New and confused

[victoriagouramma]

Hallo! I am new here, I found this website by chance and I immediately felt that I belonged. Please excuse me, Italian is my first language and infact I live in Florence.
I have the symptoms of IBS since February. I had no support nor understanding from doctors.
I am on a dairy-free diet since 8 days. Things seem to improve, at last. I am so careful about what I eat, including soya products (till I am not sure that soya is ok for me).
I would like to know how long does it take to go back to 100% 'normal' and when is it advisable to reintroduce dangerous food such as beans, broccoli, etc.
Also, I am still exploring this website and I would like to know what a 'thread' is and in which way is it different from a post.
Thank you so much for all the help. I am so grateful that I have found you.
Victoria

[paranoidangel]

Hi Victoria, welcome to the forum.

I can safely say that although my doctor is supportive and believes what I tell her, she's pretty much useless.

I'm lactose intolerant, so I don't know if it's different with IBS although others here will be able to tell you. It took me, I think, a few weeks to feel 'normal' again, and that does assume no 'accidents'. I would certainly wait until I felt better to reintroduce anything, not least so you can be sure what it is you're reacting to. Plus I've found it's a lot harder to eat something that might make you ill when you remember what feeling ill is like.

As for posts and threads. What I am writing now is a post. It's the second post in the thread you started. In theory, a thread will have a specific topic (so in this one we're talking about you :) ), and there will be more than one post about that topic.

[Lan]

Hi Victoria.

Glad to hear you are finding the site so useful and will help in anyway we can. All on the site are friendly and will offer help and support.

I had to cut out a lot of foods and was advised to take them out for about 3/4 weeks and then re-introduce them one at a time. Have you seen a dietician yet as they may be able to help? When re-introducing you leave two clear days with no symptoms between each food. It also helps to keep a diary of all foods brought in and symptoms experienced.

Are you taking calcium supplements as you need them to make sure you are getting enough? You can also find it in green leafy vegetables.

I myself have IBS and find that peppermint capsules help with some of the cramps and bloating. I also find a long relaxing soak in a warm bath helps.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any other questions let us know.

Lan. :lol2::lol2::lol2:

[matt]

welcome to another newbie. and from italy. hurrah even more international friends!!

like lan said give it 3/4 weeks for all symptoms to settle then slowly reitroduce each food giving a few days for each to see what reaction you get. are you seeing a dietician? a doctor who specialises in dealing with diet and intolerances allergic reactions etc.?
if not it would be worth trying to see one.

ask away and we'll try to help.

[victoriagouramma]

Thank you so much, I do not feel anymore as a loony.
Good idea about the dietetician, the only problem being that here in Italy we are ways back in comparison to other countries: you should see the selection of dairy-free foods in our supermarkets.
Anyway thank you for yr advises, I will tereasure all of them.
Victoria

[ellsie]

I was in Rome last may and all I was offered was pasta in tomato sauce! Loved the city though. You may be best to do your own cooking as far as poss.
Welcome to the site:)

[cnc]

Welcome to the site. Hope we can provide some useful information.
Being referred to a specialist may be useful as they may be able to provide more assistance. Good luck.

[goose]

Welcome to the site and i hope you find everyone useful, i too suffer from ibs and only found out in the last 3 months so fairly new to me, i found this site helpful and they gave me a few tips too. thankfully i have good days and bad days, but my main prob is when im stressed or eating the wrong foods, still learning but getting there.
but welcome anyway, from a frozen scot up north.:cool:

[pinkfairy]

Hi and welcome to the site.

I was diagnosed as having IBS after having 3 years of unpleasant tests. But when I asked my doctor to be refered to see the lactose intolerance consultant thats what the real problem was. Approx 70% of people at the LI clinic were diagnosed previously as having IBS. So lets hope it is the lactose thats causing your problems and not the IBS.

My consultant has told me it will take my body at least a year for it to return to normal. It's been nearly a year now and I believe she is right. My body has gone through all sorts of changes. I know its linked because I have a close friend who has been dairy free for 6 months longer than me and at the same time scales we were getting simular symptoms. You will also find your hormones all over the place as your sugar levels settle down. Feel free to let us know of your detox symptoms and we can compare stages.

Jane

[Pen]

Hi Victoria

Welcome to the site. I am not sure if I have/had IBS, as I have never been to a doctor or so-called 'specialist' about it, but I certainly had a lot of the symptoms. It was a 'medical intuitive' who told me that I had problems with my digestive system (and for over 47 years I had thought what I suffered with was 'normal'). She took a sample of my hair and analysed it (using a test from Germany) and discovered I was sensitive to many foods. I cut them out of my diet last February and have not reintroduced them at any time, as I happy with how I feel without those foods. I make all of my meals from scratch, using lots of vegetables (and buying in a few prepared ingredients like canned tomatoes, lactose-free pesto, dried herbs, rice cakes, sugar-free cornflakes, goat-milk products), which means I know what I am eating and not eating.

[matt]

keep at it and if you can see a dietician all the better. everyone has different triggers for the ibs. mine is oil/fat aswell as the normal stuff. the only way unfortunately is trial and error, keep a food diary, not complicated you just note down everything you eat and your symptoms that day. then by a process of elimination you should see some of the culprits.

or if you have the patience a full elimination diet where you go on a basic fiet for about four weeks. then slowly you reintroduce foods and see what reaction you get. long winded but guarenteed to answer the question.

i remain very cynical about any of the alternative tests that are available for people, in my heart they feel like a con to prey on the vulnerable.... i'd not condemn anyone for doing them though. we all have to make our on choices.