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I have had IBS for a couple years now. There were times where I had to follow the diet strictly with a Metamucil regiment as well. For the past year or so I've been pretty safe with my IBS (only diareha) happening in the morning in response to my smoking. Have you thought about quitting smoking? Not easy, I know, but a few people here have done so and seen a dramatic reduction in their IBS attacks/symptoms.

Right now however I have had uncontrollable diareha and it comes out of the clear blue sky. I haven't been eating anything for days out of fear. Ugh, sorry you had to experience one of those bad attacks. Not eating regularly can trigger attacks.

I was wondering if this could be a by product of eating mayonnaise on my tuna sandwiches and drinking caffeine free pepsi. Yes, if the mayonnaise was not fat-free. Fat is another really bad trigger. I binged last weekend and drank 6 caffeeine free pepsi's. Could this be related. Definitely! This is the worst because you still have HFCS and the carbonation - both irritate the GI tract and will set off really bad attacks. The pharmacist thinks it's just stress as I have anxiety disorder and agoraphobia. Stress will aggravate your symptoms of IBS, but it alone does not cause IBS.

How can I change my habits and start eating again, immediately, because I'm awfully hungry but I don't want to eat the wrong foods and I can't really afford some of the fancy stuff on the safe food list. Start with Heather's guidelines on Breaking the Cycle or What to Eat When You Can't Eat Anything. Make sure you cut out all trigger foods. You don't need to buy or make anything fancy; you just want to keep it simple, just SF, for a few days and then start incorporating IF and protein. Here's a link to get you started: How to Eat for IBS . Also, check out the diet FAQ for any specific questions about the diet. HTH and that you're feeling better soon!

Please help.

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