Fish worries

Sapsorrow

Hi everyone, I'm going to give being a pescatarian a go for a while to see if cutting out beans + legumes helps my IBS and I'll replace them with fish as my primary protein source. It's been unbarable lately and I'm just fed up after 4+ years of it ruining so much of my time and preventing me from being able to do things. A friend of mine found giving up beans and legumes really helped his IBS and my acupuncturist reckons it wouldn't be doing me any favours with all the fibre and bloating effects etc. If it doesn't work I'll go back to being a veggie but its worth a shot as its pretty much the only thing I haven't tried yet.

So I just wonder can anyone advise me on the best fish to eat, the most economical (and preferably least fishy tasting/smelling) and the safest. I'd be worried about mercury, is it ok to eat fish everyday or is 3 times a week really the maximum? Are any particular types worse than others in this regard? How bad is farmed salmon?

My diet would mainly consist of veg (plenty of root veg barr spuds), porridge a few times a week made with soya milk, 2-3 oz nuts and seeds a day, ground flax a few times a week when I remember it (I lash it on to make up for when I forgot to take it), 2 eggs most days, a few pieces of fruit a week and then fish maybe once a day. That seems fairly balanced to me but can anyone see anything wrong with it? I supplement with calcium (100mg), magnesium, D3 (5000iu), B complex and bioavailable iron too. I drink coffee most days (with cream) too.

El_Dangeroso

Canned sardines are sustainable, cheap and chocablock with omega 3, get the ones in brine as opposed to sunflower oil. Sardines are low in the food chain so have lower levels of mercury compared to something like tuna.

Pollock and mackerel are sustainable and relatively cheap too.

If you can get to a harbour and buy direct off the fisherman all the better.

I'm upping my fish a good bit of late too, not intentionally just find myself eating more lately, it's too sunny for steak plus I found a guy in the Galway market that does organic smoked salmon that is unbelievably addictive!

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Canned sardines are sustainable, cheap and chocablock with omega 3, get the ones in brine as opposed to sunflower oil. Sardines are low in the food chain so have lower levels of mercury compared to something like tuna.

Pollock and mackerel are sustainable and relatively cheap too.

If you can get to a harbour and buy direct off the fisherman all the better.

I'm upping my fish a good bit of late too, not intentionally just find myself eating more lately, it's too sunny for steak plus I found a guy in the Galway market that does organic smoked salmon that is unbelievably addictive!

Thanks a million temple!

Too sunny for steak? :pac: Thats funny, fish is a kind of lighter food though isn't it, do you find it easy on your digestive system compared to other meat?

Ah cool about the sardines, thats clever I never thought about eating something lower on the food chain as a way of avoiding heavy metals makes so much sense! I guess I'm not used to thinking about eating anything on the food chain though! I don't think I've ever eating them will give them a go.

Starting out on tuna, smoked salmon and cod to try and get a taste for it anyway as the boyf reckons they're the least fishy ones. Do you know is salmon safe? Mackerals cheap too so thats good, will give that a go have to get it together to go to the english market, loads of fish mongers in there and see whats cheap and not too strong tasting.

Do you think I'd be missing out on minerals by cutting out grains and legumes? I was thinking a trace element complex might be a good idea for zinc and selenium etc.

El_Dangeroso

As long as I don't over cook meat it's easy as anything on the digestion. But 'sunny weather = seafood and salad' for me for some reason, don't know why

Salmon depends soo much on source, some farmed salmon can have little to no omega 3 and be contaminated with PCBs, and without a lab it's impossible to tell! I generally go on price (not a great metric I know) but pay about 9 euro for 200g organic farmed smoked salmon. Ideally I'd fish myself but lack the patience!

