Need Help Confused - Heather and Everyone
#8229 - 05/04/03 08:55 AM
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bikingmom
Reged: 05/04/03
Posts: 15
Loc: North Dakota
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Hi everyone. I just started the program a couple of weeks ago. I have been suffering with IBS forever I think but it has steadily gotten worse the last couple of years to the point where I have constant pain under my left sided rib cage and nausea. I get attacks of extreme vomiting and pain that just totally debillitate me. I've had all the testing done and I have now been started on Zelnorm and it has taken a majority of my pain away which is absolutely wonderful!!!!!!
I have been a candida diet (thinking this was the problem of my pain) for the past two years and am having trouble switching over to this new diet. I have been following the guidelines but find that my body doesn't seem to agree with the foods anymore. I have developed canker sores and my teeth hurt whenever I eat the french bread. I don't know if this is a reaction to having yeast again since I have been yeast free for the last couple of years or what. Plus I have been so extremely tired that I can hardly keep myself awake which is so incredibly unusual for me and have a hard time getting out of bed. I just feel blah...
I am just so confused because I want to rid myself of the pain and nausea on my own and eventually wean myself off the medication with the diet. I have been doing the peppermint tea and taking my supplements and sticking to the basics of the diet but just feel so crappy and need some advice please!!!!! I'm confused if I'm making the right changes in my diet or what?!?!?! Thank you!!!
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Hi! Welcome to the board. I think any major change in diet is going to come as a bit of a shock to your body, especially if you were on a restricted diet before. You could just leave out the bread for now, and go for other safe staple foods like rice, oatmeal, pasta and cornmeal.Are you taking a soluble fiber supplement? This should help as well.
I'm sure lots of other people will chip in with more advice that I can think of right now, everyone is very supportive so keep posting.
Sarah 
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Sarah
Looking for inspiration...
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Bikingmom: I have the same problem but with different foods. I can't tolerate high carbohydrate foods any longer. So foods like pasta and potato are out, which are some of the main items for the IBS diet. Try taking off the crust of the bread and maybe eating it like a bread pudding. There's a recipe somewhere on here for it, click on the search tab and you can find it. I don't eat much bread because of the high carb content and I'm doing fine with the diet. Just accomodate it to your own body, we all process foods differently. There are a lot of choices, find the right fit for you. As for the canker sores, that's odd. Maybe someone here can help out on that one.
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Bikingmom,
Hi! Welcome to the board!!! Wow, canker soars...ouch!  Which tests have you had done (I know you mentioned you've had tons of testing done)? I'm not so sure that canker soars from bread is normal...could you have an allergy to something you're eating? Did you always get soars from these foods or is this something new? Have you noticed other symptoms like itching or spots on your skin? I'm sure Heather can give you some ideas as to what might be going on...I'm just concerned that there might be somehting else to consider?
I agree with everyone else's comments...I would try rice as a starter. See how that does for you. Also, there's something out there called Quinoa, you might look into that (it's lower in carbs I believe).
I wish you lotsa luck! I hope you're feeling better soon! Keep posting! (((hugs)))
Ruchie
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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I agree with Sarah. Just take it alittle bit at a time. When I first tried Heathers diet, and consumed more soluble fiber then I ever did before, I got gas to no end! But luckily, my body adjusted to the fiber change, and it worked out for all the better 
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-Angela
Healed in Jesus' Name
Edited by ConcreteAngel (05/04/03 12:14 PM)
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Hi,
I agree with what everyone else has said and it does take time to adjust to any change in diet. I would definately do it gradually.
Are you increasing the fiber supps gradually too?
Best of luck!
Kerrie
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What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
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Thanks everyone for your posts. No have really never had canker sores before and when I have they went away within a couple of days. It has been a week now and it is finally going away... I think?! Just seems strange. The fatigue and nausea are what is getting me along with my teeth hurting, sore throat and the headache also when I eat. Very frustrating. I can tell it is a reaction to something of some type.
I have had the colonoscopy, ultrasounds abdomen, CT abdomen and pelvis, blood work, fecal fat testing, etc. Everything has been negative which is incredibly wonderful as I was so worried as the pain is so intense. I was tested for candida and found to have an overgrowth but while on that program my pain, nausea and attacks only became worse and so figured it was time to try something different. It was so hard to go on that diet as it is very restricting but just not helping my pain which is so extremely painful.
It is hard switching to an all new eating pattern after having worked so hard to change my diet before so I question everything I'm doing and get nervous as nothing is seeming to help as of yet. I'll definitely continue on but was wondering if any of this is normal to start out with or not. I just feel like not eating at all anymore as everything seems to be a trigger....
