# Morning symptoms resolved by meal control?



## hargy (Feb 25, 2011)

I have registered mainly to share a significant improvement I have encountered in "morning rush" type symptoms and others may benefit. I am a lifelong sufferer of relatively mild IBS characterised by colonic pain post heavy meals (inconsistent perhaps 3 episodes per month )with more frequent occasional pain twinges from the colon. Mornings however over the last several years have been characterised by gripey diarrhoea and malaise improving during the course of the day. I self diagnosed my condition in my teens and the condition appears to run in the family. Maternal grandmother had problems I believe and a son also displays the same tendencies although another son is trouble-free.I am a biomedical scientist with an interest in GI. I had always believed that IBS sufferers should eat "little and often" and tended to do this. I have not had reason to try medication for any significant length of time due to relatively mild symptoms and unpredicatability of colonic spasms; mebeverine has not relieved colonic spasms when these have occurred during drug intake.In the evening I would often snack on sandwiches, fruit and have a supper of say cereal or milk drinks.I decided that I would see what would happen if I ate nothing after the main evening meal at 6 pm. I reasoned that this would allow the gut to enter a long-lasting fasting state lasting for the rest of the evening and night. Remarkably this has lead to an almost immediate and striking improvement in morning symptoms. I have had several weeks of good stability and this leads me to register with this group and suggest that meal control is worth trying. Put simply absolutely no solid food after an early meal with only water or very weak tea has caused substantial improvement in the "morning rush" with a change to firm stools. I still have a sensitive colon but the general stability is excellent.I hope others may benefit from this controlled meal regime


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## DougW (Feb 25, 2011)

Please see my post " my treatment that has worked". As a med student I'm sure you may find it at least ineresting research as it ( welchol) is used off label. But it has changed my life.


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## hargy (Feb 25, 2011)

Interesting observations with this drug, DougW. With anecdotal accounts from individuals it is always difficult to be sure that something has worked rather than a spontaneous resolution; only clinical trials show results with confidence. However when an individual like yourself ( or myself although it is early days relatively speaking)have long term problems suddenly changed by a single factor the observation is indicative of a real effect. Though in the drugs industry for a number of years (non-medical,I have PhD in pharmacology !) I prefer to see drug-free resolutions where possible. Where this may not be possible the use of a drug such as you have described is worth further study and comment.


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## Thai (Aug 22, 2007)

hargy,Glad to hear that your meal control has improved your symptoms.This regimine has done nothing for me however.I don't eat after 6 PM for reasons other than IBS and this has been my routine for many years.But the morning run to the toilet, regardless of my last meal time, remains...the morning runnnnnn to the toilet...


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## DougW (Feb 25, 2011)

I agree if I could have controlled without pill I would have. I did my own study after first six months on Welcohl, i went off for a week and kept same routine food stress etc. On about day 4 or 5 depending on food trigger etc. Ibs-d would return just as it had before. Same syptoms same pain same duration. I would restart welcohl and after two pills it stopped again. Have done this two other times on purpose and a couple of times just because forgot to take pill with same results. I don't know why it works nor does my regular dr. or the gi dr. I had ( don't need anymore) But they feel it does have something to do with reabsorbtion of bile and water in the intestines rather than letting it just run thru.


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## peaches41 (Nov 26, 2008)

I have tried a similar thing - I eat early in the evening and I have nothing else before bed. The morning rush is very much better, but now I get "the evening rush". I eat at midday, and around 4-5 pm I have a bowel movement, quite normal. The about an hour later all hell breaks loose, explosive wind and diarrhoea. I have to go once or twice more before it settles down, and I usually go to bed with a stomach ache.


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## hargy (Feb 25, 2011)

peaches41, I don't quite understand your situation as you describe it You say initially you eat early in the evening then write of a problem around 6pm. Is this early post meal (2nd or 3rd of the day?). I wonder what happens with 1 meal a day. This is a bit extreme but didn't that US general (McCrystal?) have this regime!


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## peaches41 (Nov 26, 2008)

hargy said:


> peaches41, I don't quite understand your situation as you describe it You say initially you eat early in the evening then write of a problem around 6pm. Is this early post meal (2nd or 3rd of the day?). I wonder what happens with 1 meal a day. This is a bit extreme but didn't that US general (McCrystal?) have this regime!


Yes, here's what happens. I eat cereal for breakfast at around 6-630 a.m. Then normal bm. Usually a crumpet or slice of toast at 10-30 a.m. - 11 a.m. Lunch at 12 noon, meat and vegetables, followed by yoghurt and honey. Cup of tea and biscuit at around 3.30 p.m. Supper at 5 p.m. usually quite a light meal like an egg sandwich or something on toast. Quite soon after is when I usually have a bm, maybe two, the second with urgency. At around 7-8 pm I start with very windy grumbling stomach and sometimes another bm (d).I honestly don't think I could cope with one meal only a day. Surely we are supposed to eat little and often rather than one big meal?


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## hargy (Feb 25, 2011)

Yes, "little and often" is the mantra but this is what I decided to change with my altered routine! Frequency of eating means that the gut is more challenged with periodic intake of food. With the gut in the fasting state for an extended period my thinking was that this would enhance the recuperative "housekeeping " phase when a particular electrophysiological state exists in the intestine.I agree one meal is extreme but it would be interesting to know what the resultant effect on gut events would be (that's the scientist in me)! It may be worth trying on say 3 consecutive days to see what effect if any there was in the type and timing of the usual evening scenario. Alternatively there is the milder tactic of dropping the evening light supper.


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## ferrarisa (Feb 27, 2011)

I also found that I must eat several small meals during the day. I actually will eat the same breakfast and lunch during the week day. Boring? But I found the foods that do not cause a flare up and stuck with them. At 6:00 am, I have a scrambled egg(organic, brown), butter and toast(double fiber or double protein), water. That's it. I'll have a snack around 9:30 which usually are almonds and rice cakes. For lunch, I have 1/2 a banana, almond butter and honey sandwich, and water. I'll have a South Beach protein bar at 2:00. I eat at 4:00-4:30 each day and a snack with medications(which includes a pro-biotic)at 6:30. I found that it is important for me to eat at the same time each day, even on the weekends.


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## tanger32au (Apr 30, 2007)

Glad you have found something that works for you. I think with IBS half the battle is learning your own body and what works for you. Good luck and I hope you keep improving.Paul


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