# I don't know what to eat :'(



## sosickofbeingsick (Aug 2, 2011)

*Please help me figure out what I'm doing wrong I've had IBS-D for a few years now. I'm nineteen, I think it started when I was 15. The past year has been the worst, for a couple months I could eat almost anything and now it's just as bad as ever. I'm on loads of medications...-Lo Loestrin Fe (birth control, just started this three months ago)-Levsin (once a day)-Dicyclomine (three times a day, 10mg)-Xanax (once a day)-Digestive enzymes, Beano (three times a day)-Tums (at least once a day)-Nauzene (4 or more times a day)-Lots and lots of Phazyme (I usually lose count lol)-Promethazine for nausea (at least once every other day)-Pepto Bismal (at least once a day)-Immodium (everyday)My diet...Two Scrambled eggs with cheese and a corn torilla for breakfastLunch is usually a can of tuna (I was eating it with bread but stopped that a few days ago) and string cheese (I was eating yogurt and it didn't hurt my stomach but now if I even look at it it all goes to hell) and a cup of peppermint tea with honeyDinner is usually tuna and rice or ground turkey with rice and a side of veggies (usually cooked carrots, a little ice berg lettuce, or mushrooms)Snacks- LOTS of nuts (cashews and peanuts), a few pieces of candy, raisins....and more nutsI was eating a candy bar a day, plus tons of ice cream, chips, yogurt, juice, and more. I stopped eating all that a couple weeks ago. I can't eat any fruit. I have been more stressed lately. I am in the process of moving, buying a new car, and job change. I am a manager at my job so I am constantly running around dealing with angry people. It is impossible to work when I can barely move and feel like I am going to puke. I really don't want to lose this job, I have worked so hard for it. Any tips will be greatly appreciated, thanks for listening...**EDIT** I only weigh 95lbs. I've always been skinny but don't know if this makes a difference.


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## Loves Apples (Jul 30, 2011)

I'm sorry, I know it is so hard sometimes. I go thru bad phases too where it seems like no matter what, you will feel sick. Just try to get through it and it will pass.I am not able to handle dairy at all, have you tried cutting out dairy?


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## Michealleo (Aug 4, 2011)

hi friend i know this disease is really ..... ! i want u to try SCD diet Promise that will work good for u . And here's a book to read ( breaking the vicious cycle of intestinal dieases ) . This book is really helpfull if u wana learn something about ur disorder. Best of luck


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## Patsfan (Aug 4, 2011)

I'm in a similar situation. I would try 2 days with no medications if you can. Assuming they are all for your stomach. I would also watch out for roughage/fiber and dairy during the bad times. Good luck!


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## BayRat (Mar 28, 2011)

Very, very likely that the increased stress is causing a flareup. Do your best. For me, the most important factor is getting enough sleep. One bad night and I'm wrecked for days. Also,


sosickofbeingsick said:


> ...I'm on loads of medications...-Lo Loestrin Fe (birth control, just started this three months ago)-Levsin (once a day)-Dicyclomine (three times a day, 10mg)-Xanax (once a day)-Digestive enzymes, Beano (three times a day)-Tums (at least once a day)-Nauzene (4 or more times a day)-Lots and lots of Phazyme (I usually lose count lol)-Promethazine for nausea (at least once every other day)-Pepto Bismal (at least once a day)-Immodium (everyday)


... that's a lot of chemicals to ingest every day. Have you run this list by a pharmacist? I would, both the Prescription and Over The Counter meds. For instance, a simplistic online application to check for Adverse Drug Interactions found:1 Interactions Found - Significant - Monitor CloselyLo Loestrin Fe + Xanax (ethinylestradiol + alprazolam)-ethinylestradiol will increase the level or effect of alprazolam by affecting hepatic/intestinal enzyme CYP3A4 metabolism.1 Interactions Found - Significant - Monitor CloselyDicyclomine + Levsin (dicyclomine + hyoscyamine)-dicyclomine and hyoscyamine both decrease cholinergic effects/transmission.http://reference.medscape.com/drug-interactionchecker