Tami
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Tami - I've never heard of any of those symptoms (canker sores, teeth hurting, sore throat, headache) for IBS, or switching to IBS diet. In your testing, have you tried allergy tests?
Oh, and welcome to the boards also! 
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Hi there - I'd call your doc to make sure you've been checked for celiac. You could have skin reactions to gluten (which is in wheat) as well as GI symptoms close to IBS if you have celiac. If that's not the case, it may simply be an adjustment as everyone has said.
Do try rice, which tends to be very well tolerated. It sounds like you're starting to improve a bit from your other post, so that's encouraging. Please do ask any other questions you have.
Also -there were some past threads on the candida/IBS theory with a lot of info if you're interested. Here's a post from a whole candida thread
Welcome to the board!
Best,
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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Thanks Heather and yes I have been tested for celiac a couple of times already. Maybe it is just a reaction to the different diet. I just worked so hard on my previous diet and am scared to go backwards again and am hoping that I am making the right decision but I am willing give it a try. Anything to help my symptoms!!!!!
I have really been dealing with nausea today and I have to admit that I am very scared to eat but I know I need to. I am a very active road cyclist and so I need my food to keep me going. The only thing that scares me is that the last few bike trips I have gone on I have gotten extremely sick from the IBS with extreme pain, nausea and vomiting. The last time I had to have the ambulance called in and I leave in another month and am scared it my happen again.
Is it possible that my body is just thrown off balance so bad when I go on these trips and am exerting my body so much? I bike approximately 500+ miles in a week. I am hoping this diet will help turn my life around so I don't have to deal with these episodes and this nausea on a day to day basis. Any advice for my biking?
Thanks,
Tami
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Sorry to butt in here but have you tried ginger tea for your nausea? I haven't read the other responses so maybe this was shared already. It's been real helpful to me, I get nauseous after bad spells and it is one of the things that makes it hard for me to get eating right again. The ginger tea is great, more helpful (to me personally) than tablets or other forms, and I found it in the grocery store with other herbal teas & such. Good luck!
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
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I have a question...since you don't eat high carb foods any longer, do u still eat rice? I've been on the low carb diet for about 9 months and started the IBS diet...now when I eat carbs I get a slight headache. Don't know if this is because of the switch or because I don't do well with carbs. What else have you eaten on your diet that seems to work, if you don't mind me asking???
Thanks
Sue
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You can also get crystallized ginger to snack on to prevent or alleviate nausea.
You may want to ease up on the physical activity until your body adjusts to the dietary changes and you're stabilized. Exercise is always good for the GI tract, but if you're weak and tired from all the awful symptoms you've been dealing with you may just not be up to strenuous physical exertion. Can you scale back on the intensity, speed, and/or duration of your biking? Staying active is a good idea, but really hard training when you're not feeling well to begin with could just make everything worse.
Best,
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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Sue, I notice for me the only foods that I don't have too much trouble with are potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice cakes and brown rice. I hadn't been doing a lot of rice but I think I will start to get into it again. I really miss bread though and don't seem to have too much of a problem with potato bread but I have to admit that I feel guilty eating the yeast since it has been a couple of years since I have had any.
After reading everyone else's posts I think I just might be reacting to the yeast and sugar since I have had so little of it. I think if I eat too much of anything the nausea comes on but then again it is always there so it is hard to tell at times.
Are there any other symptoms at all that you experience with the high carbs??? I told my husband tonight that I may have to pick one food and stick with it and see what I am reacting to and slowly reintroduce. I don't know if I can do it though....
Tami
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I have to tell you Heather that the biking is what keeps me sane most days. It is my stress release!!!! It is funny because the last few years when I have gone on my bike trips I have felt pretty good with no pain and in fact this is how I first developed my first acute attack was on a bike trip with no symptoms beforehand. I had no idea what was going on and the next morning I was able to bike it out of my system.
The biking does seem to help me and I admit that I exercise an awful lot putting on around 200 miles a week and a lot more in the summer but when I am feeling tough I do back off but it has just progressively been getting worse and worse and worse no matter what I seem to do.
The candida diet obviously didn't help so now I need to focus on this one. Like the doctor told me... I guess I'm just a mystery!!!!
