Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hang in there!

Proceed just as Syl replied (you'll generally find that his replies are always the most useful whatever problem you may have).

Read about the FODMAPs in his signature (or mine)
and there's the EFI rules (this website expounds on all that really well):
-more soluble fibre than insoluble fibre per meals
-no alcohol
-no caffeine
-reduce fat percentage of food.

If I were you I'd try a v basic diet to start with to get you stable and then add other foods ONE BY ONE to see if you do alright with them.
-carbs: porridge, boiled/baked potatoes, cooled rice, cooked carrots, cooked marrow/courgettes, smooth orange juice, baked peppers
-protein: grilled chicken breast/ white fish, prawns, canned tuna
-fat: salmon, olive oil

these are some of the v basic foodstuffs that are unlikely to negatively affect your IBS and eating these will still get you most vitamins and minerals you need. If you were to eat these only for a while you may find your symptoms abating and then is the time to experiment.

Syl for instance can have bread and pasta (wheat, fructans) and I can't. I am not as sensitive to fructose as he is on the other hand. He has to be incredibly careful with the amount of insoluble fibre, I can get away with more. He can be more liberal with the fat per meals (or fat overall in the day), for me it is absolutely essential to have a maximum of 25% of kcal coming from fat within ANY ONE meal, which is v difficult but doable. 1g fat has 9kcal, 1g carb 4, 1g protein 4. often requires a bit of Maths.

This is two random individuals that I happen to know about, but we are all different. You have to experiment for yourself. When I started I knew nothing about food (or cooking or calories or digestion) and now I'm much more of an expert even with a humanities background, it's easy and fun to learn. I v much trust science now and I used to wrongly believe/assume only that it was certain foods that set me off sometime and I do fine with them other times. I don't think that's the case anymore. While some people with IBS (or indeed healthy people too) will be adversely affected digestion-wise if under stress (ask how many normal people have diarrhoea before a big job interview), the fate of most that suffer from IBS will be determined by what food they eat. I have been known for my volatile moods and not coping with stress well, yet my IBS symptoms didn't flare as long as I ate the right foods. It's science. Some foods will be a trigger for you that may not be for me, but they rarely change, ie it's not that I can eat bread on Wednesdays but not next Friday. I can't really eat bread anytime. If you are sensitive to fructose, an apple will always negatively affect you. If you can't tolerate dairy products, they will always cause some sort of problem. As you may have noticed, there may be a delay in the symptoms but they're always there.

IBS basically means having a sensitive digestive system, but it's pretty much always sensitive and there's no real good or bad days so that you can eat as you like on good or have to limit everything on bad.

There's hypnosis, which has helped some people and there's various probiotics (pls list them Syl) that may help. VSL3 helped me a lot but I can't afford it long-term so I am back to eating according to my rules and using a fibre supplement for insoluble fibre.

Best of luck, it's not easy, we've all had our fair share of frustration but you'll get there!

--------------------
now: stable through EFI+FODMAP dieting (no lactose/no fructose/some fructans and some polyols)

before: IBS-D(pseudo-diarrhoea), bloating, often unbearable pain esp from too much fat: Apr 2007- Dec 2010

FODMAPs: http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/072710p30.shtml

[I've tried VSL#3 -> I could tolerate v good amounts of IF (even with less SF), it worked great (but overall I find it too expensive)]

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