Can't Lose With IBS-C
 

I'm truly frustrated! :mad: I have had IBS -C for a little over 2 yrs, and because of all the medications, I've gained over 30 LB's!!!! :( I can't seem to manage it, or get a hold of it! Never mind trying to lose the extra weight! I've tried so many things, and nothing seems to work....any suggestions anyone?? I feel so bloated and yuck all the time...my clothes keep expanding...it's so discouraging! There are so many days where I just sit and cry out of pure frustration with this....I hate feeling like this! :(

I'm so sorry to hear you upset. I have a friend who had IBS and she was gaining weight like crazy. The last I saw her, she look real good! I guess her doctor put her on some water pills and it releived alot of her pain/pressure from bloating. I do not have this disease but experienced severe bloating before. I was given water pills for 1 month and it helped me alot!!

Talk to your doctor, amybe he/she can help you find ways to releive the symptoms??

let us know what you decide and what happens. get to feeling better soon!! :hug:


emerald dragonfly

I have IBS, and for some reason, the only thing that helps me much is really strong coffee. As long as I have 2 good cups in the am, I do great, but if not, I am bloated, constipated, and in pain by evening. I used to do meds, but when I sould not afford them anymore a naturepath recommended the coffee, and to my relief, it really helps. Good Luck!

i have it too and take zelnorm but it doesnt help much

I used to do zelnorm, too, but with no insurance, just could not afford it.

Sorry you are having these issues :(

I have IBS and take no meds anymore. I just avoid all the things that trigger an attack and eat the things I should and I do okay, symptom and pain-wise! Weightloss is still hard, regardless :(

If I drink pop, I will always pay for it. I know what you mean about trigger foods!

I also have had IBS-C for about seven years. I spent a fortune on every test known to man (we have lousy insurance) and eventually found something on my own that helps tremendously. I take 1 tbsp. of psyllium husk powder plus 1 tbsp. Citrucel chocolate flavor fiber (50 calories) mixed with a cup of milk. This tastes pretty good. I drink this down quickly before it 'sets up' and immediately drink 1-2 glasses of water. It is very important to drink the water as otherwise it can swell up in your throat plus you need the extra fluid to make it work properly. If you decide to try this, you may want to use half as much at first till your system gets used to it. If you don't drink enough water (at least 8 cups a day) the psyllium could make matters worse. As with anything - please check with your doctor first.

Over the busy holidays, I forgot to take it for a few days and boy did I pay for it! I'm only now getting better since I started taking it again a few days ago. I get most of my pain at night time for some reason and for years I only got a few hours sleep because of it.

The psyllium may or may not work for you - everyone is different. I also seem to have trigger foods - white bread, sugary foods, pasta (except Dreamfields reduced carb), bacon or other meats with a lot of nitrates, so I try to avoid these. By the way, I get my psyllium husk powder at Trader Joe's - I've found they have the best price. The Citrucel is a bit spendy but I sometimes get a $5 off coupon in the Sunday paper. Hope this helps :hug:

Dieting with IBS
 

Amanda,
I started a thread in September on this subject (Sorry I don't know how to pull up previous threads). It's on page 4 and there are quite a few responses back to it with some good ideas. Anyways, my 12 year old daughter has IBS with Constipation and I started the link to try to get ideas from other IBSers how to help her lose weight. We have been addressing this issue since 3rd grade and she is now in 7th and like you I have watched the weight just sky rocket. In order to keep her pain free (with diet and without medication) I seem to have to feed her all the foods that do not assist with weight loss. Anyways in my discoveries, I have found a great book and website. Book is Eating for IBS by Heather Van Vorous and her website is www.HELPFORIBS.Com. She has great information, just somesome who has suffered all her life with IBS and has written down what works and doesn't. Great info about the difference between soluable and insoluable fiber. Before her site, I didn't understand this and was giving my daughter too much insoluable fiber trying to help with her weight (THis is the worse kind of you have IBS with constipation). I've kept her pain free the last year, she's off all meds and now we are playing around with finding foods to help with weight loss and increasing exercise. I'd say we have managed to stabilize. It's hard to tell on a child, she's growing and she's now taller than me, plus puberty hit. I'd love to keep this thread going with fellow IBSers (particularly with constipation) giving recipe ideas. Most difficult for me to assist her with seems to be school snack time and after school snacking!!! All the healthy choices that are a fun snack for kids just seem to aggravate the IBS. Good luck, Amanda. Check out the website and everybody keep this post alive. If anyone knows how to pull up my previous thread in September, please let me know how to do it.

