Hi George,Sorry to hear that you have been having a bad time lately with a flare up, that unfortunately seems to be part of the whole IBS experience.Unfortunately also, it is I think pretty difficult to say how long a flare up will last. My last really bad flare up (at the beginning of this year) laid me really low for about 10 days, and persisted with daily bouts of Diahrrea for about another week after that.I would say though, if you have been eating all the wrong foods the effects are now catching up with you.First I would suggest you get back to foods that are easier to digest (at least till things settle down anyway). For example rice, bananas, vegetables, crackers, white bread etc. Mostly cut out anything really fatty, spicy or acidy anyway.Try looking through Heather's (IBS nutritionist) website here for more dietary information.
http://www.firstyearibs.com/ Next try and add a little gentle exercise to your routine. Walking, cycling and swimming are good choices to start off. (I have an exercise bike that I use everyday, no bathroom or bad weather worries that way). If you have not been doing much exercise recently try starting off with just 10 minutes a day and gradually increase it.Once you get back on a low fat diet and start getting a little exercise I am sure the excess weight will also come off.When the flare up settles down, you might be able to have a little rich/fatty food again, but just go easy with it, try to limit yourself to only 1 or 2 'treats' a week.I find that if I take care I can have a 'treat' like chocolate or cake once or twice a week without too much of a problem. Got to just treat ones tummy kindly, to minimise upsets with IBS.Hope this helps.