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## Lane CT (May 19, 2011)

I was thinking the same as BayRat & Patsfan. I think you should give the meds a rest when you can - if you work a five-day work week, try stopping say on a Friday, see what happens Saturday and Sunday, and if need be start up again on Monday with only one or two things. Obviously you can't stop your b.c. pills, but it does sound like you're taking an over-abundance of things that could cause your problems to worsen or cause an adverse reaction.Also, you started the b.c. three months ago, and it can take up to four months for your body to adjust to it. Fluctuations in hormones can make IBS worse. So your stress plus the bcp can be contributing to why you're having a bad time right now.Two of the foods you mentioned can also be part of the problem. Roughage (lettuce) and nuts can really do a number on your stomach.Good luck!


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## jacky swift (Aug 6, 2011)

Hope this may help you it helped my mum back to normal. This is one of the blogs I read and sent to my mum who said this was her, she actually cried when she read it and said she was beginning to worry it was all in her head. Review by CarolynI have been suffering from diarrhea since I was 18 y...ears old. It started not long after I was prescribed a pretty nasty antibiotic, and the doctor at the time told me to eat yoghurt and I would be OK. Later that year I went to a gastroenterologist who basically gave me a lower colonoscopy and told me all was OK and that I should see a psychologist as it was obviously all in my head. After that, I gave up trying to get help.I suffered with the condition, which got worse and worse at the age of around 33 following a particularly stressful time, for over 20 years. Explosive diarrhea, particularly after eating, weekly (at least) accidents, planning my routes according to where I knew public toilets were, being too scared to leave home on numerous occasions, wearing sanitary pads just in case, not eating at all during the day, going through packets and packets of Imodium each week etc etc, until I just couldn't do it any more. I finally decided, at age 39, that I was going to go back to a doctor, and not give up until I had an answer.I ended up being referred to a new gastroenterologist, who immediately did a full colonoscopy. I remember sobbing and sobbing when he told me it was clear! I was so disappointed that I didn't have an answer. We then started a food diary, to no avail. There was no pattern, except that it usually happened within 15 to 30 minutes of eating anything - and accidents were getting more and more common.It was then he suggested Questran. I remember the first day I took it, I took my kids to the beach to have fish and chips, and made sure that we were right next to the public loo for when the inevitable explosion occurred. I remember looking nervously at the loo, hoping that it was empty when I needed it, waiting...waiting...waiting...and nothing happened! On day one of taking Questran, it had an effect!I have now been taking Questran for over three years, and it is my lifesaver! I don't mind taking it one bit - it isn't the most pleasant experience, but it has given me my life back.One big thing here is that I am one of the few who hasn't had a gallbladder removal! It just happened. So, if you are reading this and you are thinking you don't fit the bill because you still have your gallbladder, think again. It can happen to anyone!Try this web link for more info http://www.irritable-bowel-syndrome.ws/questran.htm


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## Annalisa (May 23, 2011)

If I ate your diet I would have huge troubles with the nuts, especially cashews as they are about 50% fat and the cheese would pose a problem for me.


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## sosickofbeingsick (Aug 2, 2011)

BayRat said:


> Very, very likely that the increased stress is causing a flareup. Do your best. For me, the most important factor is getting enough sleep. One bad night and I'm wrecked for days. Also,... that's a lot of chemicals to ingest every day. Have you run this list by a pharmacist? I would, both the Prescription and Over The Counter meds. For instance, a simplistic online application to check for Adverse Drug Interactions found:1 Interactions Found - Significant - Monitor CloselyLo Loestrin Fe + Xanax (ethinylestradiol + alprazolam)-ethinylestradiol will increase the level or effect of alprazolam by affecting hepatic/intestinal enzyme CYP3A4 metabolism.1 Interactions Found - Significant - Monitor CloselyDicyclomine + Levsin (dicyclomine + hyoscyamine)-dicyclomine and hyoscyamine both decrease cholinergic effects/transmission.http://reference.medscape.com/drug-interactionchecker


 Wow thank you! I didn't know any of the drugs had interactions. I've decided that I will stop taking the birth control, my stomach has been worse since month two of being on it. I will try taking no drugs for two days like a couple others have suggested.


