Am I doing something wrong?? Please help!
#332518 - 07/15/08 04:38 PM
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I first looked at Heathers site about 2 1/2 weeks ago after a really bad D attack. I decided that I would try out her diet. For the next couple days I tried to "break the cycle" by eating skinless potatoes, plain noodles, and plain French bread. I drank lots of water (at least 8 bottles a day) and I starting taking Metamucil caplets( 2 in the morning, 2 at night). During those days I was having an IBS attack almost everyday. It would go from C to D very quickly. After a couple days on the "break the cycle" I started adding in veggies and fruit. I then started taking an extra Metamucil before lunch. But my symptoms kept coming. I finally decided to order the acacia and stop using the Metamucil. That was about 4 or 5 days ago. I'm still following the diet but I am still getting symptoms almost every other day. For example today I ate a plain bagel with a bit of pb, water, and a small glass of oj, I then had a chicken sub on white bread with some veggies and water for lunch, and for dinner I had rice crispys with soy milk, a slice of French bread with soy margarine and water. Almost an hour after dinner I had an IBS D attack. Before when I wasn't on this diet the attacks were happening much less. I don't know if there is something I'm doing wrong to make my IBS worse? I cant take anymore days off school (I'm in a summer course at college)Please help. 
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Try eliminating soy.And pb.
Try taking Imodium to get your attacks under control.Stick to more of ths sf foods You may not be ready for veggies and fruit yet.Once you start into a line of attacks I find it hard to get back under control.White bread,plain applesauce unsweetened,plain rice(this makes me gag now so I rarely eat rice)pretzels and Imodium are what I use to get things under control.
Veggies are iffy as are fruits.Which are you using?
Oj is bad!
I hope that helps at bit
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IBS-D since 1999...mostly stable..i do cheat too.Bad me.
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The veggies and fruit I have been eating are bananas, peeled apples, Zucchini(in a bread I made). Other then today when I had the couple on my sub that's all I had been eating for the past 2 1/2 weeks.
When I was just sticking to SF foods (peeled potatoes, rice products, plain noodles, French bread)my attacks were happening everyday. Was it because of the Metamucil I was also taking? Or because I stuck to to just those foods for almost a week?
I know this new diet is suppose to take some time I just thought that after almost 3 weeks I should be getting better not worse then before when I wasn't on it.
Thank you so much for replying too.
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I hear you! I am a longtime IBS-D and just tried the Acacia (SF) this weekend and have been in worse shape than I have been in months. It's not Metamucil but, "fiber" that I am not use to. (Although I have been following Heather's Diet for a long time....it's very safe and helpful  What I'm starting to think is that there maybe some of us who can't handle the fiber at all. I have had to stop using the SF but am still having the attacks which is scary since I need to be on a plane on Friday for work. Anyway, I can't handle fruit AT ALL and I'm starting to think that some of us need to introduce the fiber very, very slowly. I will try again when I am back home from my trip, however, it really messed me up. You are not alone.
Good luck!
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It could be the metamucil, it could also be the fruit or a combination of the two. I tend to be more IBS-C, but have used metamucil many times in the past....each time the first bm would be nice, then it would just mess up my system for a few days. If you read the "Fiber Supplements" section on the website you'll notice that Heather does not recommend metamucil. It has something in it that can exasperate symtoms. I went and got citrucel a few weeks ago and am having pretty good luck. Also, I started it all by eating white rice, rice chex, french bread, chicken breast. I don't eat much dairy, but I limited my vegetables (which was very hard for me!). Bananas are good, I think. Think the BRAT diet (Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast). Whole fresh apples might be a little rough during your attacks. Good Luck!!!
