Food diary analysis -- how to determine my own triggers?
#59294 - 04/08/04 02:58 PM
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So I have been keeping a detailed food journal (including a journal of stomach activity and BMs) for over 2 weeks now, but I still can't identify my triggers. Is this something that just takes more time? Or, with my delayed reactions, will I never be able to know for sure that something is a trigger?
I'm tempted to start posting my food journal here for the benefit of the group's analysis but I am a little too self-conscious about sharing TMI.
I am realizing also that I am in denial still -- I keep thinking that I am doing this special diet temporarily so that I can determine triggers and then I can go back to eating 90% of the things I used to eat (including steak and butter and alcohol). I soooo want this to be true. This isn't realistic, is it?
- Discouraged in Seattle 
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Awww - it's really not. Well, I admit I can still have some wine (or a margarita) here or there, but I try to stay away from the other stuff.
Have you tried breaking the cycle till you get stable, then slowly adding things back in? Maybe that could help you identify triggers? I've never tried keeping a journal myself, so I'm not sure if that would help you or not.
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Yeah, you need to look and see if there are any patterns. Specific foods that you eat before you get sick (even if its the day before). This can be hard if you eat the same thing every day... so you might need to try taking things out and seeing if that does anything.
And I don't think you'll ever be able to eat whatever you want without thinking about it again, but you might get to a point where you can have a bite of something now and again. Or you might find other recipes that you like just as much. 
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your diet will change for life to a point for certain, and yes it takes time to emotionally accept that. but even though the thought of it might kill, the reality of it is much easier. it feels so good to feel better, that not eating certain things (esp when you have replaced them with other yummy things) is a small sacrifice. it also helps me, since I am so interested in health, to know that the things I am cutting out because of ibs are those that have such a bad reputation with reference to overall health and serious diseases. i feel self respect for taking care of myself. the trick for me is to learn to cook and treat myself and present my food nicely, as opposed to eating bland rice out of a foil container and munching on a carrot stick. so many times people have been jealous of my meal because I make it looks so appetising!
the best way for me to notice my own triggers is to first go on a diet soooo bland without any known triggers for a while and then introduce foods and watch what happens!
good luck!
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Feel the fear, and do it anyway
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Probably not the butter and definately not the alcohol but I eat steak with no problem. 
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pearlmaj,
I have the SAME problem as you!! It is so hard and frustrating for me to figure out what makes my stomach hurt! I mean, I used to drink a gallon of milk every week (to use with cereal),and some days I never had a stomach ache, but other days I did. So if it's really the dairy, wouldn't I have had a stomache ache every day??? I drank lots of milk every day (think 4 cups maybe).
So, yes, I feel your frustration. It is so frustrating to know exactly. Plus, for me at least, I never notice an immediate reaction right after eating any one thing. Sometimes I'll get a stomach ache first thing in the morning, when I haven't eaten anything in like 14 hours!! So is this just a delayed reaction??
I wish that everything we ate affected us RIGHT away so we would KNOW that it was a no-no for us, don't you??
Very frustrating!!!  
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"Love isn't love, until you give it away!"
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Quote:
pearlmaj,
I have the SAME problem as you!! It is so hard and frustrating for me to figure out what makes my stomach hurt! I mean, I used to drink a gallon of milk every week (to use with cereal),and some days I never had a stomach ache, but other days I did. So if it's really the dairy, wouldn't I have had a stomache ache every day??? I drank lots of milk every day (think 4 cups maybe).
So, yes, I feel your frustration. It is so frustrating to know exactly. Plus, for me at least, I never notice an immediate reaction right after eating any one thing. Sometimes I'll get a stomach ache first thing in the morning, when I haven't eaten anything in like 14 hours!! So is this just a delayed reaction??
I wish that everything we ate affected us RIGHT away so we would KNOW that it was a no-no for us, don't you??
Very frustrating!!!
EXACTLY! Before going on this IBS diet, I used to eat Mexican food -- I can recall eating it two nights in a row, and having no problem the SECOND night! And from childhood through college, I drank a big glass of milk with dinner every night.
There are three things I know are triggers for me, though -- the results are too consistent, and are much more immediate for these things, or I would never have known: (i) a bowl of ice cream, (ii) goat cheese, (iii) dark meat chicken (this one was highlighted for me by an allergist I saw a few years ago when I did a food diary for him -- too bad it is the only kind of chicken I really like ). Oh yeah, and too much beer! But I think that is pretty common for most people -- a college friend called the results "beer bowels" (sorry if too gross --  ).
