Fibre Intolerance?

[SlimmerGem]

Hi all!

I was hoping someone might be able to offer some help or advice, I can't be the only person who has this issue with SW!

I have IBS & for some reason, whenever I try SW, I get awfully constipated. The last time I tried it, around 6 months ago now, I got so bad that I still haven't recovered from it fully! My GP is being pretty rotten & won't help me beyond running thyroid function, diabetes and coeliac tests - which all came back as normal. She said it's just my IBS & I have to figure out how to manage it. The only problem is, I don't really know what the trigger is for this!!

TMI - My normal IBS is pain & diarrhoea, not constipation. The triggers for that are foods high in fat (so takeaways etc), too much chocolate & caffeine. I do a pretty good job of staying away from those, with the exception of the chocolate Hehe. The constipation only started once I began SW & it gradually got worse over a couple of weeks. I had to start taking laxatives to go to the toilet & am still on them now! Again, my GP isn't much help with that either. I am trying to come off them, but it is a slow process.

My problem is this: I still want to lose weight! I still need to as well, I have a good 5+ stones to go! I am stumped as to what to do. I've tried WW, which is great for variety, but I find I end up binging on the wrong things because I can. I am recovered from Bulimia, but find that the binging side of it easily rears it's ugly head! Luckily, the variety has helped me to stay fairly regular, but not brilliantly as I am still relying on the laxatives! Yuck. I find myself looking more towards WW Filling & Healthy, which is very similar to SW, except there is free bread & pasta/rice must be wholemeal. Of course, the other good thing is that I can earn activity points that I can then put towards the treaty foods, the foods that I need to help keep me regular!

I am at a loss.. I don't feel I got much support from my SW consultant & although my WW leader is lovely, she isn't much help. I wonder whether I have some sort of intolerance towards high-fibre foods, but have no way of clarifying this.. It's the only thing that makes sense as it's the only thing that really changed when I began SW. I don't seem to feel worse after eating things like breads/pasta/milk etc.

What can I do? I am so on the fence as to whether to try SW again or mix the plans up? There's got to be something that I can do to lose weight! I am so desperate right now & I am feeling so deflated about the whole thing. I feel like my body is so against me losing weight.

Thank you to anyone who read this! It's certainly helped to get it out. I tried asking for advice on a WW board (not MM) & got some rather mean or uninformed responses.. Like I should cut out wheat or dairy, and judging me for needing to take the laxatives I know how friendly SWers can be! I just hope someone has some advice

xxx

 

[SlimmerGem]

If you want to know why people say to cut out sugar,wheat and/or dairy you might want to read this.
Dear Mark: IBS and Gluten, Tweaking Calories for Fat Loss | Mark's Daily Apple

While I appreciate the advice the others offered, it wasn't suitable for my particular type of IBS. Even this article states that cutting down on gluten, for example, had a marked improvement for those suffering with IBS-D.. This is not my IBS. xx

 

[kerry2285]

What about writing a diary at home, listening the foods you eat and at what time you have eaten them. Then on the opposite page list when u go to the toilet that day, what happened at what time and if u feel bloated or any discomfort.

By writing both down maybe over a couple of weeks you might see a pattern?

If your not getting much help (I know the feeling but with a different problem), then maybe this would be worth a try x

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[ununpentium]

As a fellow IBS sufferer I totally feel your pain. My first week on SW I was in AGONY- I was so bloated I looked pregnant, I was incredibly constipated and loads of trapped wind.

I know that it was due to the sudden increase in fibre, as SW can be quite high in fibre due to eating lots of fruit and veg. Now, having a high fibre diet is recommended by some as being good for IBS but the key with increasing fibre is to do it incredibly, incredibly slowly and to keep drinking lots of water. Too much fibre very suddenly kind of gums up your bowels like glue.