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## sosickofbeingsick (Aug 2, 2011)

Thank you all for the help! I ate a whole can of cashews in two days...with nothing else but fish, eggs, and rice. Today I have crippling stomach/leg/back pain and the worst diarrhea I've had since last year. So I'm guessing it was the cashews since so many others said it would upset their stomach. I couldn't make it to work today and my boss is thinking of firing me because of this ******* IBS. Another stressor. *sigh*


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Here hon... this will be a guide for what to eat when you have D:http://ibs.about.com/od/diarrhea/tp/Diarrhea-and-Food.--04.htm


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## BayRat (Mar 28, 2011)

sosickofbeingsick said:


> Wow thank you! I didn't know any of the drugs had interactions. I've decided that I will stop taking the birth control, my stomach has been worse since month two of being on it. I will try taking no drugs for two days like a couple others have suggested.


I'd think twice about abruptly quitting the prescription meds. With Xanax, for one, weaning off is both easier and safer than just stoping. Speak to your doctor about the safety of continuing or ceasing the meds before taking rash action. Sometimes just stopping a prescription med is potentially *very dangerous*.The OTC meds, again, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Why take Loperamide *AND* Pepto? -they do much the same thing but with different chemicals. Twice the risk for what? It just seems to me that you're doing your own thang here without much supervision. Get some good advice and a clear plan of what/why you're taking medications. There may be a better, safer way to address your symptoms, but your doctor can't help you if you don't stay in touch.Most pharmacies auto-check for adverse reactions when filling the script. So it could well be that the risk is negligible and passes your doctor's muster. It's mostly the abundance, potential adverse reactions going under the radar, and sometimes duplicity, of all the OTC meds that's concerning me most. The pharmacy auto-check won't pick up on that. (Nor free samples from a doctor either. Safety warning my friends)I really don't mean to sound so bossy nor condescending. I just don't want to see you get hurt.


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## ziggy7 (Oct 24, 2009)

BayRat has a good point.You never know what drug companies put into drugs and if you were taking them for a while and then all of a sudden out right stop them it could result in something very dangerous.Heres a testimony from someone.''Fifteen years ago, my father-in-law went cold-turkey off his hypertension meds, and had a massive stroke that required brain surgery and after spending two months in a coma, woke up to months of rehab in both the hospital and convalescent home, before he was able to continue with the therapies at home. I NEVER want to end up like that, and when I was on meds for hypertension, never skipped a dose in the ten or eleven years I was on them. Yeah, I'm very glad to be off them, and happy that the results of blood work and monitoring my blood pressure showed that I could be off them safely--but I would never dream of doing it without having my physician on board.''I believe you should get 100% drug free as soon as possible. People were not ment to be on drugs. So ask one or two doctors if it's safe to quit the drugs. Or if you need to quit them in a special safe way. Also for extra safety after you have asked a doctor about it check online real quick about it too. Because doctors can make mistakes.And I posted my diet that i fully control my IBS-D with for this person here at this link. Try it if you like. Hope it helps http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/140891-frustrated-with-diets-for-ibs/


sosickofbeingsick said:


> My diet...Two Scrambled eggs with cheese and a corn torilla for breakfastLunch is usually a can of tuna (I was eating it with bread but stopped that a few days ago) and string cheese (I was eating yogurt and it didn't hurt my stomach but now if I even look at it it all goes to hell) and a cup of peppermint tea with honeyDinner is usually tuna and rice or ground turkey with rice and a side of veggies (usually cooked carrots, a little ice berg lettuce, or mushrooms)Snacks- LOTS of nuts (cashews and peanuts), a few pieces of candy, raisins....and more nutsI was eating a candy bar a day, plus tons of ice cream, chips, yogurt, juice, and more. I stopped eating all that a couple weeks ago. I can't eat any fruit.


