# D after eating at restaurants



## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

This is similar to, but not the same as, the post titled "D after Lunch" I travel for work (across the US) and usually eat out while traveling. A while back I started with explosive-D an hour or so after eating at a restaurant. I have tried to keep track to see if I can find a pattern but have not yet found anthing that makes sense.Which meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) makes no difference. It happens less frequently with breakfast, but does happen if I eat at a sit-down restaurant rather than a fast food place or hotel breakfast buffett.I can eat at a fast food place - any fast food place - and never have had a problem. It seems to be only the sit-down and order a meal restaurants that do me in. That in itself strikes me as odd. And I have varried the kind of meals to see if that has an effect, but have not had any conclusive findings. One would think if I stuck to low-fat or "healthy" meals that would have a noticeable difference, but no, there is no repeatable pattern there.I have discussed this with my GI, but he did not seem to want to talk about it until after my colonoscopy, which I have now had but have not yet gotten an appointment for my follow-up visit. (his office was to call me after they get results of the biopsies)Any thoughts?


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## crstar (Jun 29, 2009)

i've written about adrenal fatigue b 4..........fast food places use alot of salt...........sodium is one of those things that help the adrenals......read my other posts, i've written about this way too many times..........


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## Rosie (May 9, 2002)

It is odd you you can eat fast food without a problem. If the sit down restaurant's use MSG that will cause a problem. I would think if anybody used MSG, a fast food place would. I'm guessing it might be some kind of an additive they are using.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

Rosie said:


> It is odd you you can eat fast food without a problem. If the sit down restaurant's use MSG that will cause a problem. I would think if anybody used MSG, a fast food place would. I'm guessing it might be some kind of an additive they are using.


Yes, it is odd. MSG is one of the ingredents I have watched and see no connection to.


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2010)

This might be an odd question, but do sit down restaurants stress you out?I've noticed that even a little bit of anxiety can make my D extremely... well, worse. I once went on a date with my husband, picked food that was fine for my tummy, drank only water, but still had a nasty bout of D almost right after I ate. Later on I figured out that I was nervous, I hadn't been out with him somewhere nice in years! Plus, with the nice restaurant and me wearing a dress, I felt a little anxious about everything going well.I tend to pay more attention now to my stress and anxiety levels... and I've noticed a direct connection between some (not all) of my tummy problems. They definitely get worse when I'm upset- sad or angry. I've had to stop in the middle of an argument with my hubby to use the bathroom many many times.I hope this helps, and if it's not the stress- good luck finding a solution!


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## ziggy7 (Oct 24, 2009)

when i eat at resturants even if i eat low carb i can still get the runs alot of the time because there food is not healthy and can be old but i mostly never eat at resturants anymore because of these reasonsand remo where you said ( One would think if I stuck to low-fat or "healthy" ) it makes me wonder if you have ever tried eating low carb before its really like an alternate reality when it comes to your gut the effects are amazing when you cut out carbohydrates fat no longer causes problemsalso low-fat is not healthy and if it was then why do people like say eskimos who eat a diet of up to 80% fat and lots of saturated animal fats have 0% obesity, 0% heart disease, 0% type 2 diabetes. while 1 in 2 amaricans will die from a heart attackits not natural fats or saturated fat that are bad. but its these man made fats and hydrogenated oils that are badhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCwVAkrHLq4...=rec-r2-2r-4-HMand anyways you can read about low carb if your interested here it cured my IBS-D







http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=112669


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

oregonmommy said:


> This might be an odd question, but do sit down restaurants stress you out?


Actually that is a good quesiton - but I don't think is the answer. I have been diagnosed with depression and GAD, and if I go to a resaurant I am not familiar with, yes I do stress out a bit. However, in this case the first time I noticed this I was after eating at a familiar restaurant, with someone I work with and get along with very well. I have also had the problem intermittantly at my favorite restaurant that Mrs remo and I visit often. I've tried to vary the meal at that favorite local restaurant to see if it has something to do with a particular ingedient - but have not been able to find a consistently repeatable trigger.Thanks for taking a stab at it!


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

ziggy7 said:


> and remo where you said ( One would think if I stuck to low-fat or "healthy" ) it makes me wonder if you have ever tried eating low carb before its really like an alternate reality when it comes to your gut the effects are amazing when you cut out carbohydrates fat no longer causes problemshttp://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=112669


Yup, I've gone low carb too, and that too resulted in explosive D.The one thing I have tried that shows some promise, but is not yet proven is pro-biotics. I tried a course of a particular pro-biotic for about 6-8 weeks, and seemed to be improving. I then went back to the same restaurant where I first noticed the problem (noted in my reply above) and ate the same meal and escaped without any problem. I then had an appointment with my GI who gave me some samples of two other pro-biotics to try, so I went through those and they did not seem to help as much as the first one I was trying and I got back into the old rut. I have re-started on the first pro-biotic I seemed to do well with a couple of weeks ago after my colonoscopy so I still have another 4 weeks or so before I get back to where I was before trying the samples.


