Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Parent's first year

Glenn:

I'm so sorry to hear about your son. I've had IBS all my life (46 years) so I understand what he must be going through.

Have you purchased Heather's books yet? Her second book (First Year IBS) is much more comprehensive so I highly recommend getting it so that you are familiar with the recommended diet.

One very important thing to note is that there is no negotiating milk products when you have IBS. By this I mean you can't just cut out "parts" of milk products like lactose and casein. You have to cut out ALL milk products because milk in any form is a huge trigger. Having lactose intolerance is a totally different issue from having IBS. (Lactose intolerance means you can't digest the sugar in milk.) Both lactose intolerance and IBS can cause diahrrea.

I absolutely do not recommend colonic hydrotherapy. There are a number of theories as to what causes IBS and, if you know those theories, you would realize colonic hydrotherapy would have no impact on IBS, and would be likely to seriously aggravate it.

As far as I know, there is no effective treatment for IBS (including no effective medication) other than controlling it through diet and lifestyle (exercise, etc.). Heather's list of safe foods and trigger foods and her recommendations of how to prepare some of the trigger foods to make them safer -- things like peeling, removing seeds, pureeing, etc. is the best I've ever seen.

It is important to realize that people with IBS have an extremely sensitive gut (one prevailing theory is that they have more pain sensors in their gut than a normal person) so even miniscule quantities of trigger foods can cause attacks. For this reason, it is important to switch to organic food (conventional food contains chemicals, additives, harmones, antibiotics, preservatives, GMOs etc., all of which can trigger IBS attacks) and to stay away from prepared foods because they can contain chemicals and other triggers.

Please e-mail me if you want more information!

I hope your son feels better very soon.

Belinda

Print Remind Me Notify Moderator