# Eating Out at Restaurants



## KimberlyP (Feb 22, 2003)

Hi Everyone,







Has anyone had the experience of eating out at a Family Restaurant, (not fast food), and then as soon as you get home you have to use the bathroom immediately? No matter where I go, or what I eat-- I find I have to use the bathroom as soon as I get home.







Any thoughts on this?


----------



## Guest (Aug 1, 2003)

Yep, this happens to me on a semi-regular basis. Although I usually find that it is anxiety related.When my thoughts run amuck I get nervous that I am going to have an attack and that I may not have access to a bathroom. Since finishing hypnosis I find that this occurs less, but there are still issues from time to time. I almost never will eat anywhere that only has one restroom, because I am just not comfortable.


----------



## Julia37 (May 9, 2001)

I have to be very careful in restaurants because I'm allergic or very sensitive to "vegetable oil", which is actually soybean oil and which almost all restaurants cook with. Especially corporate chain restaurants. they might as well all be the same.You may have a sensitivity to a very common ingredient like "vegetable oil". Dairy is also very common, especially in sauces. You could try ordering a hamburger and steamed veggies, or a salad without dressing, and see how that is. Vegetable oil is also contained in restaurant buns and bread, so I carry a plain Sara Lee/store brand bagel with me to restaurants and eat that instead. At home I put olive oil on salads, and you can sometimes get that in restaurants if you ask. Or some people like lemon juice on their salad.


----------



## electric liz (Aug 2, 2003)

Good points!! Another thing to think about is how much spices are being added to foods! My fiance works at a restaurant and just brounght home their new menu. 95% of the thiings you can order has cajun seasonings, or hot oils. In addition, MSG is often used!!!!Good luck finding a good restaurant. I am still searching!


----------



## KimberlyP (Feb 22, 2003)

Thanks Jack, Julia and Elizabeth,I really appreciate your input...it's nice to know that I am not alone...The only nervousness that I have is what would happen if I had dairy products??







Even if I take the Lactaid Pills, it sometimes doesn't work and I have a major conversation with mother nature.


----------



## Julia37 (May 9, 2001)

Finding a really good restaurant outside a big city is almost impossible. Even here it's getting harder to avoid the chains. They look like unique stand-alone restaurants, and they turn out to be chains. And they all use "vegetable oil", the only oil that's not called by it's real name. It's almost as if there's a law!!







My experience is upscale restaurants are safer for me because they usually don't use soy oil, but dairy and sugar are still issues. They're also more willing to accomodate special diets. But I've gotten so much in the habit of making my own food, it usually seems easier to just do that.


----------



## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

LOL Is the Pope Catholic?"Has anyone had the experience of eating out at a Family Restaurant, (not fast food), and then as soon as you get home you have to use the bathroom immediately? "There is utterly no way of predicting what the problem will or won't be at any given restaurant ot home or Granny's buffet unless some work is done to try and isolate what foods or additives the person (patient) in this case self...has lost tolerance to.IBS: A DOCTORS PLAN FOR CHRONIC DIGESTIVE TROUBLESBy Gerard Guillory, M.D.; Vanessa Ameen, M.D.; Paul Donovan, M.D.; Jack Martin, Ph.D. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/088...3369143-6824157 ï¿½FOOD ALLERGIES AND FOOD INTOLERANCE: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THEIR IDENTIFICTION AND TREATMENTï¿½, Professor Jonathan Brostoff , M.D.. Allergy, Immunology and Environmental Medicine, Kingsï¿½ College, London http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089...6487508-3420903 There are some guidelines that people with symptoms of lost oral tolerance or even classic food allergy can follow in these books(the procedures are a bit different for assessing the two broad types of food-linked provocative illness).Now once a person hhas isolated that which provokes their symptoms with specificity, there is a simple instruction I recommedn to all patients I come across.Do what I do. when ordering forget about educating the wait staff or the chefs...tell them you have to ask some question becasue you have sever food allergies, and if certain things are in the food served you will get very sick very fast in front of all these othe patrons...this would be a bad thing. THEN ask whatever it is you need to ask about the food (can I get fired rice prepared without onions? I am very allergic to onions and if I get a plate of fried rice with any onion in it better call the ambulance in advance of serving it....Oh sjure I will be happy to wait while you go ask the cook if he can do that...etc).Be serious but keep it light....once i followed methods of isolating and learning my personal food and chemical intolerances, and after much experimentation adopted this technique I get a lot less trouble in restaurants...and I travel a lot.On the other hand we must also recogbize those places where such activity is futile since the foods are already prepped...like the chain restaurants for example where the cooks have litttle leeway in controlling what has contaminated...uh seasoned...the foods.







