# What can you eat and what can't you eat!



## italianangel (Aug 25, 2009)

I am wondering what can you eat and what can't you eat??Example as far as meat what can you eat?Drinks?Snacks?I guess all of the above..I have heard to increase my fiber and when I do that I have terrible pains and gas and I still don't go the bathroom...I am new to this site and thinking of trying the forum with the vitaminhttp://www.vitacost.com/Source-Naturals-Wo...-Force-Multiple.And I think I am gonna try Miralax...I was on Metamucil but it caused so much gas plus I if I didn't go the next day I would be in bed all bloated with a heating pad on..If I did a suppository then that would even make it worse..So I would just suffer..I have tried different fiber supplements but nothing seems to work...I did try zelnorm and had a bad reaction from it so I had to stop..I have stopped everything I have less gas (just a tab) But I am not going to the bathroom and when i do after 2 days it looks like i thin snake...If I eat more fruit I don't go and I have gas...If I eat less food I don't go but I have gas...I have tried charcoal pills..bean o and gas x..Nothing helps...I had a colostomy and they said I have IBS with C...I just found out i have a medium hi anal hernia too so i am on meds for that...I don't need a fiber to bulk me just a fiber to help me go..Move my bowels..I guess Ibs means there sluggish..I drink water and try to walk 30 minutes a day...Help!!!!!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Miralax may be a good option. Sometimes people don't tolerate fiber well (either gas or they can't keep it wet enough).Miralax (or any of the magnesium based osmotics that other people use) will keep the stool wet.You might try a fiber like fibercon or citrucel that tend to be less fermentable. The sugars and sugar alcohols in fruits sometimes cause more gas than the fiber helps because of the fermentation in the colon.Some people find probiotics help reduce the gas amounts so that may be another option to help you tolerate fiber better.


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## italianangel (Aug 25, 2009)

Did you ever hear of the vitamin I posted?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Other than someone on the board likes them. They seem to have enough magnesium in them to overcome any constipating effects from the calcium. Iron can be constipating so multis without iron sometimes make a difference.I don't know of any specific reason why that supplement would be better than any other high potency multi formula that throws in a lot of additional things beyond just the standard vitamins.


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## italianangel (Aug 25, 2009)

Do you have ibs-c and if so what do you take?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I tend to the diarrhea end of things.For multi vitamins I need to stick with something that is 100% of the RDA, not a high potency one. The ones with really high doses of vitamins tend to make me too nauseated.


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## Kes1 (Jun 17, 2009)

Italianangel, Very sorry to hear how you have been suffering. I have also been feeling terrible for months, and I lost my faith and liking for food earlier this year. I needed to establish what was causing me so much pain, so I started an exclusion diet which has helped me identify that I seem to have problems with large amounts of simple carbohydrates (pasta, rice, potatoes) that were in my diet. CHeck out my post on this forum under Kes1 to read this story. I am beginning to improve now, but i have been on a really strict diet for 5 weeks already and it's not been easy. But it's definitely been worth it so far - I am delighted - pain-free on most occasions, and FINALLY not bloated. And have much more regular BMs. I will continue on this diet until I get back to a more balanced way of eating which I am sure will happen in a few weeks time. Re specific examples:Example as far as meat what can you eat? - Organic chicken and turkey are OK, as is fishDrinks - no alcohol. Herbal teas onlySnacks - avocadoes, snack vegetables (carrot sticks), oatcakes are examples of what I have been allowed to eat.Maybe you eat too much fiber? For fruit - try papaya - it is very soothing. Peel apples and pears, or better still cook them. Some fruit, like melon, are apparently quite gas-causing. All the bestKes


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## italianangel (Aug 25, 2009)

Thank you so much everyone.........I guess I was doing all the wrong things..I eat hamburgers and meat loaf and pork chops..lunch meat...Italian subs...Fruit I eat apples with skin and pears with skin..peaches with skinSnacks are cheez its..Prezels..Chips..But everyday like I said I am in alot of pain..So its alot to do what I am eating?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

