Fast food?

[Iceblink_Luck]

Lets say you get a cheeseburger with nothing on it except cheese and fries, but no sauce of anykind. Does anyone else feel like garbage after they eat it? And I don't get it, but I have a flare after I eat it. I mean, I'm not getting anything "bad" on anything.

I've decided it's best for me to not eat fast food anymore...

[Dreamlove15]

The reason your having problems with it because of all those preservatives...and additives and whatever else is in that you dont see. It's so much easier when you can see what exactly is put in your food, rathering than trying to guess what is an "irritatant." Like it may contain msg...etc. I know it may be hard, but sticking to the IC diet can be a lifesaver. Good luck:angel:

[Julie B]

I usually do ok with a plain hamburger. Maybe it is the cheese that is bothering you. The cheese that they use is probably not real cheese, but like a cheese slice you get from the grocery store. I don't usually have a problem with cheese, but I also don't go overboard or use it every day.

[ICNDonna]

I will sometimes have a fish sandwich, but usually a hamburger. I always ask them to leave the toppings off.

Donna

[elamar]

you might just be better off making your own plain hambugers at home. Or buy the frozen ones, but check the ingredients carefully to make sure there are no additives. We have a gas grill and use frozen patties that I think are actually pretty good. I used whole wheat buns and mozzerella cheese which is usually considered safe. Unfoturnately, you just don't know what restuarants put in their foods anymore. I found it safer to just eat at home so I know what goes into my food. I know sometimes it is a drag and I don't always feel like cooking. But I guess I just don't feel like I have any other choice. I'm sorry for the sucky answer! On the upside, it does save alot of money!!!

[Bea]

I am okay with a plain hamburger.. I typically don't get cheese cause I am lactose intollerant.. have you tried prelief with it.. sorry it caused you to have a flare

[Iceblink_Luck]

I really don't take prelief like I should. I keep a bottle in my purse. I think it just might be better not to eat it. I find that the food either makes me have a flair or gives me violent stomach aches from the IBS. Plus, it makes my body feel sluggish. Anyone see "Supersize me"? It's really not that off. I feel a lot like he did after eating McDonalds for 3 months straight....

Oh and the money saved is definitely a plus! :smile tee

[Bea]

I too have horrible IBS.. anytime I would eat fastfood.. which I actually don't anymore.. but eat something greasy etc.. I would get the worst stomach pains for 2 hours.. comes and goes like labor.. and then I would get.. the runs.. sorry to be so graphic.. but this would also happen if I went out to a restuarant.. not fast food.. and order a burger with fries.. well I found the magic.. now i take 2 acidophilus (sp) right before I eat it, and I don't get the cramps.. I am so happy, cause I just love having a juicy burger with mushrooms and french fries.. between that and the prelief, I can enoy it when needed.

now fast food.. to me.. well when i was pregnant I did eat it.. big craving.. but now it isn't worth it to me.. I much rather get a good burger from a good restaurant

[humphrey]

Maybe it's the salt. Those burgers are soooo salty, but you don't notice as much with the bun. If you are low-carbing and don't eat the bun - man, it's like licking a salt shaker.

[darlene]

Maybe it's the nature of the beast(IC) to flare. Why are we always thinking about food, when it comes to flares? I agree that some foods will cause temporary added pain. We seem to have taken our attention away from the cause of of IC. If researchers are correct, we may be producing a damaging protein(APF), that is preventing us from keeping a healthy bladder lining. This alone could cause flares, and wouldn't require food to be as important part of the picture. Additives and preservatives causing flares, maybe, maybe not. Ask yourself this question, do you ever flare when you have been super careful about diet? If yes, then there is more going on here than just what we ate. We have taken our eye off the ball on this disease. Our abnormal bladder lining may be allowing toxins to leak through and causing pain. Normal urine is acidic. This is a recipe for pain, no matter what we eat. I recently became so ill from my inflammatory bowel disease, that I didn't eat and hardly drank anything for nearly a week. It took IVs and heart medication to save my life. Did my bladder feel great during this time of no food intake? Not at all. It burned just like it does every day. The cause of IC was still at work. I am not saying it is OK to eat anything because it won't increase symptoms. Some foods do cause added pain. I never eat hot, peppery, spicy, or high acid foods in great quantities. Soda alwys hurts. I don't think a small squirt of mayo or ketchup, or a paper thin slice of pickle makes much difference. Our gastric juices are full of acid. we can't change that. The small amount of acid in a squirt of ketchup is nothing compared to the amount of acid our digestive system pours into our stomachs. I take tums or prelief anytime I eat anything acidic. so if we flare after eating a cheeseburger without toppings, it's probably the disease process at work, not what we ate. It's time to stop the blame game and hope for better treatments or even better a cure. I have had IC for nearly 40 years, and these are just my opinions and observations.