To ask if anyone has ‘cured’ their IBS?

[ImaHogg]

I know it’s classed as a life long condition but I’ve been suffering for 22 years and have just about have enough of this horrible condition.
I belong to endless IBS support groups but obviously most of the members are people like me who are still suffering a looking for help and advice. I am assuming that if people do have a grip of their symptoms then they are hardly likely to be on support groups.
I’ve tried endless things over the years from the low fodmap diet to hypnotherapy and CBT. None of which have really helped long term.
Two things I haven’t tried are probiotics (some of the reviews say they can cause diarrhoea which is one of my huge fears with this complaint). I’ve also tried a few antidepressants but I couldn’t get past the awful side effects.
I’m 48 and am starting to think that hormones now play a big part as my symptoms became much worse and virtually daily at the age of 45 and I also can’t lie and say I don’t suffer from anxiety as I really do and I have a very stressful life atm.
Late 2019 I had a colonoscopy, endoscopy and ct scan. At the follow up appointment the gastroenterologist said all was clear. I handed him a list of my symptoms and he asked if I had tried all the standard IBS meds, which I have to no relief. He handed me back my list and told me that he couldn’t help me and to go back to my gp!
So I am just wondering if anyone on here has/had IBS and has found a way of living well with the condition and has minimal or no longer has symptoms?
Any advice is most welcome.

Had a baby, but that's probably not that helpful!

My IBS disappeared when I started low carbing. I didn't start low carbing for that reason - it was to lose weight - but weeks in, realised that I hadn't had an attack since I started.

TBF my attacks weren't that frequent, and certainly not as severe as yours seem to be - and they were definitely triggered by emotional stress too.

I also used to suffer, every month, from thrush - candida albicans - and I believe that this, as well as the IBS, was triggered/caused by long term antibiotic usage in my teens/late teens to deal with acne. Antibiotics may be fantastic at killing bacteria that make us ill, but the problem is that they also kill off all the good bacteria in our guts that keep us well.

The other thing I'd suggest is that you read of The Clever Guts book by Dr Michael Mosley. He writes about the importance of a good gut biome, and how this can help with conditions like IBS.

Can you post a typical daily diet for you?

I'm curious as I now have IBS due to an immunosuppressant I take and it is making me unhappy.

@cyclingtowardsbethlehem

Had a baby, but that's probably not that helpful!

I’ve had two and my IBS has actually gotten worst since they hit their teens lol!

@BIWI

My IBS disappeared when I started low carbing. I didn't start low carbing for that reason - it was to lose weight - but weeks in, realised that I hadn't had an attack since I started.

TBF my attacks weren't that frequent, and certainly not as severe as yours seem to be - and they were definitely triggered by emotional stress too.

I also used to suffer, every month, from thrush - candida albicans - and I believe that this, as well as the IBS, was triggered/caused by long term antibiotic usage in my teens/late teens to deal with acne. Antibiotics may be fantastic at killing bacteria that make us ill, but the problem is that they also kill off all the good bacteria in our guts that keep us well.

The other thing I'd suggest is that you read of ]] book by Dr Michael Mosley. He writes about the importance of a good gut biome, and how this can help with conditions like IBS.

My friend has lost 5 stone on the keto and says the same, she says all her symptoms disappeared. I’ve tried it but it’s really restrictive for me because I can’t tolerate dairy and not a lover of meat!

@MorePotatoSalad

Can you post a typical daily diet for you?

I'm curious as I now have IBS due to an immunosuppressant I take and it is making me unhappy.

Yes, please do.

Long term sufferer and aside from being pregnant the only thing that helps is not eating bread. I still have gas and bloating but the awful diarrhoea has stopped.

Any kind of anxiety can set it off though..especially if I'm worried that I'm going somewhere and don't know where the toilets are. If I'm at someone's house for a meal (those were the days!) I can guarantee I'd have a bout purely because I'd be worried about it.

Have you had it properly checked - so e.g. I think IBS covers a few things if it were something like microscopic colitis there are tablets ( Endocort I think which Dr - consultant I know - says make a huge difference )

I was diagnosed with IBS about 20 years ago and over time it has slowly improved. I do get occasional flare-ups but have never been able to identify what triggers are except from stress, porridge and too much dairy ie I could never drink a smoothie/milkshake but tests for lactose intolerance were negative.

I have been doing the Fast 800 diet plan which is low carb/sugar and high protein, lots of water and intermittent fasting and I’ve noticed a huge difference in IBS symptoms. I rarely get any symptoms now, but who knows if this is a coincidence or not.

@ImaHogg

You don't have to have dairy or meat if you're low carbing!