That sort of high fat, processed diet can be a problem. Even some of the healthy things like some fruits don't help much.Generally the most soothing diet tends to be lower in fat, lower in protein with a fair amount of cooked veggies and cooked grains like rice that has less resistant starch. Smaller more frequent meals tends to help (5 mini meals may be better than 2 or 3 larger ones), and sometimes simpler meals help. We tend to think that if we need protein and starch and veggies and fruits we should include all of them at all meals. Sometimes fewer things in a meal can help and as long as you get them all during a 24 hour period you will be fine. It is like the new guidelines for vegetarians. A lot of vegetable proteins are incomplete, and they used to say you had to get all the amino acids all at the same meal, but they've figured out as long as you get all of them every day you are fine even if you have beans for lunch and rice at dinner.The fruits with sorbitol (which increases gas) can be OK if you heat them. Heating gets rid of the sorbitol. On the other hand the sorbitol is an osmotic laxative so some people with constipation find that helps more than the gas bothers them. Grapes and berries tend to be low in sorbitol if you really like raw fruit.Sometimes diet doesn't seem to make much difference for some symptoms, but some people find certain diets tend to be easier on the system and make things more manageable even if they don't fix everything.Keeping a log can sometimes help, especially when certain foods seem to bother you more you can look for things like lactose or high fructose corn syrup and see if limiting that can help.Usually it is easier to add some of the things you should eat first and let them crowd out the things you shouldn't be eating. Sometimes if all we look at is the "can't haves" it can be overwhelming to change the diet and people get a lot of "I can't eat anything" feelings. If you can start by adding things in and letting them replace stuff you want to reduce it can make the transition easier.


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## italianangel (Aug 25, 2009)

You have been very helpful..I am so grateful for your information..I have been doing everything wrong and have suffered a lot..How about if I just became a vegetarian? Would that make me feel better?I know if I eat ice cream it hurts.I think its the milk?Yogurt bothers me too..But I heard its suppose to be good for ibs..I know that stuff sorbitol is a sort of laxative but I didn't think it was in fruit...I know it was in flavored water cause I drank that oh the pain...I looked it up and couldn't believe they us that as a sweetener...I just bought some apple sauce and fruit cocktail and juicy juice thinking it would be good ??


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## italianangel (Aug 25, 2009)

That is just as bad......I got hemorrhoids from all this and a fissure......







But the hemorrhoids are not to bad now and the fissure seemed to go away...For now anyway....uggh


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

If you have problems with a raw fruit, the juice isn't going to be any better.Applesauce can be OK, but watch what they sweetened it with. Sucrose/table sugar tends to be better than high fructose corn syrup. Same thing with canned fruit, watch what they pack it in.You can cook your own fruit, but a lot of people don't do a lot of cooking.Some people feel better as a vegetarian, but most people do OK with small portions of lean meat. So chicken breast (skinless), turkey breast, or white fishes seem to be well tolerated. Some people don't do well with beans and soy so lean animal protein sometimes is easier on them. Vegetarian food can sometimes be high in fat, depends on how it is made. Some stuff adds a lot of fat (high fat cheeses) to make it tastier than leaner versions.If yogurt and ice cream bother you there could be a lactose issue. You can get the probiotics (bacteria that ferment things like yogurt) in a tablet and that avoids the lactose. Yogurt has a lot less than milk, but can be enough to bother people. Especially if they also add high fructose corn syrup to sweeten it, and some people don't do as well with the artificial sweeteners, you just have to see how you do.


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## Kitty G (Jun 27, 2006)

Italianangel,It really sounds like dairy could be a problem for you. I know I have a problem with it. If I am going to have dairy, I will buy lactose free milk. There are a lot of different brands. I think Walmart carries Dean's Easy and Lactaid brands. According to my tests, I have an overall sensitivity to dairy not just a lactose intolerence. The other thing I noticed is that you are eating a lot of junk food. Chips, Cheezits and fried foods are harder to digest. I am using the vitamin posted by MMTT and it has worked well for me; unfortunately, it hasn't worked for others. It is worth a try tho. The other thing you might try cutting out is sugar. It's not easy but it would be worth a trial of just cutting out the dairy and sugar for a week and see what that does for you. About the only thing you can do is keep trying different things with your diet but you have to stick with it for at least a week or you'll never figure out what is and isn't working for you.As far as the fiber, one that is tasteless is Benefiber. You can put it in anything from water, coffee, juice to throwing it in your baking. I personally quit the miralax and fibers. I seem to have straightened myself out quite a bit from the vitamin. The miralax and fibers seem to just cause a "peanut butter stool" for me. That just causes a whole new problem. I have had these problems since I was about 13 years old and i am now 46, so this vitamin has really been good for me.Hang in there and keep trying different things. Eventually you will figure out what some of your triggers are. We've all been where you are at now but with time and some experimentation, it generally gets better.


