To have had enough!

[Ames33]

Of my IBS!
I only dared to treat myself to a bloody bacon and egg sandwich and some roast chicken on Sunday and now my guts feel like a washing machine. I'm bloated, gassy, in pain and feel bleugh, all because I just wanted to eat nice things! It sucks and I've had enough!
Any tips to help me out (as I feel like this a lot of the time, just worse when I have been naughty!)
I don't smoke anymore, given up spicy food, don't drink alcohol or caffeine, all because of my guts (well the giving up smoking was a good thing!) but I miss curries, I miss coffee, I miss having a nice glass of wine but can't even contemplate these things
So I'm just looking for ideas to make my life and eating a bit more enjoyable!!

Morning Ames, it's so difficult to manage isn't it, mine is bad this morning and we had fajitas last night - could be that but didn't effect me the last time we had them luckily if it's a mild case once it's gone through me I can get on with my day but if it's bad I need to be near a toilet.
How are you today?
I have stopped eating fried eggs as much as I used to as they set me off a lot, I tend to stick to days I know I don't have to go out.
Like a prev poster I have to consider what I will eat in days running up to a meal out and also where we go to eat. Mine was better during pregnancy too but that maybe because I wasn't on the pill, think I am going to talk to my gp as there are medications above I was never put on. I had mebeverine but it didn't help me much.

I haven't got any definite triggers apart from stress. I found leaving XH sorted it out a lot! Still, there are days that everything upsets me and it can come on out of the blue, which is horrible. When it was at its height, I lived on Immodium. I always have some, just in case...

Still feeling pretty rotten so WFH.
I hate it!
Thanks for all the replies, I kept trying to read them last night but just kept falling asleep zzzzzzzzz
I have only shit my pants once, and I was luckily at home. I was trying to get my little boy dressed before I did my morning poop, and that was a big mistake!
I'm glad to hear that some of you are much better, I will try some of the tips! Xx

Hypnotherapy has been known to be very effective in reducing IBS symptoms.

Wheat in too large a quantity sets me off. In fact little and often for anything works better!

We don't use the saying"do bears shit in the woods" we use "does mummy shit in the woods". Sometimes funny , sometimes not.

I've started having a calcium carbonate indigestion tablet every morning. It seems to, ahem, regulate things. Or its the placebo effect. Either way it's helping.

I cut wheat out of my diet and my symptoms eased quickly. Can't promise that it will work for you but would give it a go. Tje good news is that there's a lot more free-from products available now than there was 15 years ago when I first started.

You need to give it a fair stint but if that doesn't work for you try other known difficult foods - milk, yeast etc.

CBeebies it's interesting you were better in pg - I was in hell during mine. The worst ever IBS. Followed by the 6 month stint of the implant - that I begged them to take out, and the mini pill that just made me feel crap. I'd get symptoms worse 1 week a month.

So I actually used my biology knowledge and realised that progesterone is a trigger! I got a copper coil and other than worse the week before my period, I mostly have my symptoms under control.

Drs think I'm nuts, they think that my progesterone theory is madness.

I don't I can track my cycle based on IBS symptoms

Kefir is fermented milk. You can do it with any kind of milk, including coconut milk.

You basically have to get kefir grains, which are actually little bundles of probiotic bacteria which clump together to form something which looks like those water retaining granules they use for plants, and put them into your milk for 24 hours. Then strain them out, drink the kefir and make a new batch with the grains you've strained out.

The first couple I made were grim, but after a few days it sorted itself out and now basically tastes like yoghurt. The kids have switched from yoghurt to it too.

I read about this programme and thought I'd give it a try, as I'd already tried probiotic supplements without success.

I'm holding out for the menopause as mine is very bad at time of the month and anecdotally others says theirs buggered off when the hormones did!

Hmmm, kefir sounds yum.....
Yep, period is always the worse for me! Then I had the mirena coil put in and I have never been so ill with IBS, and other hormone related things!

Ames the Merinahas progesterone in. That's why I said copper only!!

I've been diagnosed with IBS and Diverticular Disease after undergoing the usual tests in the last year, having suffered for at least 27 years. I pass out fairly regularly with the pain, vomiting etc. I used to take buscopan, with little success. I was then advised by a pharmacist to try Mebeverine, which was much more effective. My GP was happy to prescribe this for me, but offered no additional support re dietician etc. I had reduced the amount of food and types of food I was eating to very small amounts and types. I saw most food as potentially poisonous and became very reluctant to eat much in case it caused a violent attack. I often used to wait until around 4pm to eat anything at all because mornings were usually the worst time and eating anything would spark things off. I was becoming anxious that I would have one of my passing out attacks while I was out and about, or was alone in the house. I was also really worried that I would do myself serious physical damage, having had quite a bad concussion as a result of one of my attacks. Around 3 months ago I suddenly felt I needed to take a different approach and paid (not cheap!) for a York food intolerance test. The results were not what I had hoped for, highlighting wheat, gluten, egg white and yolk, milk protein, millet and yeast intolerances. I have excluded all these from my diet ever since. The effect has been fantastic. I have been able to eat, albeit a very different (restricted) diet. I have reached the 12 week point, at which I can very very slowly start to reintroduce one thing at a time. It hasn't been something I'd have wished for, excluding the yeast in particular has been difficult. Eating out has been near impossible. On the plus side I have every reduced the Mebeverine from several times daily to once a week or so, if I have eaten something by mistake. Before the test I was often not able to leave the house until after 1pm, because I couldn't get away from the toilet. Now I can go out without worrying. I feel so much better. I am relieved to know what I am actually intolerant to. I was previously tested to see if I was Celiac, the results came back as negative. I know from small mistakes I have made since my exclusion diet, that gluten has a really bad effect on me. I would never have been able to predict the combination of intolerances I have. I was excluding food in the belief it was causing me problems, such as pork, only to find that I had no problem with it at all. The test was expensive, the results were unwelcome, the restrictions have been challenging, but I feel so much better.

@DragonNoodleCake yes I know, it was the progesterone that messed me up!

Wow @Jacquel that sounds awful, but glad you are doing much better! I'm tempted to talk to the gp about intolerances as I'm sure there must be some going on!! Xx

When I follow the FODMAP diet my IBS is much better but it's hard to follow continously. My problem is bloating and constipation. Lost track of number of times I have been asked if I am pregnant.

My gp has recently told me about fodmap and am awaiting a dietician referral but I had no idea about charcoal-going to give them a whirl and see if it helps. Rennie deflatine do absolutely nothing to help! It really does make me miserable sometimes. Clothes don't even fit right when I'm really bloated.

I used to have terrible digestive problems - I was on medication and eve had a gastroscopy. I've made huge improvements with a combination of intermittent fasting, lots of veg and daily home-made Kefir.

Just to say OP, I found that taking biokult probiotic capsules has helped enormously. I noticed an improvement after a couple of weeks.