# ibs and life problems



## bls6 (Oct 14, 2004)

I'm gonna give the quick version of my story...diagnosed with ibs senior year of high school, and I just graduated college. My symptoms are mostly bloating and gas. I take fibercon twice a day and mostly live on fiber and protein. Along with my ibs I began to develop an eating disorder. I'm not anorexic but I monitor my food greatly, and am currently underweight...i'm 5'3'' and around 95 lbs. My eating problems seem to be preventing me from eating maybe what would be better to help my bloating. I eat cereal in the morning, and then mostly fruits, vegetables, and protein the rest of the day. I'm addicted to diet soda because it fills up my stomach and I'm not as hungry. I was on zelnorm for two years, lexapro for a few months, have tried probiotics, have tried hypnotherapy, have been out to the mayo clinic, and nothing relieves my gas and bloating. My main problem is that I'm now also developing anxiety due to the ibs. I am a cute, young, attractive 22 yr old but I'm scared of getting into a relationship because I'm fearful of my ibs constantly getting in the way. Any help or encouragement would be greatly appreciated...I don't want to be single my whole life...but right now my life is pretty much controlled by my ibs and my disordered eating habits.


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## Modgy (Apr 15, 2004)

Hey thereIf your main symptoms are gas and bloating you should be avoiding all that fibre, starch and soda.Try eating only meat and vegetables for a week or two and see how you feel. For veges concentrate on dark and leafy, red or yellow and avoid beans, cabbage, onions and other "fart" vegetables. Don't eat potatoes or many root veges either, they are full of starch and carbs. Low carb is great for bloating...and if you are paranoid about gaining weight for any reason you should have no worries in that department either, although really that sounds like it should be the least of your concerns.


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## yaboozaboo (Oct 20, 2004)

don't drink diet soda if you are having diarrhea. artificial sweetners can get you really really bad. some people it doesn't bother. but for people like me, it makes you very ill.


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## FastLane (Dec 9, 2003)

Luna bars are a great food as they have tons of protein, but never make my IBS bad. You can take them with you and eat when you get that low blood sugar headache. Also try eating whole wheat pasta. I know fiber can be good, but too much is bad. You need to find the right balance.


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## yaboozaboo (Oct 20, 2004)

drink lots of water! especially when you take fiber.


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## jools41 (Jan 8, 2004)

i dont know what luna bars are, im assuming you can only buy them in the usa,what exactly are these bars?i would love to be able to drink lots of water (as everyone should) however i cant really consume much fluids as i have a severe bladder problem and if im not on the loo doing one thing its the other







i generally dont drink soda i tend to stick to tea.I constantly feel bloated and get very gassy, plus i get bad heartburn which is painful as it goes all the way through to my back life sucks eh!


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## F1 fan (Nov 3, 2004)

Don't worry about relationships. I wouldn't tell the guy rightway unless it is apparent that you have it. I would wait until the 3rd or 4th date. That way he gets to see you for you, and then finds out what you have. If he leaves, than he doesn't deserve you anyway.Hope that helps,Steve


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## shoes (Dec 14, 2004)

i have found in my relatively short experience that soda is pretty much the worst thing out there for me, besides dairy because im lactose intolerant also. i have read and probably agree with the theory that caffeinne is not a good thing to have, maybe not so much for the physical aspects of it but it has been proven to be a primary cause of stress, which is undoubtedly a primary if not the primary cause of axiety and IBS symptoms.the last time i had tea was more than a year ago when I was in England and I don't recall if it created a problem for me, but usually stuff at temperatures does. Also, if tea has caffeinne then what i said before might apply


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## decemberm00n (Nov 23, 2004)

I've had IBS since i was 13 or 14. I avoilded dating all through highschool. I kept my IBS a secret.What helped me is pretty much accepting that I had IBS and that it isn't the most embarassing thing in the world. I'm pretty outspoken about it, I don't really keep it a secret that way people don't get surprised or anything when i take many trips to the restroom. And since I'm not so stressed with hiding it from everyone I feel better - it's not as severe as it use to be.My fiance's mother has IBS, so he kind of already knows about it and it doesn't bother him much. He doesn't like that I cancel plans sometimes when I am feeling my worse, but in the end it's not a big problem.


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## FastLane (Dec 9, 2003)

Luna bars are a type of Cliff brand bar, like Power bars, but they contain no lactose, only soy protein and have 4 grams of fiber per bar. http://www.lunabar.com/


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