# New to this, can anyone help



## 18093 (Sep 11, 2006)

Hi, I was diagnosed with IBS today, after years of painful stomach cramps and spasms, i decided to see a Dr. I have a couple of questions which I hope someone can help me with, I am quite a fussy vegetarian who doesnt eat many dairy products, have been told I need to change my diet as I eat quite a lot of junk food, which isnt helping, can any one help with meal ideas? And how long does it take for the medication to work as the pain hasnt eased yet. Many thanks


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## 13777 (Sep 5, 2006)

are you a C or a D? check out the discussions for both - quite helpful..oh - C is for constipation / D is for diarreah


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## 21682 (Sep 4, 2006)

Well, if you have the D -- like I do at times -- my nutritionist put me on a reintroduction diet. Basically we broke down what I could eat to the basics and bare minimums and worked my way back up. I kept track of what I ate and how it made me feel.I'm a firm believer that diet plays a major factor in this disease and junk food messes me up big time. If I even think about anything fried I'm in big trouble. Heating oils to high temps like in frying changes the make up of the oil and no one really knows what it does to the body.As for the diet for about a month I lived off of fish and rice. The only vegetable I could eat was peas. I eliminated dairy and went with rice everything -- rice bread, rice milk, rice pasta. We eliminated all kinds of wheat or foods with gluten. You can have meats but it should only be chicken and turkey without the skin, buffalo and that's it. Fish was only Haddock or Tuna.The diet really helped me out a lot. Rice is very binding so if you have the D it's great for your guts. I did the vegetarian thing and found it impossible with this. I don't think people were meant to be vegetarians. I try and stay away from processsed meats and stuff that was raise on an actual farm and not some warehouse where they are pumped full of steroids and it works for me. Besides I really missed meat...Try staying away from condiments as well. Basiclly the simpler your food the better. As a rule now, I try and stay away from things that have an ingredient at the top of the list that sounds like it blongs on the periodic table, but that's just me.I recommend seeing a nutritionist and finding a diet that works for you...


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## 18093 (Sep 11, 2006)

Thank you very much for your advice, I agree I think I need to bring back foods little at a time and see what works for me and what doesnt.I am fortunate enough not to have d that often, am mainly c but i find the spasms and cramps are the worst bit for me, have completly cut out processed foods and fizzy drinks and am trying a very balnd diet, am hoping that with that and the medication it might help ease it a bit, although havent noticed it yet, its still early day. Thanks for your advice again.


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## 15626 (Sep 19, 2006)

Hi, I'm new to this website too. Have had ibs for about a year. At first it was so bad, I was getting down all the time and getting jealous of normal people..basically feelin sorry for myself. However, since I was diagnosed, I've started to read up on ibs a lot (i recommend ibs for dummies) and have finally discovered most foods that i need to avoid. Wheat is the biggest prob for me. I've felt a lot better since cutting it out and would actually be terrified now of eating a slice of bread!! I've since cut out so many other foods, and the most recent have been alcohol and dairy. With each food I've had to cut out I've become more p****d off, but I've finally come to terms with it and have come up with a diet for myself. I try to eat every 3 hrs as I find that fasting causes big probs too! Basically, for breakfast I have either oatmeal or rice krispies with soya milk. for lunch i usually have potato waffles or a salad. dinner usually consists of potatos/basmati rice with vegetables (usualy peas) and chicken and for tea i usualy end up havin rice krispies again casue i dont have a lot of options. Also, I don't even after around 7 at night because I find that my stomach cant really cope with food late in the evening. i dont know if this is any help, but basically, I'd recommend eating a very healthy diet (which I find soooo difficult!). Anything that's unhealthy, fattening, sugary or too processed I try to avoid. Also, I try to follow the usual food rules, such as chewing food well, eating small meals, not drinking during meals or for about an hour after, not eating fruit with other meals, etc... You should try to figure out which foods are a problem for you, then make a list of foods that you can eat and try to create a diet that would suit you. I also suffered mainly from C, and with it came severe cramps and constant wind. However, since I've changed my diet, the wind, cramping and C have almost completely disappeared...except when I slip off the bandwagon!! Hope this helps a little..good luck!


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## 18093 (Sep 11, 2006)

Hi, many thanks for all your advice, sounds like you have a similar sort of ibs to me, especially the cramps and wind, sounds terrible to cut out all junk food and alcohol but then its do that or put up with the pain, think I should eat more regularly as I tend to not eat until lunch time then have a massive binge, so really need to learn to eat healthy little and often, it is so much harder to do it than say it. Thanks again and good luck finding your happy medium


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## 21682 (Sep 4, 2006)

Hi Kiki,I'm finding I need to avoid most of the things you do, but if you are looking for something sweet for a desert I reccomend these brownies by a company called By George. They're better than real brownies. The supermarkets around here have them in the health food freezer. They are made with potato flour and non-dairy chocolate. Seriously, the things are the best. Even if I could I wouldn't go back to normal brownies.Also check out any of the rice products. There is a ton of stuff that is very similar now and are just as good. Problem is it can get a little pricey but worth it to feel better.


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## 15626 (Sep 19, 2006)

Hey renfield, thanks for the tip. I'll have a look for them, although I don't think we have that brand over here. Will look out for some rice products though. Recently found gluten and dairy free chocolate muffins which I was seriously impressed with! Cant remember what the brand name was though. It's nice to have something like that every now and again to treat yourself.


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## 18366 (Jul 4, 2006)

I haven't noticed any real trigger foods apart from lots of dairy, which is good as I like to eat everything







but I definitely find if you are going to eat junk food or fatty food then have a much smaller portion than you did before. That really helps for me, as does eating slowly and little and often. Generally it really does seem to be best to have as healthy a diet as poss... not always so easy tho! Spicy foods can actually be good for me if I need to 'loosen up' but definitely not if I'm already going to the loo too much.


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