Weight Gain and IBS

Spicy food isn't very fun with IBS. I know I get issues with it if I eat it too often (I have to limit the number of times in a row I eat it). What I've found has really helped me is so stupidly simple-I eat porridge for breakfast with banana. Porridge has been proven to help some people with IBS so I know this isn't just my imagination. Also make sure you're drinking enough, and I tend to find it's worse at my time of the month. I have a slight weight gain issue, which I put down to my IBS. I did however lose a whole lot on the Paleo diet (although I cheated by carrying on my porridge at breakfast time.) It might be one for you to look up. There is lots of info out there on the internet about it

That makes a lot of sense as I have IBS-C and find it hard to keep weight off. I lost 2 stone and a pound (14 pounds in a stone, so that's 29 pounds) for my wedding day, going from 12 stone 6 (174 pounds) to 10 stone 5 pounds (145 pounds), but I put 9 or 10 pounds back on pretty quickly when I reintroduced certain foods, even with keeping up the circuit training classes and trying to avoid too many refined sugars.

I think the real problem with IBS-C that I've noticed is if you eat too many wheat-based things. Too much pasta, too much bread, too much pastry, and you get issues.

I don't have a sweet tooth any more - hardly ever eat chocolate, cakes, biscuits etc and use Canderel in tea and coffee - but don't exercise much either because of a painful lower back (on morphine for it but pain still restricts movements) so I don't suppose this is helping.

Good luck with your problem.

Kath

Have you tried seeing a physio for your back? My husband had Sciatica not so long ago and went to one who gave him some exercises to do to help it. Sometimes there is only so much doctors can do. You could ask for a referral and not all physios are horrendously expensive (also not all are NHS so you don't always have to wait too long.)  I've tried gluten free bread also and it made no difference whatsoever, so I think it's the actual wheat itself rather than just the grain. Someone once mentioned that white bread was better for people with IBS, but for me it's the worst thing ever! In fact it often causes more problems than anything else. To be honest I'd say cut down on the wheat (or even cut it out-do you like Rye bread?) Possibly soda bread is ok, maybe try corn bread. The diet I was on was the Paleo diet, which gave me so much energy and I lost loads of weight. I kept my breakfast the same though-porridge. Wonderful stuff! Oatcakes are also great. Oats in general are really good for IBS-C sufferers as they are soluble fibre that's easy to digest (wheat isn't soluble, so less easy).

By the way-have you tried Laxido (sometimes called Movicol) for the constipation? It's what I have when mine flares up.

Good luck with your back-I would seriously consider a physio, because it can really help you to get moving again.

xx

Yes also to Laxido.  This helped when I had IBS-C but like I said, at the moment my symptoms have changed to IBS-D with the bloating pains and loads of wind and nausea.

I don't know which one is worse, the sluggish feeling and weight gain with constipation, or the slight weight loss, dashing to the toilet a few times for about the first two hours, the nausea, bloating and wind pain.

I do like Ryvita, so rye bread might be OK and I've also had flavoured rice biscuits, oat cakes and I do like porridge oats but aren't these for helping with constipation?  Now having diarrhoea these may not be so good for me?

i'll certainly look up the Paleo diet as I could do with having more energy and losing more weight.

I have recently heard that at least one UK physiotherapist has had training with a new machine the USA which is far better at diagnosing back problems than anything our NHS has, but the only one I know of is too far away from where we live to contemplate seeing him.  Maybe there are others in the UK with the same training, but it's find them!