[salukigirl]

I have always had issues with certain foods. I have cut down to fat free milk because 2% makes my stomach hurt extremely bad as does ice cream. I don't eat anything cooked in olive oil because that is a recipe for disaster, as is a lot of Italian food in general. Coffee causes the same issue. Recently I have started having diarrhea right before and during my period. When I googled it I found that having this as a PMS symptom can be an indicator of low grade IBS. I guess that means not serious enough to cause any real problems?

It is definitely an annoyance and can be pretty embarrassing when I'm bloated and feel terrible right after eating. I try to pretend like I'm fine but I'm definitely not. Does anyone else have IBS? Does this sound typical of your experience? I'm really embarrassed to go talk to a doc about it and don't even know if there is anything you can do about it other than change your diet. I always assumed it was an allergy or sensitivity to certain foods but now it is more common and doesn't really follow a pattern of one or two main things but several. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Perna]

Sounds like you have some lactose intolerance going on; get some Lactaid pills at the grocery or drug store and/or Lactaid milk (or other, similar brand; I use it in my coffee instead of regular creamer). It really made a difference for me! http://www.lactaid.com/ I carry the little packets around in my wallet and if I'm at a restaurant and eating a lot of cheese (pizza?) in a day, omelet for breakfast, cheesy dinner, diary dessert, etc. I take one of those with my first bite. I didn't know there's a lot of lactose in caramel and had a horrible Easter a couple years ago when I got a caramel-filled milk chocolate (milk chocolate also has lactose) rabbit as a present! I didn't discover I had a problem though until I tried to eat "healthy", oatmeal every day but discovered I couldn't drink consecutive glasses of milk (milk in the oatmeal multiple days in a row and I was in bad pain after the second day).

I have problems with coffee (and beer!) also and chocolate. There's lots of those miscellaneous side-foods that have chemicals that can mess you up if you're susceptible and it has gotten worse as I've gotten older. I'm getting annoyed at how much I sneeze (but paying some attention: coffee, beer, chocolate, mints, wine, etc.).

I think the diarrhea before your period could be "normal" too, sometimes. Here's a good list of lovely PMS-possible problems:

http://teenshealth.org/teen/sexual_h..._problems.html

I have IBS. I stopped eating dairy products and it has helped a lot. I try to avoid all high acid and high fat foods as they cause problems. That means, in addition to dairy products, cut back on tomatoes, coffee, chocolate, high fiber foods (e.g., oatmeal) and anything deep fried.

There really is no test for IBS. For a diagnosis, you have to eliminate certain foods from your diet and see if that makes a difference.

[anna342]

IBS doesn't necessarily have a food trigger for everyone, although it's common. Common things that can be eliminated include gluten, wheat, dairy, spicy food, caffeine, sweetners and some people have problems with all sorts of other things.

For me the main culprits are coffee, dairy products and alcohol.

IBS for some people is hugely influenced by emotional state/mood, and when they are feeling more emotional the symptoms will get worse.

My experience and from what I've heard from others is that you can go from constipation to diarrhoea within days, pain and bloating is common as is gas and generally feeling uncomfortable/queasy. Sometimes I also feel nauseated.

IBS is not a disease or anything like that, it is a collection of symptoms- hence the syndrome part of the name.

[cutebagaddict08]

There's a good book 'IBS for Dummies' and 'IBS Cookbook for Dummies.' I bought the IBS cookbook-there are great ideas of why to find the foods that trigger flareups, how to make foods IBS-friendly, ect. I'd reccomend it.

[salukigirl]

Thanks everyone. Luckily, I do not even like fried foods or really fatty foods. I do drink coffee every morning. I can't really function without it, though. Soda only messes with my stomach when I drink it on an empty stomach. If I have a soda with dinner, I'm fine. As for dairy, I have had problems with it since I was little. Not enough to where I am getting massively sick or anything. I just feel bloated and it'll last for a while.

I used to be a vegan and my system was so regular! Only problem was that I lost too much weight and was 5'9'', 120 lbs :-/

So I have changed my diet a few times trying to find something that works and it's like....I fix one problem and get another! Ugh! So frustrating!

[NoBread]

Many people with celiac are told they have IBS by their doctors. Celiacs have an autoimmune reaction to gluten, (wheat, rye, barley, and oats for some). The autoimmune attack destroys the villi in the small intestine that produce the lactase (enezyme that digests lactose sugar in milk). So lactose intolerance is a fairly common condition with celiac. Celiacs also tend to develop intolerances to other foods due to the irritation of the gut. They also get a myriad of other symptoms because of the mal-absorption of nutrients from foods etc.