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## judyamc (Feb 10, 2010)

Hi,I have just found this site and all ready I am feeling better!Yes, I have had the BIG D after eating in restaurants. I think it happens when I have eaten something creamy or rich. Sometimes I have D during a meal if there is a lot of tension. I have to leave in the middle of the meal and run. This sometimes happens during other emotional situations. Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do when I feel it coming on? Sometimes the D is accompanied by chills and/or nausea. One time I even fainted!It also seems to aggravate my hemroids. Then I get rectal bleeding in addition to everything else.I think I have had IBS since I was a kid. It would happen when I was nervous about being in a play or on a special occasion.


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## blondeoverblue24 (Oct 20, 2009)

Have you ever been placed on an antispasmodic? Taking those a half hour before eating can help calm down the reflex that makes you have a bowel movement after you eat.Also, have you ever tried taking imodium before you go out to eat? I feel it helps control my system, and overall, it just calms me down because I feel more protected.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

is Donnatal an antispasmodic?


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## IBD/IBS Author (May 24, 2007)

You have to understand a restaurant kitchen. . . first, they use a ton of butter to make food taste good. Then, they use cheap ingredients, even the best restaurants, to help their bottom lines, so you aren't getting the best quality food. Preservatives are in most of the foods. Canned and frozen and pre-packaged and pre-made foods are common. Any and all of these things will and do set-off my gut. I don't and never have eaten at a fast food restaurant so can't help you with why that isn't a problem.I eat out very little because I cook very well, like my cooking, and know it won't make me sick. There are a handful of restaurants where I've gotten to know their chefs, trust what they're feeding me, and don't end up feeling awful afterwards. It's touch for you with so much travel, but you really may need to tell your wait staff that you need food made with real ingredients.


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## Kelly Chow (Mar 21, 2008)

To the OP, it is very difficult to review the patterns of your symptoms even if you had a diary tracking the types of foods that you have eaten, resulting in an explosive diarrhea. If you did not travel so much the recommedation would be to cook your own food and track the ingredients that you use including any spices etc. used to flavor the food. This often presents you with detectable pattern in which you can decipher instead of wonder what ingredients were used in the foods cooked for you by the restaurants as that is almost impossible to track.Now the more realistic and simple method for you to understand what caused that explosive diarrhea, is to have a blood test conducted. This type of test can help you to determine which specific foods, down to the raw ingredients, were the culprit as it tells you what foods are intolerable to your digestive system. This is a very good way to truly understand which foods to eat and which to stay away from. For example, it may be cheese but only a specific type of cheese such as American processed cheese. Note however that this type of test is conducted at a private clinic and it does cost you a fee. Nonetheless however, it is your health and it should be of your utmost priority. Finances should come after health.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> is Donnatal an antispasmodic?


Yes.Also try taking imodoum a bit before a 'sit down' meal out.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

Kelly Chow said:


> If you did not travel so much the recommedation would be to cook your own food and track the ingredients that you use including any spices etc. used to flavor the food. This often presents you with detectable pattern in which you can decipher instead of wonder what ingredients were used in the foods cooked for you by the restaurants as that is almost impossible to track.


When not traveling, I rarely eat out. Mrs remo and I do go on an occasional dinner out, and pretty well stick to one of three restarants. I have order the same meal at the same place a couple of weeks apart and one time I am affected and the other I am not. When eating at home it is rare that I have a problem... maybe 4 or 5 instances over the last couple of years. I have attempted a diary of intake at home, but it goes so long between "events" I typically give up before anything happens. My GI has sent me back to my GP "for treatment" (meaning he's found nothing wrong with me.) I will ask my GP about the blood test.Fast Food is often the only choice when on the road and on the run, but as I said, fast food has never bothered me.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

BQ said:


> Yes.Also try taking imodoum a bit before a 'sit down' meal out.


I will try the Immodium.One "good" side to the downturn in the economy is that I am not traveling very much recerntly.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

judyamc said:


> I think I have had IBS since I was a kid.


Me too, but it was IBS-C and I had no idea what it was until a few years ago when the C became D and I was diagnosed by my GP.


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## judyamc (Feb 10, 2010)

Hi,Thanks for the idea about taking imodium. That's something that's easy to try.Judy


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