IBS Menopause and weight gain

[Huggit1]

I have IBS have done since I was a child. I try to navigate it through eating plain foods. It never works for long. Here is what I can’t work out though …. I am literally 7 stone heavier than I should be, I go to the toilet desperately sometimes a few days a week but I take Imodium several days a week also. I eat cereal a sandwich some crisps a sweet treat some yogurt and a small meal at night ( last night I had cod a jacket potato and green beans) My weight never budges. In my opinion I don’t eat loads, but the weight stays on. If I go for weight loss advice it’s eat more fibre, fruit and veg… we all know where that leads. Just want to know if anyone else is in the same boat as me and knows any strategies that might help. I have tried so many things to help IBS in the past but the sensitive stomach seems to get more sensitive as I get older! I often think if the IBS was sorted then the weight loss might follow?

[Luisa22]

I hear you.

I had to learn that all these wonderful fibre-rich healthy foods and minimun "5 a day" fruits and veg. just didn't suit me. It was only when I really cooled it with foods like that, I got to be able to handle my IBS.

Before, for many years, I ate all those wonderful foods and had a super diet, but suddenly I had to work out a different strategy. It took some time for the penny to drop, as I was conditioned into my "usual diet"!

So, like you, I got help from eating more plain foods.

However...this was my own particular method which wouldn't suit everyone, as we are all very different.

At first my diet was a lot more restricted in order to gain any relief (I have mainly IBS D) I also took a multivitamin and mineral A-Z, and a B complex.

Then, it was something like: plain white rice with only salt added. Whatever vegetables I could tolerate OK (there were about 4, all of them "green") Proteins (in my case eggs and fish) white ciabatta bread, butter, and a small amount of chocolate, plus small amounts of plain sponge cake.

Those were all fine.

I honestly didn't eat anything else AT ALL.

Now things have changed, and I can now eat 17 vegetables, some in smaller amounts than others. I worked hard by trial and error to see what suited me. I can now tolerate other carbs like brown rice at times, cous cous, pasta, and often potatoes (though not always with those.)

I still struggle with fruits but happily eat honey so it's unlikely to be fructose intolerance.

I have a good protein intake, still egg and fish-based but can eat so many different kinds of fish, and can also now include some nuts and seeds in fairly small amounts, and one of my favourite things -peanut butter with no additives.

I eat only twice a day: a small plain breakfast (toast with butter, and either honey or peanut butter) And a really good dinner in the early evening (6pm) with veggies, carbs and proteins. One small snack of chocolate a couple of hours later, then nothing else until about 11am the next morning, except a cup of China tea without milk.

So...I am rambling a bit now, but what I'm saying is I had to keep my diet REALLY plain. I had to be careful of artificial sweeteners, additives, sauces, seasonings, mayonnaise, pepper or spices, and even some herbs.

And I absolutely couldn't eat anything like Pringles, tortilla chips, many sweets, even some brands of chocolate with Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), E476, you name it.

So try keeping your food very simple, don't snack, leave at least 5 hours between eating, watch out what's in the things you eat. keep a food diary. See if that helps?

If you can only eat 4 or 5 foods at the moment, don't worry. Take a good vitamin and mineral supplement. Be ready to experiment with small amounts of new foods when your gut has been OK (ish) for at least a few days. Try one new food only at a time, and write results in your diary. You never know. You might be able to expand your diet with patience as time goes by.

Good luck.

[Huggit1 in reply to Luisa22]

Thanks so much for your reply. I have decided to cut out all fruit and veg for a week to see how that affects me. I think we are conditioned to eat what’s deemed healthy but it doesn’t suit everyone. If symptoms get somewhat easier I have a place to start and then can perhaps introduce things back really slowly. I was reading some interesting work on the internet about the fact that we don’t really need fibre. Anyway who knows keep fighting x

[xjrs in reply to Huggit1]

Unfortunately, I'd disagree about the fibre. It is really needed to keep your microbiome healthy and a healthy microbiome is needed to help IBS. This also goes along with a broad diet - creating bacterial diversity which also assists IBS. However, with IBS it is easy to get stuck in a bad feedback loop. IBS can be due to some bad bugs in the gut dominating, giving symptoms and making you intolerant to lots of foods, so you end up with significant dietary restrictions, this means your bacterial diversity reduces. When this happens you have fewer good bugs to keep the bad ones under control, since the good bugs aren't being fed properly, which helps to get things even more out of balance and over time IBS symptoms can worsen. This is what happened to me.