Keto is a particularly strict/restrictive way of eating, as it's less than 20g carbs per day. More general low carbing will allow you to eat more, which means more veg/salad (and some nuts/seeds/fruit)

A typical day for me (not sure if @MorePotatoSalad was asking me or you, @ImaHogg!) is:

Breakfast - just coffee; I fast till lunch time. If I am hungry, I usually have some yoghurt, with a little vanilla bean extract and/or peanut butter added to it.

Lunch - often eggs - a couple of boiled eggs, or hard-boiled eggs mashed with butter and/or mayo, a cheese or mushroom omelette. Sometimes full fat natural Greek yoghurt. Sometimes a sandwich/roll made using these products . They have been a revelation as they are genuinely low carb but exactly like 'proper' bread.

Dinner - anything and everything, as long as it doesn't feature pasta, rice, bread, potatoes or sugar! Last night I made a chicken and chorizo stew, using onions, garlic, black olives, capers and a tin of tomatoes. We had that with a celeriac dauphinoise and griddled asparagus.

Tuesday we had chilli, made with beef mince, smoky streaky bacon, onion, celery, chilli, mushrooms, kidney beans and a tin of tomatoes. Served with a dollop of yoghurt on the top and lots of grated cheese. DH had rice, I had mine on Bare Naked Noodles, which are only 1g carbs per 100g

On Monday we had roast pork, with mashed swede and buttered leeks.

Friday evenings we have a takeaway - usually curry. I relax things a bit for this. I don't have rice or poppadoms, but my usual main is chicken vindaloo, which always had a couple of pieces of potato in it. I nick a bit of DH's naan bread (just a corner!) and have a side of spinach or mushroom or cauliflower.

When I was on a particular immunosuppressant I developed a serious H Pylori infection. I was so ill, with awful pain, reflux and bowel problems. It is always worth having a test if you are immunosuppressed.

I have been vegan since February and it has really made a difference. I am not bloated as much, and I have had maybe 2 days/nights of cramps and running to the toilet. I have also found that my silent reflux has calmed down, and I am not coughing to the point of spewing every morning. It has only been about six weeks though. So I still have time for my stomach to decide to hate me again.

BasiliskStare I was rather disappointed they didn’t take biopsies from the colonoscopy but they said everything looked ok so didn’t feel,the need to. I hoped they would have taken a sample from the end of my small intestine as, apparently they can pick up microscopic colitis from that. Although when I read about symptoms of that it’s mainly watery diarrhoea which I dont have, fingers crossed.
BIWI thank you so much. Do you miss carbs? I really struggle missing bread and potatoes although those breads look great. I made an almond flour bread a few weeks ago. It was foul, it weighed more than me!
endofthelinefinally I had 4 biopsies from the gastroscope and although the gastroenterologist wouldn’t tell me what they were for!?, my gp says it would have included H Pylori although I am thinking of paying privately for the blood test just to definitely rule it out.
Shortcoldandgrey I would love to go plant based, do you steer clear of pulses etc.

Yes. Low FODMAP diet too after about 20 plus years of IBS. I am sensitive to certain fructans. I now avoid those and can eat pretty much normally other than that. V occasionally get mild symptoms if stressed or around period.

Did you follow the diet strictly and do the reintroductions properly?

I also had colonic irrigation and it helped enormously. I am with a PP in feeling a bit embarrassed about this as I’m sure it’s medically dodgy and I don’t want to do a Gwyneth Paltrow and encourage other women to do something daft / dangerous. Just saying what worked!

BIWI thank you so much. Do you miss carbs? I really struggle missing bread and potatoes although those breads look great.

Not really - I've been low carbing (mostly - I do fall off the wagon every now and then!) for so many years that it's just habit. Bread I really only missed because of the convenience of being able to throw a sandwich together/buy a sandwich at lunchtime. Now I can buy the low carb bread, that itch is well and truly scratched! (It's expensive though, so it's not really for every day). Potatoes I'm not bothered about - most things with potato can be replaced by other veg. For example, I make shepherd's pie using a mash made from leeks and celeriac as the topping. That said, I do enjoy the couple of potatoes in my chicken vindaloo, and if we ever go out for Sunday lunch, I do like a good roast potato! But most of the time I don't even think about them. I don't buy them, so DH and DC don't get potatoes either - my view being that if I'm cooking, they eat what I eat.

I always thought I'd miss pasta the most, but I genuinely don't. Every now and then - very rarely, usually if I'm on holiday - I might indulge, but it really doesn't bother me not having it.

