IBS Success Story: Sarah, How You Can Get It Back

Jessie (00:00): Welcome to the IBS Nutrition Podcast, your go- to source for navigating the complex diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome. Here, we dive deep into IBS and discover the power of diet and lifestyle to find freedom from your IBS symptoms. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or have been managing IBS for years, you are in the right place for relief. I’m your host, Jesse Wong, FODMAP dietician and a gut expert. For years, I suffered from debilitating gut symptoms that kept me out of work, feeling constant discomfort in my body and anxious around food. Today, I’m in control of my IBS, able to eat the food I love again, travel whenever I want and spend quality time with loved ones. It is my mission to help you do the same and transform the way you live with IBS. Let’s get started. Hi everybody. Welcome to another episode of The IBS Nutrition Podcast by the IBS Dieticians.

(00:56)Today, I am joined by my wonderful co-host, Brooke Keenan, who is also our lead dietician and also one of our clients. Sarah is here to share with us her IBS success story. And this is one story that I think we don’t talk about enough is how long it takes to heal from IBS. And I’m just so grateful Sarah is willing to share her story here because some of the case studies you hear on our podcast, people have a really fast turnaround time. Within three to four months, they’re back to baseline, they go on and live their full life. But there are so many different types of IBS and different severity of IBS. Healing is not linear and it’s definitely one of the cases that we are going to talk about today. So I’m going to let Sarah take away. And hi, Sarah. Thank you so much for coming on.

Sarah (01:46): Hi, thanks for having me.

Jessie (01:49): Yes. I’m going to let you introduce yourself. Who are you? And share as much as you want or as little as you prefer.

Sarah (01:58): Yeah. So I’m Sarah. I’m 52. I live in Chicago. I have my own career advising business for college students and recent grads. So really my life is centered around my work as well as family. Before a lot of my symptoms started, I did a lot of traveling because I can work remotely in my business. So I would say my life is well filled with work and family and friends and volunteering. And certainly my IBS story really impacted that for quite some time. So I’m glad to share my story today.

Jessie (02:35): I love that. And oh my goodness, I’m so excited that you can go back onto your meaningful work because working with young people, that’s the future. Okay. They are the future.

Jessie (02:48): Yeah. So if you don’t mind, tell us when did symptoms start and what symptoms were you struggling with?

Sarah (02:55): Yeah. So before I joined your program and started working with you, I had been really severely sick with IBS symptoms for about a year, 10 months to a year. And right before I started working with you, I had had my gallbladder removed because that is what the doctors had recommended and said were causing my IBS symptoms. And after I had it removed, the symptoms did not dissipate. They were even worse. And really, I remember a turning point was my last doctor’s appointment with my GI at that time who said, “Well, it’s probably just all in your head and it’s stress.” And I just thought, “I can’t live like this. I’ve put my life on hold for the past year. This has affected my business. I’m not traveling anymore. This is affecting doing things with my family.” I wasn’t able to really leave my house at all unless to go to doctor’s appointments.

(03:52)And even then I was very scared. I had canceled trips and really just my life became so small because of my IBS symptoms that had been going on for so long. So as Brooke and you can attest, I was really sick. When I came into the program, I’d lost a significant amount of weight and I just was really lost and just feeling sort of hopeless. I don’t know what to do. I need to attack this nutritionally as well as medically because I was so malnourished at that time and I’d lost so much weight, it was just getting to the scary point.

Jessie (04:27): I’m sure a lot of listeners can relate to what you’re saying. And if you are listening, if you’re losing a lot of weights, make sure to talk to your doctors about this. IBS don’t usually cause weight loss. If you have weight loss, if you can’t keep food down or you can’t retain the nutrients that you are eating, definitely talk to your doctor, seek a second opinion if you have to. Okay. So what were the symptoms now, Sarah, coming back to you, what were the symptoms were you struggling with the most?

Sarah (04:58): Yeah, for about a year before I started the program, I was struggling with symptoms that included terrible abdominal cramping after I ate. And with bowel movements, nausea. For a while, I was having vomiting. Anytime after I ate, I would get severe abdominal cramping, which was not relieved also by medicine, things like mental. And then I’d also get severe cramping and diarrhea after, just randomly, not just after I ate, but just randomly throughout the day. So I was probably having diarrhea eight to 10 times a day. That was pretty severe with cramping and just also nutritionally. I can’t believe it had gotten like this, but I was only able to tolerate very few foods that still gave me diarrhea and cramping. I was eating jello. I was eating grilled turkey, fat-free grilled turkey, gluten-free pretzels and I think … Oh, sweet potatoes, but that was it.

