Hi Heather,Welcome to the club.
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I assume you meant "IBS" up top there, not "IBD" (inflammatory bowel disease, which fortunately your docs seem to have ruled out?).A food diary that includes notes about symptoms is not a bad idea to do--for a month or two, maybe, long enough to see patterns if there are any. But I would urge you not to obsess about food and not to be too quick to eliminate anything. I think for MOST people with IBS, food can be a secondary cause of symptoms, but is never a primary cause. If you think something you ate bothered you, you can try avoiding it for a few days or a week or two, then go back to it. Chances are, it'll give you no trouble when reintroduced.Once you start to be afraid of food, you're in big trouble. The anxiety itself, not the food, will aggravate your IBS. And eventually you will start to suffer from nutritional deficiencies as you eliminate one food after another--many of them, typically, from nutrient-dense food groups like the legumes and the green, red and orange veggies. You really don't want to do that; your diet needs variety. Ironically, nutritional deficiencies due to restrictions may worsen your IBS because your diet isn't supporting your nervous and immune systems. It is hard enough, given modern lifestyles and modern patterns of food processing and distribution, to eat a nutritious diet even when it is unrestricted. When limited by special digestive concerns it's nearly impossible. If you make it an objective not to go there, I think you'll be better off. What I suggest should be your initial focus, instead, is other lifestyle factors, namely sleep, exercise, and recreation. Those bases *must* be consistently covered to control IBS. When I am running short on any of them, my GI tract almost always punishes me.Also, look over the tons of messages archived here for ideas about remedies and nutritional "boosters" you could try. Many people have had good results with calcium supplementation, for example. Mostly the "D" people, I believe.Welcome and good luck with your efforts to conquer this demon that hassles us all. By the way, did your doctor say what he thought was the cause of your gastritis? And is your dominant bowel pattern diarrhea or constipation or do you see-saw between them?