With regard to minerals, grains and legumes don't really provide much due to the mineral depleted soil that most crops are grown in now. An excellent source of minerals is fish stock, ask your fish monger for discarded heads and bones, pop in a pot with some ACV and veg (no brassicas - they make for a bitter stock) and simmer for a few hours. Freeze in ice cube trays and add to soup, stews and sauces. There's a South American proverb, "Fish broth will cure anything"

Darkginger

Just wanted to put in a quick word for a couple of my favourite fish - whiting (very cheap), and skate (boneless apart from the large cartilage). We've got a great fishmonger in Westport (Clarkes) who has lots of unusual fish to try - I'm gradually eating my way through the lot of them. Sea Bream turned out to be nice! If you like prawns, I recommend trying crayfish tails instead - cheaper and they seem to me to have more taste.

My husband goes shore fishing, but with very little success, apart from his 14lb 2 oz (musn't forget the ounces, he was so proud!) sea bass a couple of years ago. We've invested in a small home smoker to deal with the inevitable glut of mackerel later in the year.

Unfortunately I can no longer eat my favourite fish - monkfish, because it's been overfished, and should therefore be on the 'do not buy' list - like fresh tuna (which also has the mercury concern). Cod is a bit of a no no too, which is a shame. I must admit to letting greed get in the way of principles from time to time. No one is perfect Oh, and swordfish is nice too. I'm a bit of a fish nut!

Sapsorrow

Thanks for the replies temple and dark ginger, so is Irish salmon preferable as a rule? Ok so no monkfish thats ok as I seem to remember that being very expensive in restaurants. OK cods off the list too is haddock ok? You're lucky you're a fish nut its so healthy!
Thanks for the tip on the stock temple, not sure I'm quite ready for that as I'm stupidly squimish about meat and not sure I could deal with boiling fish heads just yet but I'll keep it in mind if I end up sticking with the pescatarianism. Thats good about the minerals from beans not really mattering too, I suppose nuts and seeds are good all round sources anyway.

dxhound2005

I don't think anyone addressed your concerns about IBS. Is your acupuncturist treating this, if so it is not a success. Four years of symptoms which have become unbearable lately sounds to me like you need to see a doctor. But maybe the fish broth will cure it, you never know.

Sapsorrow

dxhound2005 wrote: »

I don't think anyone addressed your concerns about IBS. Is your acupuncturist treating this, if so it is not a success. Four years of symptoms which have become unbearable lately sounds to me like you need to see a doctor. But maybe the fish broth will cure it, you never know.

Thanks DX, ya I tried a few doctors all said the same thing, that there's nothing they can do (none of the presciption painkillers I tried worked) as they can't tell what causes it. One reccomended chamomile tea and reducing stress and that was it! I haven't seen my acupuncturist in a few years (that comment should have been in the past tense sorry) I couldn't afford to keep with it but I have to say it worked very well. I went from having cramps so bad all I could do was curl up in bed for anywhere from 2-6 hours 5+ days a week to having 1 or none at all while I saw him, whether placebo effect or whatever it was doing something good. I'm more broke than ever now so it's just not an option.

columok

khrystyna,

A lot of paleo people swear that incidences of IBS can be majorly calmed by dropping legumes from the diet. I would have thought a strict elimination diet with only fish, veggies, fruit nuts (say 30 days) would show up any issues and you could then reintroduce and see what happens? Seems empirical enough!

Out of interest why would your preference be for only fish as a protein source. Would any kind of non-farmed meat be acceptable? In no way trying to disrespect your life decision but wondering where the (non-zoological) distinction lies between fish and meat.

I find mackerel is fantastic. You can buy some really nice ready cooked mackerel in tesco and M&S if you're out and about and need a snack. Also if you get the right kind of mackerel you can get an insanely perfect amoutnt of EPA/DHA per 100g that would eliminate the need for fishoils in a given day! And they might even help with your tummy!!!

cafecolour

Not to make your shopping more complicated, but if sustainability is a concern of yours, there's a host of orgs that produce guides as to which species (and from where) are better to eat in that respect.