I already did the no dairy thing for 2 weeks back in grad school, and noticed no difference when I went back on (in other words, I had some problems during those 2 weeks and I had some problems after, too). I guess all that means is dairy could be one of many triggers, as I did not do an elimination diet at that time.
Now I am pretty much on an elimination diet but I still can't tell! I keep having D anyway -- but I only have BMs every few days, so who knows what is causing it? If this is so hit and miss, I am tempted just to eat what I want!! But then I remember why I started this diet in the first place and I can't help thinking that if I can just figure out my triggers... I am making myself crazy with this.
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pearlmaj,
I totally understand. I feel as if everyone has found their triggers but me. Hopefully we will be able to understand more of our triggers in the future!
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I was diagnosed with ulerative colitis in at the end of February and was put on a lactose free, low residue/low fibre introduction diet (whew that's a long one).
What this means is I can't have any milk, lots of "white" food, no more than about 10g of fibre a day and I can only introduce one new food into my daily diet a day so I can see what reacts and what doesn't.
My dietician says that I will know in 2-4 hours how a food reacts to me.
I have learned that aspartame is a no no and that decaf tea is on the "watch" list (made me gassy and bloated - guessing it's the chemical they use to decafinate the tea).
In the end, I will have a list of food that are safe for me and a list of foods I need to avoid.
I know that IBS in not UC, but the common thread is that we are both searching for comfort and safety.
Hope this helps.
CityWoman
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CityWoman
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I keep a mental food diary of sorts...you just have to pay attention to the pattern of eating vs effect. I cut out mayo for a while just to see how I did..a couple of weeks later had a tuna salad sandwich and nearly keeled over from the pain. I noticed once that anything tomato based bothered me and out they went! It does take time but you will feel sooo much better when you work it all out.
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Trust me, pretty lady, when you get stable -- and you will -- you won't EVER want to go back to yucky foods. Trust me.
I started keeping a food journal 3 years ago -- and I still keep it. Yes, you'll know what mistakes you made once you understand the program. You have Heather's book(s)? Have you read it (them) at last once? Pretty soon it'll all sink in. The more you read in her book(s), and the more you read in the boards here, the more you'll understand it. Then when you look at your journal, you'll say to yourself, "Self, THERE's the culprit!"
Steak? STEAK? You mean the bloody, rotting carcass of a dead cow? EWWWWW!
Butter? You mean from an animal? Like disgusting, thick, gross, slimy FAT ? YUK!
Alcohol? You mean like Jack Daniels? Okay, Girl, I'm with ya now! I'm followin' ya. Yes, in answer to your question, yes, most definitely yes. Once you get stable, you can have a Jack, sure. Just one though, and only after you've had a soluble fiber -- like a slice of French bread, for instance. And also have another slice WITH the Jack. You'll be fine. But remember, only one.
Yeah, Jack. Oh yeah......
P.S.: Here's something that might encourage you a little: Remission Story
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
Edited by Bevrs (04/09/04 01:03 PM)
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Quote:
...I can only introduce one new food into my daily diet a day so I can see what reacts and what doesn't.
My dietician says that I will know in 2-4 hours how a food reacts to me.
I have learned that aspartame is a no no and that decaf tea is on the "watch" list (made me gassy and bloated - guessing it's the chemical they use to decafinate the tea).
Wow -- 2-4 hours??  I get bloated after every single thing I eat, so I guess that happens within 2-4 hours, but bloating is my least bothersome symptom. I certainly don't get reactions within 2-4 hours in terms of D.
I am really curious about the rule that you can only intro one new food a day -- can you give me an example of what you ate at first, and what you started adding in?
thanks!
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Quote:
I keep a mental food diary of sorts...you just have to pay attention to the pattern of eating vs effect. I cut out mayo for a while just to see how I did..a couple of weeks later had a tuna salad sandwich and nearly keeled over from the pain. I noticed once that anything tomato based bothered me and out they went! It does take time but you will feel sooo much better when you work it all out.
So you had pain right away from the mayo when you ate the sandwich? My body has not operated like that -- I wish there were a more clear cause and effect.
Re tomatoes, I learned to skip those (unless they are of awesome quality in which case maybe they are worth it) because of physical evidence that I wasn't processing them (the skin didn't get processed, if you catch my drift). I also don't eat things with tomato sauce, but that's because it gives me acid reflux (rather than an IBS reason), which is why I also don't drink orange juice.
