# Nothing to eat



## 13645 (Jan 30, 2007)

Hello everyone! I am new to the forums, and need some help! I know everyone asks 'what do I eat' what do I not eat' etc...But for me is seems harder then that. Yeah the doctor says usually this this and this will make you sick. Its all about trial and error. But honestly if I followed that, I would only be eating toast and crackers. I was really good about what I ate at first but I wasnt eating enough. So I finally gave up and just starting eating food even if I knew it might make me sick. So sad to say I am used to being in pain and sick all the time. But even with that I still dont eat enough becasue I get full fast. Oh ontop of it I am lactose intolerant! So dairy products make me sick, so do veggies, fruit, oatmeal,juice, caffenine, soda, cold drinks, tea, fish, whole wheats, fatty/ greasy/ oily foods, eggs, chips, a lot of meats, and pastas (unless plain) and the list could go on...!!! I need to eat again , but what if everything makes me sick. should I just keep doing trial and error then make a diet out of that, or go see a nutrionist? or what? It is very frustrating, and am tired of people saying that Im too skinny and dont look healthy! and if frustrates me B/F sometimes cause he doesnt understand fully, so when he sees me so sick but cant do anything he feels bad. or he will say I dont understand why you cant eat more. I hope some of this made sense, I kind of rambled but I am just really lost and dont know what to do.


----------



## 19391 (Jan 11, 2007)

hey, most of the foods you listed bother ppl with ibs. Dairy, red meat, chocolate, caffeine, eggs, high fat foods are supposed to be triggers. also, even ppl without ibs that eat lost of veggies and fruits will get D. I just started a diet of mostly soluble fibre and it has helped lots so far, and I also cut out most of the other foods I'm not supposed to eat. So mainly I eat white meat and fish, pasta, flour tortillas, bananas, mangoes, peeled apples, oatmeal, soy milk etc. i got the list of foods that are safe from www....com Don't eat nothing though, I found that that just makes me worse. If I get hungry then I bloat up and have lots of pain. Try eating some really safe foods, like white bread, mushrooms, potatoes, bananas and applesauce. I hope this helps


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Also remember sometimes it is the ACT of eating, not what you ate.If you can't eat anything then each and every single food isn't the problem.You might try peppermint or Imodium before meals to see if you can head the symptoms off at the pass.EVERY time you eat the colon has a peak in activity. So often it isn't the what you ate (but it may be the fat content of the meal or the calorie total) that set you off.Sometimes small frequent meals helps keep things under better control. Starving yourself and skipping meals often makes it that much worse when you do finally eat.K.


----------



## 13645 (Jan 30, 2007)

Thanks for responding! LW...I understand what your saying but I can eat fish, pasta only if plain, no bananas, manoes, apples, oatmeal, applesauce, mushrooms, even soy milk is a big no no! Right now I eat a lot of the stuff thats isnt good as for it causes pain, but I know I need to eat so I just deal with the pain. Kathleen...I have started to try the small frequent meals, which does help some. So I continue to try to do that as much as possbile. Again thank you both for responding. I really appreciate it!


----------



## 14448 (Jun 14, 2006)

I feel better if I eat high-protein meals with not too much starch or carbs. I can usually tolerate lean meat like chicken and turkey, steamed non-brassica vegetables and small amounts of bread. My experience is that the more I cut out of my diet, the more sensitive to foods I become. At my lowest point I was severely underweight as a result of cutting out all gluten, starch and sugar. I felt awful and STILL had IBS.Experiment with foods and try to build up tolerance to them.


----------



## Brian0003 (Nov 5, 2006)

Crackers and Toast make me REALLY constipated.I tend to avoid most wheat products, but nor entirely.I think oatmeal is your best bet in the morning. I usually eat instant/sugarfree because high amounts of sugar can irritate my stomach.Make sure to experiment with that list of foods provided on all the websites.Many of them do not irritate my stomach, and many of the foods they say are safe simply are not.It is not a 100% absolute whats safe and whats not.Since everyone who has IBS has different symptoms. And would therefore require different food.


----------



## 16963 (Dec 5, 2006)

I don't eat fruits and veggies except at nighttime, because they're a trigger for me. Eating them before bed does ensure that I'll have a BM very early in the morning, though - so I don't have to worry about a sudden D attack on the way to school or at work, etc.! I make a smoothie every night, because I know fruits and veggies are important, but I can't eat them during the day. Maybe you could try eating some things only at night when you'll be at home for a while? I mean, obviously this depends on whether your IBS wakes you up or keeps you up at night. I'm rarely woken up, so it's working for me. I also had to give up caffeine, which stinks, but it's worth it!There are other things I have problems with, but I won't bore you. If your health is suffering, then eating nutritious foods, regardless of how it makes your IBS act, is probably a good move. But it can definitely wreck your plans to spend time anywhere outside of the bathroom!Do you take any medications? If I take my meds, and I'm having a good day, I can usually have a small cup of tea or half of a greasy hamburger and be fine. If I don't take my meds, though, or if I forgot them, etc... I won't eat until I get home!


----------



## 23403 (Feb 6, 2007)

I really feel for you, I went through the exact same thing when I first developed IBS. I lost about a stone in a few weeks because I just couldn't eat, then was really ill when I did. It's much worse if you go a long time without food, so whatever you do keep nibbling.There are certain things which you will have heard not to eat, but it's not that helpful as everyone's triggers are different and it doesn't give you much inspiration. I have to avoid anything that isn't processed - whole grains, seeds, fruit (especially bananas and papaya are evil!), vegetables (lettuce - see bananas and papaya), artificial sweeteners (watch out, a lot of things contain those) and caffeine (which is really hard as I'm struggling with lethargy and have to do 12 hour days at work!)The process of elimination is so slow, and any one of the things you ate in one day could have been a trigger, yet there's no way of knowing which! I tried keeping a diary of symptoms and foods, with specific times of day, and eventually got to know the time lag between eating an irritant food and feeling the effects so I could pin them down more quickly. While your IBS is bad everything will be a trigger so it's sometimes worth just eating very bland, safe foods just to get things under control and then easing other stuff back in gradually.I know what you mean about toast and crackers, they are great for my digestive system as well, although obviously seeds and brown bread are a no no. I find that cutting down on gluten helps, rye bread instead of wheat is great, rice has no effect on me and natural yoghurt is fantastic. I also find dried, cooked or tinned fruit is much less irritant than fresh. It's also sometimes worth trying organic fruit and veg, as I've found that seems less irritating as well. And when nothing is working, a cup of peppermint tea or a small glass of brandy usually makes me feel a bit better!Stay positive, it will get better!P.S. Are there any recipe boards on this site? We could do with somewhere to share recipes that avoid common triggers!


----------



## 16963 (Dec 5, 2006)

I don't think there are recipie boards, but one of my favorite sites is allrecipes.comIf you click on "ingredient search" near the top of the page, you can fill in two columns - one of the things you do want to eat, and one of the things you don't. So, say I knew that I wanted to eat chicken and green beans that night, but I don't want anything with pasta or eggs in it. The website will spit out all recipies that contain both chicken and green beans, while excluding any of those recipies that call for pasta or eggs.I love it! It helps me get rid of leftovers...but it sounds like a good IBS tool, too!


----------



## 14529 (Feb 1, 2007)

I get full really fast. I'll eat a granola bar or sometimes drink water, and I'll feel as if I just had a Thanksgiving feast. Then I can't sit, cuz I feel too full. But small meals really do help.


----------



## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

Lots of replies here- if you want more ideas, then take a look at www.eatingforibs.comNikki


----------