Sadly, I don't think Ireland has a country specific one, but the uk one might be of some direction: http://www.fishonline.org/ - or see the quick guide on PDF: http://www.fishonline.org/information/MCSPocket_Good_Fish_Guide.pdf

I wouldn't make it your be all and end all though - obviously options can pretty limited depending on where you're shopping.

Sapsorrow

columok wrote: »

khrystyna,

A lot of paleo people swear that incidences of IBS can be majorly calmed by dropping legumes from the diet. I would have thought a strict elimination diet with only fish, veggies, fruit nuts (say 30 days) would show up any issues and you could then reintroduce and see what happens? Seems empirical enough!

Out of interest why would your preference be for only fish as a protein source. Would any kind of non-farmed meat be acceptable? In no way trying to disrespect your life decision but wondering where the (non-zoological) distinction lies between fish and meat.

I find mackerel is fantastic. You can buy some really nice ready cooked mackerel in tesco and M&S if you're out and about and need a snack. Also if you get the right kind of mackerel you can get an insanely perfect amoutnt of EPA/DHA per 100g that would eliminate the need for fishoils in a given day! And they might even help with your tummy!!!

Thanks for the tips Columok! I'll give the mackeral a go at some point got some stuff to try over the next week, it's pretty expensive stuff though isn't it! Lentils are a lot cheaper! Thats interesting about the paleo thing, I haven't heard that from that angle before but it has to be worth a try. I have to say after day one I really didn't enjoy my food and had to really force myself to get it down (I don't like the fishy taste in general) but I'm sure I'll get used to it with a bit of persaverence.

Ehm I guess its easier for me to eat fish as I've never had any sort of emotional connection to fish in my life whereas I have with most farm animals. I'm more opposed to the idea of eating mammals in general due to the emotional aspect of their consciousness, kind of like the buddhist idea of a hierarchy of sentience. I think (personally) that its better to eat the less intelligent animals, I associate eating pork (tasty as it is) with eating a sheepdog, but quite a bit different from eating an insect or a prawn. It's also easy to buy wild fish that weren't contained and were at least able to live naturally up until their death. I really couldn't bring myself to eat something that breastfeeds its babies or is fluffy and cute, I know my philosophy is pretty weak :pac:

cafecolour wrote: »

Not to make your shopping more complicated, but if sustainability is a concern of yours, there's a host of orgs that produce guides as to which species (and from where) are better to eat in that respect.

Sadly, I don't think Ireland has a country specific one, but the uk one might be of some direction: http://www.fishonline.org/ - or see the quick guide on PDF: http://www.fishonline.org/information/MCSPocket_Good_Fish_Guide.pdf

I wouldn't make it your be all and end all though - obviously options can pretty limited depending on where you're shopping.

Thats great thanks a mil cafecolour I'll check those links out tomorrow!

Iristxo

khrystyna100 wrote: »

Ehm I guess its easier for me to eat fish as I've never had any sort of emotional connection to fish in my life whereas I have with most farm animals. I'm more opposed to the idea of eating mammals in general due to the emotional aspect of their consciousness, kind of like the buddhist idea of a hierarchy of sentience. I think (personally) that its better to eat the less intelligent animals, I associate eating pork (tasty as it is) with eating a sheepdog, but quite a bit different from eating an insect or a prawn. It's also easy to buy wild fish that weren't contained and were at least able to live naturally up until their death. I really couldn't bring myself to eat something that breastfeeds its babies or is fluffy and cute, I know my philosophy is pretty weak :pac:

If it' any consolation I feel like that too

columok

No probs!

Thats interesting about the paleo thing, I haven't heard that from that angle before but it has to be worth a try.

Yeah something to do with intestinal permeability. Best that I put down the science before I hurt myself with it. You could look at the following to get their spin on it.


http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7040491?ordinalpos=11&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
http://cfscpaleo.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/whats-the-deal-with-legumes/

Sapsorrow

columok wrote: »

No probs!

