# How soon after eating something does it affect you?



## beach (May 12, 2000)

Just curious about something...Sometimes I will eat something that won't agree with me, but I have noticed that it doesn't happen immediately after. It often takes two or three days to get affected by it.How long does it take you after you ate something that didn't agree with you?


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Hi Beach:It's hard for me to say, because I alternate C & D. Usually, I think, it's around 24 hours or so when I am more C. However, if I am going through a D period it can affect me pretty much within a few hours. It really varies.JeanG


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2000)

If it's gonna hit me- it will be within 15- 30 minutes after I am finished eating.


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## Sundance (Aug 15, 2004)

I'm with SandiK When I eat something it hits me hard right away or never.


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## little bit (May 19, 2000)

my range is from immediate to 1 and 1/2 hours. If I can make it that long, I seem to be safe until my next meal. I have looked at the clock millions of time to see if I had made it before the D rumblings began!I love this board. It has helped me so much with acceptance of IBS. I have a difficult time letting anyone know about it. My best friend has no idea. I feel badly when I have to turn her down for every shopping trip, but I don't trust the circumstances!


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## zigmissus (May 19, 1999)

Either right away (sometimes the first bite of any food, or even a sip of water, can trigger IBS cramps), or up to 2 days later. What's really strange is that one of my trigger foods may not affect me the first time I eat it, but if I get overly confident and try it again within a few days--bam!!--I get twice as sick as if I'd only eaten it once!


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## Bill56 (Apr 21, 2000)

Hi beach, Certain foods will produce a quick trip to the bathroom within 30 minutes to two hours after I eat. But most of my trouble will hit the next day. And depending on how bad I over did it, I'll spend most of my day bathroom reading. If I eat mexican, and I love mexican, I usually suffer for two days. Needless to say, I don'e eat mexican very often.


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## catherine (Aug 11, 2004)

I'm not an urgent D person but the pain and cramping hit during the meal up to about an hour afterwards. I've often wondered what the heck causes the immediate pain. How does my stomach know right away what's in it? Doesn't make much sense.------------------C-Type for 20+ years, now C/D after Giardia infection May of '99


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## ShyOne (Feb 17, 2000)

Some foods will hit me within 15 minutes of eating them,then there are times it can take as long as 2 hours..worst part is one day a certain food will be a trigger,and another day it won't,so its really hard to pin point my exact trigger foods.------------------ShyOne (D-type)


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2000)

Somedays depending on the food and my ssress level it can hit me as soon as swallow the food, even water. Then there are other times, when nothing bothers me. Like Z., I get over confident thinking I can eat this particular food all the time, no way!


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## LNAPE (Feb 9, 1999)

There were times when I could not even finish a meal and I was in the bathroom for what seemed like hours.Now the Caltrate has changed all of that.Take Care,Linda


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## Rhetana (May 14, 2000)

For me it's immediate to about 2 hours after, but thanks to Linda and her Caltrate, I'm not spending as much time in the bathroom anymore!!







------------------RhetanaIBS D for 10 years (and counting, unfortunately)


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## JunoCat (May 29, 2000)

My D always hits almost exactly 50 minutes after I first started eating dinner. It's bizarre, but at least I don't have to wait that long to find out if I'm gonna be needing to camp out in the bathroom.


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2000)

If I eat a known trigger food and it is going to adversely affect me, it will always "hit" 2-4 hours later, never more, never less.Julie


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2000)