(06:01)So I was very, very limited in my diet.

Brooke (06:04): You eating ketchup? Oh, ketchup.

Sarah (06:05): Yes. And I could have ketchup with these things, but I really had knocked out or taken everything out of my diet because that’s something that they tell you to do. Oh, these foods might be irritating you. Go on the FODMAP, which nothing was helping. And I was just lost in terms of, I don’t even know what these things are. I don’t know what else I can do. So that’s why I found you and I started working with you because I just thought, this is too much. I can’t keep living like this.

Jessie (06:36): I’m so sorry. That’s hard. And you still had all the symptoms despite eating so little.

Sarah (06:43): Yes. And I think that was a turning point too, because my GI insinuated that I wasn’t being honest with them about what I was eating. And that to me was like, “I’m not lying to you. ” As well as they had also … Another turning point was in one of the last appointments I had with them, they gave me a handout on the low FODMAP diet and just said, “We’ll refer you to a nutritionalist, a RD.” And I said, “Okay.” And I went on that appointment. And when I talked to her, she again gave me the FODMAP handout and just said, “You’re probably eating things that are irritating you. ” And again, I conveyed I’m eating very, very little foods and I’m still having symptoms. And in talking with her, I finally asked her, I said, “Have you ever worked with someone like me? ” Just be honest, someone in their 50s, somebody who’s restricting foods, someone who had their gallbladder out, I laid out everything and she just said.

(07:44)”No I usually work with very older patients who need to drink Ensure.” And I just went away with that. And I said, “I have to find somebody who’s an expert. There has to be somebody out here who can help me with this and who knows and works with IBS patients, and that’s when I found you and started the program.”

Jessie (08:01): So glad you shared that. And I think too, a lot of people think, “Okay, I need to work with a dietician. I’ll go work with any dietician.” But the thing is not all dieticians have GI trainings. I would say very few dieticians actually have GI trainings and then fewer dieticians are actually trained in IBS. And I say IBS, well, IBS really encompasses a lot of different GI disorders combined together. And most dieticians who work in hospitals do work with patients who may be in Minorish who needs to be on a supplement. And that’s okay. That’s their specialty and or they are specialized in diabetes or kidney care, which again, it’s perfectly fine. It’s their specialty. We have a resource in IBSdietician.com/resources that are for providers to educate providers on what IBS is and how to talk about IBS with your patient. And I think if you don’t have the experience, use resources that can help you further your skills and also help your patients feel better and not just … And I think not just say get on a diet.

(09:15)I think that’s a really big problem in the GI nutrition space. Everybody come to us having five foods that they feel safe eating in their diets. That’s a huge red flag. And usually the information comes from the physician’s office that they went to say, “Hey, try this diet, see if it works for you. ” Why they don’t want to try another diet. And then patient starts taking out more and more food and become really afraid of food when in reality it may or may not be their triggers. And I guess we’ll get to that part with your story. Yeah. But anyway, sorry, it just gets me going with when … But go to a dietician, find a dietician who specializes in GI and make sure you find somebody who don’t sell tests, who don’t sell random supplements because that is also unfortunate part of how our field is right now.

(10:11)I am so sorry. How did you find us? That’s my next question for you.

Sarah (10:15): Yeah, to be honest, I was just Googling IBS dieticians, IBS, RDs, because I just thought my viewpoint was there has to be experts in this. I don’t know where they are or who they are, but I need to find them. So I might’ve also looked up a resource of, I don’t know, off the top of my head, I can’t think, but I know that it was pretty much I Googled you guys and then I did one of your online intro webinars. And right after that, I signed up because I was like, these guys know what they’re doing. This is what I need. Jessie (10:53): Well, thank you for trusting us. Now, let’s talk a little bit more about diet. What have you tried in terms of diets before coming to us?