Yeah something to do with intestinal permeability. Best that I put down the science before I hurt myself with it. You could look at the following to get their spin on it.


http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7040491?ordinalpos=11&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
http://cfscpaleo.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/whats-the-deal-with-legumes/

Nice one cheers for those, I guess paleo be essentially what I'd be following barr the soya milk and oats and not eating poultry or red meats. The first site looks really good actually, lots of entertaining excuses not to study there thanks! Crap I literally just poured myself a lovely big icey cold glass of soya milk there as I started reading the second one! God looks like cutting out the soya milk might be worth a shot too so despite the lack of fibre. Really great links there thanks again I'm happy out now with new reading material!

El_Dangeroso

Re: IBS, mines completely gone now too! I think in my instance it was complete gluten elimination that did it, though I never was a fan of legumes really. Must have been through every test going, only to be told by about four doctors I'd be stuck with it for life. They called me back for some scan or other and I let them know I was better, they seemed shocked that I'd managed it with diet changes alone. I hope other people with IBS get that advice because it's life-changing!

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Re: IBS, mines completely gone now too! I think in my instance it was complete gluten elimination that did it, though I never was a fan of legumes really. Must have been through every test going, only to be told by about four doctors I'd be stuck with it for life. They called me back for some scan or other and I let them know I was better, they seemed shocked that I'd managed it with diet changes alone. I hope other people with IBS get that advice because it's life-changing!

TBH I've never even been properly diagnosed despite being to several doctors about it (although they all agreed IBS after poking my tummy a bit)! No one suggested a colonoscopy (which I'm secretly ok with).

I'm worried about giving up the beans and legumes, I wonder if after going cold turkey for a while could I reintroduce small amounts (barr soya) or are they all allergenic? I can't imagine a life without chickpea curry or lentil stew I mean for people who don't have this problem or other gastrointestinal problems, osteoperosis etc surely beans and lentils can fit into a healthy diet if not over consumed and properly prepared even considering the lectins and phytate?

Someone PM'd me a great link about a guy called Dr Dahlman, he's devised an ibs treatment plan based on removing common sources of allergans and aggravators (dairy, beans and legumes etc), focusing on repopulating colonic bacteria with pre/probiotics and using dietary supplements to boost nutritional intake (preumably to promote healing of the gut). I haven't looked into it properly yet but I think you can reintroduce foods after the gut heals enough so as to not let allergens and other proteins slip through to the blood.

Heres the plan in case anyone suffering is reading this:

http://www.drdahlman.com/pdf/DrDahlmansTreatmentProgram.pdf

So gonna give that a go along with the fish, I'm going to make small changes until I get used to them as this is a bad time of year for me stress and time wise and I can do very little cooking or shopping as it is.

So gonna buy a pre/probiotic supplement next time I'm in the city, if anyone can reccomend one that'd be great!

Is there anything I can cream my coffee with other than cream or milk? The Dr Dahlman plan says no dairy (only butter and eggs) for the initial phases of the plan and that you have to be really strict that it's 100% eliminated. Coconut milk would be gross right?

Temple do you think I can get away with the oats? I don't eat them everyday and ironically when I have cramps a big bowl of porridge or mashed potato often gets rid of them or at least eases the pain somewhat.

El_Dangeroso

khrystyna100 wrote: »

TBH I've never even been properly diagnosed despite being to several doctors about it (although they all agreed IBS after poking my tummy a bit)! No one suggested a colonoscopy (which I'm secretly ok with).

I'm worried about giving up the beans and legumes, I wonder if after going cold turkey for a while could I reintroduce small amounts (barr soya) or are they all allergenic? I can't imagine a life without chickpea curry or lentil stew I mean for people who don't have this problem or other gastrointestinal problems, osteoperosis etc surely beans and lentils can fit into a healthy diet if not over consumed and properly prepared even considering the lectins and phytate?

