IBS - please someone spell it out for me.

[fartmeistergeneral]

I know there's so much information out there, but I still don't know where to start. Went to the doctors ages ago and she said it could be IBS but it was such a broad ranging thing that it was difficult to say. My symptoms are significantly worse now. Spasms, terrible bloating (painful!), the noisiest stomach this side of Christendom, occasional diarrhoea. When I run (which I love), I get terrible diarrhoea - very very bloody. Have had a sigmoidoscopy which showed I had a lovely clean bowel (!) so there's nothing significantly wrong down there. Definite IBS, I'm sure of it.

So, what should I avoid eating? I don't have fizzy juice, I've started on the porridge in the mornings, I love granola - is that good or bad? I try to avoid bread if I can (not completely), what about rice cakes/rivita/oatcakes? Fruit - good or bad (web says both!). Help! Really want to get a handle on this.

Pasta?

Dd has IBS and she has a fairly strict diet. She has a list of irritating food that she cant eat. The internet is no help as it's very individual and what's okay for one person may not be okay for another. Also what you're okay with today you may not be okay with tomorrow.

She cant have anything with tomatoes, onions, spices, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, pepper or cauliflower. No deep fried foods and any fried food she does eat should only be shallow fried ina little oil. No food with coatings like fish fingers, oven chips etc. No caffeine, no brown chocolate and no carbonated drinks. If she were older it would be no alcohol and no smoking.

Biscuits and cakes are best homemade.

Food like popcorn and other stuff that takes a while to digest is best avoided.

Hth

Ooh and fresh pasta rather than dry. Also try not to have reheated potato.

We dont eat out much!

Should add this diet but dd has GERD too and has to avoid a lot of dairy too. Not much joy.

Sorry forgot no crisps unless baked.

As has been pointed out, it is very individual. My IBS makes me prone to diarrhoea and I need to eat a low fibre diet. The worst culprits for me are wheat bran, cream, rich food and too much alcohol and caffeine.

You need to try an elimination diet see what upsets you, everyone is different, some people are intolerant to dairy, others to gluten, wheat, fructose, artifical sweeteners, yeast alcohol. Stress can also play a big part. Try taking out one food from your diet and see if it helps. Rye, oats, wheat, and barely all contain gluten.

My IBS is caused by gluten intolerance, fructose intolerance and stress makes it a lot worse, it took years before I new how to control it.

Blood in you stool isn't a sign of IBS and you should go back to your GP. Although you've had the all clear from a colonoscopy which is great news. I'd want to find out where the blood is coming from and why. For IBS with diarrhoea a low fibre diet can be very useful, my mum follows it although she has Ulcerative Colitis not IBS but it's made a huge difference to her symptoms. Basically no brown bread, rice or pasta - think white, stodgy food, not too much fruit (1-2 pieces a day), bananas are good and all vegetables should be peeled before eating to reduce the fibre content. It totally goes against what we think of as a "healthy diet" but it worked wonders for her especially as she'd lost quite a lot of weight and as her symptoms improved her appetite returned.