# Chinese food & cramps



## Guest (Jul 25, 2000)

I was doing fine on my bland diet and feeling really good and got brave and have some chinese food. It was white rice (safe I think) with mixed vegetables (just remembered had broccoli in it) and chicken with soy sauce over the rice. Was this too greasy for IBS or what? I am disgusted I can't enjoy some different foods once in a while. Does anyone know what it was in the chinese food and does anybody else find chinese food a problem. Thanks


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2000)

Chinese food was my very last food hurdle to attempt after beginning Librax. In the early stages of my symptoms any food would set me off on any given day but I would never even make it out of a Chinese restaurant without running to the bathroom. After avoiding my doctor for about a year I finally went and talked to him about my situation and had some tests run and he prescribed a trial dosage of Librax. It worked great except it took about a year for me to gain trust that it actually worked. I've been on it about 9-10 years now. After my IBS D seemed a bit in control I tackled a Chinese buffet and was amazed that I had no problems with it whatsoever. Now my husband and I have Chinese food at least once a week. I still don't have the nerve to eat pizza out - always have it at home and sometimes i have a problem then other times i have no problem at all. My sister has IBS as well and she cannot eat Chinese food without problems as well. So, in answer to your question, without my medication it would be no Chinese food for me!!!


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## sickofsick (Nov 4, 1999)

A lot of people are sensitive to MSG a preservative used in Chinese food. Not all of them use this but it is quite common. Even a lot of folks without IBS cannot tolerate MSG.just a thought,sickofsick


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2000)

I love Chinese food! But ever since this IBS started, been getting headaches when I eat it, never before. I have heard the MSG can cause the headaches, but they say that they do not put MSG in in the food where I go. Wonder what else would set off headaches when I eat it.


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

I do ok on it unless it's something real greasy. That bothers me a lot, and I will get sick from it.







JeanG


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2000)

Hi Misti, I am also on Librax. I have only been on it for three months. I have noticed some difference and I am staying on it. I am alsoon a bland diet and it is taking some time for these intestines to calm down. I think I will stay away from greasy foods(the chicken was greasy in the chinese food but it tasted sooooooo good). Did you find that it took awhile for the Librax to kick in before tackling foods that trigger IBS? Thanks for the support.


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2000)

I appreciate everyones input on chinese food. I forgot that MSG can be a problem and that the food is greasy. My doctor said stay away from greasy foods. The meal gave me a bad case of indigestion too. I am definitely better with bland foods. How boring. I should have listened to my doctor.


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## Krissy (Jul 6, 2000)

Hi Ros,yep,probably the MSG,i learned the hard way to ask before i order,because that stuff is bad! According to what i've read,MSG is a possible trigger food in IBS,and they say people can easily get migranes,sick stomach,etc. within 30 minutes if MSG is bad for them.Its called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome,which is why i ask,i get the migrane,and the IBS goes nuts.There are also other Glutamates that will do the same.I feel like i don't know what in the store reading every package of ingredients!Feel Better!!







Krissy


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

HI ROS!There are a lot of posts in the last few days that can help shed light on your questions. There is a thread on RICE and the bacillus cereus thats in rice that, unless prepared correctly, can produce what appears to be an IBS-D attack and it is very much underreported (I remember an outbreak that was attributed to a chinese restaurant that used left-over steamed rice to make stir fry or fried rice..I forget). Anyway read about rice un RICE RICE BABY.Under FOOD JOURNAL and (I think) a thread about SEASONAL CHANGES in IBS are posts describing the normal toxins in various veggies that can affect a persons gut (like histamine, lectin, peptides)...this is all assuming that the person is not sensitive to MSG and/or MSG is left out of the prep.This reading might help shed some further light on experience with dishes, like chinese, that contain a range of foods whose intrinsic "defenses" may aggravate your IBS.Hope the rumbles have stopped!MNL


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## Mannie (Jan 17, 2000)

I usually do OK at a chinese restaurant, but it probably will give me D about 1 out of every 10 times I go.Some Chinese food is tricky because some meals are fatty and greasy. One organization tested King Pao Chicken at different restaurants across the country and found it to consistently have more fat than a Whopper and fries!I always stick to white rice (like you), chicken teriayki (on a stick), and I know a seafood dish that doesn't bother me at the restaurant we go to. Also, I have never had a bad experience from a Thai restaurant, and the ones we go to have some foods that are similar to Chinese restaurants. I think the Thai food is much less greasy. I can even eat a little fried rice at the Thai restaurant we go to... it is not even slightly greasy unlike the Chinese counterparts.


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## moms777 (Jan 29, 2000)

Yeah, I usually have a problem with Chinese food also, which is why I'll only eat it at home! I found that since I've been ordering "Shrimp Chow Fun with no vegetables" (and they don't use MSG) I haven't had any problems. As long as I don't sample everything else, that is!!!


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2000)

Ros, to be honest it has been so long (about 9 years) that i've been on Librax that I can barely remember how I reacted. I do know I had a high school athletic banquet to attend where my son was receiving an award. It included dinner, etc. prior to the award presentation. I had just started Librax a few days earlier but i was so concerned that i would be in the bathroom during the award presentation that i just picked at my food even though it was pretty basic - baked chicken, rice, veggie. I made about 3 trips to the bathroom out of shear nerves - no reason to go just concern that the bathroom was pretty far away. I'm sure you know what I mean. That was really the turning point for me, though. I passed on the chocolate cake and coffee for desert - those combinations would have been deadly, i'm sure. But it did take a while for me to adjust to the fact that the pill would work if i just didn't get my stomach all tied in knots worrying about whether it would work or not. I take a pill 30 minutes prior to each meal. The doctor had me take one at bedtime the first few weeks as well and after about a month I discontinued the bedtime dose. If we are staying home for dinner I sometimes don't take any medication unless it's a trigger food like Italian Food (particularly pizza). But I find I don't usually have problems with that if I take my medication. I always take breakfast (before coffee) and lunch meds, though. My stomach has gotten so much better i'd like to try and discontinue the medication gradually but i just don't want to give up my security. When I travel I will, on occasion, have a problem but very, very seldom. I think it has more to do with getting off my eating schedule and perhaps drinking and eating things i normally would not eat. Like a hot fudge sundae for lunch instead of a decent meal - ha! In trying to think back, though, and i do believe the medication started working right away.....it was just getting my nerves under control and taking deep breaths whenever I would become concerned. Don't get me wrong....whenever i'm in a meal situation where I feel uncomfortable - like a fashion show i'm attending this week and the meal will be served during the show - i still worry but I think it will just always be something i think about when i'm unable to have quick access to the bathroom. My son was recently married and believe me....i didn't eat a thing until after the wedding. I took my medication but i didn't want to take the chance of having a problem during the ceremony. So long story short.....the medication may be working for you right now, it's just that you don't trust it yet. I, unlike many on the board, am not bothered with stomach pain except during the period where i have a problem with C. Good luck to you........!


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