Maybe not IBS
Hi. I was diagnosed with IBS over 20 years ago. I’ve always felt bloated, needed the toilet several times a day, but I never experienced any pain - only discomfort, and extreme fatigue.
I cut out dairy, spice, tea/coffee, bread, and cruciferous vegetables, as they all trigger me very badly. I still had the symptoms, and it’s been really debilitating in my life, and my happiness.
Anyway, I cut out insoluble fibre last month, as I read that this is also a classic ibs trigger. For the first time in my life I have almost no stomach problem. This has continued for 4 weeks now. I’m never bloated, I only go to the toilet once a day, or sometimes every other day. I feel amazing to how I did. I’ve just been peeling all my fruit and veg, and sticking to those fruit/veg with the lowest insoluble fibre. Also cutting out most grain.
My question is, have I even got ibs, or could I have been misdiagnosed 20 years back. What else could it be?
Unfortunately, the doctors in U.K. aren’t that interested in these kind of problems, as no one is dying, and ibs is so common. I’ve never been given any kind of test either. Peoples opinions on here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hello
and welcome to our community!
I'm so glad to hear that you finally found a way to reduce your symptoms.
What you're saying about reducing your insoluble fiber intake aligns with what I've read in many articles on our website. Here are three examples that talk about it directly:
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/food/dietary-fiber,
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/food/fiber-types,
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/understand-triggers-avoid-ibs-symptoms.
From what I've read, it seems to be quite common that insoluble fiber worsens symptoms (at least in those with IBS-D).
As for your diagnosis, I'm sorry that you were diagnosed without getting any testing done. I would suggest speaking to your doctor about it, but I know that it's not always possible to find one that actually listens.. I still haven't either. Doctors here in France also tend to dismiss me or simply have no knowledge about it whatsoever.
I don't know if there are other conditions that would make you sensitive to insoluble fiber, I hope that other community members will share their experiences with you.
Wishing you all the best,
Karina (team member)hi, thanks that's very helpful. No I've had no tests done. They didn't rule anything out. I guess all the symptoms seems to point to IBS though. It was a very stressful time in my life, when I first experienced the symptoms. I just replied to your forum before seeing your comment, so please disregard my question about testing there.
Since you haven't had any tests at all, I would maybe ask your doctor to at least do a stool and blood test. If they come back negative, you'll at least know that you likely don't have anything else.
As for the stressful time in your life, that's how my IBS first got triggered, too. I still react to stress and anxiety a lot, so addressing those alongside diet changes has been very helpful in minimizing my IBS symptoms.
Do you still deal with a lot of stress, and do you find that it impacts your symptoms?
Karina (team member)
hello.
I recently saw a new gastroenterologist for similar issues. I always thought I had IBS and tried cutting out certain foods too. She listened very carefully and told me to do two things: add fiber to my diet like Metamucil or similar everyday ( even tho I eat a lot of high fiber foods) and start on a daily probiotic. I was skeptical but I did and three weeks later I have no symptoms. Sometimes it’s bacteria and inflammation that causes these problems. It’s not always IBS. It can’t hurt to give it a try.I cut out high insoluble fibre foods, or at least peeled all my fruit and veg. I have loads of peeled apples, and bananas with no issues at all. Soluble fibre isn’t a problem for me. that's exactly the same for me. If I peel my fruit and veg, it's 10x better for me.
I have IBS-D. They call it functional diarrhea. It is life altering. Removing certain foods, adding various homeopathic remedies - each change brought relief occasionally quite dramatic but never for more than 6-8 wks. I finally researched my asthma puffers to see if they might be the culprit. EVERY MD I met said no, couldn't be. WRONG! I'm now participating in the Breo Ellipta disclosure with its maker. I've been getting steadily better absent all puffers. Druggist gave me a list of alternatives w/o the offending ingredients.
Moral: Carefully research EVERYTHING you take - everything - for side fx. MDs don't stay current. Do your own research.
What if you have constipation? Any advise for that?
I'm going to share a couple of our articles about treating constipation with you:
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/constipation
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/talk-constipation
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/food/meals-constipation
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/vitamins-constipation
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/food/prebiotics-probiotics-constipation
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/swimming-ease-constipation
And here is a forum discussion about it:
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums/constipation
I hope that you'll find some helpful ideas in there!
All the best, Karina (team member)
