Fixing my IBS

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s2k_modern_classic

Original Poster:

11 posts

66 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
I saw a few IBS threads on here in the past. Been furloughed got some time on my hands decided enough is enough and going to fix my IBS. (after not that much help from my GP last 10 years)

I see some people are saying fodmap changed my life, so that looks interesting. Could probably manage a dietary change right now

But then I see other mention of Hypnotherapy and CBT. Anyone had any experience of these?

Friend of mine suffered terribly with anxiety and depression. Says Headspace or Mind were amazing for his condition. Are there any Apps to help get on top of your IBS?

shirt

22,609 posts

202 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
the only thing that made any difference for me was diet - specifically low carb/keto diet.

Ransoman

884 posts

91 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
second the diet.

Try an exclusion diet of the obvious intolorences. Gluten and Dairy. Stagger when you do each one though.

For me it was Gluten.

s2k_modern_classic

Original Poster:

11 posts

66 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Awesome - that is a huge help. So can I just look at fodmap stuff online and figure it out? My wife seems to think she can adapt a few recipes. Or is it worth some dietitian support to help with my IBS issues?

thecremeegg

1,964 posts

204 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Mine was entirely stress induced - the more I worried about it, the worse it got. Went on for probably 3 years before I changed jobs and it died down tremendously for me. It's still there sometimes but most of the time I don't have to worry about it.
Hope you can get it sorted!

sbarclay62

617 posts

58 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Diet for me.

Generally if i avoid: coffee, tea and other caffeinated drinks. Raw onion, undercooked garlic, egg yolks (as part of egg not so much in cakes etc), greasy food, overly spicy food, double cream and spreads etc and maybe one or two others that i've forgotten about i'm generally ok. A food diary helps, write down what you're eating and you'll notice a patern.

Stress is a factor for me aswell. Usually always get a bout when going on holiday "remember the passports, the currency, pack the charger, book the taxi, set the alarm".

Its a pain in the arse at times (pardon the pun) but purely manageable.

HustleRussell

24,724 posts

161 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
thecremeegg said:
Mine was entirely stress induced
Same. Went away as if by magic when I left school.

Steve91

492 posts

121 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
thecremeegg said:
Mine was entirely stress induced
Same. Went away as if by magic when I left school.
Same. Redundancy last year made it pretty bad.

s2k_modern_classic

Original Poster:

11 posts

66 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
[quote=sbarclay62]Diet for me.

Perhaps the spicey food is the Onion that makes up most of curry or Mexican food? Sounds like fodmap diet would be the winner and then I guess the egg thing is a separate intolerance



elise2000

1,480 posts

220 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Steve91 said:
Same. Redundancy last year made it pretty bad.
Same. Went away after college and rarely returns

ambuletz

10,754 posts

182 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
s2k_modern_classic said:
sbarclay62 said:
Diet for me.

Perhaps the spicey food is the Onion that makes up most of curry or Mexican food? Sounds like fodmap diet would be the winner and then I guess the egg thing is a separate intolerance
the whole idea is to restrict your diet first to low fodmap foods. then gradually add them back in and see which ones agree with you, or how much of something you can tolerate.

the vertical diet is an aspect of eating low fodmap as it focuses on eating easy to digest foods.

if you want recipes googling bbc low fodmap recipes will come up with many. otherwise just look at the foods you make, and use less of the things that are considered high.

JJ55

653 posts

116 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Fodmap definitely the thing to try. If your ibs is very bad an extreme ‘exclusion’ version of the fodmap will be needed to start for the first few weeks.

Exercise & reducing stress also helpful.

Challo

10,166 posts

156 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
thecremeegg said:
Mine was entirely stress induced - the more I worried about it, the worse it got. Went on for probably 3 years before I changed jobs and it died down tremendously for me. It's still there sometimes but most of the time I don't have to worry about it.
Hope you can get it sorted!
I was going to mention stress. My colleague at work struggled for years with IBS, and tried lots of different ways to improve it.

He eventually changed jobs, improved his personal life and his IBS practically disappeared

halo34

2,449 posts

200 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Have a look at fasting cycles too. There is a theory that it gives the system a bit of time to flush out toxins and IBS is a build up of things until sudden outburst happens, which is why sometimes its hard to pin down food types.

I caveat this by saying fasting isnt for everyone and its at your own risk - but it definately helped.

s2k_modern_classic

Original Poster:

11 posts

66 months

Wednesday 20th May 2020
quotequote all
Sounds like fodmap is the thing to do, thanks for all the input everyone.

I found an App i like, Tummi FODMAP. Got started yesterday and it coaches you through fodmap and makes you do the thing when you reintroduce the foods later on.

It also tracks stress levels, so I can look at that also. Gonna give this a good try and see if I'm in good shape 6 weeks from now - if anytime was the time that is it. Got to be some benefit on being furloughed!

Dan130i

42 posts

60 months

Wednesday 20th May 2020
quotequote all
I'm a nutritionist and IBS is a difficult one. There's no tests for it and the term IBS sort of covers a lot of things. The NICE guidelines are fairly vague (and not evidence-based) but are the things to try first;

Have regular meals, take time eating and avoid missing meals
Drink at least 8 cups of fluid per day
Restrict tea/coffee to 3 cups per day
Reduce alcohol and fizzy drinks intake
Limit high fibre food
Reduce intake of resistant starch
Limit fresh fruit to 3 portions per day
Avoid sorbitol (for diarrhoea symptoms)
Eat oats and linseeds (for wind/bloating symptoms)
Discourage the use of aloe vera
If general advice is unsuccessful, low FODMAP diet trialled under supervision from a trained professional

Sounds like you've got some advice to follow with Low FODMAP. It's essentially taking out loads of things that could be causing issues and slowly reintroducing them to see which ones actually cause an issue.

The hard bit is finding out which foods are good and which should be avoided. Hopefully your app helps you with that!

fatboy b

9,500 posts

217 months

Wednesday 20th May 2020
quotequote all
My IBS seems to flare up if I have too much fibre. Don’t stick to general guidelines on fibre. Do what suits. It suits the O/H. Not me. We used to have the same lunch for a few years - salad based. Then I stopped it. Guts improved big time in a matter of days.

halfpenny43

1,018 posts

237 months

Wednesday 20th May 2020
quotequote all
sbarclay62 said:
Diet for me.

Generally if i avoid: coffee, tea and other caffeinated drinks. Raw onion, undercooked garlic, egg yolks (as part of egg not so much in cakes etc), greasy food, overly spicy food, double cream and spreads etc and maybe one or two others that i've forgotten about i'm generally ok. A food diary helps, write down what you're eating and you'll notice a patern.

Stress is a factor for me aswell. Usually always get a bout when going on holiday "remember the passports, the currency, pack the charger, book the taxi, set the alarm".

Its a pain in the arse at times (pardon the pun) but purely manageable.
I gave up dairy completely. Take tea and coffee (cannot give up coffee) black and only eat soya based yoghurt. Really helped particularly the bloatedness.
But as above the biggest triggers for me are onions (raw or cooked), garlic, fried food, spicy food, fresh cream, beans and pulses, too much alcohol, stress.

jinkster

2,248 posts

157 months

Thursday 21st May 2020
quotequote all
I occasionally felt a bit rubbish - was it IBS - who knows!

I did watch a Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall and .... McGovern programme a few weeks ago and the doc suggested Kombucha (for good bacteria). I've had that and felt much better.

Hoofy

76,386 posts

283 months

Thursday 21st May 2020
quotequote all
If it's caused by stress and anxiety, you would benefit from a regular mindfulness practice. I can send over a link to the free session that I ran last year for PHerrs.