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[Mistake]

So about three weeks ago, I was dumb and had two cups of coffee. I know, the horror right? Since then, I’ve been getting worse and worse and feel bloated all the time, causing me to not be hungry at all. Long story short, my doc was useless and I had to diagnose myself with IBS. I remembered the last time this happened about five years ago and put two and two together. Same circumstances and everything.

So now I’m on the FODMAP diet for a while. Today is the first day. While it is really annoying, it’s also extremely interesting when it comes to everything I’m reading, such as “fructose malabsorption” being tied into it. This makes sense in a way too, and is surprisingly common. My whole life I have been chronically fatigued. I always thought it was because I slept bad or something. However, last January I had a sinus infection and took antibiotics with tons of yoghurt, after that my life became so much BETTER. Before I was like Ben Stein on the dry eyes commercial, and now I’m a new man. Coffee doesn’t give me a high anymore, but I don’t even need it now. I have so much more energy than I used to.

Anyway, I’m really glad to be figuring this out and getting my life together. It’s been a crazy few years for me, but now I’m turning a corner. Stay healthy gaf

 

[AJUMP23]

No my stomach is like cast iron. My bowels tungsten.

 

[nush]

it took my dad until his 40's to finally get diagnosed as lactose intolerant. Was such a simple fix for his regular ailments.

 

[Mistake]

it took my dad until his 40's to finally get diagnosed as lactose intolerant. Was such a simple fix for his regular ailments.

I honestly feel that most gut problems go unchecked for some reason. It’s especially bad now because of processed foods and added high fructose

 

[FunkMiller]

Oh yeah, mine are fuuuuuuuucked

 

[DoomGyver]

I have always had trouble sticking to a strict diet. I get to feeling well and then I decide to have a cheat meal and fucking regret it for the next week.

Some foods also have a delayed reaction which makes it difficult to narrow down exactly what bothered me. I’m talking days, not hours.

It’s great. I can eat like a pig and not gain any weight. Surgery is awful, had a couple of those so far. Invest in a bidet; it will change your life.

 

[Mossybrew]

OP your post is rambling and doesn't make much sense.Self diagnosed with IBS because, you had two cups of coffee and felt bloated? Oh and something similar happened FIVE YEARS AGO? And you were in some kind of vague discomfort? But that was a CRAZY FEW YEARS eh? Fuck off OP, I was diagnosed with Crohn's 7 years ago, have shit so much blood at times it looked like a toilet abortion, lost so much blood I could barely stand, multiple ER visits, and have had major surgery last year to take out a portion of my colon, so excuse me if your GUT ISSUES seem incredibly minor and not worth posting about.

 

[Nydius]

I was officially diagnosed with IBS-A (alternating, I believe they call it mixed type now) when I was 24 (and, for reference, I'm 45 now). There really wasn't any research into things like the low FODMAP diets back then so I was just advised to keep a food journal and avoid my trigger foods. I was also told to experiment with low gluten or gluten-free diets. I gave up caffeine and alcohol a few years after diagnosis and while it helped it wasn't a magic bullet.

I later developed diverticulitis and while that's not as severe as Mossybrew's crohns, it's still a painful nightmare with lots of uncomfortable bleeding. While Mossy's post might come across as a bit harsh, I totally get the sentiment. I've lived with legitimate gut problems now for 21 years that have fundamentally altered my ability to function and live while your story sounds like someone overreacting to a mild, self-limiting, situation.

I'm not trying to minimize how you feel, but "self-diagnosing" is meaningless. You really need to find yourself a GI specialist and share your concerns and go through the process of exclusionary testing. It's the only way you're ever going to know if it's actually IBS, a food intolerance, or something more severe like Crohns, Ulcerative Colitis, or Diverticulitis.

As for your line about antibiotics and feeling better, you could have something as simple as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (H. Pylori) that could be treated with a tailored antibiotic regimen and won't bother you again for years, if ever.

 

[Scotty W]

OP your post is rambling and doesn't make much sense.Self diagnosed with IBS because, you had two cups of coffee and felt bloated? Oh and something similar happened FIVE YEARS AGO? And you were in some kind of vague discomfort? But that was a CRAZY FEW YEARS eh? Fuck off OP, I was diagnosed with Crohn's 7 years ago, have shit so much blood at times it looked like a toilet abortion, lost so much blood I could barely stand, multiple ER visits, and have had major surgery last year to take out a portion of my colon, so excuse me if your GUT ISSUES seem incredibly minor and not worth posting about.