MNL


----------



## bobby5832708 (May 30, 2000)

"Family Restaurants" = a day of pain and suffering, assuming I can even make it out of the restaurant without spending an hour in their bathroom. In my experience, places like Dennys, Perkins, Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, Shoneys, etc. serve "food" of lower quality that is full of additives and spices that my digestive system simply cannot tolerate. After eating just about anything from these places I'm almost guaranteed a "blast" within an hour and a day of 'pain and suffering' afterwards. It's just not worth it.I can go to somewhat more upscale restaurants where they use better quality ingredients and will cook, for example, a steak without smothering it with seasonings and I will be fine. As chain restaurants go, Outback Steakhouse is pretty good in this respect. I also eat at various sushi restaurants and have never had a problem. However, I buy probably 98% of the food I eat at the grocery store and prepare it myself. This way I know I'm not using half-spoiled chicken and covering it with lots of spices to hide it. I know I'm using beef that is red, not brown, and seasoning it without using a product containing onions or garlic. I know I'm using green beans that are clean and crisp, not beans that are mushy before cooking and starting to grow white fuzz on them. I can also season the foods with spices I can tolerate and eliminate the ones that cause me problems (garlic and onion). I've found that the more 'basic' the food the better it is for me. For example, a steak at a good restaurant is a good cut of beef with salt and pepper used as seasoning. Very simple. Now go to Bob Evans (or any other Family restaurant) and get a country-fried steak. You've now got a questionable cut of beef, a coating made of ????? that is fried in oil that you may be sensitive to (for me it's corn). The oil may also be well-used. Now you've got a gut-bomb and will pay dearly for it. "Family Restaurants" = Not worth the pain!Bob


----------



## bobby5832708 (May 30, 2000)

Kim P,"Has anyone had the experience of eating out at a Family Restaurant, (not fast food), and then as soon as you get home you have to use the bathroom immediately? No matter where I go, or what I eat-- I find I have to use the bathroom as soon as I get home."You mean you actually get to make it home?? I'm envious!!!


----------



## Rhonda Hendren (Aug 22, 2003)

Hello Everyone!Today is the first time I found out about this website and I am glad it is here! As for family restaurants-I dread even going there. My husband is a hotwings junkie and anything with spices-the smell itself makes me nauseated. I myself cannot make it half way through a meal without needing to run off to the bathroom. I still have not found what I can eat that will not make me suffer for 2 to 3 days after I eat it when it doesnot agree with me. Is this normal? Will I ever be able to go out to dinner and eat normally like everyone else at the table?


----------



## jimmye (Nov 13, 2001)

Mike, I'm using ibsacol and do seem to be doing better as far as reactions to food. I know you have given your opinion before regarding this product but since you are around right now I'm wondering if you could comment again. I'm on my third bottle taking 3pills 3x/day. Do you think I should keep this schedule or what. Don't know where to go from here. Why does this stuff help? I totally appreciate any help you can give. Jimmye


----------



## Julia37 (May 9, 2001)

I've gone 3 times to a music festival in Indy (RRW, for those interested), and 2 of those times we stayed in a hotel across from a Bob Evans and a Dennys, and those were the only walking distance choices for breakfast.From inquiries at Bob Evans I learned they cook everything with soy "vegetable" oil and margarine, which is also made of soy oil. The only things I can have there are the bacon and the tea.The first year I ate at Dennys and had grits and bacon for breakfast each day. This worked fairly well, but I was bored because it was quiet there and my friends were usually at Bob Evans.The second year I made muffins to take along for breakfast. I ate at Dennys once, ordering bacon and tea and adding my muffins for breakfast. The other 2 days I ate at Bob Evans which was more fun, and the tea there is better. Again I only ordered bacon and tea. The wait staff didn't ask any questions about my muffins - they probably thought it best not to know......







Bobby, you're safe regarding oil at Bob Evans, at least at that one.







Boobear, forget about eating normally and just focus on eating - try ordering everything broiled and bare and see if that helps. Or go to better restaurants!One thing I've found safe almost everywhere is hamburgers. So far they've always been pure beef. The only exception is Johnny Rocket's, where I mentioned I'm allergic to veg oil and the server (bless her!) caught it and told me they put it on the grill to cook burgers. I asked her to have them cook mine without oil and she did. Then I pointed out to the manager that oil isn't necessary to cook burgers, since they already have plenty of grease







He said that's how corp headquarters wanted it done...Whenever I think corp. management can't get any stupider, it does!