Sarah (11:02): Yeah, really when I started to get ill in late 2023, 10 months before I had my gallbladder out, that’s when my diet really started to shrink because the first symptoms that I was having in the end of 2023, the doctors were like, “Eliminate dairy, eliminate gluten. Those might be affecting you. Eliminate anything with fat, watch sugar.” So it was general advice. And then as the months went on before my gallbladder surgery, I just thought, okay, I’m doing gluten-free. I’m not eating dairy anymore. What else can I do no matter what I ate? Gave me symptoms. So that was alarming. So that’s when eventually my food diet really menu shrank into just a few foods like gluten-free pretzels and with ketchup and some turkey and some sweet potatoes because their advice was just general, like cut out dairy. I did cut out dairy, cut out gluten.

(12:05)I did cut out gluten. Oh, another thing they suggested was to cut out caffeinated or carbonated beverages. I did that. I was only drinking water. So every time I came back for an appointment, they were, like I said, either insinuating I wasn’t following that or confused and didn’t have good advice for me because I was cutting out all these things that can normally cause symptoms in people, but no matter what I cut out, I still was getting the symptoms. And when they took my gallbladder out, they really thought the symptoms would go away and they just didn’t.

Jessie (12:39): Yeah. I’m sorry to hear that. And we do see a lot of cases where people’s gallbladders have been removed, but their symptoms persist. There are clinical guidance on when a procedure like that should happen. I would say before you get any operations, get a second opinion before things are being taken out of your body because they can’t put it back in, even if it’s not the reason. And sometimes it makes your symptoms a lot worse.

Sarah (13:10): Yeah. And I would say that I, and I know everyone’s journey with medical and doctors is different. I had gotten a second opinion from a second GI and their eventual, just because of my symptoms, their recommendations were eventually to take the gallbladder out. However, one really important thing is that when I started working with you, I realized so much other testing had not been done. I remember when I talked with Brooke in our first meeting and our first group, she was just asking, “Have they tested for SIBO?” No. “Have they tested for these nutritional deficiencies that could be causing IBS?” No. “Have you had genetic testing?” “No.” And I really started to realize, wow, we jumped to removing my gallbladder before testing all these things and that was alarming to me. And so I was really glad not to just have you as a nutritional resource, but also just questioning, have they looked into this?

(14:12)Have they taken this blood test? I know you’re not medical professionals, but it was really eye-opening to realize how much had not been done. And right after I started working with you too, I went and signed up for an appointment at Mayo Clinic to go see one of their experts there. And I think that was, in a way, giving me a little confidence too of I need to keep finding out what this is and investigating and attack it nutritionally, but also still attacking it medically and advocating for things that you had suggested. And that was another important part of the program. I’m sure you remember you actually wrote a letter for me to take to Mayo Clinic, which that was very helpful. As well as before all my doctor’s appointments, you gave me advice on, ask them this, ask them this, ask them this. And it was good to have your backup to say, I’m not just thinking of these things on my own.

(15:05)I’m actually working with an IBS specialist who’s asking these questions and I need to report back to them because they’re looking at it from their angle. So that was a big part of my journey and an important part to have you as backup to say, “Here’s advice, here’s what you should do. Ask the doctors about this. ”

Jessie (15:25): I’m glad you’re talking about this too, because oftentimes we look at things a little bit differently. The test that Sarah is referring to is pretty standardized nowadays. All of our new clients, we send them a list of tests depending on what type of IBS they have. IBSC, there’s one set, IBSD, there’s another set. And what we are looking for is maybe test that was not performed or maybe tests that were oververlooked or maybe tests that are due for a second to get retested again just to make sure everything is normal. And then there is a set of nutrients that we usually ask to see the results of because IBS-1 don’t cause nutrient deficiencies. If there is deficiencies, we are looking for overlapping conditions that can play a part in IBS, especially if you are losing weight or if you don’t have an appetite. These are red flags that we need to dig a little bit deeper into to make sure everything is covered, we are not missing anything.

(16:23)And we nowadays give everybody a letter to bring to their doctor because sometimes if you just have patients, I think we learned from our mistake in the past as well, if you just tell patients, here’s a list of things to get, their doctors may refuse it. And now we are giving everybody a letter explaining why we are getting all of these different tests so that you bring it to your provider. On that note though, if you find a provider that is not an MD or GI, but they are testing you for these things, I will be very wary the lab that they use because legitimate labs do not take orders from dieticians. So if you’re working with a dietician, make sure you are still getting the test done with an MD, with a GI. Because if the labs are not legitimate, the results may not be accurate as well.

