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This is such a great post...I'm so glad you decided to "pop" your head in! You brought up many factors that hit the nail on the head. Especially about all the contradictory suggestions by different sources and different approaches/attituded of the professionals. It messes with your mind...and when you don't get results from one approach, it's only human to question or doubt EVERYTHING at some time.
Thank you for your thoughts!
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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I work a rotating 12 hour shift, having to do lots of stairs, and other physical activities. Since I have been on Heather's diet and have read her books and have religiously stayed on this program I don't have to worry about how close I am to any restroom in the plant. My life in no longer ruled or governed by how close I am to a bathroom, but by how close I follow the diet. I am glad to trade off the toilet for the diet, and will continue to do so.
Thanks to all of you good folks that share your thoughts and are helpful to those getting started.
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 Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow”. Mary Anne Radmacher
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Good reply, Stephie.  You're definitely right that diet and hormonal factors can cause more or less symptoms. But about the mind-gut connection: this refers to a neurological disorder, a disconnect between the brain, bowel, and central nervous system, which is thought to cause a functional problem in the bowels. Stress and psychological disorders may trigger the symptoms of IBS, but they DO NOT cause the disorder.
Sometimes, I'm not sure if this has been your experience too, I feel that doctors write it off as a psychological problem because they don't know what to do. By doing this, the doctor can shift the blame to us so we feel like we're doing this to ourselves or we're not trying to get better or we have some personality problem. So, I think the psychological aspect of it is b.s. when talking about how one gets IBS; however, I think psychological problems, anxiety or depression, can result from having to deal with this chronic condition and they can definitely exacerbate the symptoms.
Edited by Maria!Maria! (05/27/06 08:44 AM)
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Hey Maria,
Good point. In fact, after I read my post I thought that it didn't come across exactly as I would have liked.
I didn't mean the mind-gut connection in any sort of neurological disorder, but like you said about them triggering symptoms. I just meant it like.. you know how there is a connection, for everyone, with their stomachs? Like feeling nervous as "butterflies" or "a knot" in one's stomach.. If you hear bad news, people say it feels like a blow to their gut. You know what I mean?
I have been in the situation too with one doctor telling me that I just had to stop being sick when I wanted to, because it was all in my head. When I left, I was absolutely furious. Livid even.  I do feel much worse when I feel emotionally strained, but I have had days where everything is carrying on as normal, having a good day, and BAM! I'm really sick. Those are the most frustrating times, I think.
I just feel like we have to acknowledge the affect our stress levels and things have on our bodies so that if the diet isn't working by itself, there are other things to address before writing it off completely. I definitely agree 100% that the anxiety and stress and everything can stem from the initial symptoms and just take everything into a really bad cycle.
When my IBS got so much worse a few years ago, the anxiety about leaving the house and things was definitely BECAUSE of my symptoms and then made them worse at the same time. But I don't believe they were in any part a cause of my IBS either.
It's funny that I spend so much time trying to convince everyone that I do not have a psychological problem, there really is something wrong with me, and then this. LOL.
Hope that's more clear!
Steph
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~~I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell-I know right now you can't tell~~Matchbox 20
IBS-D,pain.
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Life choices
#265920 - 05/27/06 01:51 PM
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Toady
Reged: 04/06/06
Posts: 1299
Loc: A small city, Northwestern Ontario, Canada
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CCCKKK, I've been reading this thread off and on. For my two cents worth.... Yes, IBS can rule you life - while you are unstable - I just went through a 3 month stint of the worst symptoms in the last 12 years. None if it was due to diet - all due to stress. Changing your diet is one aspect of your life. Like the other people here, I had to change my lifestyle too. Hypo is the only thing I haven't tried yet, but I'm mostly stable again, if I flare up, it is my next step. I go to fitness classes, I garden, I do things to CALM my body and mind. I meditate. And when I have a bad day, I don't blame the diet. Like someone said - hormones, mood, diet, sleep (or lack thereof), everything affects us. Plus, from being here on this forum for a little while now, I notice we are sensitive people. We feel! And our feelings go straight to our tummies unfortunately! My only advice is to stick with the diet. Give it a good chance to help you. Yep, I'm sick of following it some days too. So I slip up, and I suffer for 3 days.
Good luck to you, and have a happy tummy day.
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Cassandra
Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like you've never loved before.
IBS A 20+ years, Chronic Migraines, Chiari Malformation (decompressed June 22, 2010), Brachial Neuritis, and ??? the list just keeps growing, but I'm still shiny side up!
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I think it is brilliant for IBS D. For C and bloating things are trickier but still can be great. I think people with C get too scared off from IF and they need that upped!!! They have to have a lot of it. And for bloating and gas and general pains there are many things that must be done and controlled to help Heather's diet work. These things are: exercise, eating small amounts often, ACACIA fiber, lots of water, pooping and farting WHEN NEEDED, and the one we can't do much about, controlling stress. There is no cure for IBS but eating the easily digestable foods Heather suggests is the closest thing.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Stephie said: ".....but I have had days where everything is carrying on as normal, having a good day, and BAM! I'm really sick. Those are the most frustrating times, I think."
Gotta agree with that one. I'm on the 3rd day of recoveringing from a BAM day & I was going camping with friends 
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Agreed!
#265966 - 05/27/06 06:05 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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That's something I forgot to mention in my reply: the insoluble fiber thing. I think there's still a good lot of confusion about IF, even though Heather is pretty explicit about it: you should eat as much insoluble fiber as you can, cushioning with SF as per the diet guidelines. This is so, so, SO important - for everyone, but especially for C'ers.
I'm D-predominant, and I'd say that the vast majority - at least 3/4, maybe more - of the food I eat in a day's time is insoluble. I eat as little SF as I can get away with, and the rest is IF. If I don't do that, things get all wonky, so I can just imagine how much more important IF is for someone whose symptoms are primarily C.
It's easy to be afraid of IF foods, and I know it because I used to be afraid of them too, but sooner or later you have to get over it and learn to eat them again. It's necessary for bowel health, and for your health in general. With maybe a couple of oddball exceptions (because isn't there an exception to every rule? LOL), you CANNOT eat an insufficient amount of IF and expect to have a healthy gut. It just ain't gonna happen.
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Double agreed!  I'm always surprised when I learn that an IBS-Cer is eating less IF than I am (especially when I feel I'm not eating nearly enough). I have Minnie's excellent and informative trigger explanation saved so I'm going to bump it up for newbies to read.
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