Horrible IBS flare up. Any suggestions, please?

Back of the packet reading is eye opening and I now try to eat as little as I can of ultra processed food. However, not everyone has that choice. But I do wish someone would tell me why there is milk in a packet of crisps and dextrose in a packet of frozen chips. That makes it back to the free from aisle for me.

Are you sure it’s IBS and not diverticulitis. There is no definitive test for IBS whereas there is for diverticulitis, which I have.
There symptom's are much the same.

My daughter had very similar problems after having her gall bladder out in 2012. She had terrible pain after eating many food items. She was originally diagnosed with IBS but a consultant finally diagnosed her with bile acid diarrhoea. She was prescribed colestyramine and now she is on colesevelam. She can now eat without worrying or pain and is much happier. she will probably be on this drug for life. So many people including doctors do not know about this condition. I hope things get resolved for you. A gastro-enterologist should help.

Avoid Lentils - it can trigger IBS

MerylStreep

Are you sure it’s IBS and not diverticulitis. There is no definitive test for IBS whereas there is for diverticulitis, which I have.
There symptom's are much the same.

True. And you can have both together.

After a nasty bout of IBS I was advised by a dietitian to cut out Lactose as it can irritate the gut. I have also stopped eating processed food and cut out caffeine. If I start to feel a flare up I take buscopan tablets, which I think work great.

I’ve had IBS for 25 years and no amount of GP appointments helped in finding a solution. Good old Google helped me identify low FODMAP foods about 10 years ago and it’s been my saviour. Safe low FODMAP foods don’t just relate to the actual food, but also the amount - I could eat a quarter of an apple without side effects but not a whole one.
In recent years I’ve also become lactose intolerant and I avoid yeast containing foods as they cause vertigo. My diet these days is rather limited as far as healthy eating is concerned but I manage.
Eating out is a bit of a nightmare, too, but I check out menus in advance and if all else fails I have a bowl of chips.

DaisyAnneReturns

Wyllow have you found a low in fodmaps diet has helped you loose weight? I felt like someone had blown me up with a bicycle pump. When I went on the diet, I slowly lost two stone. I find I now have no trouble in keeping it off although I still blow up like a balloon if I mistakenly eat something high fodmap.

Maintain weight, DaisyAnne as I'm on meds that make you put on weight. But cutting out high sugar/fat foods has to be good for weight loss!

I haven't managed to get it right yet, still working through to find more "bloaters" but I must say that cutting out raw foods (salad sadly) has helped a lot. Still looking at best fruits etc and have to my delight found I am allowed mango....fruit sugars are very complicated.

A recent discovery was that hard bread crusts trigger it. Easy to digest is key for me.

crazyH

Avoid Lentils - it can trigger IBS

If you download the Monash FODMAP app and put in
Lentils, it occurs eight times. Five of those are red, one is amber and two green. This gives portion size.

Having said that, this is only guidance as all of us have different intolerances. What they measure is the fermentable sugar in a specific sized portions and they are constantly updating it.

It sounds as if you are getting there. Mind you I feel as if I will always be "getting there."

To Wyllow, sorry.

I am amazed (and comforted!) by all these posts. I was diagnosed with IBS (D) in the early nineteen eighties and until recently have felt it is a subject too embarrassing to talk about, other than with close family. As so many of you have said, it has a depressing effect on everyday life. My symptoms became so bad earlier this year that my GP referred me for a colonoscopy to rule out bowel cancer. Relieved to say the result came back clear. I have now been prescribed Mebeverine (High dose, slow release). It certainly has helped a little but my salvation is Loperamide which I take daily (on prescription). The more we all talk about this distressing syndrome, the greater the chance that some good research will continue. Fingers crossed!

You have my sympathies OP, and anyone else struggling!
I had IBS D for years until I tried the FODMAP diet.
I stayed on it for about three months, and still avoid triggers like onions, broccoli and lentils. I also go easy on gluten and white foods.

I also went on the one meal a day carnivore diet and it completely sorted out my hips and knees incidentally.

Food is medicine.

My GP suggested the FODMAP diet. A dietitian would be a good source of information also.

Good luck!

I have similar problems and I have just started taking Symprove.
It’s a three month course to begin with, so hopefully will see some improvements after that.

Sue162

I am amazed (and comforted!) by all these posts. I was diagnosed with IBS (D) in the early nineteen eighties and until recently have felt it is a subject too embarrassing to talk about, other than with close family. As so many of you have said, it has a depressing effect on everyday life. My symptoms became so bad earlier this year that my GP referred me for a colonoscopy to rule out bowel cancer. Relieved to say the result came back clear. I have now been prescribed Mebeverine (High dose, slow release). It certainly has helped a little but my salvation is Loperamide which I take daily (on prescription). The more we all talk about this distressing syndrome, the greater the chance that some good research will continue. Fingers crossed!

