Timing?
#92347 - 07/22/04 02:03 PM
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ptillen
Reged: 06/27/04
Posts: 406
Loc: Milwaukee WI
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Hello friends... Here are a couple of questions I hope you can give me some input with.
After a very virtuous and fairly stable week, I went out to dinner this past Sunday night at an Italian restaurant. I know, bad idea, but everyone in the group had received gift cards, so there really wasn't any way to suggest going somewhere else. I thought I could keep things under control by having tiny portions, but it didn't work. By Monday I was horribly bloated (along with the big C, my main symptom and such as enjoyable one, don't you agree?) 
Well, after that I kinda threw caution to the wind. I think I was having a combination of "if I'm gonna serve the time I may as well commit the crime"-thinking, and some frustration over becoming acclimated to this new set of dietary guidelines. To tell you the truth, I've been feeling kinda "poor me, I'll never get to eat anything nice ever again."
So I took some chances to see what I could get away with, and the results have not been good. I've been terribly bloated, with no relief even in the morning. Yuk!
Well, so today it's back to square one, the what-to-eat-when-you-can't-etc-etc diet, and today the symptoms are rather different. I instantly inflate after eating anything, even as innocuous as a bowl of Cheerios or a few spoonsful of rice, then after a few hours and a lot of fennel, charcoal, and Mylanta, I pass a lot of gas and de-bloat somewhat. (Sorry, kinda icky, I know)
OK, all that is in the way of asking this: what has your personal observation been regarding "turnaround time" between eating a trigger and experiencing symptoms, especially the dreaded bloat, how soon do you suffer AND how long? And then after you climb back on the dietary wagon, how soon before you expect some relief/ stabilization?
Of course, I know everybody's body's different, but I 'm just hoping to get a ballpark guesstimate. Thanks for taking the time, everyone.
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Hi,
Don't you think the psychological factors behind following the diet are interesting? I sure do! I hope that you get relief really soon and are then ready to *really* commit to the IBS diet.
Bloating is not my primary symptom, but if I'm going to get bloaty and gassy, it usually happens within about three hours of eating the offender. Sometimes it's immediate and sometimes there's a delay. In terms of BMs, my body likes to go every morning, and I seem to be eliminating at that point the stuff I had the day before.
I hope this helps!
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Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
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Re: Timing?
#92420 - 07/22/04 07:14 PM
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ptillen
Reged: 06/27/04
Posts: 406
Loc: Milwaukee WI
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Yes, the "head games" are both the most fascinating and the most exasperating part. Paradoxically, when you're in the midst of some bad symptoms, that's when you tend to get most anxious... and of course that's when you most need to be un-anxious.
I didn't mean to say I was unready to commit, I guess what I was really doing was experimenting. I'm the kind of person who would do a lot better with this diet if someone could just tell me a set of very concrete rules. But of course, bodies aren't like that... so I was trying to add some things into the mix that could concievably have been OK... like a turkey sandwich, or baked chips and salsa. Both of which are on the IBS diet's list of OK things to eat, but not on my list of OK things to eat, not just yet anyway. Well, I'll keep trial-and-erroring.
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Yuk, you poor thing. I also suffer from C and gas/bloating/pain. I tolerate a lot of foods but it has been trial and error over a long period of time. My main #1 trigger is eating too much at one time. I tend to do that when I eat Italian - everything tastes so yummy! What I do before I eat anything is eat plain bread or plain rice or plain potatoe. Anything else that is eaten afterwards is eaten in tiny quantities (1/3 of what a typical restaurant will serve). Be true to your own self is basically the name of this game. What are you willing to do to stay stable and be symptom free. Italian food isn't the bad thing - I eat it 3 times a week. There is lots to eat - yummy crusty bread warm from the oven, broiled chicken, pasta with a tiny drizzle of olive oil and garlic. I'm getting hungry already!
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Peace,
Tammy
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Re: Timing?
#92436 - 07/22/04 08:02 PM
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ptillen
Reged: 06/27/04
Posts: 406
Loc: Milwaukee WI
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Yeah, I agree in a big way with the portion size issue. I find again and again that that's the deciding factor. And I don't think it was so much the Italian part as the restaurant part. It's so hard to truly control what you're eating when someone else's doing the cooking.
I think I have a long road ahead in terms of the trial and error thing, and also in terms of the "to thine own self be true" thing (words to live by, huh?)  I mean, #$%^&$#! 
that fried calamari looked sooo good and I had what I thought was a tiny portion of it!
I'm finding it's taking several days to re-stabilize though. Is this to be expected?
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Quote:
I'm finding it's taking several days to re-stabilize though. Is this to be expected?
Yup - unfortunately it can take a couple days of eating just soluble fiber foods before your digestive system calms down. Mine typically takes 2-3 days.
Hope this helps,
- Jennifer
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- Jennifer
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Oh yeah...
#92763 - 07/24/04 09:35 AM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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After an attack, I've found it sometimes takes as long as a week before I'm feeling better again. Awful, but true.
Restaurants are killer, aren't they? It's kind of a bummer, but I NEVER eat in restaurants anymore. I just don't have the willpower. If I don't cave and eat something totally bad for me, then it's still a guarantee that I'm going to eat way too much - or vice versa. If the person sitting across from me is eating something I can't have, I'm STILL going to at least "try" it, and I almost always pay the price... so I can't put myself in those situations any more.
Anyway. I hope you're starting to feel better today!
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This is very useful input; many thanks.
I have also cut waaaay back on restaurant dining (one of my favorite things to do, waaah!), but did successfully visit a sushi place last night. Bowl of rice, some lovely sashimi, goma ae (insoluble fiber), and even a couple of pieces of spider roll. No ill effects. I guess that 12 oz ribeye steak and baker with sour cream will be out of the question though... 
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