Tami
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Tami,
I know you've been tested for Celiac...but you sound just like me and I might very well have it! Which fiber supplement do you take? I might try eliminating gluten from your diet for several weeks just to be sure. It can't hurt! You'll feel SO MUCH BETTER if it's the culprit! Eating gluten free is not just about bread and eliminating pasta though--one speck of gluten is a problem. I can help you with the diet if you decide to try it...so let me know what you decide to do. I know it's not fun--but it's worth it to feel better! Either way, I'm here...and I hope you feel better soon! Take care, feel good!
(((hugs)))
Ruchie
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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Sue, I'm happy to answer! The more each one of us answer questions, the more the others learn about their own situation. For some reason I can eat rice. Potatoes and pasta I cannot though. Within minutes of eating potatoes the gas and horrible pains start. I don't understand why it's selective, but it shows me that every body is so different in the way it processes foods. It's a hit and miss process. Soy also bothers me as does MSG, prune based items and Guar Gum. Too much wheat gives me headaches. My main diet consists of roasted chicken (thank goodness for the supermarket roasted chickens...lol), fish, rice, applesauce, rice milk, veggies, fruits and some wheat free baked items. I keep waiting for all of my triggers to add up to one common denominator, but they won't. I really miss potatoes, they're an easy to find soluble fiber while eating out. I believe everyone is so different that each person has to try things out for themselves, trial and error, and food diary......lol. Karin
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Hi Ruchie and thanks so much for your response!! I am doing Metamucil now although I have to admit I'm not very faithful. I guess I am just at that frustrated point and should really stick to it. Can I ask you what your symptoms of gluten sensitivity all are?? Were you tested? I am interested in absolutely anything that will make me feel better. This whole process is very hard.
For dinner today I ate some pasta and some bread and did get nauseated again afterwards but then this morning I ate some carrots and also had the nausea after that. That is why it is also so confusing... I think it is just absolutely anything I put into my mouth at this point. I did try some ginger pills this morning though and they seemed to work at least until the next meal....
What kinds of foods do you eat??
Tami
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Karin,
If you miss pasta, I have found rice noodles in a few of the grocery stores that I visit. (I saw you could eat rice but not pasta).
Too bad there are no rice-potatos...
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-h2
"Soluble fiber not included."
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H2: I can eat some rice pasta, I've found Thai Kitchen soups and noodles that are excellent. They're kind of like Top Ramen, but less the fat, the wheat noodles and MSG. They're nice to have around for when I don't have anything else to eat and they taste great. I'll pick up some rice noodles for pasta and try them, I'd sure like to know why I can eat rice and not potatoes! I've also re-discovered Rutabagas, not too many people eat those anymore. They're high in soluble fiber and low in carbs, they taste great too! I add some rice milk and the fake butter spray, salt and pepper. Just allow a lot of time for cooking, they take a lot longer than potatoes do.
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Hi - Do you have a problem with eggplant and peppers? I'm wondering if you're sensitive to foods in the nightshade family. Some people are - it's not related to IBS, but sort of akin to have an allergy. You may have that along with the IBS. That would explain the potato reaction...
- 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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Tami,
I can TOTALY relate to everything you put in your mouth being a trigger. Since going gluten free, though, I see improvements.
I was just eating potatoes for about a week. Now I add one more food onto that per day. I have lists upon lists that I've gotten from various webcites citing which foods are gluten free/safe and which are not. Yesterday I added Kasha to my repetoire, today mashed carrots, and tomorrow plain white rice. The difficulty I am having is low nutrtion right now, so I take Ensure, which upsets my stomach. So it's tough to put things in my tummy when it's already upset and trying to figure out if carrots are a safety food! I say start the GF diet now. If you do it BEFORE you have nutrition problems it will make life MUCH easier for you!
On speck of gluten can ruin the whole test! Make sure you keep utensils and your counter top (and microwave/conventional over VERY CLEAN). Go through the lists of what to eat and what not to eat, go to Celiac.com for the lists, and be sure to stay GF! They also have a list of medicines that are GF, cosmetics, and even toothpastes!  I'm not saying this easy...it's definately not! But, we can do it togehter! I'm not having fun eating next to nothing and taking Ensure to stay afloat--but I know it won't be this way forever. Some day I will be able to eat what I need nutritionaly--and it will feel GREAT--especially because I'll be pain free!!!!
If there's ANYTHING I can do to help you out--I'm here! If the info. for celiac gets overwhelming, write me and I promise I will write you back! I wish you luck and strenghth...you can do it! Feel good, take care, and Happy Tuesday!
(((((hugs)))))
Ruchie
P.S. Citrucel has gluten in it. If you decide to go gluten free, benefiber is gluten free!!!!