[racee]

Don't be embarassed to talk to your doc. i was diagnosed with IBS 16 years ago...and they threw pills at me which was belladona did take away the pain and some other symptoms. but still wasn't feeling well. i was on baby food for awehile and a type of ensure...to this day i can't eat fried foods i never could have milk which i'm not lactose intolerant i'm actually allergic to the protein in milk (big difference and a lot of people get it mixed up) i never grew out of it , as well as cows milk intolerance that puts me in the bathroom for awhile....goats milk is wonderful, so is rice dream! too much sugar and i get blotchy and my face gets hot.

i was born allergic to corn syrup so that in mind.... my doctor told me if i wanted to get rid of most of my symptoms elliviate stress and caffiene in my life (mind you i was 16 when he said that) i looked at him like a deer in heradlights and said...well when you find the 'secret' you come tell me....at that point i had it with the whole IBS THING, they really didn't know what was wrong and they just wanted to put a name to symptoms that they didn't even know the causing condition.

That's when i started scavenging about health food stores and trying different diets... that's how i started my Raw Food plan...now i'm only 60% raw in my diet.
but boy is there a difference and my stomach doesn't hurt all the time (i do a lot of green juicing as well) they r expensive but they have already juiced greens they sell at whole foods but a lot of the enzymes are killed off in the flash pasturizing, but what the hey sometimes.

Now when i'm truly stressed man talk about all those embarassing symptoms ..when it comes to pms a lot more people than you think get diahrea (sp) me included... a lot of hormonal changes happen and your body reacts in ways one would think it shouldn't. and coffee is a diaretic that effects everyone.
i take probiotics...i take theradophilus liquid becasue i can't have milk and it's soy based and i have been taking it since i was little and it works any probiotic will do wonders for you i also take Mega-zyme (gluten free). before each meal.
My body just needs outside help digesting even the smallest of food morsels

[watchthestarsfall]

I am pretty sure that I have IBS as I get diarrhea at least 2ce a week and it's randomly with no seeming pattern...

I don't have major food triggers, sometimes milk does it, sometimes it doesn't. Anything super high in fat will for sure (I once started taking fish oil pills for a random reason and I got symptoms from that because of the extra oil).

One thing though I did find is that I am allergic to peanuts. Not the death=anaphylaxis allergic. More of a GI issue allergic. I had a handful of M&Ms and almost immediately got gassy, gross, nauseous, etc...as well as feeling short of breath and constricted.

I used to think it was tomato products, or cheese, but I have since had no problems with those...and again sometimes it's one thing sometimes it's not. So you just gotta find what's right for you.

And yeah, I totally get worse on my period.

[salukigirl]

Racee - I did essentially rid myself of stomach problems while being a vegan. But I got down to 120 lbs at 5'9'' which just isn't healthy. My doc told me I had to start eating meat again. It took about 3 years to be able to eat a whole hamburger cause it just hurt my stomach so bad. I have been trying to cut down on my portions. Eating several small meals and snacks a day instead of a few big ones and that has been working out so far.

I was actually really surprised - I had a conference in Puerto Rico this past week and I'm terrified thinking latino food (REAL latino food) is going to KILL my stomach but I actually didn't have any stomach problems the whole time! can't speak for everyone though seeing as a couple people got food poisoning :-/

[racee]

i wish i could lose weight being a vegan lol i hear so many people do.....i don't gain weight but i don't lose either i guess i just eat well balanced meals... in order for me to loose i need to exercise. so many vegans are malnourished though they don't know what they r doing and harming their body, it's sad

[anna342]

I guess if I were you I'd be thinking about how I could sustain myself better whilst being a vegan. It is possible, just as long as you eat the quantity of the carbs, protein and fat you need, regardless of where you get it from.

A dietician might be able to help you with that if you cannot figure it out. Of course it'd be hard work to make sure you're getting everything you need, but it's not impossible if you are open to eating a variety of foods.

[yellowted]

reading these posts and comparing them to my symptoms has reaffirmed my long standing suspician that i may have IBS or something similar even if my doc is not taking me seriously! i do not drink tea,coffee or coke so have no caffine in mydiet, i react badly to dairy products, soy, gluten, tomatoes and cellary. i tried eating raw veg/salad last week, only lasted a day and a half before i was doubled over in pain, very bloated and windier than a hurrocane! pastry is a no no, red meat is not brilliant for me either, so am back to plain white meat and cooked veg! rice milk is great, so too are corn cakes/crackers. I have not had desert since christmas pud with no side! do not have chocolate, fudge toffee or caramel so should be thin, but look like the side of a house, i am unable to walk but have to pull myself up 15 stairs to bed or the loo each day as my house is not adapted so that along with two hours swimming each week is most of the exercise i get, as for bowel movements, these are often three or four times a day, and vary from one extreme to the other within a day often with blood mixed in too!
my doc does not seem concerned at all, i think she does not believe me because my blood test came back ok. she said if i was bleeding she would have expected my blood counts to be out! she has prescribed domperidone to stop the nauseous feeling and that helps but does nothing for the down belows!