[16003]

Hey all,I'm fairly new to dealing with this wonderful life of IBS ( to knowing my symptoms have a name, that I'm not alone, and that there are things I can try to do about it, anyway), and I have some q.'s: 1) are there any particular foods/ingredients ( besides the obvious gas producers like beans and brocoli) that y'all find make your symptoms of gas, bloating and cramps worse? I am CONSTANTLY bloated and have gas ( sooo embarrasing)whether or not I've managed to ahve a BM and I haven't been able to pinpoint any food in particular that I eat regularly that makes this worse ( I generally eat mainly cottage cheese, lettuce, chicken, tofu, plain yogurt, turkey, gum, almonds and cashews.. any possible culprits there?). I'm currently on a low carb diet trying to lose a little weight, but I already have to cut a lot of common carbs out of my diet anyway since I have Celiac Disease. I'm beginning to think that maybe i'm intolerent to something else I eat- would love to figure out what- if anything in particular- is making me constatly bloated and gassy.2) I read some of the other entries about y'all who use things like Aloe Vera stuff, Slippery Elm, Acidopholous, charcoal... does one need to use all those to have relief or is it just a matter of trying each and figuring out which works for you? Like I said before gas and bloating ( along with C.) is my main prob, and I take Gas-X religiously but it seems to do absolutly nothing, so i'm curious about trying somehing else- sounds like the charcoal works for a lot- I saw people with IBS-D say it helped, but what about IBS-C?Sorry for the novel, but I'm desperate for advice. It's like my stomach rules my life and whether or not I can go out with friends and just have fun/enjoy daily life in general all depeds on the mood my stomach/digestive system is in that particualr day..ahhhhh!! I'd really appreciate any advice you can give- thanks!

 

[bonniei]

quote:gum

Is it sugar free since it contans sugar alcohols which could lead to gas? Also with chewing gum you could be swallowing a lot of air and a lot of sites I have read say that leads to gas. How many almond and cashews do you eat? They have carbs which could lead to gas.As for charcoal, you will just have to try it out yourself.

 

[16003]

thanks for the advice- I don't eat any sugar-free processed anything b/c i have before and it always tears up my gut. I didnt think abt the carbs in nuts, but now that i think abt it they're high in fat and i read that high fat things are big IBS triggers. Good point abt the gum too ( too bad i live off it...). I'm definitly gonna try the charcoal- thanks!

 

[bonniei]

High fat can trigger bloating but not gas. Fat leads to the retention or inefficient handling of gas.

 

[Screamer]

Hi there and welcome to your wonderful new life

I can't see too much that should cause you big problems but I know a lot of us can't handle lettuce at all so maybe cut it out for a few days and see how you go with that.Tofu and soy can cause gas if your body is not used to handling them but if you've been eating them for a while unless you have an intolerance it should be fine (remember that soy is a bean). Gum will also give you gas as you are swallowing air with it plus the artificial sweeteners are bad for IBS as Bonniei mentioned. If you are on low carb are you also on high fat. Fat is a HUGE trigger for me.I use a lot of the supplements you mentioned above. I use slippery elm, aloe vera, marshmallow root and charcoal for gas and bloating. That combination works best for me but it is a matter of trying stuff and seeing if it works for you. To be honest though I have tried all of my supplements on their own in the past and by themselves they really don't do much at all. Charcoal can cause constipation so if you try it make sure you drink HEAPS of fluids. Same with slippery elm as it is a mucolege (spelling?) plant and will bulk you up. Have you tried a soluable fibre supplement like benefibre or metamucil? They help more with C than D.Anyway, hope some of this helps and I hope you feel better soon

 

[16003]

thanks, that helps a lot. I can't tell you how great it is read about people who have the same kind of problems I do and to get advice from people who've been there- such a relief!

 

[Screamer]

Yep. I've been battling IBS my whole life (well as far back as I can remember anyway) and had no idea what was wrong with me till about a year ago. It was so nice to know that what was wrong had a name, that it wasn't all in my head and then when I realised there were IBS communities like this one I was even happier knowing that I wasn't the only person in the world who feels like this. Glad you found us

Hope whatever you decide works some for you.