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Poop Talk, aka WAAAY too much information


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Howdy. I've had IBS-M (alternating constipation and diarrhea, bloating, painful gas) for about 5 years now, so it's really no surprise my GI is reacting oddly to my Whole 30 (I'm on Day 7). I'm about to get kind of graphic, so my apologies to you all. I have kept things limping along, just barely, by using Natural Calm, probiotics and enzymes, but I'm still finding it very difficult to produce a bowel movement. The magnesium has kept things soft, but they're still hard to push out, and they come out in small soft blobs rather than one movement. I also feel the pressure to go many, many times a day (I think yesterday I produced some small amount of stool like 7 times?) but never feel "complete." Any suggestions for me? What could be causing this kind of pattern?

 

Good God, I can't believe I'm writing about my bowel movements to strangers.

 

Here's what yesterday's meals looked like, just as a sample:

--mini-M1 (I find it hard to eat in the am) of one and a half sausages (W30 compliant) plus some cut-up raw veggies: peppers, carrots, cucumber, peapods, plus coffee with 1T coconut oil plus cinnamon buzzed in my blender.

--M2, fried cauli-"rice" with leftover pot roast, kimchi, green onion, lime, cilantro and a fried egg on top

--M3, soup made from homemade beef bone broth, leftover 5-spice pork ribs and bok choy. Salad made from avocado, tomato and red onion with cilantro and lime. One Satsuma and a couple of brazil nuts afterward. No workout yesterday, too busy.

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Sweet potatoes. 1-2 per day. I have had similar issues to you, and I found this to really help things along.

 

Breakfast should get easier to eat too, it takes the body some time to realize that you intend to feed it every morning. In my W30/paleo life I have gone from never eating before 11 AM to waking up each morning hungry.

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Been there. Things get worse to get better after. What I found helpful:

 

- Warm water with lemon in the morning

- Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squashes

- Raspberries, strawberries (seeds I guess?)

- Eat veggies cooked

- Limit fiber rich veggies for a bit. Awesome tips like removing stems, mashing veggies etc from Chris Kresser

- Nuts are glue to the stomach 

 

Hope it will get better soon! 

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I am on the same day as you, hooray! I also had the same problem this weekend.

 

I followed the advice on these boards regarding eating cooked veggies instead of raw for a bit, taking the digestive enzymes, and drinking a LOT of water. The day after I did all of these things (the water is really important) I went from bloated like a beached whale to high pressure WE CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS CAPTAIN, SHE'LL BLOW WE HAVE TO JETTISON THE CORE.

 

So, LOTS of water. The guideline I have seen here is 1/2 oz per pound of body weight, and when I did that yesterday it absolutely got things going again.

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This is so timely! :) I made up a pumpkin concoction today that was AMAZING, btw, because of some suggestions to try pumpkin.

 

Try this:

1/3 of a 16 oz. can of canned organic pumpkin (pumpkin-only, no additives)

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spices (mainly cinnamon and nutmeg, a tiny bit of allspice in there)

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon light coconut milk 

 

Mixed it all together, it was amazing, things seem to be moving along a little better. (And W30 compliant, I hope)

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Thanks for the advice and kind words everyone! Well, I ate sweet potato till I felt like an Oompa Loompa today and drank a ton of water. Might have a cup of senna tea later just for insurance and I'll try the hot water with lemon in the am. Hope I can put this behind me (so to speak) because in most other ways I'm feeling pretty darn great. I am starting to suspect I may have FODMAP sensitivities, though, which is a little disheartening.

Loved that Chris Kesser link, Nadia! It explains a lot--raw broccoli and cauliflower and cabbage have always hurt my stomach since I was a little kid, and the only way I can eat beans is refried (not that I'm about to run out and eat beans). Thanks all!

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Bumping this to add a PSA: I upped my starchy veggies, stopped eating raw veggies and cooked the hell out of everything else and still needed another intervention. As a last resort, I took some acacia fiber I've used for IBS in the past and today there's an extra spring in my step, if you know what I mean and I think you do. (It's whole 30 compliant, nothing but acacia, which is pure soluble fiber and a prebiotic). What this tells me is that while my gut is healing I need more soluble fiber and less insoluble fiber. I'm also suspecting a FODMAP sensitivity and am considering the FODMAP version of W30 but scared to, because, onions and garlic. We'll see. Anyway, these insights alone make Whole 30 totally worth it for me!

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Another couple of things are to take magnesium baths. I realize you mentioned magnesium at night, but the warm water will help relax your sphincter as well. This will help with future goes." You can also look at adding more fat to your diet to help things move through your system more easily. 

