Need Help
#94634 - 07/30/04 04:24 PM
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monkey
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 14
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I do all the things suggested and I still have horrible trouble with constipation and not being able to make normal bowel movements. It usually worsens too the point of severe pain. I've tried all the supplements, changing my diet, seeing many doctors and nothing helps. Since you are all experienced with this maybe you could lend some advice. Below is my regular diet, keep in mind I'm 6'4 male who works out regulrary and is looking to put on weight.
Breakfest-Orange Juice, Oatmeal, White Bagel w/natural seedless strawberry jelly, soy protien shake made with soy milk w/fiber supp and 2 tbs of flaxseed oil
Lunch-can of tuna or salmon, soy yogurt, banana, cup of apple sauce with fiber sup mxed in
Snack-piece of cold chicken on a white bagel, water with fiber supp
Dinner-baked chicken or fish, Vegetable-brown rice or carrots....or pasta with regular sauce
snack-oatmeal, 2 tbs flaxseed oil, fiber supp with water
I also throw in white bagels a lot for further snacks.
Please let me know what you think and how would you change/amend what I'm currently doing; I need help! Thanks in advance.
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There's nothing wrong with what you are eating, but you are missing an awful lot of fresh fruits and veggies and beans that you can safely add in. Try making fresh fruit smoothies, making veggie soups or pasta sauces, hummus and bean dips, and add these to the meals you've got going. Can you add some veggies to your sandwich at lunch? Add fresh fruit to your morning smoothie, or have a smoothie for dessert after dinner?
It's really important to not just drastically reduce insoluble fiber or eliminate it altogether - this is where HOW you eat can make a really big difference, and make insoluble fiber foods much more tolerable.
Check the IBS diet section for tons more info/ideas on this...
- 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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Re: Need Help
#94638 - 07/30/04 04:33 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I'm going to take a guess, from what you say you typically eat, and guess that you likely need to increase your insoluble fiber, safely. It seems to me like you're not getting a whole lot in the way of fruits and vegetables, and that could be the culprit. I'm sure someone else with a little more experience with constipation will come along and weigh in on this, though. 
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Heather,
Thanks so much for replying. I use to put Strawberry's and Blueberry's in my smoothie and that ended up making me sick. Anything with seeds doesn't go to well with me. Is there any fruits in particular that you would recommend? I use to eat bran cereal, should I go back to that? Nothing really seems to work so please advise, I've seen doctors and nutritionalist's and they never seem to come up with anything that helps. Furthermore, I only lose weight instead of gain it and I'm paying hyge amounts for a personal trainer get back up to a decent weight for me but my efforts are going by the wayside. I look forward to your response. Thanks again
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Thanks for the response, any special fruits would you suggest?
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Have you tried bananas?? Those work really well in smoothies! Also, papaya and/or mangoes!
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~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Edited by BeckyT (07/30/04 06:54 PM)
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I already have one a day but I guess I could have more, do they provide good fiber?
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I am impressed with your diet for a guy- it is very healthy. With your size though and wanting to gain weight I think you could eat a lot more. You could eat 2 or 3 sandwiches at lunch easily and snack all day, but I know when people are naturally thin sometimes they just can't eat that much. (You should see how much my 6'2 husband can pack in!  a whole pizza is nothing to him). Anyway my suggestions to add more insoluble fiber (and really you aren't getting enough veggies as it is) are to add some dried fruit to your oatmeal, that will hopefully not upset you like seeds will, and to add veggies at lunch like sprouts, spinach, seedless cucumber, tomato or whatever you like (lettuce seems to be a trigger for many people) and have several veggies at night. Then to add in more calories have bread with dinner and snack on lowfat cookies and the like whenever you can. Also try mangoes, papayas and avocadoes and see if you like them. Dried mangoes and papayas are very good and soluble fiber and good for you and have calories. Oh yeah and bagels are soluble fiber but I have never felt comfortable with them personally. Maybe since you eat so many it might be worth it to try some other bread product and see how that goes, yet I think they are the most caloric. Well if you can get anything out of this rambly post you are doing quite well!  Good luck!
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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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Re: Need Help
#94698 - 07/30/04 07:27 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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Unfortunately, a lot of it is trial and error... what works for me might not work for you, and there's no way to avoid the unpleasant effects if they don't... it's just part of the process, unfortunately!
I find that I can eat peaches, pineapple and pears with no problems. Canned seem to be a little easier to digest, and bonus - they work really good in smoothies because they're so soft. I can't eat apples, but you might try those as well - I think I've seen that people on here eat baked apples as a snack, that might be a tasty replacement for one of those bagels. And, as was already suggested, papayas and mangos are excellent as well. (But don't waste your time on canned mangos, they're awful!)
Don't just think of fruit for smoothies, though, either. I know I saw a recipe in the recipe index for chicken baked with apples, and one of my childhood favorites was chicken baked with canned peach halves and pineapple slices. Good stuff!
Vegetable-wise, I've found I can eat spinach and peas with no problems. I can also do broccoli, as long as it's cooked well. Carrots are good too.
That's just a few suggestions; I'm still in the process of adding insolubles back to my diet, too, so I might not be the best person to ask for suggestions. Still, hope that helped a little!
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Thanks for taking the time to try and help me out. I'm going to add a lot more fruit to my diet and see if that helps. Somehow I'm going to find a combination that works. I've had IBS for the last 5 years and it's pretty much ruined my life, I keep dropping weight instead of putting it on, I've lost a lot strength and I just plain don't feel good a lot of the time. Thanks again for your help, best of luck to you
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Thanks for the suggestions, I'll to incorperate more fruit into my diet. Apple's are not very good for me either, I'll try baking them to see how that goes. I'm going to try the canned fruit, seems like that would be easier on the stomach to digest and may just do the trick fiber wise. I hope this can finally get me on track. Thanks for taking the time to give me your advice, best of luck to you.