 

[Mistake]

I was officially diagnosed with IBS-A (alternating, I believe they call it mixed type now) when I was 24 (and, for reference, I'm 45 now). There really wasn't any research into things like the low FODMAP diets back then so I was just advised to keep a food journal and avoid my trigger foods. I was also told to experiment with low gluten or gluten-free diets. I gave up caffeine and alcohol a few years after diagnosis and while it helped it wasn't a magic bullet.

I later developed diverticulitis and while that's not as severe as Mossybrew's crohns, it's still a painful nightmare with lots of uncomfortable bleeding. While Mossy's post might come across as a bit harsh, I totally get the sentiment. I've lived with legitimate gut problems now for 21 years that have fundamentally altered my ability to function and live while your story sounds like someone overreacting to a mild, self-limiting, situation.

I'm not trying to minimize how you feel, but "self-diagnosing" is meaningless. You really need to find yourself a GI specialist and share your concerns and go through the process of exclusionary testing. It's the only way you're ever going to know if it's actually IBS, a food intolerance, or something more severe like Crohns, Ulcerative Colitis, or Diverticulitis.

As for your line about antibiotics and feeling better, you could have something as simple as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (H. Pylori) that could be treated with a tailored antibiotic regimen and won't bother you again for years, if ever.

I completely agree and do plan to do that as soon as possible. I’m looking at forms of insurance first, otherwise I would have gone to a GI right away. I only did all this research because I saw my physician like I said, and he was no help at all. In fact, he said to eat fiber and it gave me the worst gas of my life, leaving me up until 4am. Today is only the first day of my diet, so if things don’t improve soon I’ll see the specialist regardless. I’m underweight and this isn’t good for me

 

[p_xavier]

Chronic ibs and gastritis from alcohol.

 

[JimmyRustler]

it took my dad until his 40's to finally get diagnosed as lactose intolerant. Was such a simple fix for his regular ailments.

One can‘t get lactose intolerant later in life. You are either born with this or not.

@OP: Gut health is a very interesting topic and I‘ve have had my fair share of battles. I find that many if not most people do in one way or the other. Especially with 30+ it‘s so easy to do some damage in your gut and then fixing it is very time consuming and trial and error. I myself damaged my whole gut flora extremely when at some point I stoped salting my food and at the very same time avoided processed foods left and right. At some point my body just stopped utilizing the foods properly. Got bloated all the time after even the smallest meal and basically lost all my hard earned muscles from the gym.

Now, I did luckily bounce back royally this year by completely revamping my diet but there are still days that I struggle. A good thing it did have and that is that by now I‘m almost completely indifferent as to what I eat because I do not enjoy eating as much as I used to. So it‘s really easy for me experiment with my diet. I can go from carbing up on Sunday to almost fasting on Monday with ease.

It‘s super fascinating for me to see what crazy effects changing your diet for a longer period of time can have on you. You are what you eat indeed.

 

[The Cockatrice]

I have IBS and its annoying as hell. Stomach hurts when pooping, ass as well after. Now I'm dealing with some severe diarrhea but I dunno what started it. Might have an infection but that's on me for eating garbage burger from MC. Its something I have to live with the rest of my life. Can't drop the junk food tho like chips and stuff. I really should start a diet.

 

[nush]

One can‘t get lactose intolerant later in life. You are either born with this or not.

That was my point, nobody diagnosed him correctly for over 40 years.

 

[Tams]

I've had severe bloating, and occasionally pain, but nothing else bad for almost five years now. Yes, it's nowhere near as some of you unlucky sods.

It started after a trip to Nepal where I ate quite a bit of questionable food (yeah, I did know better, but my stomach governs me).

Here in Japan, the doctors have been useless. I've had lots of xrays and a colonoscopy and they found nothing, just giving me zinc tablets. I suspect it's H. Pylori, but they have no interest in that.

 

[JimmyRustler]

That was my point, nobody diagnosed him correctly for over 40 years.

I see. Well, I though it was more the case like with a lot of people I know where they damaged their gut health and then think they are lactose intolerant. Always have to tell them that this is not how it works.

I've had severe bloating, and occasionally pain, but nothing else bad for almost five years now. Yes, it's nowhere near as some of you unlucky sods.

