Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Hey zuzanka, am also from the UK

hey there zuzanka, I am a 23 (nearly 24) yr old female from the UK. I am from Leeds, whereabouts are you based? I am IBS-D with gas and bloating and have been controlling this with imodium, exercise (am a health freak anyway) yoga postiions and heather's diet since summer 2004.
I too used to eat rye bread (rye crackers= 'Ryvita') until I started the diet and ditched them completely. I now have 'crispbread' instead, which is golden in colour and is also gluten free (for my snacks between meals,) with dry 99% fat free crackers, which I buy from Morrisons supermarket. (look in special dietary section where they also sell gluten free bread etc)
I too practically live off chicken slices (have them on oatcakes at lunch, on tortilla wraps at lunch, and combine with crispbread for afternoon snacks.)
I used to only have alpro soya milk as my dairy alternative but with the whole gas thing I now have only a little bit with my porridge in morning (just a dash, the rest is made up with water) and then will have a soya smoothie (soya milk, some berries and chopped and peeled apple) for pudding after evening meal.The rest of the time I drink 'Rice Dream' rice milk (which I buy from Morrisons or Holland and Barrett in town) If there is none available then I will buy 'Provamel' rice milk (from Morrisons also) Rice milk really does make a difference to the gas and bloating, I also cut out other forms of soy that I used to eat such as Tofu and believe it to have made a difference.
Have you tried porridge in the morning? It is my basic staple and I have it with a banana and a sprinkling of linseed every day.
Grilled chicken breast is incredibly tolerable for me, (I cook it in morning and take a small handful wrapped up to go with SF snack for afternoon snack. I am GUARENTEED to have a BM when I eat this way) and my evening meal is always this or oily fish. (tinned salmon or sardines) with some grilled veg and SF such as sweet potato or rice. I used to only eat brown rice but now I do a 50/50 split of white and brown rice. If i choose to have the oily fish I know I will take an imodium afterwards, but this is a personal choice I make for myself as I find the health benefits of oily fish far outweigh the fact I have to take a little pill to deal with it. It is the only thing I have that is high in fat. The naughtiest thing that I do in terms of my IBS-D is not maintaining a proper IF/SF balance with my evening meal, as I always have lots of spinach with my grilled veg. I add half a small white roll along with my SF to deal with this.
I love my veg and fruit, always eating within the guidelines, although I know realistically that if I cut down a bit my D would probably be a bit better.
How are you in terms of lifestyle and mental health? A lot of people on here have highly recommended the hypnotherapy. I have eating disorders and am currently having cognitive behaviour therapy to try and change the way that I am so 'set' in my ways (for example, with eating) This is also to deal with my anxiety, deoression and low self esteem. I have chosen not to take an AD on numerous occasions as I feel that talking therapies are what I really need. I have my own personal reasons for not taking an AD, due to having a mother with very serious mental health problems.
Bananas are an absolute life force for me and it sounds like you have already picked up on that!
I also have a banana shortly before bed with nettle/fennel tea and a piece of dry toast and dry crackers. Careful not to eat too close to bed so you don't get acid reflux from lying down shortly after eating, but always find this night time snack works well for me. I do not go any longer than 3-4 hours without food or a snack, and I drink only water, soy and rice milk, nettle/fennel tea (and blackcurrant herb teas to spice it up)
Let me know if I can give any more advice. I don't tend to post on here very often but read the boards quite frequently.
Hope you are all ok out there
Heather (no, that really is my name!)

Print Remind Me Notify Moderator