95% IMPROVEMENT! Life now worth living.Lots of Sympton free days

[JoyGreennhalgh]

I am so sorry to read of all the suffering in these posts. I have had a horrible 2 years since developing IBS but I am now consistently 95% improved ! Change of diet has done the trick. I get the occasional bad day, but not so bad that it stops me doing anything. Before I was permanantly exhausted and totally losing the plot of life!

Here are the two books I used :

The Complete Low FODMAP Diet by Sue Shepherd. She is a SCIENTIST and a founder of developing the low FODMAP diet, which is scientifically shown to improve symptoms in 75% of sufferers.

Gut by Giulia Enders. This is a fun read , but again by a SCIENTIST, a medical professional. This book does not provide very specific answers but it will help you make choices and experiment to get it right FOR YOU. No two "bodies" are the same ~ there is no one size fits all answer.

But I will say, empty your cupboards of all processed food right now! Give up coffee if you drink lots of full strength. I cook very simple food from basic ingredients. Its not difficult, nor is it time consuming once you get organised. I never, ever eat out, I never ever compromise on any single meal. All my food is delicious and never boring. Hope this helps. Good luck.

I am horrified that the medical profession was absolutely hopeless at sorting this out for me. Prescribing pills seems to be all too often the route taken and it is not the answer to IBS unless there is some serious identifiable body "malfunction"................then its not IBS anyhow.

Joy

[runswithdogs]

Hooray!!

[JoyGreennhalgh in reply to runswithdogs]

Hooray indeed !!!!!!!!!!!.........now I can run with dogs too, and my with my horses.... too tired before! Joy

[runswithdogs in reply to JoyGreennhalgh]

:). I think exercise is also really important for us. Reduces stress and keeps the body in better working condition. FODMAPS worked wonders for me as well, I still have flare-ups but they're much fewer.

[JoyGreennhalgh in reply to runswithdogs]

Yes, I agree. When you get tired as a symptom of IBS the exercise level goes down............viscious circle time! I am back exercising again now and it is indeed very helpful.

Even just a few minutes walk helps.

Joy

[Hidden]

Yes FODMAPS is amazing. It also persuaded us to go back to eating proper foods not that cobbled together by supermarkets!!!

[JoyGreennhalgh in reply to Hidden]

Its only when you cut out ALL the processed food that you realise just how much of a difference it makes.

Glad FODMAP works for you too. I know it does not work for everyone, but it is well worth a try.

Joy

[shoppaholicsue]

That sounds fantastic. Well done for taking the bull by the horns and sorting it yourself. Unfortunately there is no quick fix that suits all. I wish there was - the medical profession is not at all good at giving the help we all crave.

[JoyGreennhalgh in reply to shoppaholicsue]

You are right, there is definately no quick fix for everyone, I think it is really important to experiment within safe bounds and not to take any one thing as written in stone. For example, there are many who are recommending 3 meals and 3 planned snacks a day. I know a man who is 6ft and does a very heavy manual job with lots of travelling. He has had IBS since he was 18, now in his 40s. He tried EVERYTHING but has been totally happy for years now eating one enourmous meal per day every evening, very low roughage, no fruit and no lactose. Takes all sorts!

Joy

[Sandyevans]

I too have ibs and celiac. I use the fob for ibs and celiac. I feel great. It only took doctors 50 years to figure it out. I am so happy that I found a great doctor who took the time to help me. I am glad that you too are feeling good. I hope this helps a lot of people.

[JoyGreennhalgh in reply to Sandyevans]

I have been Celiac for several years, the doctors were no help working that one out either! Once I had sorted the Celiac, I had no IBS until about two years ago. I think perhaps a very bad bug (a Noro Virus?) set it off initially but it just got worse and worse . Having already drastically changed diet once, it did make it easier to do this all over again, especially as I had already experienced the drastic effects of eating the wrong food and the amazing positive effects of getting it right once before. If only all health problems could be solved by a change of diet! Perhaps as time goes on more will be.

Joy

[maggykriti in reply to JoyGreennhalgh]

Are you sure about IBS? With coeliac disease when gut problems continue it is frequently due to lymphocytic colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease and auto immune. Hope you continue to sort out your problems with diet. I find it OK eating at home but very difficult to be sure of meal content when eating out.

[JoyGreennhalgh in reply to maggykriti]

I will look into that one ! Never heard of it. I have been very healthy on gluten free diet for several years, but the Coeliacs may indeed be a root cause of recent problems.

Thankyou.

Joy

[Sharonfreedman]

Pleased to read your thoughts, I'm well underway eating low FODMAP food and avoiding processed food, it has helped a lot, reducing bloating etc.

I hope that gradually it will help with energy levels too.

It really helps to have something constructive to do and find what works individually, for example I now avoid frying food where I can.

[JoyGreennhalgh in reply to Sharonfreedman]

Low energy is vile. I was so tired my husband had to drive me to the doctors the first time I went with IBS. I would drive home from work and fall asleep even before I could get out of the car, or fall asleep in the middle of conversations with friends! And when you are tired it is hard to think through the IBS problems, shop well and cook well. Not tired any more!

Yes, I avoid frying too, although I get the yummy fried effect from using the tiniest fragment of oil in a non stick pan when I feel the need! I cut down on the fat in cheese too : I used to eat a lot of cheese, but now I only have lactose free cheese sparingly.

Joy

[LCat]

I also can only cook my own food at home like you. Don’t you also find that very tough : Everybody is constantly going out into all these Restaurants to eat ? If you like people .... and you want to go out with them .... What do they do : They want to go out eating !!! Everybody does it ! And I’m the only one who doesn’t / can’t go ... People get fed up with me because I’ve become so boring. I also had this horrible fatigue for months and found it even tougher to have to cook for yourself ....my husband can’t cook ....I have to cook for him or he won’t eat anything ... This was super tough when I had this sinister fatigue. It would have been so nice if I could have been able to a) buy a ‘ready meal’ in the Supermarket (impossible with Fodmap diet) or b) go out to eat : also impossible with the Fodmap diet. It is annoying that you can always get gluten-free meals but NEVER ‘low Fodmap meals’ anywhere ! When you’re really really tired and ill you want someone else to cook for you ... no such luck.

[LCat]

Sorry JoyGreennhalgh ... the above post was meant for you .... my mistake it went to myself

[pink123floyd]

Hi joy thanks for them 2 books infomation definatly going to look these up .take care stay safe