(17:12)So that’s something to think about before you spend hundreds of dollars and sometimes could be thousands of dollars on these kind of tests. Okay. I’m glad it’s helpful. And Sarah, your case was complex. So we had a lot of back and forth with your physicians, and I’m glad it’s all very helpful. Now what I would say, I think you’ve already talked about this as well. Your biggest challenge or frustration prior to working together is you were not being believed or supported by your GI team.

Sarah (17:45): Yeah, I would say that was part of the problem, a biggest problem. And I think that’s what I learned by working with you is to speak up and advocate. And if somebody’s not listening, then find someone else. That was one of the reasons why I went and did the consult at Mayo. I also even went and found another primary care physician who took things more seriously. So that is advice I would give to people if you’re not feeling heard, if you’re not feeling understood, if they’re not taking your symptoms seriously to advocate and to find, if you can, to find someone else. Because when you do find that doctor or when I did went to Mayo, they did take things seriously and either ordered more tests or had questions. So you need to find that person that is going to listen to you.

Jessie (18:40): Yeah. I’m glad you found a person. Yes. Okay. Well, let’s talk about maybe what we did together from your perspective. Yeah.

Sarah (18:50): Yeah. Working together, like I said, I would say it’s sort of when better things started to happen, when a lot of good things started to happen. The first thing was obviously having the one-on-one appointment with you and just answering your questions that you had in terms of, have you had these tests done? What are you eating? And then having just, of course, being heard and seen as well and understood, which is a huge part of it and starting to work on a customized and personalized plan that’s going to work for me because like you said, everybody’s IBS is different. And then the second thing was just starting the program. So having the videos and the workbooks that I could go to, I really was educated on IBS through that. I had, for instance, no idea that there were different types of IBS. I didn’t know there was IBS-C, IBSD, IBS mixed.

(19:45)So that was eye-opening. I don’t know why a doctor hadn’t told me that, as well as getting into the granular of FODMAP. I had no idea what it even stood for. So all of the educational materials, videos, workbooks were really helpful. And then I would say, of course, the third thing is the groups, the weekly groups, which were really helpful to me. It gave me a community of people that were having similar symptoms and it didn’t make me feel so alone in this and isolated. And then of course, to get your weekly feedback at that group session. So I had a plan of action going ahead the next week. And then there’s a lot of things, but also the app and the journaling was really important to be able to document my food every day, document my stress levels when I ate. That was really eye-opening to see that there were correlations between say when I ate and when I was stressed or the foods that I was eating.

(20:43)And that of course helped you help me in terms of, let’s try this, let’s try this. So those are the things that come to mind.

Jessie (20:52): Yeah. Brooke, you want to add to it? Brooke was the primary provider that worked with Sarah.

Brooke (20:58): Yeah, I think it was. Well, first starting off, just to kind of reiterate, I will not forget our first appointment when you told me how much weight you lost and your doctor was not concerned, I was actually shaking. I was so upset. So just to reiterate, if you feel like someone’s not listening to you, a provider is not listening to you, you need to find a new provider because you had lost a significant amount of weight and they were just kind of writing it off. So that is, I mean, we’re taught when, as dieticians at diagnosing IBS, there’s a few things that are red flags and weight loss is one of them. And the fact that they had just kind of brushed that aside was very alarming. So I think that was my … They also had you on probiotic that was not for your kind of IBS.

(21:50)It was for another kind. So there’s just a couple things starting off that I remember thinking we can maybe make a change pretty quickly, but then it is just tweaking your plan each week and seeing actually for you how much … And this takes some times to see, but just how much stress and anxiety really played into your symptoms and then helping you get the confidence to add some foods back in that we could expand your diet so it wasn’t so incredibly limiting and to actually have you stop, I think number one was the jello. I knew you were going to.

Sarah (22:36): A lot of jello. You eat what you can tolerate and that was just one of the few things I could. So I echo what you’re saying in terms of getting me to baseline. And in the beginning it felt like I’m never going to get to baseline. And it’s a vicious cycle of I’m having these symptoms every day, I’m stressed and now I’m stressed and now I’m having symptoms. So really getting to a baseline and working towards that. And it took me probably longer than other people, but I also came into the program, I think, pretty sick.

