IBS & Stomach problems

[ianess]

Is there anything like a list of say the 10 most likely things to bring on an attack?

[patriciather]

stress plays a big part in ibs, red meat is hard to digest . drink plenty of water too.exercise is good for some reason.My daughter suffered terribly with this problem for two years, she hasnt had an "atack" as she described it for about a month now.try it and i hope it helps you-good luck

[Ray the DJ]

Your doctor will have all the answers.

[patriciather]

doctors give "Tablets" which didnt help, fybogel can help when u are constipated .

[ewand]

Generally, doctors cannot help an awful lot because the symptoms are so varied, and the causes too.........my advice would be for you look up the IBS network:

http://www.ibsnetwork.org.uk/

which has a large amount of information regarding the ailment, and contact with fellow sufferers for advice etc.

I would also suggest, in answer to your question, that large amounts of eggs, starchy foods, pasta etc. should be avoided (i.e smaller portions and more veg or fibre) and if faced with an attack, take painkillers, get someone to peel a few oranges and a hot water bottle.......(don't peel the hot water bottle).  Hope this is helpful......let us know if you need more information.

 

 

[natalie_1982]

Personally I would say:

1. Too much caffeine
2. High stress levels
3. Too much fatty food
4. Lack of water
5. Lack of high fibre fruit and veg
6. Too much pasta and white bread
7. Too much over processed food i.e. McDonalds, Pot Noodle, Microwave food - don't touch them!
8. Exercise!

I'm kind of running out now, but I'd say drink plenty of water and eat lots of fresh food and exercise!  I've also heard that pro bitotic drinks really help, but they made me worse. I've also been told that peppermint tea can reduce pain during an 'attack', although I've never tried that myself.  Good luck!

[ewand]

Also, not enough of those........what they called again? That cereal that has that tasty tasty very very tasty advert?  It's slipped my mind......

[FP]

Dairy food, eggs, pastry and red meat really upset me, although I do eat them from time to time.

 

Orange, apple and Grapefruit juice also trigger attacks.  Cranberry juice is fine.  Coffee makes me really ill these days.  I drink loads of tap water.

 

And stress is the worse thing ever!

 

As Natalie says, drinking loads of water helps

[FP]

Ray the DJ   Once you have definitely been diagnosed with IBS, then there is very little more that the doctor can actually do apart from prescribe tablets to help with the pain spasms.    It is one of those conditions where other sufferers can be of great help.

 

However, it is important to get the right diagnosis by a GP and have all the tests to rule out any other disorders.

[ianess]

Many thanks to all for the replies..............Fakeplastic....that scenario is very much what I`ve got.  Eggs, pastry,orange juice, and coffee all seem to be triggers, along with fizzy drinks.

Allied to an overload of stress in the last couple of years it all seems to fit.

Thanks again.

[pagey3]

I know its different for everyone, but stuff with seeds affects me, as does really greasy food.  If you try a specialist health food shop and buy some aloe vera gel it is supposed to really help (mines on order after being recommended by a friend)  Not the tablets but the pure gel - apparently it tastes awful but really helps.  Switching to brown bread and upping my fibre (bran flakes etc) really helped too!

[liljoolz]

try doing an experiment, exclude various things from your diet at different times, then you can see what affects you more. its an individual thing, also your head is directly attached to your gut, you got strss you got pain. give yourself plenty 'me' time - shove the kids in the cupboard, chuck the dog out for a wee, send the hubby/wifey out with a fiver for a pot of tartan paint, sit down put your feet up and sip and nice un-acidic drink, oh yeah tell the annoying mother-in-law where to stick her advice.

xx

[JORDANESQ]

i have crohns, which is similar - i was told to avoid mushrooms, sweetcorn and tomatoes, among other things.

[aurelia]

I have gerd which is gastric reflux desease and some of the foods to avoid are similar - like caffeine, garlic, onions, spicy foods, greasy or fatty foods - I got a tip to put a pillow under my mattress at the head end  to ease problems - I have found it a lot better - you could give that a try too

[aurelia]

I forgot to mention I was told to eat small amounts little and often and my friend has IBS and our symptoms can be similar but especially the foods we have to avoid - I forgot alcohol and citric juices, etc can make it worse - I was also told never to eat anything at least 3 - 4 hourse before lying down to sleep as this can aggravate - hope this helps

[glenis]

 a friend of mine suffers, and couldn't eat bananas as they really  bloated her out,used to upset her as she loves them ,someone suggested she eat them with ryvita now she can eat them silly but it works

[helliebobs]

I know there has been a lot said on this topic, so try searching some other answers for more advice.

Personally, i've found it helps to keep a food diary as I'm constantly finding new things that set off an attack.

I have to avoid mozarella cheese (although I'm lucky in that I can eat most other types of cheese with no adverse effect!), rich sauces - tomato or cream based, oily and fatty foods like mayonnaise and stuff like KFC and Macdonalds always sets me off(don't eat much of it anyway).

Peppermint capsules help me as well as eating meals slowly!

I hope anyone posting here who suffers form IBS finds something that helps them, even if it's only in a small way