However, for others, a high fibre diet makes their IBS worse and they need a low fibre diet. It's all very much working out what is best for you. I know it's hard trying to figure it out yourself, my GP wont let me see a dietician or anything either.

Something that is quite well talked about is staying away from foods that ferment in your intestines as they make bloating etc worse. This means staying away from onions, garlic, beans, lentils, cauliflower, apples and such things. Again it will vary from person to person, so it might be worth keeping a food and symptom diary.

Whatever you decide, try not to change your diet suddenly. Change things a bit at a time and see how you respond.

With regards to laxatives, I'm sure you know that taking things like senokot, dulcolax on a regular basis is bad as your bowels can get lazy. However, if you need laxatives regularly due to your IBS then go back to your GP and ask about an osmotic laxative like movicol. These are safe to take daily and work by putting extra water into your bowel, not forcing your bowel to evacuate. Due to my IBS I have to take 2 Movicol sachets every day or I will be constipated for up to 13 days straight! And I've been on the Movicol about 3 years now and it helps wonderfully.

 

[SlimmerGem]

Thank you both! I'be had a look through my old food diaries from SW & it doesn't seem there's one thing that's triggered it. The problem is, it's such a slow reaction that the problem didn't start until a few weeks in, by that point it was too late

I'm taking laxido atm for it, I'm on 1.5 sachets a day, down from 2. Before that, I was on lactulose, which was fab.. but just stopped working Is it ok to keep taking it? I'll start a diary again, to see whether anything I'm eating is helping with the constipation. Fibre does seem to make it worse tho, my GP did try me on fybogel but it made things so much worse! I started to worry I had a blockage!

It's so frustrating isn't it? why won't they refer us to dieticians? No one seems to take IBS seriously

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[ununpentium]

I've never heard about laxido, but I know lactulose is safe to take frequently. It's what they give to pregnant women and people in hospital etc who get constipated! If you're concerned just ask any pharmacist and they'll be able to advise you.

It would be a lot easier if GPs could refer us to a dietician. The annoying thing is there is a VERY effective diet that eliminates all of the symptoms of IBS but you need to be referred to a dietician who specialises in it. It's called FODMAP. I think it's really hard to get

 

[paganflossy]

I have had severe IBS-c for years at one point the consultant wanted to remove my entire colon leaving just my small intestine. Not surprisingly I got another referral as I didn't fancy the drastic surgery and eventually I got refereed to a professor that specialises in ibs.
High fibre is a problem so I went on a low residue diet for 3 months and sodium picosulphate liquid and also inject buscapan for pain as needed. The low residue diet helped a lot and gave my gut a rest and now sits slowly introducing things back to see what triggers but like you say the reaction is so slow because of slow motility it's hard to work out.
Amazingly on such a restricted diet the weight piled on so now I am trying to work out whether to do we or SW...I've posted before... I contacted SW directly and they were very helpful with suggestions for fodmap and also confirmed I could do ee even though I can't have 1/3 super free. I have decided myself I would use white bread for a hexb if I return to SW, the calorie difference is minimal but I can't cope with the fibre.
Ww filling and healthy is all whole meal pasta, bread rice etc and I know my gut won't cope with that so it's working out which I should do, I'm erring towards SW at the moment
sorry for the long post

 

[SlimmerGem]

I've never heard about laxido, but I know lactulose is safe to take frequently. It's what they give to pregnant women and people in hospital etc who get constipated! If you're concerned just ask any pharmacist and they'll be able to advise you.

