[karoe]

I am thinking about food allergies etc. and have been avoiding foods that I suspect (but can't really prove) are bothering me. I am staying away from apples and apple products and corn syrup, this has been about 2 1/2 weeks. I still eat cantaloupe, pears, bananas you name it and yet I feel like I am going to explode with constipation. Even tried an enema but just got brown water. Have gone a bit, maybe every third day so I know I'm not totally blocked...but I feel INSANE. this is not normal for me. Does anyone think this could possibly be due to the removal of some 'irritants' ie. food substances I am allergic to? PS Investingating Leap Program...plan to do it as soon as I get the insurance straightened out. Have had IBS for 27 years.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Apples and apple juice tend to have a bunch of sorbitol in them and this is something that can loosen up the stools without having to think you are allergic to apples.Pears tend to have this as well. They can eliminate some of the diarrhea in small kids by taking them off apple juices and using only white grape juice. So it isn't too far fetched to think that apples could have been keeping you stools softer and easier to pass.Sorbitol is also found in peaches, apricots, prunes and sugarlesss gums and candies.It is typical for people to get looser stools in the summer when fresh produce is abundant.K.K.

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

KAROE:Hmmm....before you do anything....one must be sure that a complete differential diagnostic workup has been conducted, preferably by a board certified GI doc.Di you have one look at you yet and if so what was done and what were the findings?This could help us help you better.MNL

 

[ohnometo]

Hi Karoe...I think Mike will be able to help with your question...I never though the food I put in my body could make me feel so bad...I am talking hospital bad..and I didnt realize it untill I started taking it out of my body...all the weird things (symptoms) I was having as it was leaving... I had IBS-D for 40 years and it wasnt untill I started working with LEAP that I was able to find out what was triggering my IBS and CVS...I learned that Food Allergy and Food intolerance is different..What I have to stay away from may not be bothering you but the number one thing was APPLE but I can eat all other fruit...It has been almost 7 months for me now that I havent been sick...and I was at the point last year of almost loosing my job..If you are interested in LEAP hop over to the diet/nutrition section here on the board..it might answer some of you questions...Hope you get better soon

 

[eric]

Karoe, certain foods can cause symptoms, but it is probably not because your allergic to them. There are other chemical reasons why some effect the body. You also one to make sure if this is been going on for a while you don't have an obtruction, going on. A person also can be impacted somewhat until its all released.Papaya might be a good food for you to try also as it may help.True food allergies cause external symptoms also and food sensitivites usally cause d if you have them at all, and IBS can cause the same symptoms. People can be and usally are confused they have food senstivites when in fact it is IBS. You could also be in a flare of the IBS causing more constipation for you. You might want to talk to your doctor about all this and see if he can help and what he says and have him check you out before you proceed with anything to be on the safe side.

 

[gfinster]

I had that experience when I eliminated foods that I tested allergic to. My D episodes do "seem" to be food related and I think my colon had become dependent on those stimulants (that's too nice a word) for prompting. I started taking magnesium, eating bran, shredded wheat, prunes and drinking lots of water, eating more frequently and smaller portions and that eases the C for me. I too am researching and considering MRT test but not sold on the science of it yet.

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

Comment.... _________________________________________"...People can be and usally are confused they have food senstivites when in fact it is IBS." __________________________________________And some people are perpetually confused, as if it has been definitively established that one has nothing to do with the other, to the detriment of patient care.Karoe, in spite if this confusion, some truth managed to slip out. Since I do not know your workup, I can state that the symptoms you describe are not constsnt with what is known as "food allergy" (specific IgE sensitization to some food)...and may or may not be realted to one of the several different food or chemical hypsersensitivity mechanisms.it is fuzzy what you describe...aare you staying away from apples and corn products becasue they produced certain symptoms? If so what are they specifically. Your post makes it sound more like the constipation has come after you stopped eating apple and corn and substituted cantaloup pear and banana.You know sometimes a person who knows how to monitor a careful dietary intake log, kept over several weeks, can spot that c, for example, is simply coming from a pattern of inabaility to "move" a diet high in hard to digest stuf like fiborus meats...beef...which constipates the person and then in self correction they finally evacuate with impressive power after a period of suffering...and the solution is nothing more than proper balance of perhaps a softer diet with increased soluble fiber...But all symptoms and history must be knonw, and a dietary intake analaysis is very desireable, before jumping to any conclusions in such cases...there is just not enough info to say anything helpful yet.Will check back to see if you return.Eat well. Think well. be well.MNL

 

[eric]

Karoe, an example of a food that would effect IBS and not by any immune responce or food senstivity would be fat, for an example, but there are many more.

 

[JeanG]

Hi karoe:I agree with Eric that you should be checked to make sure you do not have an obstruction. It sounds as if this constipation has lasted for a while, and is a new symptom for you. Anytime we have a change in symptoms they should be checked out. There are quite a few diseases that mimic IBS, and, it's better to be safe than sorry. Have you spoken to your doctor yet?JeanG

 

[karoe]

Wow, thanks all of you for writing! Constipation does happen to me, but rarely. Usually I am fighting with loose (or worse) stool twice each day. My medical history-- diagnosed with IBS 1975 after barium enema, normal. Flex Sig, 1980, normal; flex sig 1997, normal; Upper GI with small bowel 2001, normal (sound familiar???) Yes, most definitel nerves play a part, very much with me, but I am thinking lately about food sensitivities because, really it's the next thing to investigate. My doctor??????? HAHAHA. First of all he is a GI working for Kaiser, so it takes about 5 weeks to get in to see him, and listen to this, HE HAS IBS!!! He recommended relaxation and hypnosis, which has worked, I did Eric's tapes 1 1/2 times and have been in contact with ERIC and Mike. Thanks to all who responded. I guess this is what it's like when you change your diet.......hey, this IBS stuff is like a full-time job!!!!!!!!

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

Karoe:You may also want to read these books, which may be of help in sorting out your symptoms:IBS: A DOCTORS PLAN FOR CHRONIC DIGESTIVE TROUBLESBy Gerard Guillory, M.D.; Vanessa Ameen, M.D.; Paul Donovan, M.D.; Jack Martin, Ph.D. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...9085785-1742301 "FOOD ALLERGIES AND FOOD INTOLERANCE: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THEIR IDENTIFICTION AND TREATMENT", Professor Jonathan Brostoff , M.D.. Allergy, Immunology and Environmental Medicine, Kings' College, London http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089...6487508-3420903 Eat well. Think well. Be well.MNL

 

[JeanG]

Hi karoe:I'm glad to hear the hypnosis tapes helped you.

Since it's been about a year since your last exam, it wouldn't hurt to go back again and mention the change in symptoms. I don't know how old you are (I'm 51), but they say the older you get the more you should keep an eye on things, particularly after 50.Kaiser is a mess, so I know what you mean. I dropped it in January for Blue Shield, and I'm very happy with my new doctors.

JeanG