Someone PM'd me a great link about a guy called Dr Dahlman, he's devised an ibs treatment plan based on removing common sources of allergans and aggravators (dairy, beans and legumes etc), focusing on repopulating colonic bacteria with pre/probiotics and using dietary supplements to boost nutritional intake (preumably to promote healing of the gut). I haven't looked into it properly yet but I think you can reintroduce foods after the gut heals enough so as to not let allergens and other proteins slip through to the blood.

Heres the plan in case anyone suffering is reading this:

http://www.drdahlman.com/pdf/DrDahlmansTreatmentProgram.pdf

So gonna give that a go along with the fish, I'm going to make small changes until I get used to them as this is a bad time of year for me stress and time wise and I can do very little cooking or shopping as it is.

So gonna buy a pre/probiotic supplement next time I'm in the city, if anyone can reccomend one that'd be great!

Is there anything I can cream my coffee with other than cream or milk? The Dr Dahlman plan says no dairy (only butter and eggs) for the initial phases of the plan and that you have to be really strict that it's 100% eliminated. Coconut milk would be gross right?

Temple do you think I can get away with the oats? I don't eat them everyday and ironically when I have cramps a big bowl of porridge or mashed potato often gets rid of them or at least eases the pain somewhat.

If you tolerate oats, and ferment them, then by all means include them.

Not sure on legumes.. if I eat them I know about it! You might regain tolerance eventually.. the very odd time I treat myself to falafel, I enjoy it suffer the consequences!

Coconut milk in coffee is nommy, at least I think so. Weird about the dairy thing in that PDF, personally never had a huge problem with it myself, though loads of people definitely do. Gluten is on the top of my hitlist as always!

Re: prebiotics, on the one hand they do feed good bacteria, on the other had they create gas! I tolerate inulin and the like fine now (onions, artichokes etc) but that wasn't the case in the beginning.

I think the only ultimate solution is to experiment with whole foods and see what works for you.

Pembily

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

If you tolerate oats, and ferment them, then by all means include them.

Sorry for hijack K, what do you mean by fermenting them?? Do you recommend not eating them raw?? My accupuncturest said not to eat them cooked for some reason!!!

Such conflicting recommendations for IBS :mad: - I was told by a Consultant after all the tests to take Fybgel for consipation :eek: Basically he said you have IBS cos I can't be bothered checking you out anymore!!!!

Pembily

K for some reason my computer won't let me edit today!!!

Tried to add

Thanks TG for all the info!!!

El_Dangeroso

Pembily wrote: »

Sorry for hijack K, what do you mean by fermenting them?? Do you recommend not eating them raw?? My accupuncturest said not to eat them cooked for some reason!!!

Such conflicting recommendations for IBS :mad: - I was told by a Consultant after all the tests to take Fybgel for consipation :eek: Basically he said you have IBS cos I can't be bothered checking you out anymore!!!!

Fermenting is just popping in a tbsp of live yoghurt into the oats soaking in water, leave over night on the counter, store in fridge until used. It makes all the nutrients, minerals etc more available and the bacteria gobble up any anti-nutrients.

I think the reason there is so much conflicting info on IBS is that it's not really a proper disease. It's an umbrella term for 'we don't know what the hell is wrong with you but you've paid 60 quid so have an acroynym for your troubles' It IS important to go to a doc though as you could have something like colitis or diverticulitis which really needs treatment.

My IBS is probably a completely different thing to your or Khrystyna's IBS, mine is largely annoyed by gluten, but I understand you're gluten/dairy free anyway? Some people who have severe leaky gut can't eat any of 'the big eight' allergens; Peanuts, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, tree nuts, shellfish, fish. So the last resort would be to eliminate all of the above for two weeks and then introduce new foods one by one.

rubadub

You can get cheap unbreaded frozen fillets in lidl, about €10-12 per kilo, skinned and boned, they are white fish and loads of types I never even heard of. I do not really have time to go to a fish monger or butcher and most fresh fish in the tesco beside me is already fishy smelling (and expensive). You could buy a batch of frozen fish as I would rather eat fresh fish the day I got it.