Heres my advice on your diet as well. The two scrambled eggs should be moved too 4 or more. And as soon as they are cooked get them off the heat and eat them. Overcooking food can upset your stomach. Make sure you use unsalted butter to cook your eggs in. And try useing only hard cheeses like feta.Stop eating corn torilla's refined grains are not a good idea to eat.The last time i ate whiping cream my stomach was ok for the first 2-3 days. But after that it was damaged for almost a month... Recently i found out about carrageenan and thought that might be the cause of it? But anyways to be safe i would avoid all carrageenan and avoid all UHT dairy UHT stands for ultra high temperature pasteurization it's really bad stuff. Only eat unsalted butter and hard cheese. Thats the only dairy i eat. Also this dairy may be good too but it's hard to find.http://www.realmilk.com/Rice and ground turkey sounds ok. You could upgrade your rice by following these instructions.http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/foods18.phpice berg lettuce is good but carrots and mushrooms maybe avoid but maybe they are ok.I would avoid all cashews and peanuts because it is too hard to find high quality ones. And avoid all candy and raisins.One thing you can do that will help you alot is to avoid ALL Vegetable oils. The cashews and peanuts you eat if the container they come in says vegetable oils then avoid it. I would say all average vegetable oils these days are heated and there for rancid. You wouldn't think such small amounts would hurt but they do.But there is good vegetable oils like extra vergin COLD pressed olive oil even found at wal-mart. I would avoid or was hesitant to eat greek salads for years because they would hurt my stomach. But ever since i started to only eat my greek salads with extra vergin cold pressed olive oil they have never hurt my stomach not once.


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## Ginnyk (Aug 5, 2011)

The dairy, nuts & oily fish would do me in. I have found when I try eating healthy I have the most problems. My GI doctor (he studied IBS extensively) told me many IBS sufferers have difficultly with dairy. So maybe trying to give that up for a few weeks & seeing how you do might be worth a try. And I agree that is a lot of drugs to be on. I hope you can wean off some of them.


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## Thnkr917 (12 mo ago)

sosickofbeingsick said:


> _Please help me figure out what I'm doing wrong I've had IBS-D for a few years now. I'm nineteen, I think it started when I was 15. The past year has been the worst, for a couple months I could eat almost anything and now it's just as bad as ever. I'm on loads of medications...-Lo Loestrin Fe (birth control, just started this three months ago)-Levsin (once a day)-Dicyclomine (three times a day, 10mg)-Xanax (once a day)-Digestive enzymes, Beano (three times a day)-Tums (at least once a day)-Nauzene (4 or more times a day)-Lots and lots of Phazyme (I usually lose count lol)-Promethazine for nausea (at least once every other day)-Pepto Bismal (at least once a day)-Immodium (everyday)My diet...Two Scrambled eggs with cheese and a corn torilla for breakfastLunch is usually a can of tuna (I was eating it with bread but stopped that a few days ago) and string cheese (I was eating yogurt and it didn't hurt my stomach but now if I even look at it it all goes to hell) and a cup of peppermint tea with honeyDinner is usually tuna and rice or ground turkey with rice and a side of veggies (usually cooked carrots, a little ice berg lettuce, or mushrooms)Snacks- LOTS of nuts (cashews and peanuts), a few pieces of candy, raisins....and more nutsI was eating a candy bar a day, plus tons of ice cream, chips, yogurt, juice, and more. I stopped eating all that a couple weeks ago. I can't eat any fruit. I have been more stressed lately. I am in the process of moving, buying a new car, and job change. I am a manager at my job so I am constantly running around dealing with angry people. It is impossible to work when I can barely move and feel like I am going to puke. I really don't want to lose this job, I have worked so hard for it. Any tips will be greatly appreciated, thanks for listening...*EDIT_ I only weigh 95lbs. I've always been skinny but don't know if this makes a difference.


