Melissa could you just eat certain things or that is just what you wanted?. They dx me with ibs, hiatal hernia and rsd. I don't meet criteria for ibs. But the gi doc and pcp both have said it. I say upper stomach. Ins def. says lower. It says bowel problems I don't usually have problems.
I just know that I have found I can't eat certain foods.

I could only tolerate those foods. Anything that I ate caused me pain & those foods were the foods that cause me the least amount of pain. Anything high in fat content I stayed away from as that caused me the most amount of pain & the pain would last for days. I now know that it is CRPS & the meds they put me on helped it.

What types of food can't you eat?

Rice in any form is a major player ( I use to eat rice all the time and love it) I found out today creamer (so I guess that means dairy) , nuts, cucumbers, deer jerky,. All this is still fairly new to me. I guess I didn't want to admit there was a problem or that certain foods actually could cause the problem. So I'm really paying attention now.
Can u tell me how did you ever sustain urself on such little food? U must have been skinny as a tooth pick.

It was extremely hard!! I took small bites of different foods here & there. I had to because I just needed to taste something other than broth. My family told me that I looked anorexic. I was overweight when this started & I lost half of me by the time it was said & done. People wanted to go on my "diet". I don't suggest it.....it's not exciting food at all!

Also, check out Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction (SOD). That is something else I had on top of the CRPS. It is where your Sphincter of Oddi closes off & the bile that digests your food backs up & causes pain, just like a gall bladder attack. I will explain....so, what happens when you eat or you get ready to eat, your body starts to produce bile which helps break down your food. Well, the Sphincter of Oddi closes off & wont let any bile go through so, you are getting backed up with bile & it causes pain. The higher in fat content the more bile you produce because it takes a lot to break down, that is why I had to stay away from anything real high in fat content.

My CRPS started in that area after they went in to cut the Sphincter of Oddi open to let the bile through. So one condition led me to another condition, oh how fun this is......NOT!

If you haven't already, start keeping a food journal to write down what you eat & how it makes you feel. See if there is anything correlating. Also, have your bathroom habits changed? You mentioned IBS, so that is why I am asking. Where is your pain when you eat?