To mask the fishiness you could add curry sauce its the only way I could eat tuna. My new favourite sauce is Hoi Sin sauce which is chinese sauce they put on BBQ spare ribs, but it has soy beans in it, not sure if you could have them.

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Coconut milk in coffee is nommy, at least I think so.

We had coconut syrup for coffee in work, I liked it, never had coconut milk though.

Sapsorrow

rubadub wrote: »

You can get cheap unbreaded frozen fillets in lidl, about €10-12 per kilo, skinned and boned, they are white fish and loads of types I never even heard of. I do not really have time to go to a fish monger or butcher and most fresh fish in the tesco beside me is already fishy smelling (and expensive). You could buy a batch of frozen fish as I would rather eat fresh fish the day I got it.

To mask the fishiness you could add curry sauce its the only way I could eat tuna. My new favourite sauce is Hoi Sin sauce which is chinese sauce they put on BBQ spare ribs, but it has soy beans in it, not sure if you could have them.

We had coconut syrup for coffee in work, I liked it, never had coconut milk though.

Thats great rubadub, curry +fish would never have occured to me! That would definately cover up the flavours. I'll google for some recies later!

Actually the tuna I had today (leftover tuna salad from yesterday) was much better after a day in the fridge it seems to mellow, I found it really bitter/astringent yesterday and totally overwhelming, I'm so used to tasting the veg in my meals!

I'll have a look in aldi and see what I find I don't have much time for shopping lately so frozen or vacuum packed would be ideal till the exams are over.

Have to say though you only need to eat a tiny bit of fish+non-starchy veg and you're full for hours on end its mad. It's definately a lot more satiating than beans or lentils are I can see how people on low carb diets can lose weight so effectively when you're just not hungry!

So in the paleo diet you can eat fruit, are all types acceptable? I'm going to start increasing my fruit consumption (not tropical or dried, just apples, pears and berries really) as much as my IBS will allow now to make up for the carbs I'm missing out on from the beans/legumes. If I don't allow myself some nice things I think I'll cry at this stage my diet is getting so limited! Going to introduce more spuds (got some first earlies in the tunnel shooting up that should be ready soon!) and sweet potato in too to compensate for the grains + legumes just so I don't get too bored.

Temple I'm gonna try the coconut milk in the coffee, I'm gonna hold you responsible though if it ruins a cup of freshly ground and brewed coffee! :pac:

columok

Paleo people recommend all the fruit and veggies with a caveat over the starchy veggies and sugary fruits. If you're not looking to lean out then the only harm with the fruits is that they can keep you hungry. Potatoes are generally considered a no-no but sweet potatoes within reason are fantastic!

You should see if eliminating the nightshades would help your ibs. I believe potato is in the solanum family but not sure if it fits in. Defo tomatoes too can cause problems with some people...

what2do

I have been recently trying to increase by fish intake, and someone I work with introduced me to John Wests Tuna with a twist - it comes in sachets, and the one I tried was with tomato and herb dressing. Really nice and very easy to eat without a very obvious fishy taste...

newsizedbooty

what2do wrote: »

I have been recently trying to increase by fish intake, and someone I work with introduced me to John Wests Tuna with a twist - it comes in sachets, and the one I tried was with tomato and herb dressing. Really nice and very easy to eat without a very obvious fishy taste...

there is one with just black pepper and lime dressing as well thats lovely. in fact i have it for on my rye bread at lunch!!

good luck with the wish Krsytna!

Sapsorrow

columok wrote: »

Paleo people recommend all the fruit and veggies with a caveat over the starchy veggies and sugary fruits. If you're not looking to lean out then the only harm with the fruits is that they can keep you hungry. Potatoes are generally considered a no-no but sweet potatoes within reason are fantastic!