It started after a trip to Nepal where I ate quite a bit of questionable food (yeah, I did know better, but my stomach governs me).

Here in Japan, the doctors have been useless. I've had lots of xrays and a colonoscopy and they found nothing, just giving me zinc tablets. I suspect it's H. Pylori, but they have no interest in that.

The problem with gut health in general is that when something is wrong it‘s very tiresome to find the cause and then even when you do it takes very long to fix it. The progress for me was so slow and unnoticeable that I only casually realized how much my gut health had improved one day. But it does make sense when you think about it. After all, damaging it works just the same…. aka at first the issues are rare and then get worse over time until they become a huge problem. Turns out the progress the other way around is just as slow. Well, if you don‘t want to pop in some medicine that is. But as we know those can bring their own problems.

 

[Mistake]

I've had severe bloating, and occasionally pain, but nothing else bad for almost five years now. Yes, it's nowhere near as some of you unlucky sods.

It started after a trip to Nepal where I ate quite a bit of questionable food (yeah, I did know better, but my stomach governs me).

Here in Japan, the doctors have been useless. I've had lots of xrays and a colonoscopy and they found nothing, just giving me zinc tablets. I suspect it's H. Pylori, but they have no interest in that.

I took a breath test for h.pylori a long time ago, and it came back negative. I suspect I had a bad gut flora imbalance, which is why the antibiotics put me back straight. I think my problem with coffee is when I also have stress, and then I get all out of whack. Too much caffeine and stress is a bad combination

 

[Warnen]

I’ve had stomach problems for years ended up in the hospital and was told diverticulitis beginning of the year. Even when felt better will always have diverticulosis so have to be careful from what I eat from now on. Only had 2 flair up since then but since I know what to do now not to bad usally only in serious pain for half A day.

no more drinking and avoid trigger foods and I’m fine. Stop drinking years ago anyways and the food thing pretty easy (got hit at Easter form something still trying to figure out the trigger but had stuff normally don’t so hard to tell).

 

[Kev Kev]

i got bubble guts pretty much all the time

 

[Dr.D00p]

..only real problem is that the older i get, the bigger it gets.

 

[BigBooper]

I've had several complications with duodenitis and multiple bouts of colitis and more! Two days last week I had to spontaneously vomit. I've found I can get a sensation like you described for two reasons; either I'm retaining water for some reason or there is gas trapped in the loops of my intestines.

For me, that's why I eat a balanced diet; to keep things moving. If you have gas trapped, stretches and pilates like exercises can help.

 

[V1LÆM]

OP your post is rambling and doesn't make much sense.Self diagnosed with IBS because, you had two cups of coffee and felt bloated? Oh and something similar happened FIVE YEARS AGO? And you were in some kind of vague discomfort? But that was a CRAZY FEW YEARS eh? Fuck off OP, I was diagnosed with Crohn's 7 years ago, have shit so much blood at times it looked like a toilet abortion, lost so much blood I could barely stand, multiple ER visits, and have had major surgery last year to take out a portion of my colon, so excuse me if your GUT ISSUES seem incredibly minor and not worth posting about.

dude stfu. yeah you have it oh so much worse. congratulations.

 

[Amey]

Yogurt is very helpful in resetting an upset digestive system. Make it a regular item on your plate, but in reasonable quantity.

Some Indian fermented food items that are rich with 'Good Bacteria' are Idli and Dosa. You should try them.

 

[Queso de Grande]

I was sent to the ER by my doctor due to a fever and pain in my lower left abdomen. After a CT scan it was determined I had a case of acute non complicated diverticulitis. It sucked and the antibiotics were just as bad. Now I have a colonoscopy scheduled to determine if I have inflammatory bowel syndrome or just plain irritable bowel syndrome.

 

[Big Baller]

I take a shit daily, most of the time.

 

[Mistake]

I was sent to the ER by my doctor due to a fever and pain in my lower left abdomen. After a CT scan it was determined I had a case of acute non complicated diverticulitis. It sucked and the antibiotics were just as bad. Now I have a colonoscopy scheduled to determine if I have inflammatory bowel syndrome or just plain irritable bowel syndrome.