The way out of this catch 22 loop is to try anything that improves tolerance to foods - this may be probiotics and/or medication. Have you tried Alflorex probiotic? It has been studied for IBS, helps to control bad bugs in the gut, helps to digest complex carbs, improving tolerance to different foods and fibre. The ideal is to have 30 different plant foods a week (which includes herbs and spices). The best diet for the microbiome is the Mediterranean diet (whole grains, oily fish, small amounts of lean protein, pulses, nuts, seed and olive oil).

For me it was Alflorex and Linaclotide (for IBS-C only) that helped improve food tolerance, which means that I can eat a much wider diet now and lots of fibre - though I still have remaining food intolerances, my diet is much more diverse. Alflorex doesn't work for everyone since IBS can have different reasons for it, but it is worth a punt.

In terms of the menopause, that can mess with the microbiome too, which means there is even more need to support it. Additionally, as we age the strong bacteria that is good at keeping bad bugs at bay (Bifdobacterium) declines - this bacteria is normally passed from morther to baby during a natural birth. This is what Alflorex contains.

[Huggit1 in reply to xjrs]

I am going to try it for a week and see how my stomach feels

[xjrs in reply to Huggit1]

A 3 month trial of Alforex is normally recommended. Sometimes in the first couple of weeks or so you can get some side effects, but these can settle. Precision Biotics, the makers, have a support team who can explain what to expect (and also when to give up on it).

[huggit in reply to xjrs]

I am not trying the probiotic, as the ones I have tried including Alflorex make me feel worse even after 3 months. Plus how do you hold down a job when having the symptoms that probiotics and fibre bring? It is impossible. No what I am going to try is to cut out fruit and vegetables for one week and then introduce one back at a time per week. As my problem has been prevalent since I was young, I don't think it is that my body has got out of balance, more that I have a system that is different to yours and everyone elses. For example my mum is very similar in symptoms, but she can eat very differently to me. There is no one rule that fits everyone I don't think, and as much as you believe everything about fibre there are other studies that say the exact opposite so who is the correct? Not sure..... even the ZOE system has come under criticism lately and that is all about probiotics and eating diverse plant based foods.

Thank you so much for your perspective, I really do appreciate it.

[xjrs in reply to huggit]

You are absolutely right. What works for one, doesn't necessarily work for another. People can just make suggestions based on what has benefited them for people to give things a go and you obviously have.

That is the problem with IBS, your IBS and my IBS may be different. Hopefully one day it will be broken down into different syndromes with different causes or a group of causes.

The hurdle that needs to be overcome is to get the necessary research conducted in the first place - it is far too piecemeal.

I am working on this at the moment - trying to prove that the way research is done currently is not working and not working fast enough for people like us (or anyone for that matter) and needs to be improved substantially.

Good to cut everything out and start again with your food introductions, so you know where you stand. Good luck with it all.

[Huggit1 in reply to xjrs]

Thank you… I would always help with scientific research but there doesn’t seem to be enough of it. So many people suffer and it can and has affected my whole life. That said it has also made me an extremely empathetic person and quite resilient. We continue the battle

[Fergie53 in reply to huggit]

I agree with you as we are all individuals I wouldn’t try probiotics without changing my diet first

[Fergie53 in reply to xjrs]

I wouldn’t try that, it’s very individual and I don’t believe the Alforex would solve the problem, we all react differently

[Huggit1 in reply to xjrs]

I have tried alflorex and lots of probiotics. Fibre makes me so sick … I have just had enough so am experimenting cutting back on all plants 🌱 then I will introduce some back one at a time.

[Fergie53 in reply to Huggit1]

Yes very wise, I’m not sure about probiotics, may not suit everyone

[Trinity7 in reply to Huggit1]

I have a friend who keeps suggesting i try carnivore diet. As its anti inflammatory and believes the veggies do not help with ibs. I love veggies and salad. I may just try it to see though

[Zantecat in reply to Trinity7]

Interesting theory ,would love to hear results x

[Huggit1 in reply to Trinity7]

I have been looking at this! I definitely feel better without vegetables

[Luisa22 in reply to Huggit1]

I think we do need SOME fibre, even while experimenting. I noticed xjrs mentioned that below. I never cut out ALL veg for instance, and don't even during a flare up, but I just take it easy with it, and will stay with small amounts of certain veggies that never seem to cause me problems. Those I steam, and if my tummy is quite bad, I will steam them quite soft.

