To think I can never eat chips again?

[Nomorechips]

Morning Mumsnetters! Just been diagnosed with IBS. Looking on the bright side I don't have the diarrhoea type just the constipation. I also have lower stomach pain right side, headaches, frequent weeing (lovely!) and tiredness. Sadly weight gain! Have been looking up what I should avoid food wise and says oven chips! Anyone out there with IBS with any advice please? Is the IBS network worth paying for? Low Fodmap any help? It's a mine field out there. So many books but which are helpful? I just want a chip sandwich now....

Thought this might happen. Have I not posted this in the right place? Did it for traffic.

Definitely try the low fodmap for a month and then start adding foods back one by one every few days to see which flare your symptoms up or not. Hopefully chips won’t be one of them.
Get a good probiotic supplement too and try and avoid too much stress and bad sleep.
I keep a diary of my symptoms every month and there’s a pattern as to when my symptoms will flare up (ovulation, PMS and a few days after my period has finished).
It’s a minefield. Good luck and hope you feel better soon

Thanks Caramel. I'm already dairy free apart from chocolate as that's so hard to give up! I might try a probiotic though. I can't see a pattern as yet. The worse thing for me is the abdomen pain. Do you get this?

I have had ibs on and off for many years, recently I've been eating Kefir a couple times a week and it's been great.

I recommend you try it and see how you get on, even some lactose intolerant people can have it

I find chips can be a problem and can often cause painful reflux and sometimes vomiting ...not just oven chips and its jy fault because I carry on esting after i get the warning signs...bread is often a trigger too

I get abdominal pain that feels like bad cramps and I also get really bloated (think the pains could be trapped gas pains). Buscopan and a windsettler tablet (lol) both together often help me loads. I take the vitabright biocultures probiotic too (got mine on amazon) and it’s definitely helping after a couple of weeks. It needs to be stored in the fridge btw.
Chocolate is one of my biggest triggers because it’s high in lactose, sugar and far.I find it difficult to give up though so i always take a buscopan after I’ve eaten some and try not to ever binge on it.
Caffeine and alcohol are my two worst triggers.

Which foods affect IBS varies massively from person to person. I have a friend who does a low fodmap but I eat lots of fermented food which are not allowed on fodmap.

Oh thanks everyone! I'll look into Kefir. GP originally put me on Buscopan for 2 weeks but stopped working the second week. Yes also suffer silent reflux but didn't connect the two! Any of you been on the IBS network? I'm reluctant as you have to pay to join which I'm surprised at as all other sites with medical conditions are usually free.

I agree with Antihop. My DS has IBS and he's mainly affected by garlic, onions and a few other things.

Fortunately for him, chips don't affect him , well not so far anyway.

Is it just oven chips or nice normal chips too?

Caramel I hate to ask but do you have the dreaded diarrhoea as my understanding is that caffeine is related to that but OK if you have constipation?

Worral just oven chips which is mostly what I eat. Apart from the normal chip shop chips. Ho hum will just have to have those then! Advised to avoid dried pasta too but fresh OK.

FODMAP exclusion is certainly helpful, but the trick is that you need to put all the foods you can tolerate back in so that you don't end up with a crazy restricted diet that you don't need to be on. I assume you've had a coeliac screen done as part of your diagnosis - have you been referred to the dietitian? A FODMAP exclusion is best done under the supervision of one, just because it leaves you vulnerable to being deficient in some nutrients. For me, FODMAP was helpful in identifying trigger foods, some which need to be avoided entirely, and some which need to be used in moderation. IBS understanding has come a long way in the last 15 years, and I don't really have much trouble from mine these days.

Make your own oven chips...that's what I do. They're relatively healthy too.
Potatoes and a small amount of oil - i use cold pressed rapeseed oil.

I don't have it too badly anymore, but I found mind was mostly triggered by anxiety... which is good as I can eat chips, but difficult when life is stressful! I do find too many onions and nuts trigger it. Peppermint oil capsules were a lifesaver when mine was at its worst.

There are good ibs groups on Facebook join us 😁

Oh yes - peppermint oil! Practically lived on that stuff for a while...

For me it was a process of trial and error. Green veg were very bad for me. Chips were ok.

Everyone is different you have to figure out what you personally are intolerant of.

TBF I don't have IBS and any kind of chips makes me feel bloated and very farty My guts don't seem to like the combination of carbs cooked in fat. I have them occasionally as a treat, bizarrely eating with loads of veg or salad seems to help.

I might be wrong but I'd assume it's the oil rather than the potato that's the problem? If so what about an air fryer?

I was put on the low Fodmap by the hospital dietician. You can stay on it for up to 8 weeks, then gradually add foods until you find out the problem. I didn't want to add foods, because after I got used to it, I was comfortable and scared of going back! I also lost weight on it. If you do go on it, I'd recommend Warburtons gluten free bread. It looks like really nice fresh sliced bread, and is much nicer than the others.

Never heard that about chips! Thankfully I don't react to chips, but I have the D variety. FODMAP definitely helps identify the triggers, which is really helpful as you can avoid them/ work out how important they are.

Kefir is good for any gut issue. I get mine from here www.chucklinggoat.co.uk/
I am coeliac and I have various allergy issues, and the kefir seems to calm everything down. Start with a small amount though, as if your gut is not in good shape you can have a reaction when you first drink keffir, -start with a teaspoon of it, and build up to a glass.

Liquorice dgl from Holland and Barrett really helped me when I had stomach pain.
I recommended it to a friend and he was amazed and very grateful at the difference it made.

It’s because of resistant starches, usually oven chips have already been cooked which makes them a resistant starch which is hard for the body to digest, same as things like cooked pasta. I’ve had IBS for 22 years and have never had a problem with chips but you can always cook them from scratch which would help solve them problem.
My sister has the constipation form of IBS and finds that flax seeds and chia seeds really help her.