beach,Some trigger foods for some folks will almost always stimulate an episode within an hour or less. However, I have found that a lot of times, it's the next day till you get a reaction from the foods (and/or liquids) you ate the day before.And, what makes it trickier is that sometimes you will get a fast (an hour or so) reaction, and the very next time you try the same food you will either get a reaction the next day or sometimes none at all. Quite a few folks on this board (and thread) have said essentially the same thing. This is probably one "constant" (irony) with IBS.The problem in figuring all this out is that unless you do a COMPLETE elimination type diet and get it down to only a few types of foods a day, AND STAY ON THAT REGIMEN FOR AT LEAST A WEEK, it's very difficult to correlate reactions to specific food intake if they don't occur right away. Added to that difficulty is food volumes.For example, I can eat what I consider "potential" trigger foods, but if I keep the quantities small, it usually doesn't cause problems.And then, of course, there are those days or weeks when no matter how particular you are, it's going to happen anyway - which makes it just about impossible to identify which food event caused it.About a year and a half ago, I kept a food diary, faithfully and meticulously, for about 6 months. It was a hassle, but I thought it might at least give me a handle on reaction times and food triggers. I recorded not only food types and quantities, but BM consistencies and frequencies. Talk about data...!!!After I got done with it, I graphed it, charted it, analyzed it, and manipulated it every way I could think of (I had some pretty fancy Lotus line graphs with arrows and colors and all), but the best I could come up with was 1) Food quantities have more to do with it than types (for me, anyway), 2) Correlations can be all over the map - as I said earlier, sometimes the reaction is so fast that it's easy to identify the trigger, and other times not, 3) Triggers come and go - just when you think you've identified one, it's OK the next time, and 4) Sometimes the food itself is not really the trigger, but the VOLUME of the food IS (which of course makes you "think" that it's the type of food before you recognize that it's just the quantity).One thing that I did conclude is that the likelihood of a reaction on the day following (the intake of a "sporadic" trigger) is great enough that on those days I know I am going to have to be out and about, I eat very lightly THE DAY BEFORE, and also that day itself - and NO potential trigger foods on either day. This strategy seems to work pretty good.That "food intake" strategy, coupled with the Caltrate and Imodium, is my current management method and allows me to at least cope.As far as how long a reaction can last, it all depends on how strong the trigger that caused it is. Since I haven't ever been able to identify much more than sporadic or potential triggers, that's why I keep the food quantities down low when I want to control the episode more particularly. I figure that even if I did activate a trigger, it won't be too bad because I didn't ingest much of it.I developed these conclusions and strategies only after that food diary I did and also a lot of trial and error.I'm not sure there is anything like a "standard" answer to your question (good question, though). I think it's something that each individual has to figure out for themselves.BJP.S. Catherine: I think what you are experiencing when you get an immediate reaction is NOT that your stomach knows "what's" in it, but rather your stomach knows that "something" is in it. And that's enough, just the sensation that something is there, to start those reflexes you're feeling.Same idea when people often question, "Geezzz, how could that food go through me so quickly?" That being the refrain that most of us wail when we're off to the bathroom only 15 minutes or so after eating. It's not THAT food we just ate that's "coming out", it's the food we ate at the last meal (or more) that's being "forced" out by the current volumes entering the stomach and signaling the rest of the digestive tract to "make room".


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## catherine (Aug 11, 2004)

BJ, All of your comments make a TON of sense. You're right, in that I never know which foods are causing the trigger since the cramping will continue after dinner, into the evening and come out as D the next morning. Then my gut is still sore and tender. It makes it all very frustrating and hard to maintain or gain weight!------------------C-Type for 20+ years, now C/D after Giardia infection May of '99


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2000)

It can really vary with me. Sometimes I can eat lunch which might consist of just a few rice cakes and a piece of jelly bread with decaf coffe and hit the bathroom almost immediately. Other times I can actually eat out in a restaurant and be fine. There is absolutely no way for me to plan or know ahead of time how various foods will react in me. When I go away, I nearly ALWAYS take Imodium before leaving the house.


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## tfr64 (Mar 21, 2016)

To all the answers above; I was wondering the same thing and can find no particular food trigger. I agree with BJ above; I think it is more about " something, anything" being in my stomach as well as how much, seems to make the difference for me. I am new to IBS and still trying to figure out how to deal with this when I go out. I 'm a little scared to. - C; D&C type


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## APR (Jul 15, 2015)

Maybe I haven't been strict enough when I have tried dietary change (i.e., low FODMAP diet), but it seems like I will have similar symptoms regardless (it will vary somewhat from moderate to more severe, and occasionally just mild symptoms). There are a few things that will make matters worse or cause an attack, but otherwise, diet doesn't seem to make a great difference.

As far as how long between when I eat trigger foods and I get a reaction, like many others, it is somewhat variable. If I am already getting a serious flare, I may get a reaction almost right away (within 5 minutes of starting to eat, or 10 minutes tops). In fact, if I am already in a seriously flare up, eating anything may cause a rapid reaction. Other times, the reaction may be 4-8 hours later.

In regard to what triggers a reaction, I find that oftentimes--especially if I am already experiencing a flare up--drinking water will actually make me have to go to the bathroom. And I'm talking about maybe 5 minutes or so after drinking it. It doesn't have to be a lot of water even--maybe 1/2 a glass of water. I know I need to drink more water, but If I am going to sleep at night or taking a nap during the day [I have a weird work and sleep schedule], I can't drink water or I will have abdominal pressure or pain, or I will have to go to the bathroom. Does anyone else find that drinking water can actually trigger diarrhea?


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