Irritable Bowel Symptom

I went through a little bout of that stuff in the 80's... lasted about two years actually, and wasn't properly diagnosed by the first several docs I saw. I don't to this day know if it was what really helped but the thing cleared up after about six months of modified atkins (no sugars or simple carbs) and a daily cleansing with a potable peroxide (.002 percent + aloe)... Like I say, I have no way of knowing if those were what cleared it up. I was through all of it drinking lots of water and taking care of myself in every other way.

I know a few folks who have suffered this for far too long. Without exception, they are the types of folks who don't practice moderation and who think that because they are 'taking some medicine' then they can let the proactive behaviour (rest, proper hydration, meditation, careful diet) slide. I suspect the proactive behaviour is the right cure for just about anything.

An antacid which also contains simethicone is useful in some cases. There are many available OTC.

remove wheat from your diet
test your body a week at a time.
Don't eat any wheat or dairy for 1 week. Just eat vegetables.
Then include dairy into your diet over the next week.
Then include wheat again. see what happens.

remove wheat from your diet
test your body a week at a time.
Don't eat any wheat or dairy for 1 week. Just eat vegetables.
Then include dairy into your diet over the next week.
Then include wheat again. see what happens.

Yeah, it's a pain in the ass.

What mog said.

I eat a special diet - you start with foods you absolutely know don't trigger problems. Then you build from there. When you get really bad symptoms keep a log of what you ate and did.

I ended up cutting anything with too much fat (ex: dougnuts), irritant-containing vegetables - ex. bell peppers, cantalopes. I cut all milk and milk-by products except fermented ones (yogurt, cheese) and orange juice out of my diet. I try to avoid hydrogenated fats. I eat a moderate about of fiber (not metamusil) like special K or granola once a day. I also eat a lot of fresh fruits and fish, because they are lean, healthy, and easy to digest. For some reason sushi is incredibly easy for me to digest and doesn't give me problems. It's expensive but I try to get as much as I can. I also drink a lot of green tea (little to no sugar for your teeth!) because it is an anti-irritant and also helps - cold or hot.

I also take vitamins and acidophilus pills.

Also, I am healthiest when I exercise every single day. I walk everywhere. I'm serious, you want to do anything but exercise when your stomach hurts but it really helps. I like swimming, walking, and running.

I also try to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night (this really makes a difference for me too.) And I avoid large amounts of alchohol (wine with dinner = ok, getting drunk two nights in a row = disaster.)

Asian food in general is much easier on me so I eat a lot of Japanese, Thai, Korean dishes. Spice doesn't bother me but it does bother a lot of irritible bowel folks.

I hated all the medicines I ever tried for irritible bowel. One left my mouth dry and it made fish noises all the time. Bleh.

Also, I try to avoid stress! I get stressed easily, and the more stressed I am, the worse it gets. So, you know, go to the beach or something. Read a book. On the treadmill. Have fun.

On what may or may not be a related note, I have -terrible- allergies. This might influence my irritible bowel when histimine levels are high.

Anyway, I started using fragrance free everything - detergent, makeup, shampoo and soap - and - *drumroll* my dermatographic urticaria (pressure sensitive hives) have been hovering between lessened and non-existent. Also my eyes are less itchy now.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention NO CAFFEINE. (except for chocolate, you can't give that up.)

Getting rid of the 'bad' carbs does it for a lot of people as Beedles suggested. Eliminate all refined sugars and flours from your diet for two or three weeks and see if things don't go a lot better.

Mog has the food testing methodology right. That's how one introduces baby foods to infants.

I've been periodically diagnosed with IBS. It's a relatively mild form of it if it's IBS at all. I find that taking anti-gas herbs/spices helps sometimes.

In addition to foods, I think that the disorder also has a psychological component.