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I had this same problem and it took me through the entire 30 days and then some to get through it. It took my body a long time to adjust to all the fruits and veggies. 

 

Its infuriating and its still a problem for me sometimes. Particularly when I drink alcohol. Bone broth daily has helped but I have not had any in a while. 

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Aaaand now instead of having bloating and gas and constipation, I now have bloating and gas and loose stools 8x a day. Awesome. Was hoping this would improve my IBS, not make it worse!

Okay so I had the EXACT same experience yesterday. Its driving me NUTS!!! Although I think for me it was overdoing it on my probiotics. Has that ever happened to you?

 

The thing is, IBS is caused by so many different factors and there is no way of knowing what exactly causes for you. Which means everything is an experiment. It took me many months to figure out what was causing mine and then I off-roaded like mad over Christmas (thinking I'd just reset during a whole30) and now I'm back where I was six months ago. Every day has its own challenges, its like so exhausting. I wish you all the best of luck though. 

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Not with probiotics, I don't think. I do think this episode was ODing on the Natural Calm, even though I had been increasing it super-gradually. Just out of curiosity, what did you figure out was causing your IBS? I'm still getting a handle on mine. I know brassicas bother me (which is too bad, because I love them!) and legumes (meh). Otherwise, I feel like I can eat the same exact meal twice in a row and be fine one time and get sick the next. It's absolutely maddening.

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Not with probiotics, I don't think. I do think this episode was ODing on the Natural Calm, even though I had been increasing it super-gradually. Just out of curiosity, what did you figure out was causing your IBS? I'm still getting a handle on mine. I know brassicas bother me (which is too bad, because I love them!) and legumes (meh). Otherwise, I feel like I can eat the same exact meal twice in a row and be fine one time and get sick the next. It's absolutely maddening.

I feel the SAME WAY. Its actually driving me NUTS.

 

I know that alcohol makes me feel like crap and that I have an allergic reaction to alcohol often, but sometimes I'll drink wine and feel okay, and then other times I drink wine and have a full-on reaction. 

 

Last week I ate a bunch of tomato-based foods and had an allergic response, too. But I eat tomatoes every day, in some form or another, and never had an issue.

 

I also had a really bad gas/bloating reaction to these amazing short ribs I ate last week, but not when I ate the second time, but again when I ate them the third time.

 

This weekend, I broke out in a rash on my chest (which is normal for me after drinking alcohol which I have not had in two weeks).

 

Before, when I was doing okay, I was avoiding foods with mold, like nuts and dried fruits, aged cheeses, champagne/beer/alcohol with yeast.  That seemed to do the trick. But I haven't had any mold in two weeks and feel like crap every day. My heart rate is weird and abnormal, my energy levels are low, my sleeping patterns are off, my digestion is TOTALLY out of whack. I have honestly no idea what causes what, I'm at my wits end with it. 

 

There just seems to be NO PATTERN. People say that when there is no pattern, its a sign of leaky gut, or SIBO, both of which are supposed to improve with the whole30. But I've been eating this way (about 80-20) for six months now and feel no closer to figuring it all out. I supplement with probiotics and bone broth, I avoid inflammatory foods, etc.

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If you have IBS have you been tested for SIBO? I have IBS on top of diagnosed ulcerative colitis. So I can get my colitis symptoms in remission but still deal with iBS. However, I discovered I had a raging case of SIBO. I tried one antibiotic with no luck. I did another round of crazy strong antibiotic combined with anti candida supplements and I was so much better. I ate too much chocolate and some sugar in December and I am trying to reset myself with a Whole 30 but it's all bloat and gas right now.

I think if you have IBS or other digestive disorder, it can take more than 30 days to reset. I just want to stop bc of this bloating but I'm going to push through and hope I can reset myself. I do suspect I need another round of antibiotics while I do the whole30. I know it goes against the whole30 but if you're really sick it could help the whole 30 be more effective.

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I think if you have IBS or other digestive disorder, it can take more than 30 days to reset.

 

This exactly. As someone who has had similar frustrating issues (and no gallbladder which does not improve the situation), I feel your pain. It may take a lot of time and experimentation for things to improve.

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I'm thinking after the Whole 30 is over (not going to go off plan entirely, just add in a little v. dark chocolate, a few glasses of wine a week, hopefully dairy if it turns out I tolerate it OK) I need to go to a naturopath, get tested for SIBO and talk about FODMAPs. Thanks for the advice all. Sometimes I fool myself into thinking, oh this discomfort is manageable, it's not such a big deal, I can keep eating however I want. NOT. My gut is inflamed and it needs to heal, period.

 

I hope everyone feels better soon.

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