[Guest]

Hello everyone,Just wanted to write and let those of you who are interested that I have found a way to live with IBS. I changed my entire diet. No more fried foods, no more diary products, no more carbonated beverages. I drink water, apple juice, or purple grape juice (100%). I eat only grilled or baked chicken, fish, turkey, and occasionally roast beef. I eat wheat or whole grain breads with low fat or no fat mayo. I drink Slim Fast for breakfast. Any other supplemental drink would probably work. The only fast food place I can safely eat at is Subway. I get a 6" sub with one of the meats I mentioned above, low fat mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. It's filling and, most importantly, doesn't hurt. If I do happen to hurt(usually because I ate chocolate, which is also bad, for me anyway)I eat saltine crackers. The seem to calm the cramps. I also will take Hyoscyamine, which works well for my lighter cramps. I stay away from sorbitol. This ingredient is found in many gums and breath fresheners, even those that are sugar-free.I hope any or all of this helps someone, it is working for me. If you would like more suggestions or just to talk, email me.Good luck!Amanda

 

[Guest]

Manda, I tried a diet like this, give or take a few foods, for awhile and it did help my IBS, but not completly, I would still get D if I would eat anything I wasn't suppose to, or sometimes for no reason. Until I tried caltrate, I have been D free for about 5 weeks now and feel great. I still watch what I eat but have added other foods that I wouldnt eat for a long time. This does not help all people with IBS my symtoms were mild compared to alot of people on this board, but diet and caltrate are great places to start. Good luck with your diet.

 

[Guest]

Manda,I'm confused. You stay away from sorbitol??? Apple juice is loaded with it. My GI Dr. in Mayo told me to only drink 4 oz. every other day as it gives me D. I found this.Sorbitol is a sugar found naturally in fruits, including apples, pears, peaches and prunes. It is also used as an artificial sweetener in many dietetic foods and sugar-free candies and gums. I dunno.Deb------------------Keep moving forward...even if you must crawl.

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

From a pure probability viewpoint, diets which substantially remove all foods that can cause pseudoallergic reactions, reduce exposure to milk proteins milk sugars, and minimize additives and colorings will reduce symptoms to a greater or lesser degree in most patients depending upon their reactive profile. Some of the most restrictive non-personalized diets can reduce symptoms noticeably, as well as the dependence upon supportive pharmacotherspy, in as manny as 70% of the subjects who follow them.This diet will help reduce symptoms in some patients and in others such things as the apple juice and the Instant Breakfast will send them to the commode (the reaction will be delayed...up to 72 hours, so it will be difficult to mathcup with dietary intake without structured elimination-challenge excercise).The rationale is not unsound, as she seems to eat few foods that can cause "pseudoallergy". From this starting point, with some additional carefully constructed work, the results could be improved upon (since the patient is still having some symptoms-cramps are referred to- intermittently and requires some medication). So the diet still contains either some reactive food, chemical, or both.But its good to see progress.best of Luck,MandaMNL____________________ www.leapallergy.com

 

[catherine]

Manda, My diet is very similar to yours except that I eat no fruits at all. I have illiminated lactose, fructose, sorbitol and mannitol. This diet has helped tremendously and many days I am now symptom free along with taking Prevacid for gerd. My doctor tells me I shouldn't have to be on this diet the rest of my life. That I'm just having a flair-up. It's been almost two years since this latest flair-up started. I hope he's right because I get tired of not being able to eat what I want. ------------------C-Type IBS (slow motility)

 

[eric]

Just some info on the sorbitol and fructose. Scand J Gastroenterol 2000 Oct;35(10):1048-52 Related Articles, Books Fructose- and sorbitol-reduced diet improves mood and gastrointestinal disturbances in fructose malabsorbers. Ledochowski M, Widner B, Bair H, Probst T, Fuchs D Dept. of Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Innsbruck, Austria. [Medline record in process] BACKGROUND: Fructose malabsorption is characterized by the inability to absorb fructose efficiently. As a consequence fructose reaches the colon where it is broken down by bacteria to short fatty acids, CO2 and H2. Bloating, cramps, osmotic diarrhea and other symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are the consequences and can be seen in about 50% of fructose malabsorbers. We have previously shown that fructose malabsorption is associated with early signs of mental depression and low serum tryptophan concentrations. It was therefore of interest whether a fructose-reduced diet could not only improve gastrointestinal complaints but also depressive signs seen in fructose malabsorbers. METHODS: Fifty-three adults (12 males, 41 females), who were identified as fructose malabsorbers according to their breath-H2 concentrations, filled out a Beck's depression inventory-questionnaire, and a questionnaire with arbitrary scales for measurement of meteorism, stool frequency and quality of life for a 4-week period before dietary intervention and 4 weeks after dietary change as for fructose- and sorbitol-reduced diet. RESULTS: Depression scores were reduced by 65.2% after 4 weeks of diet (P < 0.0001), and there was a significant reduction of meteorism (P < 0.0001) and stool frequency (P < 0.01). Improvement of signs of depression and of meteorism was more pronounced in females than in males. CONCLUSION: Fructose- and sorbitol-reduced diet in subjects with fructose malabsorption does not only reduce gastrointestinal symptoms but also improves mood and early signs of depression. PMID: 11099057, UI: 20548733 ------------------ http://www.ibshealth.com/ www.ibsaudioprogram.com

 

[eric]

Sorry Manda, I meant to add welcome to the bb and thanks for posting whats helped you and wish you continued success with your diet.------------------ http://www.ibshealth.com/ www.ibsaudioprogram.com