I have no pain yet, thank god. Best of luck with your procedure. Hope it’s a simple thing

 

[Fbh]

Yup, my stomach has always been terrible. I've gone to several doctors and done several tests over the years but no one has been able to give me a reason why.
Sometimes I'll eat something and a couple of minutes later my gut will be like "nope, I didn't like that". I've tried to isolate it to specific types of food but it seems random, I can eat something dozens of times and be fine but then at random my stomach will decide this particular time it wasn't ok.

Weirdly it has become slightly better since I started eating more spicy/hot food .... except some spicy food that destroy me like jalapeños

 

[GloveSlap]

Yeah, i've been having issues for a while now. Still working it out, but drinking Kambucha (probiotic drink) has definitely helped. Costco sells an 8 pack in the fridge section for pretty cheap.

 

[Outlier]

FOD allergies are a thing. In the recent past I went on a fruit+veggie+dairy diet and I suffered constant bubble guts and exhaust back fires. I already knew I was lactose intolerant, but didn't know I was allergic to some vegetables, as well.

I recent have switched to a mostly meat diet and those problems have disappeared.

So you might want to find out what you shouldn't eat anymore.

 

[Sulaco]

For those who may not know the cause of their issues, the main triggers to watch out for are dairy, meat, grains (not just wheat) and spicy food.

You can try eliminating one food category for a week to see if you notice an improvement. This is easier said than done but at least you will know.

The following food and drink can also cause issues.

Oily foods : chips, crisps, fried meat, pizza

High fodmap foods : beans, broccoli, cabbage, onions, etc

Acidic drinks : alcohol, strong tea, coffee, carbonated beverages (incl sparkling water)

Acidic foods : most fruits, pickled vegetables, processed meat (deli pork, farmed salmon, etc)

Keep a diary of what you eat and then you really have to eliminate or greatly reduce your trigger foods as basic gut issues can cascade into much worse conditions like gastritis, diverticulitis or even cancer.

 

[n0razi]

I eat about a pound of granola and chia seeds a day so I figure that extra fiber helps with all the other crap I'm digesting.

 

[AlteredForms]

Currently suffering from a condition called GERD. It's acid reflux dialled up to a 100, though I'm hopefully receiving treatment soon.

 

[betrayal]

Got Crohns predominantly in the small intestine for like 10 years. I have regular problems and due to the inflammations there is already a larger stricture in the small intestine. But everything is manageable through diet and activity and it rarely has an impact on everyday life and I only had to go to the hospital once. The trigger for me was probably food poisoning ~10 years ago.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

All I know is the older I get, the less time I have to get to the can. When I was young I could hold in a shit all afternoon. And I used to do that all the time when I commuted to university which would take me over an hour by bus and subway. If I had an urge in the afternoon, I'd just keep holding it, commute home and blast the bowl when I walked in the door.

Now, may ass timer is set at 15 minutes.

 

[akimbo009]

One can‘t get lactose intolerant later in life. You are either born with this or not.

@OP: Gut health is a very interesting topic and I‘ve have had my fair share of battles. I find that many if not most people do in one way or the other. Especially with 30+ it‘s so easy to do some damage in your gut and then fixing it is very time consuming and trial and error. I myself damaged my whole gut flora extremely when at some point I stoped salting my food and at the very same time avoided processed foods left and right. At some point my body just stopped utilizing the foods properly. Got bloated all the time after even the smallest meal and basically lost all my hard earned muscles from the gym.

Now, I did luckily bounce back royally this year by completely revamping my diet but there are still days that I struggle. A good thing it did have and that is that by now I‘m almost completely indifferent as to what I eat because I do not enjoy eating as much as I used to. So it‘s really easy for me experiment with my diet. I can go from carbing up on Sunday to almost fasting on Monday with ease.

It‘s super fascinating for me to see what crazy effects changing your diet for a longer period of time can have on you. You are what you eat indeed.

I dunno, maybe I always was but lactose didn't bother me until a year or two ago after I got diagnosed with Diverticulitis. Really triggers it and causes all sorts of issues nowadays - but before I'd eat plates of cheese daily with zero issues. Now? It's nearly death. Soys always been an issue tho

 

[fran.fernandez]

I have some stomach issues (after 35 ) I can’t eat too much meat or oil food, feel sick for months. Some times my stomach just break and I wake up with pain and go sleep with pain. I thought it was cancer so I did camera in all my holes…. Doctor said I’m perfect, just getting old

What help me is some kind of brown rice , it take 3 hours to make but my stools are beautiful and perfect now. Sadly is not that tasty.