Some people are better with fruits, and some with both fruits and veg, and some with veg.

So I am not advocating cutting out ALL veg or fruit, just take it very carefully, and find the ones your tummy is generally OK with, then as you start to feel a bit better maybe, introduce some of the others that generally aren't too bad for you.....if you get my meaning?

[xjrs in reply to Luisa22]

I agree  Luisa22 . High protein, low carbohydrate (including fibre and veggies) is scientifically proven to increase inflammation in the body which can lead to disease.

Cutting out fruit and vegetables means also cutting out essential natural nutrients the that the body needs to keep the body healthy - supplements aren't used in the body the same way as taking nutrients from foods, although it may be necessary to make up for specific deficiencies. Depriving the body of these natural nutrients in the long term could lead to diseases such as cancer, so it is best to eat fruit, veg and fibre within your limits or find some means of improving food tolerance.

The reason why cutting out fibre, fruits and vegetables help many people is that it stops feeding the bad bugs in the gut, which in the early phases reduces symptoms. However, you're not feeding the good bugs either. In the long run the microbiome gets more out of balance and IBS symptoms can become worse.

Research is desperately needed to help IBS sufferers improve their tolerance to foods, which will help guard against IBS in the long term. Probiotics can go some way to helping some people, but not all necessarily or its a case of finding the strain of probiotic that helps you. This may go alongside medication to improve food tolerance.

The most promising research in this area described in the links below:

nutritioninsight.com/news/i...

quadram.ac.uk/1-8m-study-in....

My summary of the study:

Improving FODMAP tolerance in IBS: Reported: August 2022 (3 year project)

When FODMAPs are fermented in the gut, they produce gases which can cause pain and bloating in IBS sufferers. This means that many IBS sufferers need to personalise their diets, avoiding foods that cause symptoms. Many of these foods are good for long term health. A project led by University of Nottingham in collaboration with the Quadrum Institute in Norwich have funding to investigate the potential of a new cellulose based food supplement that could be added to the ingredients of foods high in FODMAPs by food manufacturers to improve tolerance to FODMAPs by reducing the gas production from them. This may also lead to dietary supplements for IBS patients. The aim is to enable IBS sufferers to eat foods that they would normally need to avoid. Through medical imaging and laboratory modelling the team can watch what happens to food when it is digested in the gut. The trials will also include human volunteers.

[Fergie53 in reply to Huggit1]

I’m the same, I can’t eat a lot of veg or salad and sadly potatoes don’t agree with me, it’s trial and error really..

[Huggit1 in reply to Fergie53]

I don’t think potatoes agree with me either. It’s strange I can have oven chips but if I have new potatoes or mash etc it’s a no! Maybe root vegetables or starch is a problem?

[Fergie53 in reply to Huggit1]

Yes this is what I find, I can eat chips but not too much mash or boiled potatoes, it’s odd!

[Huggit1 in reply to Fergie53]

It really is odd ! I feel very odd with what my body can handle. Totally cutting back in fruit and veg though has meant no symptoms so far though. I will be scared to reintroduce

[Bishbashbosh23]

Completely understand what you are saying, and as you say you don't eat that unhealthily probably similar to myself. But I was having breki one morning and the tv was on and greg wallace was on their show, I always thought he was that guy off the cooking show which he is, but he also does a healthy eating website and as he says its not about dieting, because all that does is loose the weight then put it back on and usually more when we start eating properly again. This is just lots of recipes which are mostly really tasty and filling and full of all the foods we need. He just says pick 3 meals a day and try not to snack, which isn't actually that hard because the meals really are tasty and fill you up. But apart from that he has all these experts that specialise in different things, one being menopause and one gut health to name a few, they will give you whatever advise you need. As well as a community chat that loads of other like minded people are on that you can contact whenever you like to ask any questions or help. I've only subscribed for 1 month which was about £12, and been doing it for about 3 weeks, I don't always follow the plan religiously , just to suit myself but ever felt better and actually from a very reluctant cook, I actually look forward to cooking and eating my meals. I think if you join for a year it's better value definitely under £100, it's really helped me, just thought it might help you, good luck

