Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) | Gastroenterology Endoscopy Center | St. Thomas Medical Group (2024)

FAQs

What's best to eat when IBS flares up? ›

A Severe Rating

If the IBS case involves diarrhea or alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea – along with constant abdominal distress – it is deemed severe, and it receives the highest disability rating for IBS cases, which is 30 percent.

Anything high in fat content like fatty meats, cold cuts, fried foods or foods cooked heavily in oil. Dairy, especially cheese can cause trouble for many people with IBS. Beverages in general pose a problem due to carbonation, sugar content or caffeine. Alcohol is also a common trigger and should be avoided or limited.

For example, if you suffer from IBS diarrhea symptoms, you'll want to eat lower fiber and easier to digest foods during this time. A large salad loaded with raw vegetables, while generally super healthy, will usually make things worse for an IBS patient.

Unripe bananas are low in FODMAPS and therefore a better choice for people with IBS — although they're not as sweet or soft as ripe bananas. However, as bananas ripen, they accumulate a type of FODMAP called oligofructans. Therefore, ripe bananas are considered a high FODMAP food (6, 7 ).

If you have IBS and love peanut butter, good news! Peanut butter is a low FODMAP food. In its simplest form, it is just made of dry roasted peanuts, salt and oil, all of which are allowed on a low FODMAP diet. However, some brands add refined sugar and flavourings to enhance the peanut butter's taste.

Eggs. Eggs digest easily and are a safe choice for people with IBS. Eggs can be enjoyed hard-boiled, soft-boiled, scrambled, or poached. Omelets and frittatas can be your meal of choice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and make a great option when eating out in a restaurant.

IBS pain is difficult to stop instantly, but things like OTC pain medication, a heating pad, gentle abdominal massage, deep breathing, yoga, and peppermint oil may help symptoms resolve more quickly.

There's no cure for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D), but there are ways to calm your symptoms down and get some relief. First, your doctor will likely suggest changes to your diet to see if your symptoms get better.

What do IBS stools look like? ›

If you have IBS with diarrhea, you will have frequent, loose, watery stools. You may have an urgent need to have a bowel movement, which may be hard to control. If you have IBS with constipation, you will have a hard time passing stool, as well as fewer bowel movements.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is considered a functional bowel disorder, not an autoimmune disease. However, certain autoimmune diseases produce symptoms similar to IBS and you can have an autoimmune disease and IBS at the same time.

Whether or not your Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) qualifies as a disability depends almost entirely on how your symptoms affect your ability to work. An IBS diagnosis alone will not be enough to get your long term disability claim approved.

The SSA, which provides disability benefits, does not consider IBS a disability. However, a person with the condition could still qualify for SSA benefits if they can prove they cannot perform meaningful work.

IBS pain is difficult to stop instantly, but things like OTC pain medication, a heating pad, gentle abdominal massage, deep breathing, yoga, and peppermint oil may help symptoms resolve more quickly.

Some people with IBS find cooked potatoes are easy to digest, which is good news because baked or boiled potatoes are a natural source of nutrients like potassium. Depending on how well a person with IBS tolerates fiber, the skin of the potato may need to be removed before it's cooked.

Even if you don't have celiac disease, you may have difficulty eating foods made with gluten-containing grains. That could be because they contain fructans, ​a type of FODMAP that is bothersome for many people with IBS. Gluten-containing foods include many popular items like pasta, bread, and baked goods.