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This is all very frustrating. When I started trying to get stable it seemed it would never happen. It is a gradual thing and I first had to get the diet under control. That meant french or sour dough bread ONLY (no subs, no regular bread, etc.), peeled thoroughly cooked potatoes, steamed rice (only white), cream of rice and that was it for about two weeks. I had been taking Metamucel and it gave me terrible gas and D. I stopped taking a fiber and upped the bread and potato and rice for the SF. After a bit I began to get the nondiet element under control - stress. I was constantly frightened of being in a public place where I couldn't get to a bathroom or where I would pass gas or do some other horribly unacceptable thing. I had developed a phobia. It took about 3 weeks to get everything under control with the diet and the calming down. I signed up for a hatha yoga class and learned relaxation breathing and meditiation techniques that I would employ when I felt an attack coming on. I order Acacia but didn't start taking it until I had calmed down. NO DRINKS OTHER THAN WATER AND HERBAL TEA. NEVER. Once I was semi stable (not having constant bloating and gas and D), I began to add protein in the form of poached or baked white poultry (chicken or turkey) and applesauce. Slowly over the following weeks I added a little IF each week in the form of mostly fruits and vegetables. I found out I can't digest soy at all in any form and I am fructose sensitive so I avoid high fructose which is in almost all processed foods. I found a Whole Foods within driving distance and stocked up on organic. It has now been a year and I feel like I eat well. I have lost about 10 pounds but I needed to lose that much. I only have attacks now from stress (the tough thing to control). Good luck to you and if I had any advice it would be to try some form of relaxation like hatha yoga or hypnosis along with your diet. I now enjoy rice and almond milk and some variety in my diet that includes green beans, carrots, squash, berries, mangoes, etc. I occasionally try to get away with a forbidden food like milk chocolate but I always have a reaction. Maybe someday. My family is thankful that I have calmed down and am stable but they also wish I could eat steak, drink wine and enjoy Mexican food with them. That may never happen but I am soooooo happy with my current digestive system as compared to a year ago. Hang in there.
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IBS-D, Gas & Bloating
Barbara50
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I noticed that It takes me many weeks to come out of the IBS cycle and eating just the rice, white flour and potato foods. Consistency in my supplements and very slow change to my diet when I am doing better. And most of all staying away from stress triggers...I even stay away from watching the news on tv - I just pick my stories on the internet. I Know one day I ate what you did some grilled chicken, little lettuce and tomato on white bread - this is how I knew I had to take my changes slower - I was in so much pain the next day. The first couple of months I'm doing better I still stay on mostly solubles and alternate days where I have something like a small chicken breast (taken with enzyme - to help my body break it down). For me it's too unbearable to risk it and it's when I'm feeling better and I do the wrong foods and stresses for a few days in a row I go back to bad belly pain. Hope this helps...either way, Good luck and God bless.
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Thanks so much to everyone who relpyed to me!
I decided to try again.
For the next couple days Im just going to eat potatoes and plain rice to see how that goes. Then add in things like french bread, bananas and applesauce over the next week.
I went back to the doctors today and Im going to go for a 2nd opion because Im hearing mixed things now because of the food allergy test I did. The results were that I was allergic to everything. I dont know if anyone else got this result but theyre telling me that its werid.
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Do you think you have a sensitivity to soy? I know I definitely cannot drink soy milk! Wierd, though, because soy YOGURT doesn't seem to bother me. That could be one thing that's triggering your attacks.
Also, PB. I know I cannot tolerate PB. Too much fat. And...OJ. I can't do OJ, either.
Try this - replace your morning OJ with a cup of chamomile and/or fennel tea. Then replace your PB with a bit of soy butter, or low sugar whole fruit spread(make sure there are NO artificial sweeteners in it!). Replace your soy milk with water, or another glass of herbal tea...but nothing with caffeine.
Good luck!
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FancyMom
IBS-A,Constipation predominant, GERD
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Hi there,
No experience with allergy tests as yet but just to reply to your initial posts - I do sympathise with how hard it is to get things under control even when your are eating nothing but SF. Personally I find that both bread and potatoes are not as reliably safe for me as rice and oatmeal - everybody is a bit different of course, you just have to experiment and see how your tummy feels after eating different things. Itīs also really important for me to eat regularly so that my stomach never gets empty (something that is admittedly hard to do when, for example, you have school classes and have to go a while without food - one of the reasons why my stabilisation attempts often fail!) At the same time itīs important for me not to eat too much - itīs such a balancing act! But lots of people on these boards have succeeded in managing their symptoms and becoming stable, so thereīs plenty of reason to be hopeful - good luck!
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