Hi everyone I just signed up today and was wondering if you could help me.
I was diagnosed with Ibs when I was 14, I'm now 21 and still suffering. The attacks are random and I am constantly bloated. I also suffer fron sever constipation. I can eat any food and be fine but I could eat it again and will have a flare up. I'm thinking about having some allergy tests done as this may find out what the trigger foods are. In the past I have cut out many foods and even all gluten at one point. This didn't seem to make anything better.
It's now getting to the stage where it's affecting my life going out to places. I never want to go for meals either.
My belly is always 3 times bigger than my actual figure due to the bloating and I now can't wear any of my jeans but 1 pair that is a size 14 (I'm usually a 12).
If there is any advice please send it my way! I'm up for diet plans also. I'm not so keen to try any medication as I've pretty much had everything in the book.
Tia😊
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Amandabradley1996
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Have you tried the low FODMAP diet? It's sounds complex at first but once you get used to it, it's fine. It's an elimination diet but once you work out the causes of bloating etc you can eliminate those and continue to eat normally or eat a modified low FODMAP diet i.e cut out or minimise foods that cause bloating and still eat a varied diet.
Reading your post was like reading my own story. I have suffered IBC since birth, although not diagnosed until I was older and I wish I could give you a solution because I know at 21, that was what I really wanted too, to be rid of this dreadful debilitating life changing condition. I don't think the allergy tests will give you the magical answers, as you say, some days, certain foods will be fine and other days after eating the same foods, you will have a flare up. Personally, I have found that when I work with the illness, it's usually better than when I try to 'solve' it. I've come to accept that several sizes of jeans in my wardrobe is just normal for me and I avoid eating after 5pm because I find that helps ( eating after 5pm means no sleep that night!) which means I avoid eating out wherever possible and eat very little if I can't avoid eating out. I'm 49 now and I can definitely say my illness has behaved better when I have worked with it rather than when I have fought it. The right medication helps too, I had ten good years out of 'Manevac' before my body got used to it and ten more out of 'Movicol' until it gave up. I'm struggling again now as I seem to have run out of medications which my body hasn't 'got used to'. The illness affects my family and friends too but I am lucky that I have such good ones. I wish I could offer you a better solution, and you of course might be different to me and find the miracle cure ( fingers crossed) but while you are looking, try hard to enjoy life as much as you can and not let the illness get you down as I am sure this in itself may help improve the symptoms for you. Good luck!
I would definitely go down the diet route and as Jenpenwe has said below, try the FODMAP diet. I am now buying Lactose free products and I seem to be a little better for buying those and I have also cut some foods out of my diet as well. I will be going on the FODMAP diet but need to get my head round it i.e. I need to go through the lists of what you can eat and plan my meals in advance.
Oats are good for the gut, avoid wheat cereals so much, go for small amounts of oats, you dont need much at all in the mornings, the digestive system is designed for more steady unrefined foods, than too many processed wheat ones?
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