Have you tried eliminating all the dairy for a while? Dairy is a common trigger for IBS. Everyone is different. A lot of your food choices would kill me with cramps, but the one that is common among a lot of IBS sufferers is the dairy.


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## Thnkr917 (12 mo ago)

HI. I'm new to this forum. I have had IBS-D symptoms for as many years as I can remember. My mother would have told you I cried my whole first 8 months. I was bottle-fed. How much you want to guess whatever was in that formula was making me sick? I was only sick intermittently in my childhood, but the symptoms of IBS started showing up at around age 19. I had just had my son, then divorced and was living with my Mom. I was under a LOT of stress. I had an upper GI series then that was negative. The doctor basically dismissed me as some kind of hysterical female and tried to prescribe me Lithium. Never filled it, of course. I continued to have increasing symptoms through the years. Eventually I went to nursing school and once I studied it, it was really obvious that I fit the whole profile of IBS. From then on, not really wanting to be on meds, I just tweaked my diet until I figured out, mostly, what bothered me and wha didn't I quit drinking milk almost as the first thing, The last time I had milk and cookies in my life, it was to study for a nursing exam. Lets just say, I was in a lot of pain for the exam. I've been out of school for 28 years, btw. I
I mostly have it controlled in the sense that I know, for the most part, what makes the horrible cramps and pain. However, actually getting the diarrhea under control has been a lot harder. I never had the incontinence other than some "hash marks" in my underwear, but I also always had diarrhea as a baseline. I know what it's like to have to cut an event or conversation short to go running for a bathroom. I also know what it's like to scope out the nearest bathroom wherever you go..just in case. I avoid eating out, too. These days, it's more because low carb is hard to find. 
I had the IBS fixed completely, not even any diarrhea for 3.5 months by going low carb and eliminating literally all bread, pasta, cereal and sweets and other carbs. Not even a peep from my belly, until last week!! Turns out erithritol sweetener can be added to my list big time! I ended up in the ER with cramps so bad they gave me a diagnosis of gallstones and they think that is what the pain is, but I am suspecting that all of the pain was related to the erithritol and the gallstones are incidental findings that, barring any findings on the CT otherwise, they attributed to my pain. The pain was more consistent with my IBS and not consistent with typical gallbladder pain. Seeing a GI dr this week. Btw, this Bentyl seems to be working quite well. I think I'm going to ask for a refill. 
One thing I have learned through the years is to really pay attention to how my body is feeling with a new food. It's almost as if I can feel that I am going to have a reaction with just a few bites. Another thing I know is, it's just not worth it to cheat and have a little bit, if you know you are going to suffer. Speaking of, milk is my enemy! It is my number one thing to have me laying in the bed moaning with even a little. Ice cream makes me hurt just looking at it. I'm sure a lot of IBS sufferers know about dairy being a common problem. 
I find that a lot of sugar substitutes are evil too and they are in so much of the food. I used to think it was just the fake ones like nutrasweet and sweet and low, but the above experience just goes to show that even "natural" ones can be a problem for me. I also find that if it is processed, it has a high chance of being a trigger. If it is a whole food, it is usually ok, or at the very least, it is ok in moderation. For instance fruit, most fruits are fine, but a lot of fruit will make me ill. One cup of coffee is fine, Two makes me ill. Two cups of tea in a day are fine, any more and I am sick. Water is my friend. The more water I drink the less likely I am to be sick and the faster I poop out whatever it is that bothers me, so my belly will calm down. I do recommend trying low carb. Barring this whole erithritol situation, it really, really has calmed my gut down for 3.5 whole months! Maybe I also have a gluten intolerance and that's why the low carb diet has helped so much. I found this site mainly looking to see what kinds of misdiagnoses people have gotten, since I suspect this gallbladder thing isn't the real problem. But I am glad to have found a community who knows my issues.


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