Hi Annie,

Thanks for the website info - I'll check it out.

I don't know how to get an old thread up as if it were a new thread (if that's what you mean) other than to reply to the original thread.

In case you need to know how to read your old posts/threads, click on your name (where it appears on the left hand side of your post) and you will get a pull down menu. Click on "find other posts by AnnieRu2" and you will get a list of all your previous posts. You can then open the post you mentioned and copy & paste the url (http://etc.etc.) of that post into a new thread. Hope this helps! :)

I just took a look and I think this might be the thread you mentioned http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54527

That's it. Hope the website is helpful. Let me know if you find any good solutions to this unique situation of IBS/Constipation/Weight issue.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Annie, I've done the help for ibs diet by heather, and it made me so much worse, not better, and gained weight, not lost! It seems like I just can't lose any weight! I'm trying everything....not sure if anyone else has had such a hard time with this. Whether it's normal?

Annie - has your daughter ever tried psyllium husk powder? It is a soluable fiber. It does "bulk up" when you mix it with water, but in a different way than some other fiber supplements. It is more like a gel and seems to "coat" my insides so that l don't get such bad cramps when I take it. If I stop taking it for any length of time, I'm back to square one! I find it to be very helpful, but your mileage may vary :).

I have IBS as well, but it's a little different from you guys. If i'm not careful about what I eat, I can diarrhea 3 or 4 times a day. I can't have artificial sweeteners (including splenda), caffiene, alcohol, garlic. Those are the big things. I can do dairy, but only cheese and not too much. I've put on 30-40 pounds in 5 years since my diagnosis, mainly because it's hard to be as active--one of my meds doesn't let me sweat. I'd love any dessert-chocolate ideas you guys have that are reasonably healthy. I've lost 10 pounds but sometimes I just feel the need for chocolate. Any ideas?

http://www.3fatchicks.com/weight-tra...0/175/200/.png

Hey, it's Annie checking in. thanks to someone for pulling up my original thread. Penpal, I haven't tried psyllium husk powder. Where do you usually get it? I have a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market in my area. I'm always a little reluctant to try things out on my daughter because of her age, so I usually try them on myself. Right now she is doing good with the IBS with Benefiber caplets but they are very expensive. I myself use ground Flax Seed to keep myself regular. I don't have IBS but use Flax Seed to keep me regular, but I don't use it with her because I'm not sure if the FlaxSeed would be a trigger. While the IBS is under control, we still have the weight issue. So I"m always working on recipes. Here is my answer for her and myself (a WW lifetimer at goal for 6 years now) for a chocolate fix. Since I can't give her dairy we are always buying soy ice cream and find that too much soy isn't good for IBS (too much gas) so I was making the infamous chocolate pumpkin cupcakes (I'm sure you've all seen it on the WW section) It is basically a chocolate cake mix (The one without pudding added) I use Duncan Hines and a 12 oz can of pumpkin, that's all. While I was making them, my daughter was licking the beaters and said she liked the dough the best so here is what we invented and we love it!!! We made the mix (1 cake chocolate cake mix and 12 oz can of pumpkin - not pumpking pie mix). I make 6 muffins (cook at 350) and use them for our lunches. Then I take the rest of the dough and I gently fold in one large container of FF cool whip. Fold it so that it looks marbly not full mixed in. Put in 1/2 cup portions with a lid and freeze. It is a very rich tasting and 1/2 cup is very satisfying unlike a 1/2 cup portion of low fat ice cream or 1/2 cup of soy ice cream. The pumpkin gives her some fiber. Not sure what the point count is but the muffins usually come out to be 2 to 3 points, so with the FF cool whip added it is probably about 2 points or less. I've even upped the amount of pumpkin and she has noticed. It doesn't freeze really hard but more like a mousse. If anyone tries it, let me know what you think. Also any other IBS recipes that will help with the weight loss struggle.