----------



## essex (Apr 8, 2003)

I am a UK IBS predominatntly C sufferer, with a big bloating issue. I eat out as little as possible, to avoid difficulties.I am visiting my friend for a week in New York - she lives in Long Beach - could not tell you exactly where this is, but am wondering if anyone can give me advice re: the best places to go and eat as I know my friend will want us to go out as much as possible, and of course I want to as well, but want to be as safe as possible as would hate my week to be ruined by looking 6mths preganant!!! If no-one knows of anywhere specific to Long Beach area, other names in the typical tourist part of NYC would be good, so I can visit whilst sightseeing.Also, as your food halls are sooo much better for special diets I am wondering the best places to buy special food (wheat, dairy, sugar free etc etc) so I can try stuff while with my friend and then take home if it agrees with me.Thanks very much - looking forward to trying any suggestions.


----------



## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

Yo AUSTIN!Sorry i missed your post I think I have not been here for at least a month!!!Busy busyHey I am interested though...are you still there and you still on the IBSACOL?How are you doing now and how long has it been?Gota run...of to Tampa today for F.O.M.A. conference....MNL


----------



## bonniei (Jan 25, 2001)

Hi Mike







You busy guy! We all miss you here!


----------



## Engine23 (Nov 19, 2002)

OK what is FOMA...I can think of a couple of choices but since this is a family site (hehe) I will keep them to myself


----------



## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

Hey Boniie Que PAsta?FOMAFlorida Osteopathic Physicians AsociationNice buffet







MNL


----------



## bonniei (Jan 25, 2001)

Hi mike! Que pasta-What noodles? That's as far as my translation skill of Spanish goes







Anyway this will be my last post to this board for a while because I am wasting too much time.May you have oodles of noodles!


----------



## jimmye (Nov 13, 2001)

Hi Mike, yes I'm still using ibsacol and have been on for about 3 months I think. I do think it's helping, Do you know why and how? I've also added CMO, do you know about this product? Thanks for responding. I almost never eat out at a restaurant but would like to. Is the ibsacol supposed to help with oral intolerance? Jimmye


----------



## california123 (Jun 8, 2003)

When my D was chronic, I would avoid eating the meal before the one I was going out for. For me, that meant not eating breakfast since my bowels were empty after my bouts of morning D. That way, if I went out for lunch, there was nothing in my system to become D. It worked virtually every time. Of course, if I wanted to have no problems at dinner, that would mean skipping both breakfast and lunch. But when I needed to I did. Don't know if this will help anyone else, but just thought I'd mention it. Take care.


----------



## Lexi_Con (Aug 18, 2003)

After I was "officially" diagnosed with IBS D with GERD I saw a specialist who gave me a list of things to avoid: MSG, caffeine (coffee, cola, chocolate), very spicy foods and very greasy foods. He specifically warned me against Chinese restaurants. This surprised me, because my favourite Chinese restaurant has never been a problem for me, but almost all others are a problem. When I told this to the specialist he said that it must be a NO MSG restaurant. Sure enough, the next time I was there I checked the menu, and there it was "We use no MSG." So that's why I am more safe to eat there than anywhere else. Since I have been trying to avoid MSG, I have found that it is in many products from the grocery store, and is used in many restaurants.If I do go out to it, it will be at the same Chinese restaurant. They even make a point of seating me at my favourite table, which is very close to the washrooms. I actually enjoy eating there, which is saying a lot because most of the time I don't like eating at all.Other than that, I avoid restaraunts like the plague!Take care . . . from Lexi


----------



## Julia37 (May 9, 2001)

To avoid MSG you have to avoid "natural flavors" on ingredient labels.For example, Perdue ground turkey says in tiny type on its package, "with natural flavors added". They have to contaminate everything, even raw meat!







Even Whole Foods, which should know better, sells packaged foods that contain "natural flavors". They're not *necessarily* MSG, but they could be - and I don't have time to write to each manufacturer and find out....Ever since I noticed that on the Perdue package, I only buy meat and poultry products at Whole Foods, which guarantees no additives. In a pinch I can use canned salmon or Valley Fresh chicken, or Jewel generic chicken has no additives as far as I can tell, but it also has no flavor.


----------



## Lexi_Con (Aug 18, 2003)

Hi Julia37I know about the "natural flavours" thing and I have been outraged by the number of ambiguous and misleading names for this all pervasive substance.I have tried writing to manufacturer and consumer groups and I have had no positive reaction, but at least it is a good way to express some of my frustration.







