I'm completely out of food here
#303904 - 04/03/07 06:38 PM
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I've been on the Heather diet here for about 3 maybe 4 years. Cutting here and there, eliminating this and that, somehting works for awhile then that something won't, I narrow it down, stabilize for a bit then something else stops working; but i'm to the point where nothing is working. And just FYI whole grains and fruits any which way have never worked whatsoever, not even a miniscule lick.
I can't find any chips, pretzels, saltines, cereal, egg whites, noodles, bread, couscous, sweet potatoes, apples, regular potatoes, oatmeal, chicken breast, turkey breast, tuna, avacado, honey, graham crackers, soy milk, rice milk, and so on...that continually works or let alone works at all without having major triggers and awful days. i can't even get to a point of stability with a worth of confidence in trying something. The recipes don't work. Banana Bread don't work. Banana cream pie thing (oh so good!!) don't work anymore. Thought it did but stopped. The rice (her husband's famous stuff...sorry a little lazy and weak right now) I don't know if it ever worked. Tried rices and noodles...only one kind, a Jasmine, and plain bananas, and
I think these mushrooms are not bothering. i make my own tortillas now, cooked on a cast iron skillet...? I don't know...is it the water, should i use bottled and boil the heck out of it? I just don't understand where everyone is finding this magical food. i'm wasted. I've lost 40 pounds of which i never had in 6 months. For someone like me it's heartbreaking!! not a new body!! Is it that I am a male and require more proteins or nutrients for the amount of energy a male will burn as opposed to a female. I feel like a 12 year old and wriggle in incontinence like a 5 year old. Every time I even urinate I practically collapse. And where are these magical doctors? I can't afford to see as many as needed. Phew!! Are we not handicapped!! Am i not in need of some kind of assistance. I don't know things, but i do know--I'm completely out of food.
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IBS-D
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Did you get all the tests done to determine if you do indeed have IBS? You should be able to go to just one GI doc and he should run the tests. I hope someone else can post something more helpful for you. Good luck, and I hope you feel some relief soon.
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I'm sorry your struggling so much. When you say you've been on Heather's diet for 3-4 years, have you been strictly on it? Or just experimenting here and there? For me, I was able to stabilize once I consistently and completely followed all the rules... absolutely no triggers of any kind, ever. During this time, I ate:
- white rice
- well-cooked SF veggies (potatoes, carrots, zucchini, squash, etc.)
- plain pasta (not whole grain)
- plain grilled chicken (or very lightly seasoned)
- tilapia
- shrimp
- tofu (it's REALLY good if you're willing to try)
- GardenBurger flame grilled soy burgers
- fresh French bread
- Keebler graham crackers (original or cinnamon)
- Kraft mini marshmallows (very yummy toasted on the grahams)
- pretzels
- BBQ soy crisps
- natural deli chicken from the HFS (no nitrates or other funky ingredients)
- white pita bread
- Rice Chex
- Organic Rice Krispies
- Quaker instant maple & brown sugar oatmeal (one packet each morning cooked with water)
- homemade Lots-O-Veggie soup (recipe in index)
- small servings of well-cooked IF veggies (broccoli, green beans, etc) served with plenty of SF.
- lots of water
While stabilizing, I didn't really try to get creative with recipes, didn't drink much rice or soy milk, didn't eat many egg whites (they make me pretty gassy), didn't eat much fruit (bananas would've probably been fine, but I just don't like them), and I NEVER cheated. I really didn't eat much of anything other than the foods listed above.
When I cook a meal, I try to make enough to have leftovers so there is always something fast and safe when I'm hungry.
I drink only water, usually room temp or slightly cool... no milk, no iced tea, no sodas, no juices. I don't like hot teas, but they seem to be soothing for many people.
When cooking, I use Pam or olive, sesame, or canola oil, and only in very small amounts. Spectrum spread (for spreading) and Earth Balance Soy Garden spread (for cooking/melting) are great, but always in very small amounts, too. Very low fat cooking is key!
For seasoning, I use salt, garlic & onion (start with powder to see how you tolerate them) on my chicken and veggies. Old Bay seasoning and cumin are great on tilapia. Soy sauce is great for stir-frying(tamari is even better) with chicken, shrimp, tofu, veggies, and noodles or rice.
I don't think that there is any "magic" food. I think it's just a matter of CONSISTENTLY eating ONLY safe foods and not cheating at all. That's what made the difference for me. Now that I am stable, I am able to do a few LITTLE cheats here and there, but I still stick VERY closely to the diet. I'm just more able to experiment and try new recipes now. 
