon. It usually takes a few days to settle down to less intense pain after a bad attack.
As I may have mentioned, some of my triggers seem to be cheese, fatty food and "gassy" vegetables, especially onions, beans, broccoli, brussels and cabbage. I know I've not been careful enough lately (had some pizza yesterday) and I'm paying the price! I'm trying to get my act together to try another elimination diet, i.e. eating only "safe" foods for a week and slowly adding other foods back in. This is very tedious, but I think I'll have to give it another go if I ever want to get out of this cycle of pain.
One thing that helps a bit is to sleep on my back, propped up with a few pillows. This is not the most comfortable position for me, but it tends to lessen the pain (lower left abdomen). The pain is worst when I sleep in my favorite positon (on my left side) for any length of time. A warm bath before bedtime helps too. I know your daughter doesn't like using a heat pad, but I find it quite soothing sometimes.
Good luck in your search for a cure for your daughter.
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Penny
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That is more SF...and hopefully won't cause worse C. And how about that recipe for the potato? 
Yes, it sure is a whole new way of viewing what's healthy for us, isn't it. Goes against everything I thought would be best for me. I thought whole wheat and All Bran and veggies would help the C.
Don't go totally SF. Since she is a C, it is imparative that she get enough IF to help her go.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Hi Penny,
First time on board.Like you I am at my wits end with night pain. Every afternoon it starts to build up and gets worse until I go to bed. It is affecting my sleep bigtime. Not sure about relation to food. Have tried
acacia but that causes pain and bloating. Bowel symptoms as you. Only hope is to try various acacia doses. Have you found any cure for the pain and gas?
All the best for your problems
Avril
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Hi Avril,
I'm sorry to hear that you are also suffering from nighttime IBS pain. It's one thing to have pain in the daytime but then at least one would get a decent night's sleep. The years of sleep deprivation have been very hard for me. It's almost like a fact of life now and I have almost given up that it will get better. Sometimes it's only mild, but often it is enough to keep me tossing and turning all night.
I don't know how long you've had the problem or if you've had a thorough check up, but I haven't come across too many people with this type of IBS-C. Mine feels like a gas pain, but I don't think that's all it is. Before I had IBS I would occasionally get gas pain, but it wasn't like it kept me awake at night. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I've been on lots of antibiotics in the past (after 5 surgeries). Maybe my intestinal wall was damaged because of this - who knows? (I joked to my husband that IBS should be called "none of the above" disease because it's just a label they give you when nothing else is found). I've also had my gallbladder removed about 12 years ago and that can make digestion of fats more difficult.
Right now I'm again trying to cut out "suspicious" foods. It's so hard, because I'll stop eating one type of food thinking that I've solved the problem and then it starts again. I must admit I've not been disciplined enough to completely cut out trigger foods in the past but lately I'm attempting to be more strict with what I'm eating. I had kind of given up because nothing I tried seemed to help.
For the past few weeks (since I discovered Heather's diet) I've been trying to eat mostly soluble vegetables instead of lots of salads, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. and I'm not eating any cheese. I think it's a very interesting theory about not eating too much insoluble fiber. I've tried cutting out cows milk in the past, but that didn't make any difference. I seem to be doing a little better on the soluble fiber diet but it's too soon to tell. A few weeks ago I started using the acacia fiber (1 tbsp. per day) and also some liquid acidophilus. One of the two caused me to really bloat up with gas, so I'm confused now which to cut out.
Despite having this horrible health problem, I lead a very full and busy life - I don't have time for this! I just would love not to be tired all the time and being afraid of food. I'll just have to make it more of a priority again to find out what is causing it.
The only thing that helps a bit is when it starts to get difficult to pass stools I take a dose of milk of magnesia. This helps to get things "moving" again. Also, a heating pad on my lower abdomen helps quite a bit if it's really spasaming (is that a word? lol).
Good luck to you in finding some relief.
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Penny
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Went to the Paediatric Gastroenterologist yesterday. He had the results of her bloods and faeces all were normal except the she does carry the coeliac gene factor. Which basically means although not a coeliac she can be sensitive to gluten. I don't understand it all completely yet, whether this means she may still develop coeliacs later in life, and/or whether she can pass this gene on to her kids and they may be coeliacs, I'm not sure. At least we were on the right track witht the gluten :-) He wants her to have a hydrogen breath test to see if she is dairy intolerant. Also he said he wanted to refer her to an alergist because she is in pain every night and wonders if in addition to gluten and dairy if she is alergic or intolerant to some other food which she is eating every day that does not agree with her. Also he wants her to have an endoscopy and colonoscopy done.
I said do you think this is ibs and he said he could not begin to give that diagnosis yet as it is a diagnosis of exclusion and he said he had not excluded every posibility.
He also said the barium swallow although didn't show inflammation does not rule out crohns the other endo or colonoscopy would be better for this.
He is still taking the whole thing very seriously and was lovely to us, my dad had colitis and both my sister have irritable bowel and I am dairy intolerant and so is my husband.
But the good news is she has put on 1 kg and has grown 1 cm in five weeks, I'm hoping she can keep the weight on this time.
We are pleased he is being thorough and not just brushing it under the 'irritable bowel carpet' as the Drs in the public system had done, sent us home told Gabrielle to take peppermint oil capsules, defocus herself from the pain and think happy thoughts (fabulous professional diagnosis eh)
Look the final diagnosis may be that it definitely is irritable bowel.
He didn't want me to do Heather's diet felt it was going to exclude too many things that she needs and that we were to concentrate on gluten and dairy only.
But I will keep to the principles of Heather's way of eating i.e. soluble mostly, no dairy, low fat, very little red meat rather than none etc. as I think there is definitely something in this way of eating.
Thanks for reading and once again thanks to you all for caring and posting and helping me feel 'not so alone' as a parent and thanks for never making me feel silly for asking some of the questions I do. Pauline
Thanks for reading
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