I researched this on the Net, and found a lot of stuff under MSG, and truthinlabelling.I have lists of some of the aliases for the stuff!!!!!I just avoid anything that sounds suspicious now, but I have gotten to the point where my food choices are extremely limited.There are groups that are fighting for more truthful labelling and I hope they have some impact.I guess money talks, and at least my money won't be buying certain products!Take care . . . from Lexi


----------



## Angela43 (Feb 3, 2003)

When I go out to eat, it is usually safe for me to order grilled chicken, rice, baked potato...even fajitas work well for me. It's just a tortilla with grilled chicken, lettuce, onion, cheese, & sour cream. Of course eveyrone is different and i Know many are bothered by dairy. But that is what works for me.


----------



## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

AustinAchtung so sorry so slow...now I am in Atlanta and after this meeting here on my way to Chicago then on to Cleveland and other parts unknown....Not much time to chatIn simple terms IBSACOL can help by attenuating, blunitng, the abnormal responsiveness of different types of immune cells to innocuous foods that occurs in diarrheic an ccyclic IBS patients.Indeed recent invasive studies have confirmed time and agin the presence of these abnormal inflammtory reactiosn esp. in the upper bowel where food is digested, but not in patients whose symptoms are constipation predominant. Different mechanisms at work there....Just like in Italy and the UK where they used cromolyn sodium on d-tyes for awhile and got some symptomatic relief (another immune cell stabilizer) the specific types of fatty-acids in IBSACOL are known to have similar immunomodulatory effects.Whether ot not in the long run it will also end up being a law of dimihsing returns or not (this is what happens with cromolyn so it never panned out long term) remains to be seen, as it would have to be studied under controlled conditions to answer the question correctly.But if you are experiencing relief then by all means stick with it if it suits you and see what happens in the long run. Also try to keep the GI challenges to a minimum and you will get better results...like why rub salt in the wound if you don't have to...MNL


----------



## Julia37 (May 9, 2001)

Lexi,Yes, I used to get very frustrated when grocery shopping, but now I'm in a groove with buying and eating certain foods. I don't know what I'd do if I lived in a place that didn't have Whole Foods or another store with uncontaminated meat/poultry/fish products, or good restaurants. There are even a few fast food restaurants and taverns here where I can eat as well as upscale ones. I'd probably have to move to a big city if I wasn't already in one.I learned about MSG from the soy allergy site, which I used before I found out about my other food sensitivities and started coming here. Apparently it can be made from soy.


----------



## Mason_M (Nov 25, 2001)

YeppersI'm a trucker, and while I have a fridge in the truck and carry a good deal of "safe" foods with me on the road, I do also have to eat in truckstops. Sometimes I just don't have time to fix something, or just want to sit and have a meal someone else cooked.I am always careful in what I order, but they all serve that processed "plastic food". I have made a habit of taking a fiber tablet prior to eating, and afterwards hang around for 10 minutes or so for the inevitable bathroom stop before hitting the road again.For me at least, simply eating anything triggers and run to the bathroom; how bad it is depends on what I eat. But eating anything at all triggers a BM in me.


----------



## meredith33 (Oct 15, 2003)

I agree with you on that one bobby. I have to go to the bathroom 10 minutes after I finish my last bite of food. My husband and I don't even make it out of a restaurant and I have to go to the bathroom. I hate it because I am punishing him by not wanting to go out to eat anymore, but who can blame us for feeling like this.


----------



## BBDM (Oct 17, 2003)

That's one thing I miss, going out for dinner. I use to take my kids out a lot, but rarely do so anymore. My fiance is always trying to get me to go out so he tries to find places close to home and he always drives, it somehow reduces my anxiety about the possiblity of an "episode" before we eat. I try to watch what I order, to make sure it doesn't have any "trigger" foods. Knowing that I'm with someone that is fully understanding if I run to the bathroom a couple of times before we go home also helps!! I also try to look for a website for the restaurant before I go too, sometimes they have one with their menu, so I can decide if it's someplace I should go. Support from loved ones so far has been the best medicine for me!!Sharon


----------



## vincemel (Apr 14, 2001)

Yes I have that problem, and I can be sick for a couple days. The only fast food I can tolerate is Subway's turkey sub. sandwich.Blessings,Melanie


----------



## frie7883 (Nov 29, 2003)

Unfortunately there is nothing I love more than to go out for a rich meal at some dangerous chain restaurant. My D has been getting so bad in the past few years that I am starting to fear even going to these restaurants. I don't even need a clock, because 10 minutes later I'm on the pot guaranteed. I have started eating at a lot of sushi places lately since they are healthy and fairly fast as well. I don't seem to have any problems with this food, unless I indulge in the spicy tuna. Spices maybe? I also find that hamburgers and fries from In N Out don't make me ill at all. yay! Too bad they aren't out to the midwest yet. Sandwich places like subway are usually good too, as long as nothing is fried.


----------