I always take loperamide if I’m going anywhere or travelling. I sometimes wonder if a placebo loperamide would also work because I panic if I forget to take them. After the first time I came close to having an embarrassing accident in a restaurant I started to suffer from terrible anxiety every time I was in a situation that I couldn’t escape from eg when I reached to top of the queue in a supermarket and started putting m food on the conveyor belt to be scanned! I wish I could reclaim those years knowing how to deal with it. I thought it was just me!

This post might sound unrelated but have you been on steroids for you IBS or Bergen given antidepressant When I was tapering from steroids and was given antidepressants I had horrendous dreams snd anxiety at night Followed by being tearful Off both now. OK probably unrelated but just thought I would mention it just in case

find what triggers it i.e. onion and garlic would. I take imodium instant relief IBS tablets and also Buscopan both of which are very effective at stopping the symptoms.

Have you tryed probiotics to maintain good gut health. Yacult or similar can be helpful. I'm sure you know to avoid known triggers. Its easy to suggest don't get anxious over it but life is rarely that simple. Good luck and good shout to discuss with GP by the way.

I also have mixed IBS. If your GP has ruled out any more serious problems, do ask to see an NHS dietitian. The FODMAP diet is hard to keep to, and you do need professional advice. That said, I find proper sourdough bread helpful - white, not brown.

I had IBS for many years and there were more and more foods I could not tolerate. I had to run into pubs to go to the loo, and ask friends not to accompany to the loo when we were out, as it was so embarrassing and noisy!

I discovered Lepicol which can be purchased in Holland and Barrett, health food shops or online, took it every day for several years, never went on holiday without taking it with me. The IBS stopped, and eventually I was able to introduce all the different foods which had been a no-no at one time.

I never need to take Lepicol these days, but still keep it in the cupboard just in case. You can look it up online and read all about it.

Buscopan works well for me but failing that, I take a book and sit on the toilet. I also have a step to raise my feet, that position seems to improve the pain for some reason

Oh MayBee70, I really do empathise with the feelings of being trapped - like you, supermarket queues set off panic and as for being stuck in a traffic jam...........

Sue162

Oh MayBee70, I really do empathise with the feelings of being trapped - like you, supermarket queues set off panic and as for being stuck in a traffic jam...........

That happened to me when it was my bladder that was the main problem at the time ( undiagnosed atrophy). Twice ended up in a traffic jam. The second time we were travelling south and the journey was fantastic, hardly any traffic. Suddenly hit roadworks, the traffic ground to a halt and, the worst part was we were channeled into the middle of the motorway so couldn’t even pull onto the hard shoulder. The traffic crawled for miles and I just managed to get to a service station that was about to close. I now keep a peebol in the car and wear Tena pads. Don’t drink before journeys and if I do stick to decaf. It was awful!

MayBee70

Sue162

I am amazed (and comforted!) by all these posts. I was diagnosed with IBS (D) in the early nineteen eighties and until recently have felt it is a subject too embarrassing to talk about, other than with close family. As so many of you have said, it has a depressing effect on everyday life. My symptoms became so bad earlier this year that my GP referred me for a colonoscopy to rule out bowel cancer. Relieved to say the result came back clear. I have now been prescribed Mebeverine (High dose, slow release). It certainly has helped a little but my salvation is Loperamide which I take daily (on prescription). The more we all talk about this distressing syndrome, the greater the chance that some good research will continue. Fingers crossed!

I always take loperamide if I’m going anywhere or travelling. I sometimes wonder if a placebo loperamide would also work because I panic if I forget to take them. After the first time I came close to having an embarrassing accident in a restaurant I started to suffer from terrible anxiety every time I was in a situation that I couldn’t escape from eg when I reached to top of the queue in a supermarket and started putting m food on the conveyor belt to be scanned! I wish I could reclaim those years knowing how to deal with it. I thought it was just me!

Maybee I am so sorry to hear about your anxiety. It's such a vicious circle isn't. The anxiety stops us doing things and not feeling we can do things makes us anxious!

I find following the fodmaps does give me some sense of agency. It makes me feel a level of control is down to me.

I wondered if anyone else has neuropathy? I have always felt the years of IBS-C, and the constant pressure on my spine may well have been the cause. I have absolutely no evidence for this so I could well be wrong but it would be interesting to know if it's common in the IBS group.

MerylStreep

Are you sure it’s IBS and not diverticulitis. There is no definitive test for IBS whereas there is for diverticulitis, which I have.
There symptom's are much the same.

I was going to say the same thing.

Also, have people who've been told they have IBS been tested for coeliac disease? It's found by a blood test but doesn't work if you've been avoiding gluten, so you must eat it for at least a couple of weeks before a test.

Doctors really need to do more investigations because IBS may be used as a blanket term for several disorders which, if diagnosed, could be dealt with differently.