IBS-C sufferers. Can you talk to me about what you eat?

[Suddengeekgirl]

I had IBS-D for 10+ years and I knew how to handle it.

Then after a prolonged period of stress (trying to sell a house and relocate 100+ miles away) it changed to IBS-C.

I was given lactulose which I took for several months and then decided to try and phase it out. Everything seemed fine and I had been off it for a month or so.

However after a week on holiday (eating too much wrong stuff) I'm suffering again and am back on the lactulose. :(

I've obviously been eating the wrong stuff but I'm not really sure what my new triggers/ foods to avoid are.

Can you tell me what you do/ don't eat?
I'm pretty sure white/ processed bread is bad - and I know I ate more than usual on hols.

Any advice or tips would be great! :)

For me its lactose, onions, garlic, alcohol, fruit with skins and to a degree wheat. But then I am not sure if it is because shop brought bread is processed within an inch of its life as I can tolerate my own home made bread!

Its unbelievable how much stuff has milk products in them!!

I have the lactofree milk and yakult to keep everything in order. The new lactofree mature cheddar is so much nicer than the excuse they called cheese before!

I eat most veg, but can't tolerate brocolli (sp) and too many green beans.

I have porridge with a few raisins and honey every day. I do spice it up with a bit of cinnamon. I did try those oatso easy, but they didn't seem to agree. Plus after being used to proper porridge the oatso easy just tasted blargh!!

I try to limit sugar and artificial sweeteners are a no no! Even squashes have been known to send my guts into free fall! (Literally!) But supermarkets don't seem to many stock full fat squashes these days, so all I drink is water and tea.

I just try to stay away from too much processed crap. When I fancy something nice, morrisons do a lovely dairy/wheat free millionaires shortbread! If I get lazy and cba to do my own bread then I have the wheat/dairy free one from Morrison's or sainsburys. I have found the tesco bread very dry!

Don't believe doctors that say increase fiber! For me personally it makes life so much more painful and gassy!

If I get bunged up fibregel is my best friend!

Bread, I'm not certain if it's the wheat or the yeast, but delicious soft white bread really causes me grief. There is a fantastic bakery nearby and DH is always bringing home loaves. It takes all my will power not to indulge. But I did yesterday and paid the price today.

dillie - that's a lot of stuff to exclude from your diet! Did you work out your trigger foods yourself? (If so how!) Or is there some sort of test the GP could do?
Last time I saw the GP they suggested I google for advice on ibs!

anabelle - white bread is SO yummy! And so bad!
I definitely seem to tolerate homemade/ minimal ingredients bread better than cheap white sliced bread.

I think I'm ok with dairy. I bloody hope so as I love it!

I think not drinking enough when it was hot, daily ice creams (which is never healthy!), not enough fruit and veg and too much bread probably all lead to my undoing. :(

Have very squiggly tummy today but at least I'm actually going to the loo now.

Glad you're feeling better today. I think the best way to work it out is to keep a food diary of everything you eat and then when you have symptoms you can look back at what you recently ate.

Too much dairy gives me a really nasty acidic stomach. I was on ulcer meds for ages until I worked it out.

At that time I was so unwell between my stomach and the IBS, so I did a really strict regime of no wheat or dairy for a few months. I felt better almost immediately. After that I gradually reintroduced tiny amounts. I find if I keep it to one portion if each per day I'm ok, although I generally don't eat that much.

I eat a lot of salads and homemade soup. I can eat spelt bread with no ill effects. For a treat I make a gorgeous cake with ground almonds, you can also make amazing brownies with almonds.

It's all a bit trial and error, but when you find what works best for you it can make a huge difference to your symptoms

Holidays do that to me too, a combination of not drinking enough water and getting out of the habit of going to the loo at a similar time. Not eating many carbs, certainly bread, drinking lots of water and having magnesium tablets and physillium capsules seems to sort me out. I try to avoid milk and fibre- gps don't know what they're talking about, fibre just makes my ibs-c so much worse.

I tend to stick to the FODMAP diet, I can not tolerate wheat. I find fodmap difficult to understand at times but noticed such a difference.

I think I need to look at FODMAP again.
Last time it confused me and made me feel really limited in what I can eat. :(

All trial and error. I have had IBS since I was 17, (now just turned 40) thanks to a nasty bout of food poisoning while on holiday in Spain!

I tend to eat the same stuff so it is easy for me to figure out if anything sets me off. I guess I am almost ocd over it! I did start off with a food diary which helped alot. I didnt twig the lactose/milk thing until my mum said that when i was a baby I could not tolerate cows milk so was on soya for a while. I seemed to grow out of it, but i do remember being off school sick a lot. Maybe i have always had it!

It is restrictive and I don't go out to eat much, but fortunately I have some very understanding friends who don't mind going to nandos if we are out!!!

Food diary is key to start. Start from the beginning and eliminate diary or whatever you know for sure upsets you. Try the lactofree milk. Its a life saver for me! Doesn't taste any different. Maybe a little sweeter. Introduce everything back slowly and with a bit of luck any issues will show themselves!

I tried cherries a few weeks back. Never again!!

Good luck. Hope it all settles down soon! Keep at it!

Oo forgot to say, I do take a vitamin to help with anything that I am missing. I currently take bassetts daily energizer as I am sure I am lacking in b vitamins. I can't seem to tolerate the tablets as they give me a really upset stomach and heartburn. These chewy ones are fantastic. A couple of weeks of taking these and I feel like a new woman!

Also I have had hypnotherapy to help with stress and anxiety because as you know it hurts to be stressed!!!

Sorry posted under my alias!!