Here's the deal. I recently suffered through about 24 hours or so of an attack. Painful cramping, feeling like trapped gas, unable to "go", the usual. What puzzles me, is, my diet has always been pretty consistent. I like certain foods, and I do know certain things don't agree with me well, like spicy food, so I generally avoid it. But I have always eaten bread, dairy, love cheese, and can go for literally months without an attack, then wham! it hits again. But why? I usually look back and realize stress, or a change in my routine, seems to have happened. So, is it more of an emotional IBS? Not affected by food? I also have read the foods to avoid on the low fodmap list. I adore corn. And usually it makes me "go" really well, which to me, is a wonderful thing, since constipation is my problem when hit with an attack. I am just confused.
I have stress related IBS which is not food triggered. Anxiety/stress is a major cause of IBS and makes symptoms worse. I can go months without an attack too but if I am stressed, it comes back and mostly mildly and rarely severely. IBS can be constant or come and go. It is unpredictable. Does bread, and dairy cause symptoms? Maybe try cutting them from your diet to see if there is any difference.
No, bread is something I eat every day, as well as dairy, in the form of cheese, cottage cheese, and occasionally yogurt. So, I would think if any food was a trigger, it would be constant, as my diet rarely changes. But stress has been something I have had a lot of in the past several years. Guess that must be it, so I am going to work on that aspect. Thanks for answering, it's nice to know someone else has similar symptoms to mine.
Are you taking an antispasmodic? You could try one such as Buscopan before a stressful episode to prevent symptoms starting.
Hello I have had regular instances of IBS for many years that cause me to be cautious in choosing my foods. Most of the time I am fine. My attacks are usually precipitated by stress related conditions. It's so obvious. Normally I am slightly constipated but when I am scheduled for a presentation to the public I suffer terrible bloating, gas and diarrhea. That mustbe where they get the saying "scared sh--less." Actually any kind of stress causes me pain in my gut. But as I get older and near retirement I have learned to manage stress better through a spiritually- based program which resembles cognitive behavioral therapy but focuses on observing thoughts and reconstructing them. Anything you can do to reduce stress is going to be helpful. Best wishes.