Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Intro and where to find Acacia Gum in the UK?

Martin,
I think your first port of call is your own GP. Has he done any other kinds of tests to rule out other conditions similar to IBS? Have you been tested for celiac disease (allergy to gluten)? Your doctor can refer you for allergy testing (they used to do skin testing for allergies, which caused severe reactions in some people, so now they do a simple blood test). In most cases, people find they are not allergic to very much. Sarah did not explain the difference between and allergy and intolerance - they are quite different. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY FOR ALLERGY TESTS!!! An allergy is a fairly immediate and recognisable physical reaction to a substance and can be life-threatening (or just very uncomfortable). An intolerance is basically a sensitivity to a substance and effects can be delayed or depend on the amount of that substance you consume - so a little might be OK for you but a lot will make you feel awful.

There are LOADS of companies offering intolerance testing - BEWARE - many are very expensive and not always reliable. Experts agree that the only way you can truly test for intolerance is by eliminating a food for a while and then reintroducing it into your diet to see if it has made any difference. Even most of the companies who do testing say that the tests are only an indicator and you have to cut out that food and then eat it to see what the effect is.

Your GP can also refer you to a nutritionist/dietician at your local hospital also. If you say to your GP that your symptoms are related to what you eat and you want to try cutting out certain foods but are worried about meeting your nutritional needs, I'm sure he/she will refer you. Again, be firm with your GP - you should not have to PAY for this help when it is available on the NHS.

Also, the websites I mentioned to you are official NHS and BBC Health sites, which offer starting points on diet etc and they totally back up the information Heather offers here.

As for stress/anxiety - you must remember: you are not weak or useless for feeling this way - IBS is NOT caused by the stress. Anxiety is just ONE of the triggers which sets off your gut (as it does in everyone - just not as badly as in IBS). Once I learned that IBS was a real physical condition, I learned to lighten up on myself - I'm not causing this IBS but I can now recognise the behavioural pattern that worry about my stomach causes anxiety in certain situations which then triggers an attack. Have you every noticed when you feel an attack coming on and then you are suddenly distracted by something else and you then realise that those symptoms have disappeared? Hypnosis and other behavioural therapies teach you strategies to do this for yourself on a subconsicous level - they're not magical, mysterious cure-alls.

Good for you for ordering the acacia - let us know how you go on.

Shellsbells

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