[Huggit1 in reply to Bishbashbosh23]

thank you!! I will take a look that sounds really good 😊

[bluejourney]

If you have IBS C you may have IMO ( intestinal methanogen overgrowth) so it’s worth getting a methane breath test done, as if you test positive you can get treatment for that. If you want to research it, Dr Mark Pimentel in the US is a leading researcher in IBS, SIBO and IMO and is doing fantastic work in the field. There’s so much new stuff coming out about IBS I think we should all live in hope. Though admittedly, it will probably take the NHS some years to catch up!

[Letsfixit1]

Hi, I also struggle to eat a "healthy" diet and found fruit veg and fibre made me feel much worse. However I got a shock recently to discover following a bone scan that I have quite severe osteoporosis in my spine. Surprising because I haven't broken a bone since childhood. The doctor was quite adamant that I need to increase the calcium and vit D in my diet, but didn't recommend calcium supplements as they tend to upset stomachs. So I had to rethink my diet , I tend to avoid mild and dairy, and I wasn't getting enough calcium.

I have cut out snacks like crisps because they're high in fat and also salt destroys calcium. Sweets I suspect also aggravate my stomach, maybe the additives. Cereal I find is high in sugar, but are also high in gluten, and whilst I'm not gluten intolerant I think too much might be bad for me. I am trying not to waste calories on snacks low in nutrients. I am also eating smaller portions and trying to eat more variety of food. I've followed the FODMAP diet for the last year and I think its done my health more harm than good so I've stopped eliminating suspect foods, I couldn't pinpoint any culprits anyway and drove myself nuts thinking about it.

And the menopause i blame for weight gain, thinning skin, etc!

To summarise, I don't enjoy my diet much, but over the last month since I joined this forum my symptoms have improved a lot! I have found so much useful info here. Thanks everybody.

[Huggit1 in reply to Letsfixit1]

Hi I am on vitamin D tablets and they have made me feel better with menopause symptoms. I do have dairy every day also so hopefully that is good. But the fruit and veg thing gets to me. I really struggle with knowing what to eat that is safe as I don’t know what triggers me IBSD) The upshot of a bad day is that it interferes with even working from home. Honestly fruit and veg is one in a long list of things I have tried to eliminate. Hope you continue seeing benefits

[JenniA]

Hmm. IBS, weight loss and menopause. What a palava indeed. Imagine the three in addition to prediabetic. That’s me. I have it so bad.

So let me tell you what worked for me although I have relapsed now after it worked for 1 year. But I’m going back gradually.

So first and foremost, wheat is a no no for IBS. I will say easily stick to the Fodmap diet and I will promise you you will achieve all you set out to.

For weight, my last is ingested 6pm. I eat on demand from 9am till 6pm. When I say on demand, strictly to formal diet. I ended with loss of weight, no pains at all with the diet. I was all fine. My only pain now is now the added pre diabetic issue. This has become a worry cos of my already restricted diet. I will now have to reduce a lot of my little pleasures in food. But asides that, I can promise you. Formal will sort you out. Try it. Look on Pinterest. Or google. There are many fruits, seeds, food, drinks you would have to abstain from.

If you can abide to it, you will loose the pain, the belly , the mood swings and you will be happy. Menopause will be easier.

That’s my penny.

[Huggit1 in reply to JenniA]

Thank you! I have previously tried the fodmap way but still found IBS issues with low fodmap foods. I am constantly trying one thing and then another it is very draining. I am pleased you are finding this works for you… thank you for helping

[LFHell]

Yeah i am heavier than want to be too. Think its perimenopause. If i eat healthily, as i was during allergy elimination diet i did for last few years, and my only snacks are fruit and soya yhogurt, my weight stays stable. But think i need to exercise to lose any as i can't starve myself and do my job This year i got to end of the allergy diet and started adding back fodmaps, and weight started creeping up slowly again. I've a feeling the fodmaps create inflammation which makes me gain weight. I've stopped again now and trying to exercise - more walking and swimming, just hard to motivate self after work. Friends have said have smaller portions of rice also. Managed that for 1 week before holiday. 75g instead of 100g.