Trying to go non dairy
Posted , 6 users are following.
I've been trying to go non dairy for 2 weeks now, but I feel like im suffering more often because of it, most likely from withdrawal symptoms or not getting enough of the vital vitamins.
My current diet is just apple sauce, oreo's, Original pringles, spaghetti, gobstoppers, (water now for 2 days) was ice tea.
Reason for all of this is most likely IBS, as i believe the Gastroenterologist said i might have awhile back, had a colonoscopy and a Upper endoscopy but the doctor only said my throat and colon were just a bit red, and nothing else from what i recall(which was probably from the miralax needed to be taken for the tests), its been some time and i do not have insurance to visit another doctor, for a more updated result.
Currently on Dec 23rd i started having cramps and diarrhea and next day i felt better, till later that day i sneezed and got really sick runny nose and felt like I had a fever, next day still had the "fever" but the cramping and diarrhea came back and been having the cramping and diarrhea still with a more mild forehead burning to this exact moment.(also a need to urinate very often not from drinking a lot of water as was doing it before i started drinking bottles of water)
My main question is, will it be best to ignore all dairy and add supplements or other food options to get the other necessary vitamins or will using Almond milk allow me to still eat some past dairy items like mac and cheese, fettuccine Alfredo with tuna? As with these dairy foods i did not feel any discomfort after taking a bite or eating, cept the feel after eating and being full that i would probably need to go to the bathroom, unlike drinking chocolate milk/milkshakes, ice cream, pudding, where after a bite/sip i would start feeling something in my stomach and would need to go to the bathroom soon, but not sure if its just not as bad as those drinks/food but still bad and contribute to the cramps i would often get, i know mac and cheese and the fettuccine alfredo have the packet of cheese/seasonings so idk if even replacing the milk with almond milk would make them fine with those packets still, if replacing milk with almond milk is a perfect was to still have "dairy" for IBS people.
0 likes, 13 replies
lily65668 Ryan1313
Posted
I hope you don't mind my saying so Ryan, but you do seem to be relying rather heavily on junk foods. From your description of your diet, I can't see how you're getting any vitamins at all!
By all means continue your trial of going dairy-free for another few weeks, as I've heard it does benefit some people. However, you won't know whether it has any effect till you've tried it for at least six weeks.
In the meantime, you do need to eat some fresh as well as canned fish and some fruit and veg. In the latter case, you'll have to experiment a bit to find out which fruits/veg suit you. Many IBS sufferers find they can no longer tolerate foods from this group that they used to eat before.
If you don't understand the subject of nutrition, try googling things like "healthy diet". However, it's best to limit yourself to serious medical sites, as there's a lot of weird stuff out there. The Patient site that we're on has a useful section on this topic: https://patient.info/healthy-living/healthy-eating
Finally, I'd advise taking a good-quality multivitamin supplement (ask your pharmacist) if you're not going to eat properly. I'd normally advocate only taking vitamins in the form of natural foods (except for vit D3) but it sounds as if you need a vitamin boost.
Ryan1313 lily65668
Posted
i would love to be able to try other foods to have a better diet, but im unemployed with no money, and insurance to see a doctor to get a diet based on what i most likely have, and to show my parents who im living with that i have IBS or something similar which my mom went with me to the doctor and hospital so she knows i might have it from the doctor, but acts like im just trying to make a big deal of it that im not ill, so i can only eat what they end up getting sadly
lily65668 Ryan1313
Posted
I take your point Ryan, but "real" food doesn't always have to be more expensive than the junk variety. As someone with no family and living on a very modest retirement pension, I still manage to afford a reasonable diet.
I'm thinking about oranges, for example. I assume from your post that you're in the US, where this fruit is much cheaper than it is here in northern Europe (where everything has to be driven up from the Mediterranean). Just one orange provides around 150% of your total daily need for vitamin C. But you need to eat the WHOLE fruit, not just the juice - and certainly not commercial juices or smoothies, which have various other things added, and end up being more expensive too.