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## italianangel (Aug 25, 2009)

I think I am lactose intolerance because like I said Ice Cream bothers me and yogurt and just a glass of milk cause cramps..So I am gonna try that lactose free milk..I didn't even know they had one..I did check the ingredient on the can fruit and it is high fructose....So your saying cut down on the sugar?I have been eating a lot of junk..I guess that goes with the Mom raising us on snacks LoL....But I did notice they have them rice cakes..Would they be better?The last couple days I have cut down on my food intake and feel a lot better..Hungry but a lot better but I haven't been going to the bathroom like I would want to either so I need to work on that..I don't know if Benefiber is good for me cause I tried it and it didn't work....Metamcuil gave me cramps and sometimes made me worse...So I have backed off the fiber supplements..I am gonna try them vitamins but I have a Medium hianal hernial and wonder if i can take them... What is the peanut butter affect?I can't even eat that anymore..Give me heartburn and cramps me up...I am gonna do the turkey..Chicken...White fish.....Now what about vegetable.Any if there cooked? I know sweet potatoes are good how about white..and bread..what is better wheat or white?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

The Fructose restricted diet isn't a ban all sugars, just avoid the ones that have more fructose than glucose in them.http://john.toebes.com/diet.html has a good list.Some people find it easier to just cut back on all sugars and some people find that a lower sugar diet works better for them. A lot of people will just reduce the higher fructose sugars and do fine.Peanut butter is high in fat and that bothers some people.Vegetables can vary, but cooked is usually easier than raw. Some people avoid the cabbage family veggies if they find they make them gassy.With white potatoes and breads it depends on how you handle starches. Rice is usually the easiest common grain on the system (there are a bunch of rarer grains like quinoa but you can't always find those). With bread it depends how you handle fiber as well as the starch. I'd buy a loaf, see how I do on that, then try another loaf of another kind the next week.


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## Kitty G (Jun 27, 2006)

Kathleen gives good advice Italianangel. To really figure things out, read the labels on things. Try really restricting your diet for a while and once you feel better, you can slowly start incorporating one food at a time to see if you react to it. Don't introduce more than one and wait a week before introducing a new one. I started by just eating meat and potato (baked) because I found that I didn't have much problem with that. Once I was feeling better I had a dessert. I reacted pretty quickly and knew that sugar was a problem. Then I tried a little splenda in coffee. I reacted to that also. I also reacted to fructose sweeteners. I quit all the sugars for a while then I tried some milk. I react to that immediately. My stomach bloats out and i look pregnant. About 6-8 hours later I will have a tremendous amount of gas that lasts for hours. Ice cream will do the same but for some reason, cheese isn't as bad for me. This is just how it is for me, everyone is different, so you will have to experiment. I am a dessert lover, so giving up sugar kills me. I cheat now and then when I know I might have some time to myself. Exercise is helpful also.As far as the peanut butter effect, (this is rather graphic, but it is a part of the forum i guess) with all the fibers and such you end up with a very soft, peanut butter-like stool. You never seem to completely be done expelling it and you wipe forever. A lot of times you end up with a sore bottom because you think you have cleaned yourself thoroughly but you haven't. You also may feel like you didn't completely flush out (incomplete evacuation).I didn't catch whether you are male or female. The vitamin that MMTT posted seems to be working best for females mostly.Hang in there!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

The bacteria that turn the milk into a hard cheese tend to eat all the lactose by the time it is ready to be sold.Some of the softer cheeses still have some lactose, but less than milk.


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## Kitty G (Jun 27, 2006)

Thanks Kathleen. That must explain why cheese seems to be okay for me.


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## Mary5 (Apr 17, 2006)

I have been avoiding rice and potatoes for a long time. Seems like that is pure starch and it is given to people to stop diarrea, so no good for constipation...? Does anyone with IBS-C have any good experience with rice and potatoes?


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## italianangel (Aug 25, 2009)

Kitty I am a Female...


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## Lookin'foraLife (Jan 2, 2009)

If I ate what you initially wrote was your diet I probably wouldn't be ableto move for weeks from the pain!.After many trials and errors, this is my ultimate diet. Can't make any exceptions without suffering consequences:Oatmeal with some natural jellyorganic techina (no additives, no preservatives)cooked fruitscooked vegetables (mainly pumpkin, carrots, mushrooms, sweet potato, parsley)ensure plusamnon and sol white fisheggsjelloquinoaup to 3% yogurtsup to 3% cottage cheesewalnutsalmondssesame seedsherbal teas without caffeinelemonadecarrot juicestrawberrieswatermelonavocadosourdough bread without wheat or preservativesAll this I eat in moderation. Small portions. Try it and see if it helps you. I wouldn't have a life without it.


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## Kes1 (Jun 17, 2009)

To Mary5 - Re your question on rice and potatoes and IBS-C - I have IBS-C. Rice seems OK for me - although it is possible it is making me slightly more C, it's difficult to tell. I think brown rice is better for us with IBS-C. Not sure about potatoes - last time I tried baked potatoes, I had cutting pains in my stomach immediately after, and I have not tried since. Am still experimenting. My own big problem seems to be wheat...!


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