can't seem to get a diagnosis that responds to the treatment i'm given-

Your doctor put you on THAT diet to treat your IBS???

Problem number one: Apple juice and raw apples produce excess gas and cramps in pretty much everyone with IBS. That's the last thing you should be consuming.

Secondly, bananas are constipating. You should not be on those if you are having bad constipation. The dehydrated bananas (aka banana chips--like you see in trail mix) are even worse.

There are a number of people on here who have bad gas regularly, and it moves around on them a lot. So you're not alone in that respect. Some people have been able to make it some better by taking anti-gas medicines (like Beano or Gas-X) everytime they eat. When I was having my gall bladder problems, I would get trapped gas a lot; it was like I couldn't poot anymore. Since I got it out, I have gotten some better about being able to pass gas instead of having it trapped inside all of the time. I don't know why there was a connection between the gall bladder and trapped gas, but there seemed to be.

I have read online about a product--it's supposed to be old-timey--called bile salts. It's supposed to help people who have no gall bladder and are constipated all the time because of it. If you aren't producing enough bile to break down your food, then you end up constipated; this stuff is supposed to replace your missing bile. Me, I have too much and so I have to take medicine to soak my excess up. Too bad I couldn't share with you, huh? Lol.

And have you tried some old laxative stand-bys, like aloe vera pills and prune juice? I haven't heard that prune juice causes a lot of excess gas like apple juice does, but you do have to start out on it in small doses, like any other type of fiber therapy, lest you make your gas worse. I hope your doctor didn't have you start out on a big dose of fiber all at once?

Have you looked into meal replacement drinks? Ensure, I believe, is made with soy, so it's okay if you can't handle milk. I drank a lot of Carnation Instant Breakfast drinks and Slim Fasts when I was sick with my gall bladder because they were about the only thing that didn't make more more nauseated. So long as you are not lactose intolerant, they shouldn't bother you either, I wouldn't think. And I can't imagine that a drink would constipate you!

Thanks guys for that great advice. All I have been eating for a week is bananas, 2 or 3 times a day, and only because it hasn't given me gas pains. Then I have been drinking fennel tea the rest of the time if I try to take a bite of some other food (chicken, crackers, bread) and they give me gas. It seems I have had this gas issue and the constipation since my gallbladder was removed 22 years ago and they told me it couldn't be related cause you don't need a gallbladder. So what do you think I should be eating? I have tried beano on and off for the past few years but I have never been in this bad a shape before. I do believe I am lactose intollerant but when I eat dairy I definitely won't be constipated but it will give me gas and that's my biggest fear, because to me it feels like a heart attack (family history of that) and I can't tell the difference as I have never had a heart attack so I agonize over it in my head and end up with an anxiety attack and in the er getting an ekg. Boy do i need help!

Thanks so much! You have been a definite bright spot in my life this week. I have tried the over the counter gas relief pills. I have actually found that phazyme has the highest strength of these things and even if I take 2 or 3 times the daily recomended dose when I am having an episode like I'm having now I still get no relief. I have even tried charcoal caps to get rid of gas trapped in my intestines. It is very hard to swallow those because they seem to float in your mouth before you swallow them then get stuck in your throat on the way down. I must say fennel tea has actually offered me some significant relief. It doesn't seem to disolve the gas but it does allow me to belch to get rid of it. If it helps me I'm sure it will help others as well. I got it at the local health food store for under $5. As far as fiber supplements go I started out with the sugar free chewable because I was affraid to have a fiber pill get stuck in my throat (and blow up and choke me) but it contained sorbitol which caused worse gas. I switched to the powdered type but I think my doctor had me take too much too fast. So I am now going to try 1tsp a day for a couple of days and increase by a tsp every 2 or 3 days to see how that goes. I actually ate about an ounce of baked chicken today and feel as if this was a huge accomplishment. At the end of my work day I was so dizzy (probably from lack of food and lack of sugar) I thought I would pass out so I actually ate a couple of raisinettes to boost my blood sugar and was okay to drive home. Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep tonite at a reasonable hour since I don't feel too bad at the moment.Of course dinner hasn't gone through my system yet (rice krispies with lactose free skim milk) Maybe tomorrow will be better. I will try some soy products and see how that goes although at this point I am starting to feel better and affraid to get a set back.