You should see if eliminating the nightshades would help your ibs. I believe potato is in the solanum family but not sure if it fits in. Defo tomatoes too can cause problems with some people...

I've never been a fan of spuds but I love them fresh out of the ground they taste amazing when they're that fresh so I always go a bit mad of them when they're in the garden and don't bother the rest of the time. I've heard that tomatos are hard on the stomach, I tried cutting down on my nightshades before to no avail as I love them so much. Again I grow tomatos and peppers as well as the spuds so it's hard to resist them fresh out of the garden for months on end in the summers, I also love aubergine (although I've never succeeded in growing one big enough to eat). I adore sweet potatos though I eat lots of them most of the time anyway so will try and focus more on them.

what2do wrote: »

I have been recently trying to increase by fish intake, and someone I work with introduced me to John Wests Tuna with a twist - it comes in sachets, and the one I tried was with tomato and herb dressing. Really nice and very easy to eat without a very obvious fishy taste...

Nice one I'll check them out!

newsizedbooty wrote: »

there is one with just black pepper and lime dressing as well thats lovely. in fact i have it for on my rye bread at lunch!!

good luck with the wish Krsytna!

Thanks!

I tried rubadubs idea of making a curry and it turned out great, I think I used pollack and you oculd barely taste it at all, so going to eat lots of fish curries from now on. Also I figured out that cold fish is much less fishy that hot fish, so I had my smoked salmon with a salad this morning rather than hot veg and it was much MUCH better! I would almost go so far as to say it was somewhat enjoyable

dxhound2005

Khrystyna

I'm not happy with the idea of looking for a cure on this particular forum. Food and health are obviously related but some medical conditions are not amenable to healing just by diet modification.

I know you have had bad experiences with doctors before but your symptoms sound so debilitating that I think you should try again. The only thing I can think of is to ask on the Cork City forum (there is a County one as well) and see if anyone can recommend a doctor.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=478

curly from cork

krystana
i went into shanakiel under dr whelton for my colonoscopy. nothing showed which was mostly good but also bad as id have liked an answer. unfortunately.. thats IBS for you. it was a day procedure but one i felt i should have for ease of mind.

El_Dangeroso

I thought we were talking about fish, not cures for IBS?

In any case, isn't there no known medical cure for IBS besides dietary modifications? At least that's what 3 doctors and a consultant told me..but ya definitely need a proper diagnosis to eliminate celiac etc, like I said before.

curly from cork

just answering the post above mine

dxhound2005

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

I thought we were talking about fish, not cures for IBS?

In any case, isn't there no known medical cure for IBS besides dietary modifications? At least that's what 3 doctors and a consultant told me..but ya definitely need a proper diagnosis to eliminate celiac etc, like I said before.[/QUOT

I do appreciate that you emphasised in an earlier post that Khrys should see a doctor. I love fish and eat lots of it but I don't know what will work for her IBS. I think she is looking for a cure, apologies if I am speaking out of turn.

None of the combinations she has tried to date have worked and she could spend a long time going through all the new suggestions. Strangely enough the one thing she said did work was acupuncture, I don't know if we can call that medical.

Sapsorrow

Thanks for your concern DX, I think that food intolerance/allergy is most likely to be my problem, I'd say my gut got damaged/leaky at one point and now I've developed intolerances to foods I was able to tolerate previously from proteins being able to slip in whenever they feel like it. It certainly seems like the most likely cause. Unfortunately I can't afford proper allergy/intolerance tests so an elimination diet is my best bet for now. I know its a pity about the acupuncture I felt like I was making good progress with that. I'm doing yogalates (yoga and pilates combined) these days so I'm interested to see if strengthening and toning my core muscles helps at all. Yoga often helps ease the cramps, not always though. IBS is such a pain and so common there has to be something behind it, it can't always have been so prevalent