Dull Men's Club
An unofficial chapter of the popular Dull Men's Club.
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Well, loperamide definitely helps, particularly with IBSd.
But there's other ways to minimize troubles. The first is to figure out if you have food triggers (most people with it do) and then eliminate them. Food diary is the fastest way to narrow down exactly what sets you off. You'll likely figure out quickly that acidic foods are a trigger (because they almost always are for everyone with IBS), so tomato sauces are a great thing to start eliminating.
However, there's what's called the FODMAP diet, which actually reduces FODMAPs, so it's kinda weird that it's just referred to that way. But elimination of FODMAPs tends to drastically reduce or even eliminate IBS flare ups.
However, diet alone isn't always the culprit. Stress plays a big role in flares. So does hydration (which isn't always thought of as part of diet, so I mention it separately). Mobility factors in; being sedentary makes IBS d and c worse, though it's counter intuitive with IBSd what with walking stimulating bowel motility.
Fiber is often recommended, but I say be very cautious when you try it. Psyllium fiber in particular has a habit of making gas and cramping worse with some IBS sufferers. I tend to favor improving soluble fiber while minimizing insoluble to be more effective than just increasing fiber overall. But there's a degree of insoluble that's necessary, so don't go crazy eliminating it.
Because IBS is kinda individual, it's always a journey. Something like arthritis, you know what's going to help it or not; you break a leg, there's a very small range of options and they are all certain to work. But IBS? It's not really a single disease as much as having bowels that are reactive to "stuff", and that stuff just isn't the same for everyone. So be prepared to deal with a good bit of experimenting until you figure out what works for you.
Thanks for the advice! I agree that it looks like IBS is what doctors label you when they throw their hands up in frustration. It's still up to me to find out how to deal with it.
Stress is a BIG factor for me, I've made changes recently to help reduce that.
Soon I'll be speaking to a dietician, they might recommend the low-FODMAP diet. I'm wary of elimination diets, though, as I am worried about losing weight. I worked hard to get from underweight to a healthy weight and my quality of life improved a lot as a result.