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Monkey, two things, has your doctor ever done a sitz marker test on you?
Comprehensive Overview of Constipation:
http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/comprehensive_overview.htm
and do you do any form of relaxation techniques?
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My website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com
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Would bran cereal in the morning be a good source of fiber? I use to have a lot of it every morning but then I found out it was bad so I quit, should I try it again in a moderate portion?
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No none of the Doctors I see have ever even mentioned it. It sounds interesting but I'm not sure what it's going to prove other than define the severity of my constipation. No relaxation techniques either, I'm a college student and not really stressed right now so I'm certain that isn't the problem.
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Personally I'd try it. Everyone is different. I sometimes have a bowl of cheerios and then a bowl of wheatier cereal and I do just fine but you never know what will bother specific people. Maybe try something like total and then move on to something more 'branny'.
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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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You're either going to laugh or think "no way!", but try baby food pureed fruits (I would skip the veggies, though - bleh!). I eat them sometimes as a snack (or part of a snack) on their own, and I also use them as toppings for pancakes and toast. Gerber makes one - a tropical fruit medley - that's especially tasty. Just a little something extra for flavor and a few calories.
Thanks, and good luck to you too!
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Post deleted by niceG3s
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--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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Paul,
Thanks for the advice, I'll check out the veggie fiber stuff. I think I'm going to give up the shake, I thought it wouldn't hurt because it's soy but it's causing definite problems. May I ask how you were able to put on all the muscle mass? I work out with a trainer as hard as I can but I spend so much time sick from IBS that any gains are quicky lost, every year I lose more weight and at this rate I think I'm going to be in trouble health wise if it continues. I've seen lots of doctors, no real help so far but I have more appointments coming up, they gave me pain medicine but it doesn't help that much either. Thanks again for taking the time to post.
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Thanks for the suggestion but I think I'll pass on the baby food; it's bad enough having fiber supps and such around but add baby food to that and people will really start to wonder.
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Post deleted by niceG3s
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But to gain that much you had to change your diet, how did you get that much protien and calories without your IBS bothering you? I agree that workouts don't bother my IBS but the diet sure does. Thanks again for your help.
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Bran
#94953 - 08/01/04 02:38 PM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Bran sounds scary. Why not try a wholewheat cereal to start with? Bran's a pretty harsh way of getting insoluble fibre!
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Bran??!!
#94956 - 08/01/04 02:46 PM
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RachelT
Reged: 07/01/04
Posts: 2350
Loc: Minnesota
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Trust me on this one!!!! Not a good idea. I'm a C, bran just made things ten times worse!! Not only was I more C, but it made me so bloated none of my pants fit. It IS important to get your insoluble fiber, but do it **gently**. I try to incoporate a little with every meal, and so far, just adding blueberries to my oatmeal in the morning has made me take a little step back. But I'm still able to have a few green beans or asparagus or corn with dinner. Hope this helps!
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~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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How many of you have tried it? I'm doing real good with the soluable fibers but still afraid of the insoluables. I did consider trying some insoluable baby food types of things but thought, man how deserate can I get. But... it would be better to eat some baby food items that are good for me and already puried for me so I don't have to do the work & get better nutrients! Opinions please. 
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I don't really like the taste of the veggies in the baby food jars, but I love the desserts and fruits. Heather does suggest cooking and pureeing your veggies to get the insoluble fiber in a safer fashion, so maybe you could try that.
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~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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Get Gerber!!
#94961 - 08/01/04 02:52 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I just started eating the baby food fruits, and so I've only tried Gerber and Beech Nut Naturals. For adult tastebuds, the Gerber is probably tastier. It has a little sugar in it. The Beech Nut Naturals are all-fruit and kind of tart.
By favorites so far are mango and this fruit dessert called "tropical medley" or something like that, both Gerber. I chill them and they are GOOD! Not only are they tasty on their own, but they're really good on pancakes... mmm, yum!
I've never had any of the non-fruit ones, and I probably never will... I'm not brave enough.
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Hmmm....
#95157 - 08/02/04 03:30 PM
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Heather
Reged: 12/09/02
Posts: 7799
Loc: Seattle, WA
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how many blueberries/strawberries did you use? Have you tried a smoothie that's mostly peaches, mangoes, or bananas (high soluble fiber) with just 1/4 cup or so of an insoluble fiber fruit (like the berries)? Any amount - even a teensy bit - will help. If you can only tolerate one berry in the whole smoothie, that's better than nothing.
I'd totally avoid wheat bran - it's so hard for just about everyone with IBS. There are even clinical studies on how wheat bran makes IBS worse, not better, despite the fact that some doctors still recommend it (see the research library here on the boards). But - oat bran can be tolerable, and brown rice, barley, quinoa, and ground corn meal are other good whole grains to try.
Can you puree beans or lentils for a soup or dip? Try using Beano with this if you're not used to beans - but this is another great way to carefully start adding in insoluble fiber.
You might try getting some whole flax seeds and finely grinding them, and adding to morning cereal or to some quick breads you can bake. That's a good combo of soluble/insoluble and can be really helpful for constipation.
- 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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Heather, I bought some ground flaxseed meal. How much a day should I use? Like a teaspoon or tablespoon? How often?
I don't mind the taste and have terrible constipation.
Thanks
Edited by Mary Ann (08/04/04 10:13 AM)
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