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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Hi Ruchie - You may have better luck with Boost. Neither Boost nor Ensure are really IBS safe, and I don't know if Boost has gluten in it, but it's another option maybe.
- 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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Heather,
Thanks! I'll check Boost out! I think my hubby said he got me Ensure because it has all the nutrients in it--do you happen to know off hand if Boost gives similair results--or is boost just to give you protein? Thanks Heather!!! I really appreciate it (((hugs)))
Ruchie
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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This may be a little late, since I am a little behind on everyone elses postings. As far as the canker sores, I get them quit frequently. And they are soo miserable! I have pretty much summed up that I get them when I am either stressed or not eating right. Which in turn is a result from stress. I have not found a cure for them yet. There are a few things that you can try for them. First you can gargle with peroxide, which I know sounds a little crazy, but it helps alittle. Just be sure not to swallow any of it. And second, Rembrandt has this newer toothpaste out that are for I believe the prevention of canker sores. I have been meaning to pick some up, but have not gotten around to it yet. Hope one of these help!
Stacey
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I've had a horrible canker sore for the past week and was surfing the internet on ways to get rid of them. While searching, I came upon an intersting article from iVillage.com that says there is an association between oral ulcers (which is what canker sores are) and other intestinal diseases, and that they are frequently seen in Crohn's disease.
I was wondering since IBS is similar to Crohn's disease if they are frequent with IBS too. I have about one or two every couple months, which is more frequent than I had before my IBS began. I did a search and found one or two people with canker sores, but was wondering if anyone else has found this a reaccuring problem?
Here's the link to the article, btw: web page
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- Jennifer
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Hi - you should have no worries here. Mouth sores can occur with Crohn's because that is an inflammatory disease of the entire GI tract, from mouth to anus. This is completely different than garden variety canker sores, and also from IBS (which is not an inflammatory disease, but a specific bowel dysfunction).
But - if you notice recurrent canker sores, especially in assocation with bowel problems, running a fever, joint pain, diarrhea in the middle of the night - then please see a GI doc to make sure that you haven't been misdiagnosed with IBS when Crohn's (or celiac) might actually be a possibility.
- H
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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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Oh.. no, I wasn't worried that I had Crohn's, just found that article interesting and wondered if it could be true for IBSer's too. But thanks for the info!
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- Jennifer
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heres what you could put on your canker sore. alovera juice it tastes like water and looks like water. you gargle with each day and the canker soar disapperas. this alovera juice is found in health stores.
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ive had ibs for 8 years now. im learning alot on this web board. thanks again everyone
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Also - you can just gargle with salt water. Be very liberal with salt into warm water. Stir it up and gargle, brush your teeth and go to bed. In the morning it should have decreased. You may want to try it again in the morning.
Sometimes if they are really bad I will rinse quite a few times in a night.
Hope this helps,
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Lana_Marie
Proud Mommy to Bentley Taylor
Born May 12, 2004 9lbs, 3oz
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Hi there~ 3 out of 4 of us in our little family suffer from these annoying little things. I would have to disagree with the salt theory, for us, anyway... salt completely irritates them for us. The best medicine I have found is Kank-A. They sell it at any drug store or you can order it on the net. Kank-A most recently developed a pen-type applicator with a brush on the end of it. Much easier to use than their little bottle with the wand. It tastes like $h#@, but it's by far, the best. You should see results and decrease in irritation overnight. Continue it at least at night, if not more, for a few days and you will be rid of your pesty sore. Our dentist explained that if you have soft-tissue sores (that is, on the inner-cheeks, etc.) then the meds are good... also completely avoid any toothpaste or other product containing "sodium laurel sulfate". Once I took my son off of the regular toothpaste and purchased the "Biotene" paste (no s.l.sulfate), he hasn't had ONE reoccur. His were so severe that they would bleed and become like little volcanos. Poor baby. But, he's fine now and I believe that the toothpaste was the best change. You can also take Llysine (sp?) as a dietary supplement.
Good luck and I hope you find relief soon~
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~Deborah
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correction, it tastes like "medicine"..
Laughing out loud here upon reviewing my last post (WITHOUT the edit option)
A bit embarrassed, *blush*
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~Deborah
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Hi Biking Mom!!
My daughter's main symptom for her gastro problem is nausea...
I would like to connect with you on this part of your post.
It would be great to share some email with you if you don't mind.. Please feel free to contact me @ FREE2BDEE@aol.com
Thank you so much!
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~Deborah
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