What Not To Eat..?

Hi brunette,
Welcome to HealingWell!
So how are all your meds working for you... Are you "regular" or still C? First and foremost I would suggest you take a probiotic if you're not already. Yogurt can also help you get "good bacteria" in there while keeping you regular. Dannon Activia has done wonders for a lot of us here on the boards. I have IBS-A (Alternating = fluctuating from C to D), and I keep it under control with probiotics, Activia, and a pretty healthy diet. I used to be on Zelnorm but that lost its effectiveness after a few months. Then I would stop it for a couple weeks and then go back on. I yo-yoed with it because it was the only way to keep it working for me.
Have you looked into natural laxatives like aloe vera. If you can find a good balance with it, it may be all you need for regularity. I tried the juice/gel once and it was just horrid. The consistency of it was disgusting, here on the boards we've been known to call it sludge. It's like snot. Anyway, it seems the aloe vera pills are the best. You can find them online or at most nutrition stores.
Digestive Advantage works great for some of us as well. It's pretty much a combination of good bacteria and fiber. You can find it anywhere really, most drug stores have it.
If you are prone to C then you might want to stay away from taking too much Calcium. Lots of people with IBS-D take calcium to help control their D. You might also want to stay away from bananas and dried fruits. Canned, fermented and processed foods can also cause constipation. You also need to make sure to drink plenty of water.
Eating several small meals a day means cutting back on portions. Instead of having a monster breakfast you might want to try some toast, or a bagel, oatmeal, or just eggs. Whatever you can handle in the morning that isn't going to stuff you. Then add snacks before lunch. Same goes for lunch... portion control. Eating 1 cup of food should be enough. Again, add snacks before dinner if you get hungry. I'm like a bird at work. I usually have some type of cracker just sitting out on my desk. I like pickles and yogurt too (not together!). But those are the things I snack on.
I hope that helps you some. I'm sure others will be along to give their input as well.

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Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

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You have to experiment. Almost everything the previous poster said they can eat I cannot. Most the artificial sweetners are not good for people with IBS. Many people cannot handle fresh fruits and veggies. As for the difference between Prevacid and Nexium they react differently with different people so unfortunately this is all experimental. Strawaberries to me are very acid producing. Split pea soup almost hospitalized me because of the split peas. For me I am stable with white stuff as opposed to wheat things so introduce things carefully.

Thanks for all of your replies! I'm just going to have to figure out what works for me.

But what are PPI's? I see everybody talking about them but i dont know what they are...?

I switched to Cimetidine(generic for Tagamet) and am finding it is working better than the PPI's. The PPI's cut off the proton pump inhibiters and the Cimetidine  cuts down on the acid which is necessary to digest food. When I asked my gastro DR. he said he was glad that I had dropped the PPI"s because new issues were coming out about them with long tern use especially the bone loss problem. I like the Cimetidine cause I can take it right up to the time of eating. I take 200mg twice a day. I have severe acid reflux and esophageal damage. I have endoscopy at least every other year to keep check on it. I do not find that Famitodine(Pepcid)  helps as much as Cimetidine. You might try it for a few days. I was really surprised and it seems to just make my stomach feel better. It was one of the first drugs used for acid problems.

Thanks Snowy!
& Thanks everybody else for all you're advice =)

I think I'm starting to get this whole IBS thing under control.

God Bless