Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Lots of questions, tea, graham crackers, candy, etc....oops LONG

*BIG SIGH* Okay, okay, really sorry about this everyone. It's been ages since I've posted and/or read anything, and lately I can't keep up with my daily life as it is, so I've had a hard time trying to log onto here to read/post. So this might be kinda long. I have lots of questions that have kind of been building up, and I did searches, but am a bit overwhelmed.

First question is regarding teas. I've had peppermint (loose peppermint in a tea ball, Altoids dissolved in hot water, peppermint essential oil in hot water), I've even tried oregano (literally steeping dried oregano in hot water), tried fennel (crushed fennel seeds steeped in hot water), and finally two different herbal tea concoctions by Traditional Medicinals; one called Eater's Digest and the other just Peppermint. I have also tried chamomile by itself in the past, which doesn't seem to do well in my tummy, though chamomile is in the Eater's Digest mix and seems fine. The fennel and the oregano were just odd and I wasn't sure I appreciated them... peppermint in all forms doesn't always ease the pain, but it hardly ever made my symptoms worse. I think my fave is the Traditional Medicinals Eater's Digest. I've also been drinking a lemon, hot water, honey, ground ginger, cayenne powder mix that seems to do pretty well for me; especially since I can't drink coffee. But what about black tea, green tea, red tea, white tea, and other herbal teas? I've been looking at Starbuck's website trying to find a drink they serve that I can safely have. What about a brand called Tazo Orange Passion? They say it's herbal and doesn't actually contain tea leaves, but contains other plant ingredients, fruit peels, etc., so it's caffeine-free. I know I have to be careful about iced beverages on an empty tummy, but generally do any of you have any experience with white, red, black, green, and other herbal teas that do well on your tummies? I also drink Traditional Medicinals Eater's Digest cold with meals, especially in these hot icky months. I am going to try Cafix, I found a 7oz bottle of Cafix crystals that seems reasonable while I was online. I also have Soyfee products in my "wish list" to try if I can afford them. I read about both Cafix and Soyfee on this site. Any imput or guidance would be appreciated.

Every day I'm trying my best to remember no matter how safe something sounds, read the ingredients, read read read I think to myself. I think sometimes I hope that if I don't concentrate so hard on everything that passes into my gut, I can de-emphasize the fact that I'm stressing over it in the first place. But every day I'm becoming more and more convinced that the more natural and/or organic and extremely expensive something is, the more likely it is to contain ingredients that are better for me. I really DO want to eat better, even if it's not for just IBS, but the cost is killing me.

Graham crackers, an item I've seen before listed 'safe' and also listed in a recipe in an issue of Heather's IBS newsletter is another one I'm confused about. I've had Honey Maid honey and cinnamon graham crackers and Oatmeal Teddy Grahams, Honey Teddy Grahams, and Cinnamon Teddy Grahams and iirc I had little or no problems with these. I also believe I did ok with Teddy Grahams Chocolate Chip and Teddy Grahams Chocolate but I may just be misremembering. Anyway, I've been trying to steer away from HFCS; but as far as I can tell graham crackers (like Honey Maid and Nabisco Teddy Grahams) contain HFCS. So I decided to try O Organics brand Honey Graham bears from Safeway. Ugh, they were like eating barely sweetened corrgated cardboard - light and crispy but with a very bland taste and cardboard-like aftertaste. I admit though, the ingredients looked great. Any ideas, anyone?

Also, what about safe candy? I think I've found that Swedish Fish (both just red fish and the assorted flavors) and a brand of jelly bean called Gimbal's seem to do fine with me. Gimbal's brand is a cheaper version of Jelly Belly (less flavors but still a large variety and tastes really good) and are very fairly priced. I've found them only at Wal-Mart Their label claims they are gluten-, dairy-, nut-free. They might be listed as soy-free, too I forget heh. Tootsie Roll Midgees chocolate flavor seem to be ok on the ingredients and tummy test, but the flavor rolls and Tootsie Pops containe milk ingredients. Any ideas or experiences? I really miss candy bars...

Also I noticed that Rice Krispies cereal contains HFCS so I have to be careful about trying homemade Rice Krispy squares again, really miss those, too. I've been using Smart Balance but not the Smart Balance Light because it doesn't make reference to its successful use in baking. I also purchased Smart Balance with Flax Oil which hasn't been opened yet. I'm babbling again.... Sorry. :/

Also, in the list of safe snacks on this site, Strawberry flavor (only) Fruit Roll-Ups are listed. Yay! I've actually eaten these and don't seem to have a problem but they are one of my fave flavors. Wal-Mart is selling them in a box of 20 Strawberry and Blue RasPberry flavor. I checked the Blue Raspberry ingredients and they seem comparable to the strawberry. So far, I've been comfortable eating those. Sometimes Nature Valley Crunchy Granola bars (peanut butter, oats and honey, and maple and brown sugar do fine with me, but I admit I haven't looked at their ingredients yet. I found a brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips that doesn't use any milk/milk derivative. It's sold at Kroger (Fry's) and is one of their grocery store brand names called FMV.

Finally, I have noticed that maybe 1 out of every 5 products I buy that I have to adjust for IBS can be purchased from a comparably priced brand or a generic and most of the time those taste fine and work out well, too. I've been pricing items on Amazon.com because they do carry a lot of interesting grocery and gourmet food items, unfortunately most of it comes in bulk and I've been trying to read the reviews that some customers have left for some of the products. Sometimes the website also lists ingredients in the product, which is extremely helpful. I'm a bit worried though because a lot of what they sell is in BULK and not always offered in smaller sizes. Some of their prices sound very comparable compared to purchasing from a store in the same quantity even when adding the shipping/handling charges. I just don't know how worth it is is to buy 12 boxes of dairy/milk-free Mac and Cheese. I have little to no extra space to store it and I'm the only one who really needs to eat that kind of stuff. I'm just so overwhelmed and stressed by medical and dental issues I can't afford to handle right now. My IBS diet just gets in the middle of everything else.

I guess even though there is certainly a huge abundance of delicious recipes and foods out there that are safe for IBS, I still feel trapped, deprived, overwhelmed, and confused. I have never been a huge soda drinker, but I sure do miss it. I miss real cheese, no substitution can replace that. I MISS REAL MILK. I could probably go on and on and whine and whine. My bf has to deal with chicken, and ground turkey, and chicken and drowns in white rice and potaotes. True I've found lots of yummy recipes. I can even handle a bit of lean pork. But I'm still screaming inside. I'd hate my words to discourage a person new to this IBS thing, but time in this case isn't healing my wounds so to speak. If I had the ability to make more money that would help immensely. I'm still so glad this site is out there, I still really appreciate it.

I'm actually worried I might be getting ulcers...

My progress is nearly halted again, and I still haven't been able to afford to try the acacia so I've been eating lots of white rice, french bread, sourdough bread, white bread, pasta, and potatoes as my SF base. There's probably some wheat in there too.

Well, thanks for listening/reading. I needed to vent. I don't know anyone in person who truly understands my issues. My mom tries to, my best friend who's allergic to soy (ironic! but at least I like rice and nut substitutes too) tries to, and my bf tries to. But it's not the same

I hope all of you are doing well. Lots of love to all. *HUGS*

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XOXO from lil' ol' me.

(IBS-C, mood disorders, etc., etc.)

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