It would be a lot easier if GPs could refer us to a dietician. The annoying thing is there is a VERY effective diet that eliminates all of the symptoms of IBS but you need to be referred to a dietician who specialises in it. It's called FODMAP. I think it's really hard to get

I thought Laxido was the same/similar to Movicol.. Is that safe to take long term? The packaging says not to take it for longer than 2 weeks & I've been on it at least 3 months now! Whenever I try to come off it, I get constipated. Ugh. Problem is, I am trying to get pregnant as well so am worried that it will harm the baby. My GP says she has no probs with me being on it, but the packaging says it's best not to be on it I'm sure I could get my GP to refer me to someone, but whether they'd be a specialist.. Probably not That's the problem, is finding someone who genuinely cares.

paganflossy - That sucks you put weight on with the restricted diet! What a nightmare! I like WW because you can earn more points & I have a very active job. It's easier for me to take some low point snacks to work with me than things like fruits etc. I've decided to try F&H, but combined it with SW! So all my bread, pasta, rice etc will be white. What types of things have you been eating? I had to stop having 1/3 superfree with my meals when I was on SW, unfortunately my consultant wasn't very supportive and seemed to forget every week that I couldn't eat it! Her advice for any issues was always more superfree, despite telling her every time that I couldn't. Sigh. I really hope I can find some way of getting answers. There must be something I can do. My weight affects my fertility, but I can't lose weight because it makes me so unwell! And the fertility specialists won't help me unless I lose weight!!! Ugh, it's a no-win situation!

 

[Rochelle1]

I never used to be like that, I lost all of my weight withh slimming world and was getting on fine until I reached target! Then I started getting constipation, if I eat too much fruit I get bad gas, after I've had salad or veg too, onions leave me with cramps and constipated. I can't understand why this had all of a sudden happened I sent a sample in my doctors but the test results came back normal so I'm at a loss. I can only think that eating too much fibre doesn't suit me anymore but I love fruit and veg and prefer wholemeal bread/pasta to white.

Anyway I had to start eating different foods than what I'm used to on sw like white bread, cereals with less fibre like weetos, the rubbish ones that aren't as good for you but they make my tummy better so I can't help it. Still sticking around target weight and going to group. Just sometimes feel a bit of a fraud lol I still base my meals around slimming world style though like tonight I've had cannelloni and all would be syn free (cheese as a healthy extra) and cook everything the food optimising way, slimming world taught me to cook and I only really know how to cook healthy stuff which I suppose is good!

Do what works for you, you can't compromise your digestive health for the sake of an eating plan

 

[Rochelle1]

Ooh I forgot to say, I was miserable when I'd been through months of this so went to holland and barrat asking for help they have me a probiotic called acidophilus and I have found it's helped massively I feel like I've been cured more or less! Still get the odd bout of gas but 95% better than I was so worth a go!

 

[ununpentium]

I just looked Laxido up and it seems like it's very similar to Movicol as you said. It works by putting more water into your bowels. Well my GP told me it was safe to take long term, and your GP told you the same, so I would just accept what your GP said! I think it says not to take longer for 2 weeks on the box because it can be bought without a prescription and it isn't suitable for everyone to take long term so they have to cover themselves.

Do tell your GP if you are trying for a baby just to make sure you can take it.

 

[paganflossy]

I'm sure I could get my GP to refer me to someone, but whether they'd be a specialist.. Probably not That's the problem, is finding someone who genuinely cares.

paganflossy - That sucks you put weight on with the restricted diet! What a nightmare! I like WW because you can earn more points & I have a very active job. It's easier for me to take some low point snacks to work with me than things like fruits etc. I've decided to try F&H, but combined it with SW! So all my bread, pasta, rice etc will be white. What types of things have you been eating?

slimmergem here's professor whorwells link South Manchester Functional Bowel Service I don't know where you live but he takes patients as part of studies (it looks like IBS-d at the moment but it often changes might be worth contacting) as part of a study they pay some expenses I think...I don't get any as I'm a referral.
Theres other drugs that can help as well as laxatives there's a page on treatments on that link if you can get your gp to be open minded she might be able to contact and get advice. There's 2 new drugs out I don't know if gps can prescribe them without consultant input yet. Ones constella and the other is lubiprostone
going to profs clinic has made a huge difference as they actually treat you seriously

ive be got woman's own today for the voucher for SW still not decided which way to go yet!!!