 

[Nydius]

One can‘t get lactose intolerant later in life. You are either born with this or not.

I don't know who told you this or where you learned it but it's 100% wrong.

Perhaps you're confusing lactose intolerance with phenylketonuria, since they both affect dairy consumption.

 

[Mistake]

Day 2 of fodmap. Morning was rough since I was like a balloon, but afternoon is better. I’ve been snacking a lot, which seems to help burp all the extra air. Walking too. I’ll probably start running tomorrow, although I hate it since I’m flat footed.

 

[akimbo009]

Then walk. Very similar, especially incline, in terms of health benefits and way easier on your body (and maybe easier to commit to).

Day 2 of fodmap. Morning was rough since I was like a balloon, but afternoon is better. I’ve been snacking a lot, which seems to help burp all the extra air. Walking too. I’ll probably start running tomorrow, although I hate it since I’m flat footed.

 

[Kev Kev]

 

[belmarduk]

Wow.
That's unfortunate.
How old are some of you people?

 

[DoomGyver]

i’m in my 30s, have had active crohns for 22 years.

 

[ShirAhava]

Had issues turns out I can never ever eat Pizza Sauce.....BOOM acid reflux gone

Parasite Cleanse took care of all gut issues

 

[FunkMiller]

Wow.
That's unfortunate.
How old are some of you people?

 

[JimmyRustler]

I don't know who told you this or where you learned it but it's 100% wrong.

Perhaps you're confusing lactose intolerance with phenylketonuria, since they both affect dairy consumption.

Alright, that is a pretty good source so I consider myself beaten.

I was doing quite a lot of research around a year ago when I had ma issues with dairy products and then read that the intolerance is usually inherited, which made sense to me. Also I was able to mostly fix my problems so…. I stand by it that most people claiming intolerance of any kind are way to hasty. The damage has to be fixed and not certain foods to be avoided.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Currently suffering from a condition called GERD. It's acid reflux dialled up to a 100, though I'm hopefully receiving treatment soon.

Had that, and it.. kind of went away. I think I had Gout, too. My fingers were in bad shape. Basically acid crystals forming inside of your joints, because my body was becoming too acidic in nature.

What I did, was eliminate 90% of cheese from my diet, cut out 50% red meats, 75% of my alcohol intake and increase water, natural, unsweetened juices, increased fiber intake; which includes a 200% increase in vegetables and started a vitamin regimen for every 2 days.

I maintain this till this day, started 2 years ago, and my GERD is gone, no more reflux, I do think I have helicobacter pylori and I'm seeking a colonoscopy, I'm also getting my teeth fixed, I'm losing 2 permanent teeth and getting 2 wisdoms and 1 fucked up HEY YEW GUZS tooth, that grew next to my top left wisdom, removed.

I'm trying to fix my shit up and let me tell you, a lot of these problems start in the mouth and stomach. Don't ever put this shit on the back burner.
Here is to hoping I live 40+ more years.

 

[Tams]

Yogurt is very helpful in resetting an upset digestive system. Make it a regular item on your plate, but in reasonable quantity.

Some Indian fermented food items that are rich with 'Good Bacteria' are Idli and Dosa. You should try them.

I eat yogurt every day.

When I lived in India I had idli and dosa for breakfast almost every day. I don't know how I lasted as it almost made me gag (I have no idea why, it didn't taste bad). I lasted two months and then switched to toast.

 

[PumpkinPie]

I've got ulcerative colitis pretty bad. I have to go to hospital every eight weeks for an infusion, otherwise I shit myself to death. I was down to 50kg at one point, but doing much better these days. Still, I'm always worried about getting colon cancer.

 

[jdforge]

Yep struggled for years.

Don’t drink milk, drink oat milk instead.
Don’t eat fast food, make pasta/rice dishes at home.
Drink plenty of water.
Take probiotics daily.
DO NOT EVER EAT PIZZA or KFC.
Eat some fruit everyday, like bananas or mandarins.
Limit alcohol to only when you must drink. Stay away from beers.
Don’t smoke.
Drink Golden Milk every night (with oat milk).
Limit coffee.
Only ever eat sourdough bread.

Doing all that I have no wipe movements.

If I deviate to far from the plan, it’s a certified assplosion every trip to the bathroom.

 

[Artoris]

Had a bad chicken pie, and it started to come out from both ends at once, it was difficult to choose which end to point at the toilet