Ibs

[redteddies]

I really suffer with ibs this past week has been awful and has made me realise I really need to sort the stresses and my very poor diet out but I have no clue where to start was wondering if anyone on here suffers with ibs and could tell me what works best with them ie a certain diet or eating earlier etc ? I'm really struggling this week with it and just feel so unwell at the moment

I've picked up some advice over the years.

Find the fibre sweet spot. You may not be able to tolerate as much as other people.

Eat little and often. Your gut doesn't like to be overburdened.

Keep track of triggers- foods, time of eating, stress.

Sit down and eat slowly, then rest after a meal. Being stressed or on the go at meal times can trigger it.

For me, stress is the big factor. If I'm stressed by a situation I basically can't digest. It's like my stomach/gut knots up. Better not to eat, at that point.

What's helped for me

• excluded obvious known trigger foods (e.g. onion, cruciform vegetables). I can't even sniff an onion now!
• bought and read the FODMAP diet book to find out what foods are common problems. Didn't do the full diet but followed some of the guidance
• tracked symptoms and diet for months to identify worst offending foods (we all react differently, for example I am OK with normal amounts of wheat, many people aren't)
• I excluded suspected trigger foods and continued to monitor symptoms. Gradually reintroduced some favourite foods in small amounts to see if they can be tolerated (many can).
• was very careful about fibre intake. Conventional advice is to increase it but for me that does not work. If you do eat more fibre, be careful what form it takes and increase fluid intake.
• took up running, pilates and weights, helps as stress release and exercise just helps keep the gut moving.

Agree with poster who said eat smaller meals more frequently. I don't cope with being hungry and have snacks available all the time. Otherwise I feel very nauseous and have horrible reflux/burping attacks.

I am not convinced stress causes my symptoms but it can make it worse. Especially as stress leads to sleeping badly and not having a good routine. Also when under pressure I make terrible food choices/eat a lot of junk/drink more alcohol.

Also you can't remove all stress in life and some' isn't actually bad but can have a similar effect. For example I find excitement about things like a big holiday, or starting a new job or buying a house.have exacerbated symptoms.

If it's really bad try all the drugs. OTC, prescribed and even anti- depressants. Didn't work for me (peppermint oil is VILE when burped back up!) but some people find they work.

Unfortunately stress is the major trigger for both me and DH. I know if he's having a hard time at work from the noises his stomach makes!
Any amount of tension does it for me- parties, for example. My stomach bloats up and I get desperately windy.

It can be stress and a specific food, so I can handle mild stress, or mushrooms, but not together! Cue desperate stomach ache!

That's my only food trigger. The rest is purely stress.

Also, have you considered probiotics? You can get them through fermented foods, those special drinks, or tablets. They help some people.

There's lots to try! Eventually you'll work out what the magic combination is for you!

Stress is a biggy, so try and find activities to counteract it. I used to have a course of colonics which helped muchly! I don’t have too much fibre. When I became diabetic I had to follow a low carb diet and that has really helped.