Constipation Is Worse Than Ever
#353758 - 01/02/10 11:10 AM
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A few weeks ago, I decided that I had had enough of the Oat Bran and Applesauce disguisting mix I was having for cereal.
This had been my breakfast for FIVE years.
It's gross, it tastes nasty, and it makes me hungry an hour later due to the high GI index.
People on this board also felt Oat Bran was a trigger, so I have been for a week experimenting with
1) Quick Oats (flavored it with sugar)
2) Organic Instant Oatmeal (which contains organic whole grain rolled oats).
The results have been awful. I am backed up, the stools when I go are really dreadful, nothing like they used to be.
1) I don't get it, I am resigned to having this disguisting mixture as my breakfast forever now or else having horrible bowel movements?
-What gives, I thought Quick Oats or Instant Oatmeal was a safer food (according to people on this board) than Oat Bran with Applesauce?
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IBS-C and Bloating
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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Naturopanic, if I am in a cycle of C and I have tried everything, bran does the trick (after much experimentation). It works for me. I buy Bran Buds, use about 1/4 cup with a milk and banana, and I go the next day like clockwork. It tastes nasty too, but it is a very small amount, and then I may follow it up with an egg, blender drink, fruit salad, or bagel.
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Quote:
Naturopanic, if I am in a cycle of C and I have tried everything, bran does the trick (after much experimentation). It works for me. I buy Bran Buds, use about 1/4 cup with a milk and banana, and I go the next day like clockwork. It tastes nasty too, but it is a very small amount, and then I may follow it up with an egg, blender drink, fruit salad, or bagel.
1) Why is it that Bran does the trick while others (Quick Oats, Instant Oatmeal) do not?
-Others here warned to stay away from Bran....why is it then it works best for a movement for you and I?
2) Do you have this daily?
3) I would usually have it daily...mix it with applesauce. It just is really hard after awhile to eat such a nasty breakfast daily...why can't quick oats work.
Syl...given the unrest...no...I'd rather get more stable then begin.
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IBS-C and Bloating
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I guess it is that everyone is different. The same thing you hear all the time. Bran does work for me and it is the only thing that will work. I don't eat the Bran Buds daily because I hate the darn taste, but if I am really blocked I eat that for awhile and I go every day. So, if something works for you, then why not stick with it.
I always add something else to my breakfast since the cereal is only 1/4 a cup. I cannot do oatmeal. I bloat up like a balloon. It took me some time to figure out that the oatmeal was the problem.
Bran Buds does not bloat me or cause me grief, so I continue to use them. HTH
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Everyone has a different tolerance for IF. Maybe you are like me and can tolerate more. I still don't like oat bran, but I recommend working more IF into your meals and upping your SFS for sure. Also drink more and this C will go away.
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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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1) So does this mean I am forced to have Oat Bran and Applesauce for breakfast forever?
-Isn't there anything else or anything I can put in it so it has flavor? God it tastes so nasty and I'm hungry an hour later.
2) The other thing I notice, it seems I have to eat Frozen Spinach. If I eat Green Beans/Peas...they do nothing. Frozen Spinach though tastes AWFUL!
I just think it's unfair I seem stuck for life to be eating Oat Bran with Applesauce and Frozen Spinach daily or else face having constipation.
3) So you think I should gradually up my SFS supplement of Benefiber from 2 tsp to 6 tsps?
I can also up Jarrowdophillus from 2 to 3 pills a day.
Should these normally help?
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IBS-C and Bloating
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I'm jumping in here in the middle and don't know the beginning, butI feel for you.
I was always "D" until a few years ago and now am "A". "C" is horrible and while "D" renders you housebound many times, I believe the pain, cramping and bloating with "C" is much worse than "D" - for me.
Many people on here gave me advice when I first started the "C" flare. If you search for that thread, you will find lots of different remedies.
I have difficulty with oat bran, so that did not work for me. While I can't tell you exactly what always works, I can tell you some things that seem to cause it for me... lots of carbs, too little exercies, too little water and even sometimes eggs.
