Stress and IBS

Minty · 08-12-2008, 12:53 AM

I am quite stressed at the moment and have terrible IBS from it . It's like anything I eat i still get a really bad stomach. The doctor has told me what to stay away from and the balancing of the diet of course but is there anything that people know from first hand experience that can help, as it is hell .

rockaroni · 08-12-2008, 02:06 AM

Erm, personally when I have stress-induced IBS, I avoid fibre and wheaty things and drinks lots of water to keep it moving. But isn't IBS different for everyone, certian things can trigger it. Have you tried keeping a food diary to see what settles it and makes it worse?

Minty · 08-12-2008, 02:49 AM

yeah been keeping a food diary but nothing in particular seems to trigger it. It's daily the problem is it fluctutates between constipation and diarrhea ( gross i know) so if I have fibre that brings on diarhea.

09-12-2008, 06:36 PM

I'd deffinately stay away from dairy, it triggers it quite a bit for everyone apparently.

No fizzy drinks yadda yadda.

*hugles*

Don't know what else, but take care x

Misunderstood. · 09-12-2008, 06:43 PM

Tips on controlling IBS

Eat a varied healthy diet and avoid foods high in fat.
Drink plenty of water.
Try eating 6 small meals a day rather than 3 larger ones.
[the next point said try and find better ways of dealing with your stress but I decided not to be quite so patronizing]

Copy / pasted from an information page on IBS:

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdo...rders/112.html

Your GP can prescribe Buscopan and Mebeverine also,.. just by request if you aren't taking them already.

rockaroni · 09-12-2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minty

yeah been keeping a food diary but nothing in particular seems to trigger it. It's daily the problem is it fluctutates between constipation and diarrhea ( gross i know) so if I have fibre that brings on diarhea.

Yeah I get the same too, I really get the fibre thing, it's horrible isn't it :( similarly, I find eating white bread, pasta etc instead of brown/wholegrain helps a little, even though it's not as healthy.

sopranonut · 09-12-2008, 07:09 PM

I have this too. If you're not taking any medication for it you can get Buscopan over the counter. This is an antispasmodic that can help with the cramps - I find it useful when it's really bad. You can get meds prescribed too.

I-Feel-Infinite · 09-12-2008, 11:18 PM

yep i get this too!!! i also got gastritus (sp?) from stress too - so a double dose for my digestion ouch!
cut tea - i drank SOOOO much herbal tea, tea, coffee that it completely killed my digestion....
buscopan is VERY good as the above poster said...

don't OVERLOAD on veg and fruit... try to keep meals as balanced as possible... what triggered my IBS was my irregular eating pattern and swinging from giant binges to not eating anything.... so try to eat little but often

sounds MAD but maybe reduce the stress?? (see i find this impossible - but maybe there's something you could do?)