Although I've had to cut back on a lot of fruit and veg because of my symptoms - mainly excessive gas - I find I still tolerate oranges very well. Where I live a single, good-sized navel orange costs the equivalent of around 50 US cents, but I still tailor my budget so I can have my breakfast orange every day. Some days, when I've had a lousy night because of cramps and gas, it's the only thing that tempts me to get out of bed!
This is just an example. If your digestion won't tolerate oranges, have a look at the list of fruit and veg on the healthy eating section of this site and try and find a few that you can manage. You may still be relatively healthy now while you're young, but if you continue eating a vitamin-free diet for the rest of your life you're going to run into severe health problems later on.
lily65668 Ryan1313
Posted
Hi Ryan,
Just a rider to my previous post. Do you eat eggs? They're extremely cheap and fantastic nutritional value: protein, amino acids, iron, vitamins A and D, all kinds of trace elements and so much more.
Because I'm on a limited budget and can't afford much meat, I eat eggs as my main meal of the day twice a week. No need to worry about cholesterol either, as the scare about cholesterol in eggs 20-odd years ago turned out to be a complete red herring. In fact, my doctor says he's happy for me to eat eggs every day if I want to!
They do have a very mild "binding" effect, which can theoretically be a problem if you're severely constipated, but this isn't a major issue. I've even tried cutting out eggs for several weeks to see if my constipation improved but it didn't make a blind bit of difference. And on the up side, they don't make diarrhoea worse - unless you're one of those unlucky people who are allergic to them of course. (In that case you'll soon find out!)
So why not try eating eggs a couple of times a week? Way cheaper than junk food or take-outs and full of healthy nutrition.
sam18386 Ryan1313
Posted
hi ryan, please don't take my words harshly or wrong but DON'T without support cut out another group of food, you may end up doing more harm than good! just look at your whole diet and think what do i REALLY need? keep a food diary and watch for those little triggers. you need to maybe need medical support - your doctor's, a dietitian and maybe others. i was told for years i had IBS - this is coeliac disease, eating gluten has slowly started to mend my stomach and bowel. you CAN do this. ask your doctor is this ONLY IBS? this is often misdiagnosed as a last result when everything else nasty is RULED out! keep asking you need to know for YOU! really good luck, i hope you get some answers.
Ryan1313 sam18386
Posted
main issue is i cant ask my doctor i have no insurance
sam18386 Ryan1313
Posted
are you in the us?
Ryan1313 sam18386
Posted
yes in florida
sam18386 Ryan1313
Posted
i am sure there would be a way round it, speak to your physician, they should be able to help i should hope. surely some people in American have support for non-workers?
leeniepie Ryan1313
Posted
your diet is terrible. this, if nothing else will be making you ill as there is no nutrition in it what so ever. you need to forget about dairy issues and start eating a reasonable diet and keeping a food diary. only after doing that for a while can you start to notice trends and possibly identify troublesome foods
sam90321 Ryan1313
Posted
i do not eat anything with diary, only occasions i eat chocolate or maybe a little macorni pie or lagsauna but like i said occasions as in like thanksgiving or christmas, but other than that no dairy, i have ibs and i dont have a gallbladder to help digest these foods any longer. if i eat cereal which i rarely do i drink it with almond milk, i would love to drink milk like maybe lactose free because i find my bones hurts alot.but i also drink almond milk with oatmeal and i eat lactose free yogurt, the one with bacteria in it, if u truly want to know what your body tolerate then go on the low fodmap diet and keep a food journal but if u wanna find the root cause ur going to have switch up what u eat and how u eat and when u eat it.
pippa58442 Ryan1313
Posted
You need to completely change your diet to cooking from fresh and avoiding all processed foods. Switch to lactose/dairy free foods or try digestive enzymes to help you digest dairy. You could always avoid dairy all together. These are the best options you can try prior to getting insurance to see a doctor.
pippa58442 Ryan1313
Posted
You need to completely change your diet to cooking from fresh and avoiding all processed foods. Switch to lactose/dairy free foods or try digestive enzymes to help you digest dairy. You could always avoid dairy all together. These are the best options you can try prior to getting insurance to see a doctor.