Fruit first thing in the AM - not applesauce because that's what I eat (w/ a bagel) to stop the "D"(i.e. applesauce for "D" and apples for "C"), but something like diced peaches or a fresh peach or pear or even yogurt, sometimes helps me - massaging my stomach and abdomen help, getting up, moving around for about an hour first thing in AM helps, someone recommended hot tea with sorghum molasses in it and it is nasty, but did help. If you can tolerate it, there's something about eating something sweet in the AM, that seems to trigger a BM...
I can have "D" for a week and then suddenly, the next day, not go at all. Then - my mind takes over and starts worrying... "oooops, didn't go today...same second day..." But, I've found, if I will quit thinking about it and try to eat right - fruits and veggies, prefaced by some SF - like sourdough bread - then, out of the blue, I'll go.
I think I have slow motility, because, it just isn't "there" until it's time. I know because I also have wonderful "hemmies" and a dear person on here was kind enough to "bare all" and give me some remedies such as - lubricating my anal area with vaseline prior to a BM to prevent bleeding. The same procedure is good for constipation, if you have hard stools, because it kind of stimulates the peristalic??? action. But, some times, as I've said, the stool just has not moved far enough down...
OK - enough potty talk!  I told my friend, I think I'm the only person who prays to go to the bathroom and thanks God the days I do go. Having said all this, I've had 3 weeks of nothing but urgent "D", to the point I was scared to leave the house if I ate anything. Then, suddenly, today, I'm bloated and can't go..... That's the story of IBS.
I'll say a prayer for you too... But, check out the entire thread regarding constipation...
((Hugs)) - Dorothy
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"I Will Survive! :-)... I shall live and not die and declare the works of The Lord..."
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Naturapanic,
You may have to slow down the number of changes you are making. It is best to make one change, stick with for at least a week or 10 days and let you body adjust. The bacteria in your colon need time to adjust especially when you are changing sources or amounts of dietary fiber. Sometimes with changes or increases in fiber you may experience an increase in bloating and gas for a few days. You have to let time pass before making a judgement.
Are you taking 2 teaspoons of Benefiber per day? I believe the label says 2 teaspoons three times a day.
For IBS-C you have to get your dietary fiber intake - soluble and insoluble fiber - up to 30-40 grams per day or even higher. So source suggest for IBS-C you may to get up to 50-60 grams per days of dietary fiber from your diet. Taking 2 teaspoons of Benefiber three times a day only gives you an additional 10.5 grams from SFS.
You don't have to be stuck with Oat Bran and Applesauce. If you think oat bran is good for you then buy pure oat bran add a small amount (1/4/-1/2 teaspoon) to regular oatmeal and add berries or banana.
Add more probiotic is not likely to gain you a significant improvement. And Jarro-dophillus while it is a good general probiotic it has not been shown to be effective for IBS.
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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Naturopanic,
When I have the Bran Buds for breakfast, I always add some kind of protein, or I would be hungry like you, an hour later. Protein seems to regulate my blood sugar. Can you tolerate egg whites? Sometimes too many carbs for breakfast without some kind of lean protein, will cause you to be hungry an hour later. I don't think you will have to eat this kind of breakfast for the rest of your life. Obviously, your emotionally upset about it, so that alone is not helping the IBS. When I have the Bran Buds, I look forward to whatever I will have after them. They taste nasty too, but they do help me very much with the C.
So, are you saying only frozen spinach will help you go to the bathroom? You know fresh baby spinach is very good, and you can combine that in soups or stews. There are ways to doctor up the spinach so that it tastes better to you. I take it that maybe you don't cook? There are many spinach recipes out there, if you are willing to try.
And lastly, SFS have never helped me, but that is just me. I also find that if I do too many white carbs like bread, pasta, rices, etc., I become plugged up. So, as far as the Benefiber, I can't answer that since I do not use SFS. Have you tried eating more IF?
I do take a probiotic as you do. I tried Align for a brief period of time, and it was pretty much useless. I went back to OTC Digestive Advantage and that helps tremendously with the bloating.
And I don't mean to sound rude, but IBS is unfair as you say, however you have to make the best of it. Attitude is half the battle. We sound alot alike in how our bodies process foods. Do you work on other aspects such as exercise, hypnosis, meditation, etc? All of these help the mind and attitude. That is much more the issue for me than the food.
I hope this helps some and believe me I do know and share your discomfort.
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