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Steak? STEAK? You mean the bloody, rotting carcass of a dead cow?
Yum, Yum, YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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P.S.: Here's something that might encourage you a little: Remission Story
Yes, that's just like a co-worker here -- she eats frequently, exercises, and avoids red meat, and she's been fine for 10 years. She's lucky though -- she can tolerate dairy (it's her fault I am holding onto hope that I'll be able to add back in 90% of the things I've cut out  ).
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When I was in hospital I was able to start my diet based on the foods that they gave me, so I had a baseline of safe foods (included peanut butter, Shreddies, CoffeeRich, jam, pork, ground beef, turkey, green beans, white rice, no-name whole wheat bread...etc.). When I met with the nutritionist/dietician before I was released, she cautioned to stick with what I know and only add one new item to my diet per day so I knew how it would react.
I wrote down every new food and created a NO NO list, a WATCH list and a SAFE list. WATCH was for the foods I wasn't sure about and should try again much later (like the night I ate way too many Jube Jubes and got bloated - I can now have a few Jube Jubes).
I still keep my list and probably will continue to do so. There are foods that I have to stay away from such as anything with a seed or hull and for some weird reason decaf tea is bloating me. So, it's on the watch list.
So, along with learning to cope with UC, I am also coping with learning to eat again.
Plus, this prednisone makes me hungry all the time and I crave sweets (candy) like mad. I know, however, that as my dose of steroids go down so will my symptoms.
My specialist told me that my "new life" is one day at a time and she is so very right.
But, I'm embrassing this disease and realise that my "new life" isn't quite so bad.
If you want anything else, just let me know. I'll try to help where I can.
CityWoman
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CityWoman
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Thanks, CW -- I am going to try to copy you on the "safe," "no no," and "watch" list concepts. As far as I can tell however, EVERYTHING makes me bloated, so I will be basing my lists only on any resulting D. For now, everything is in the "watch" list still!!
And what are Shreddies and CoffeeRich? Canadian things?
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Yes, guess so, never thought about it. Shreddies is a cereal and CoffeeRich is a non-dairy creamer which I use in my coffee and on my cereal.
Glad I could help.
CityWoman
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CityWoman
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You are too cute!
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Feel the fear, and do it anyway
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You are not the only one, aspartame totally messes with my stomach too. Yesterday, I was doing great and then it went downhill, and I think it was because I had lots of Crystal LIght drink, and a slurpee. This was too much for me. I knew that it might, but I really wanted that slurpee
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I tried the journal route too.........did not much more than confuse me..........till I found out that it's not so much what I ate as what I drank......Steak and alcohol are not triggers for me....turns out that my condition is really triggered by Dietary Fructose Intolerance.........particularly High Fructose Corn Syrup from all the quarts and quarts of bottled Iced Tea and apple juice that I drank heavily to keep myself hydrated while working in the field building New Bay Bridge.........Try this site: http://www.uihc.uiowa.edu/FRUCTOSE/index.htm
Nancy Craft is a wonderful and responsive nutritionist....
Hang in there, young Lady........
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Hi, I'm new here, but I'm not new to IBS. I was diagnosed 15 years ago. I don't think it is unrealistic for you to hope that there will be a time you can add back in some of those foods you're avoiding right now. When I was first diagnosed, my IBS was so bad that it sent me to the emergency room one time. I was sick 4 days out of the week. I began taking psyllium husk and gradually began to improve. Over the past 12 years or so IBS has only been an occassional, mild annoyance. Maybe a flare up a couple times a year. There have been a few years I haven't had any problems at all. AND then out of the blue about one month ago, it came back with a vengeance. So the good news is you can go into "remission", but it can also come back!
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Quote:
turns out that my condition is really triggered by Dietary Fructose Intolerance
Wow, every day I learn about something new for which I should get tested! Tomorrow I am having an ultrasound on my gall bladder -- I'll ask my doc about DFI when I see him. Thanks so much.
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People can have both, but most commonly FI is misdiagnosed as IBS. If you just have FI, and not IBS, you'll just have to eliminate fructose from your diet and that should make you pretty much all better. Folks with IBS can have trouble with too much fructose (as fructose can cause GI problems for people who don't even have IBS, or a fructose intolerance - it is truly that hard to digest). But if fructose, and only fructose, triggers your symptoms, that points to FI and not IBS at all.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Phooey -- I have always noticed a correlation between a meal at McDonald's or Ivar's and D -- so that suggests the fructose thing is not my problem.
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