# Can only eat bland, if not IBS flares, why is that?



## Jeni (Jan 14, 2009)

I don't know what to do. I can only eat bland food, if I even eat something that even has a little bit of flavor, I get a really bad IBS flare. Why is that? I cannot eat normally, I don't know what will set me off again. I was sick a couple weeks ago, a flare that started before Christmas and didn't end until Jan. 9th, and I have gone from clear fluids only, to bland foods only, to gradually going back towards a more normal diet, only to end up with bad abdominal pains and horrible diarrhea as soon as I eat something that is not considered a bland food. I have been to the emergency room twice and seen a doctor at my regular clinic, and have been told that it is my IBS flaring up, and that it's not anything else. The doctor at my regular clinic put me on dicyclomine and I was OK for awhile and today I at some Ramen Noodles, which have never triggered my IBS before, and once again I am having horrible diarrhea. The pain hasn't come on really bad yet, but I am feeling awful anyway. My aunt doesn't understand and immediately goes into a rant about how bad her life is and how she doesn't know what to tell me and how little I actually have to worry about. She even said she would be happy if she was losing weight the way I am now, and wouldn't care if her stomach was messed up the way mine is. She doesn't get it and she surely doesn't understand how extremely unhelpful it is when she does that. I am so miserable right now and I just want to stop being sick and I want to be able to eat like a normal person. What the heck is wrong with me that I can't eat normal food without my stomach going haywire???? Oh man I sound incredibly whiny!! I don't want to be like that but I can't seem to help it sometimes.


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## 20920 (Jan 6, 2007)

Hi JeniWelcome to the site. I empathize with you for what you are experiencing now. I used to have abdominal pain and diarrhea. My situation might not be as bad as yours but I found that many types of foods and drinks triggered or worsened my IBS symptoms. Fortunately I am now feeling better after trying all kinds of medicines and treatments. Don't give up hope. I'm sure one day you'll find a effective treatment and foods which are suitable for you.Your aunt, being a non-IBSer, may not understand the situation we IBSers are in. But if you stick to this site, you can find many people who are in the same boat with us. Take care.Eugene


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It may not be flavor, it may be fat.A bland diet tends to be low in fat, and if Ramen noodles bother you when other pasta doesn't it may be because ramen noodles are fried and tend to have a lot more fat per serving than we think they do.Some IBSers can find a diet that controls symptoms even if it is boring. A lot of IBSers have symptoms no matter what diet they eat and sometimes blame the food when other things are the trigger. Heck a lot of us over-react to the normal after eating increase in activity and get symptoms. It seems like it is the food but it is not the specific food in those cases. So if Ramen is normally safe and you had symptoms this one time it could be anything else that set it off and any food you would have eating would have seemed to be the trigger.If you are in the cold snap a lot of the US is in the physical stress of the cold can be enough to make the IBS act up.Sorry that people around you don't get it. That is pretty common that people don't really understand how severe the symptoms are.


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## Lookin'foraLife (Jan 2, 2009)

I too can only eat bland foods. Spices such as pepper are a trigger as are any "heavy" foods or large portions of anything.Why? Because IBS is a ######.I've lost 10 kilo since this began some months ago, retain weight only because I live on Ensure Plus, and I hate it when people compliment me on my current weight because I think I now look sickly and anorexic.Most non-ibsers can't understand what it means to suffer with this. If one more person tells me it's all in my head and all I have to do is relax I'll scream.


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## Jeni (Jan 14, 2009)

Stress is a big IBS trigger for me, as well as fatty, greasy, spicy, heavy foods - basically all the stuff that tastes good. But I want to be able to eat and not end up sick all night after I have eaten something. I am also losing tons of weight because I can't eat much of anything without my stomach acting up. There are days where I can't even drink much of anything. I just know I cannot live like this anymore and the horrible IBS symptoms are causing me to be depressed and anxious all the time. And if one more person tells me to just deal with it or to just snap out of it or it's in my head, I really will scream!!! I have never felt this bad in my whole life and all my aunt can do is freak out and scream at me about how her life is messed up to but she just deals with it and she doesn't know what to tell me except to go to work, go to school and just handle it, because she does that too and she would love to be losing a lot of weight like I am. I just want to scream at her, "If you want to lose weight the way I am, then quit eating!!! That's how I am losing weight, I never eat!!!!!" I just want her to walk a day in my shoes and then come tell me how I should snap out of it , how I should just deal with it and go on with life and stop dwelling on it and getting down in the dumps. She wouldn't say those things if she could walk in my shoes even an hour. She just thinks my problems aren't as bad as I am making them out to be, and that her problems are so much worse and so much more important than mine, which isn't true. She always belittles me and what I am going through and I am so sick of it. I guess she is just a toxic person for me. And she will never get it, she'll never understand.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Have you tried Calcium, or Imodium, or any prescription medications?Probiotics, or anything like that.Most people can find something that helps other than just trying to control IBS with diet alone. Very few of us can and it may be worth taking medication if it means you can eat enough to maintain your weight.


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## Jeni (Jan 14, 2009)

I am taking dicyclomine for my IBS and I take pepto bismol when I get diarrhea really bad. It helps with nausea but doesn't always help with the diarrhea. I haven't taken Immodium in a long time because I would then be constipated for a really long time after taking it. I have IBS-A so I go between constipation and diarrhea. The dicyclomine was helping and until last night. I don't know what to do, except go back to a completely bland diet again.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Alternating can be hard to deal with because what helps one thing tends to cause the other.You might see if some probiotics help. Align has some decent clinical data and there are several other brands that help a lot of people. Peppermint, fennel and chamomile tea can help settle things down for some people and don't tend to send people one way or the other.Sometimes physical stress (like the cold snap a lot of us had) can overwhelm a drug that has given good control, so the dicyclomine may work in the future when whatever that set this las thing off settles back down.


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## Lookin'foraLife (Jan 2, 2009)

It's worth it trying to stick to a boring diet at least until things settle down and you feel in control again, then gradually try to reintroduce small portions of the problematic foods. It really is a matter of finding what works best for you and that can take time.Sounds like your relationship with your aunt is a major source of stress.If at all possible I would suggest limiting contact with her until you feel better able to cope with her.I personally limit my concact with my mother for the very same reason...


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## Jeni (Jan 14, 2009)

I am back to bland foods again and I am improving but I still feel sick. I do think that my aunt is a major source of stress for me. Everyone I live with is a source of stress for me (aunt, uncle, and cousin) and my job is a source of stress also. I really hate my job and feel stuck there but at the same time my IBS has put me in danger of losing my job because I have missed so much work because my stomach is upset or I am in so much pain I cannot stand up (which is required for my job as a cashier) and that is a cause of stress because I need to be able to pay bills and stuff like that. I wish I could just miss work one more time because I would get fired and not have to deal with this job anymore. I guess I have a lot of stress in my life between my family and work. I am in school, too, but I love school and don't feel stressed there. I have been staying in my room a lot just to limit how much time I am in contact with my family because they get on my nerves and stress me out. Also just having major depression is a cause for stress. And no, the cold snap probably didn't help either. Between that and the physical stress my job puts on me, I think that I know why my IBS is flaring up so much, maybe. But this site is very helpful, and I am glad I found it.


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