6 replies to this topic

[SLWebb]

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I am a brand new member here hoping to find answers to questions that I have. I have been diagnosed with IBS and after a colonoscopy a year ago, with Diverticulitis. After receiving these diagnosis, I sometimes feel like I am not heard when I have a "complaint" and go to see my doctor because I alway get the "well you do have IBS" or "you do have Diverticulitis" or both. Agreed this may be what is causing my complaints, I sometimes feel like there is more or perhaps I just need more information than what I am being given.Today for example, I finally gave in and went to see my doctor because I have had severe constipation for 2 1/2 weeks. At this point my gut is distented, I feel I am going to burst, pain, I have a loss of appetite, and general lethargy...basically I feel like #### (pardon the pun). I have tried ClearLax everday for a week, 2 suppositories and 10 senokot tablet...no real movement or change. So, when I see my doc she says well, you do have IBS and Diverticulitis...so perhaps you should eat more fiber. Hmm I say...I don't know how much more fiber I can eat. My usual meals are a Gluten Free Cereal and a piece of fruit, lunch is a large spinach or spring mix salad, with fruits or nuts or vegetable or a combination, dinner is generally chicken, pork or beef, vegetables, and potato, quinoa or rice with a homemade slice of Gluten Free bread or roti made with combinations of sorghum, millet flours, buckwheat, corn meal, brown rice flours etc. Dessert is a bit of frozen yogurt with fresh or frozen berries. I generally have two of three snacks which is fruit based...ie apple, pear, grapes, bananas. I feel that I have a very rounded, healthy diet with plenty of fibre, proteins and nutreints. I now adhere to a strict Gluten Free Diet after discovering that my gas and bloating symptoms have diminished drastically by doing so. If I accidentally consume wheat based products I almost immediately feel the effects and it continues on into the next day. (who knew soy sauce was wheat based...well obviously I didn't but do now). The first time I consumed something unknowingly with wheat in it, it took me a day to figure out what caused me to feel so sick. Now I know what the feeling is and know immediately that I have been glutened! I mention this only because my doctor brought up my decision to be gluten free as perhaps this is what is causing your current IBS, Diverticulitis and chronic constipation. I mentioned to her that the wheat makes me sick...the doctor conceeded that yes I am most likely gluten intolerant. So again it is mentioned that I should bulk up my diet...so after a long description here ... I am at a loss on what that means and how to do it. Given the fact that I eat what I consider to be alot of fiber and balanced meals...what should I be eating to bulk up my diet and lessen the IBS, chronic constipation and diverticulitis. I just feel at a loss. I should mention as well that this has been ongoing for over a year..with the last year being by far the worst. My normal movements now are once a week except upon occassion where it will be two or more weeks. Normal for me before (over a year ago) if was movement 5 or 6 times a day, sometimes constipation and sometimes diarrhea.Any suggestions are most welcome.

[Kathleen M.]

Have you brought in a food diary (you can do some online ones) that show what you eat and how many grams of fiber you get a day.Sometimes when really backed up people find too much fiber can be as bad as too little.Was this the GI doctor or your primary care person?May be worth getting the GI doctor to do a sitz marker and pelvic floor testing to see what may be going on with the constipation, especially if this is typical for you.

[SLWebb]

That is actually a good idea...the food diary. Being able to track exactly what I consume and the amount of fiber etc and having that to give to my physician would be far easier than trying to itemize and explain verbally. The physician I see is my primary care physician. In order to see a GI doctor, I would need a referral from my primary...without it I would not get an appointment on a self referral basis. So, perhaps keeping a food diary and IBS tracking diary for a couple months would give my primary a more complete insight of my concerns.Thank you Kathleen.

[Korga]

I am one of those people who do better on a high-fiber diet. My diet consists of 80% whole fruits and vegetables, some brown rice and other gluten-free grains, and a bit of meat. I am also on the low-FODMAP diet which has improved all my symptoms about 80%. You might look into that if you are sensitive to wheat.Most days I eat a high-carb breakfast of whole buckwheat groats and sunflower seeds soaked overnight, served with maple syrup and almond milk. Occasionally I have eggs with steamed potatoes. For lunch I have homemade vegetable soup and gluten-free crackers or a rice-paper veggie roll up or brown rice sushi. For dinner I have a large serving of sauteed vegetables, baked squash or yams, and a small serving of meat. Mid-afternoon I have a hemp protien powder shake with rice milk, a banana and a handful of berries. For snacks I eat citrus, berries, nuts, rice cakes or popcorn.

[SLWebb]

Thank you very much Korga. I am going to look into the low-FODMAP diet. I may have to try to buckwheat groats again...perhaps I prepared it wrong...it had almost and charred taste and smell to it and I couldn't eat it. I also enjoy a breakfast of Red Quinoa cooked with Almond Milk, apples and Maple Syrup...although I substitue the maple syrup with diabetic friendly artificial stuff. My husband enjoys this Quinoa porridge as well and he is diabetic. I am also intrigued by the hemp protein shake...I have heard alot about the benefits of hemp but haven't tried it yet. Thank you very much for taking the time to share you experience with me.

[Green_Life]

The best thing for constipation is something called Oxy-Powder. Believe me, it works. Look it up on YouTube. It has helped thousands of people who suffer with severe constipation.

[SWR]

For some reason, I've found that an aleve pill (tablet -not liquid gel) can do wonders to calm down my digestive tract. Something you can try anyway. I've also discovered that diet coke can trigger an episode -must be the acid.