It's really important to note that your INS won't be triggered by something you've just eaten. It takes a while for food to travel to your bowel so for instance I'm usually triggered by food that I've eaten 24 hours before but when you eat it fires up your digestive system so it can seem like you're you are reacting to something you've just eaten but actually all that's happened is the food you've just eaten has triggered your digestive system and it's processing whatever you've eaten 12 to 24 hours before say and that's the food you're reacting to so it's really important to understand how fast your transit time is to work out what foods it is you're reacting to. Sorry for long sentence!

Yes, my IBS has more or less gone. It got worse and worse, and in my early 40s was so bad that I lost a stone in a month: could not eat anything, constant indigestion, head fog and literally shitting myself at times. My GP was so alarmed she sent me for all sorts of tests, including for ceoliac disease.

That came back negative but while I was waiting I decided to cut out gluten. I'd toyed with it previously as I have a blood sugar disorder as well, but always caved when it came to bread and butter!

Giving up gluten has been life-changing.

I also do intermittent fasting as, like you, its worse in the evenings/at night, and so basically skipping breakfast gives my digestive system more time to 'recover'.

I also eat a lot less. I used to be a bit of a pig, basically. If I overeat, it comes back.

So: gluten free, intermittent fasting, and not being a greedy guts sorted me right out!

Wish I'd done it years ago. I don't miss gluten-rich foods as, if I do eat them, I'm so ill afterwards. I'm not hungry as I eat lots of protein and that fills me up without the bloating. I feel liberated. I don't have to rush to the toilet, I'm not up at night, I'm not farting all the time or trying to hold in wind at work (the worst!). I have more energy, sleep better.

I hope you find something that works for you, it's so miserable, isn't it?

I tried loads of things including cutting out milk (not dairy, just liquid milk!) Nothing worked but it has got better. I am now in perimenopause - maybe that's it? I still don't drink milk, I don't like it anymore and I am scared of getting the old symptoms back. I had nausea more or less continuously for YEARS. And then one day it just stopped. No idea why but it was so nice to be without it.

@RavingAnnie

Yes. Low FODMAP diet too after about 20 plus years of IBS. I am sensitive to certain fructans. I now avoid those and can eat pretty much normally other than that. V occasionally get mild symptoms if stressed or around period.

Did you follow the diet strictly and do the reintroductions properly?

I was so gutted it didn’t work out for me. I’ve tried the diet several times under dieticians, I was so strict I lost half a stone! They all told me not to go ahead reintroducing as I just wasn’t getting reduction in symptoms during elimination.

coulditbecake do you have to repopulate your good bacteria after a colonic? Does it impact the microbiome?
BIWI I need to get more inventive in the kitchen!
RavingAnnie I’ve kept a food diary for the last 4 years and genuinely can not see any real connection to what I’ve eaten and symptoms, it’s very frustrating!
eyeslikebutterflies I’ve been gf before and didn’t see a real change in symptoms but really should try it again just to see for sure as so, so many people saying gf changes their life.

Oh yes, porridge made with water every morning cured my husband’s rumbling guts. He can never eat any other breakfast now or it comes back (he hates porridge 😁). Also I take a fybogel every night too.

Ah, if you've gone down the GF route already, maybe not then. I did it completely, as I was concerned about coeliac and was so unwell at the time. I stuck rigidly to it for a year. Literally no gluten at all. I can now and again tolerate small amounts of gluten: it was almost as if my 'system' was overloaded and needed a chance to rest and reset.

Hence the intermittent fasting also.

But for me I suspect it was also that I'd eat in an unhealthy way: big gaps between meals, then massive meals and lots of snacks afterwards. So changing that habit and not pigging out: that has also made a difference, I think.

Digestion is so weird. My poor dog suffers terribly, and she now has probiotics and hypoallergenic dog food - sorted her out. What's the human equivalent?!!

It's really important to note that your INS won't be triggered by something you've just eaten. It takes a while for food to travel to your bowel so for instance I'm usually triggered by food that I've eaten 24 hours before but when you eat it fires up your digestive system so it can seem like you're you are reacting to something you've just eaten

Argghh - this is my problem. I've been having stomach/bowel problems for months now. Stool test and coeliac test came back normal. Beginning to wonder if it could be endometriosis, but if it is ibs/food related, as I suspect, then how do you work out what's triggering it if you don't really know how long things take to go through your system?! I've tried keeping a food and symptoms diary, but without an idea of transit it's not much use!

eyeslikebutterflies I must admit that I can go long periods without food at times especially if I’m going out and afraid I may get a flare up and when I do eat it’s murder! I am making an effort to try to eat little and often.
Lazylinguist I often wonder about endometriosis as my sister has it and I do have gynae issues too.