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I wonder...how long have you been on the diet? I can't cheat. Like I said i'm pretty much down to rice and bananas. Nothing will sit in there. I can eat the stuff; but it won't sit in there. Maybe I should be asking about BMs. i want to say what are your BMs like when eating this stuff. Mine are terribly big amounts. I can't afford that. It literally drains me. I almost need to BM at the same point every time or I know something if just off. It then takes about 24 hours to replenish, which then lasts about 1 hour. When I eat other stuff, even the stuff you listed, it builds. Like I said they won't sit in there. After a couple "rounds" of eating that stuff you mentioned and thus BMing at the wrong times, earlier and earlier, I get loose. A watery feeling starts to develop and next thing I know I'm peeing "at the wrong times." I get starving after the urination gets ahead of me so I eat more and more than I can handle so to speak and disasters occur. I used to eat that stuff. I really did and felt food work like it never had before...But it all stopped working at some point, I could pinpoint which was bothering by weeding out everything and going down to rice, then trying that which may possibly be bothering and sure enough I was right. Tilapia with cumin DEliciuos. I have never found a chicken breast that works though.
I really burn off alot working. I don't work in a office. I work in a wharehouse moving heavy boxes all day. I can't eat enough it seems to keep up. I mean I can't handle eating so much to try and keep up. It only makes it worse. I can't really afford to try things and have disasters and miss work. I guess I don't understand where these magical "days off" come from either. How do folks like me take these risks and rest when needed??? How do they afford them??
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IBS-D
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I can't really afford the tests. I don't know where people get the magic money either to do all this testing.
I have no blood or mucus, no tarry stools, no sac build up...I've done alot of reading and talked with a doctor who does not seem too concerned...? By the way my GI doc prescribed Glycolax (Miralax) so i would BM more. He must have got the impression that I was having trouble going!!! I don't think I woud want him to do the tests!! All in all, why should we have to pay for tests that tell us nothing? That's kind of what scares me more than the results...what if they tell me nothing again like when they went down my esophagus which was roaring with reflux...what if they say 'looks good. That will 2000 dollars please."...?
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IBS-D
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Have you tried the hypnotherapy CDs? Food is not the only IBS trigger - stress is very key as well.
I gotta second all the calls for you to get further checked out, but if you don't have insurance or you have cruddy insurance, I know it can be lots of money. The CDs won't hurt you, no matter what you have.
--AC
p.s. Have you considered you might have celiac disease? You could try a non-gluten diet for a couple of weeks and see if you feel better. That might explain why safe foods (noodles, tortillas) might still be problematic for you...
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For me, as long as I stick to the diet, I have a regular BM every day, usually within about an hour after I get up. Occasionally I'll have a 2nd BM, but usually it's just one, and usually a "normal" consistency and quantity. Before I started the diet, I was having D many times a day and painful D attacks after a trigger-heavy meal, as well as nausea almost every day. I have been following the diet for a year now and have not had D since last July/August except for a couple of isolated attacks due to anxiety and a trigger I ate accidentally.
I think if you have been strictly following the diet for a while now with no results, you might need to consider the stress factor, as well as the possibility of wheat intolerance. Try just adding gluten-free foods and see if you are able to eat a bit more. I believe that there is testing that can be done to determine if you do indeed have Celiac disease. If you do, there are lots of gluten-free products available at the HFS now.
Don't discount the stress factor, either... That is really the only thing that causes me to have flare-ups now. I really had to learn to manage my stress and anxiety better than I was. For me prayer and Bible study helped. You might try that or meditation or counseling or whatever works for you if stress/anxiety is a big factor for you, too.
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Do you have health insurance? They should cover most of the tests. The reason the test shold be done is that there are more dangerous things that could be going on, like Chron's disease, colitis, gall bladder problems, ect. Also, if you need to apply for disablity from the government, I believe you need an official diagnosis and input from your doctor.
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Not sure about the celiac disease becuase they did go into my stomach and such (endoscopy), took biopsies and found nothing. i may be wrong, but i think they would have found something there.
i'm afraid to try but what the hey...
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IBS-D
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I can't imagine using the bathroom like that I think I would waste away to absolutely nothing. It's funny though my doctor originally wanted me to "go" more frequently. i usually "like" to go every 3 days. otherwise, like i said, problems occur and i just waste...
and as far as drining alot of water i can go without water for a whole day sometimes just simply because i will get loose or lethargic like it's washing away my energy.
Someone else mentioned celiac disease but i believe they took biopsies in my endoscopy and found no results for that. which i would not have known they would be checking for that at the time it was never brought up. they went down for reflux reasons.
i'm not really a stressful person. hey, if it was not for my IBS i would be just a peach. i mostly have physical stress though. i just don't understand how i was working perfectly fine then whammo i can't seem to get it back and have eliminated so so much.
thanks
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IBS-D
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