Brooke (23:14): Yeah. It’s very individualized. And I think part of it too is building up your confidence to add new foods in. And we see that a lot. It’s scary. It’s really scary if you’re scared to eat something because it might cause terrible cramping. So yeah, everyone’s pace is very, very different, but we slowly inched in the right direction and we respect each person’s pace and how their symptoms are responding. And yeah, it was certainly a long … Your journey was long with us, but it ended up paying off in the end. And we enjoyed having you in group every single time. I loved group.

Sarah (24:07): I never thought I’d look forward. I know. At first, and I think that’s part of the program. At first, you’re a little bit intimidated. I’m trusting you, but it’s also embarrassing and it’s hard to … Admit isn’t the word, but it’s hard to lean in to be like, “This is what’s happening. I haven’t been listened to. This is stressing me out. ” But group was an important part of that to normalize that and meet other people that were experiencing the same symptoms and the same fear and the same anxiety and the same hopelessness in a way. So to be able to share that in a community that you trust and get advice every week was really, really important. Yeah.

Jessie (24:49): Well, let’s talk about something that’s fun. Now, Sarah, what foods have you added back into your life that you are really excited about?

Sarah (24:57): Yeah, I mean, and I’ll say that, again, that was part of working with you. Once we could get me to my symptoms to baseline, like Brooke was saying, it was adding back in foods and that was where your expertise was also very important because the doctors had handed me a FODMAP sheet and I’m like, “What do I do with this? ” So adding those foods back in, but also strategically and the way you have it of testing the foods every week and testing the amounts. So for instance, going through that, I learned that honey was a huge trigger for me. So now I stay away from honey and those based foods that are in the same level of the FODMAP chart. Yeah, I just have to say too, I think I mentioned this, but the other day I was making bruchetta with gluten-free bread and some tomatoes.

(25:48)And I thought, who am I?

(25:53)I can’t believe this. Because in the beginning, like I said, I wasn’t tolerating much, but eventually we were able to add back in eggs. We were able to add back in the grilled chicken that I would make. Vegetables was huge. I’m still able to eat peas, green beans, cooked carrots. Yeah, I’m not eating dairy still, and I’m still gluten-free, and I stay away from caffeine and carbonation, but in general, I have added quite a lot back in. And yeah, now my meals are a lot more balanced and normal. And I did gain back weight, which is good because it wasn’t good to lose all that weight by nutrition deficit. So yeah.

Brooke (26:38): I think the other part of it too was a huge step was eating outside of your home.

Sarah (26:45): Yes.

Brooke (26:45): I remember your first restaurant trip.

Sarah (26:49): Yeah, that was huge because I wasn’t going out and then I was afraid to eat anything at anyone else’s house or go to a restaurant. So I now do eat out. I have a more normal life where I will meet a friend for breakfast or meet a friend for dinner. I do use Find Me Gluten Free, that app to find restaurants that are highly rated in terms of gluten free or not contamination. So I have a couple favorite restaurants, but yeah, I saw a friend this Saturday. We went out for breakfast. I had eggs and gluten-free toast, as well as I’ve met friends for dinner. I’ve had a hamburger. It’s crazy, not French fries. But the point of this is to say that it’s not just the confidence in eating foods, but also going out, like you said, going and eating at a family member’s dinner because I’m confident because I’m also not having the symptoms anymore.

(27:43)So I’m not worried about going out and right after a meal, I’m having to rush to the bathroom or getting severe abdominal cramping. So that’s what makes a huge difference in that, not just the food, but also just your life and being able to do things that you weren’t able to do.

Jessie (28:00): Yeah, that’s great. That’s great. I’m so excited for you. I know. Now, what are you looking forward to now that you are done with the program, that your life is at a better place?

Sarah (28:10): Yeah, so I love to travel before I got so sick in 2023. I have added travel back in. So that was something I was excited about doing once I got better, but I have been able to do that. I’ve taken a couple trips on a plane, which I remember when I first started the program, I couldn’t even leave my house for 10 minutes. So thinking about going on a plane trip or somewhere else, I was like, “I can’t, just can’t.” So that’s exciting. I’m not to a point yet where I can go say overseas to say Europe or Hawaii, but I’m hoping to get there. I think I just need to still up my confidence a little bit. But yeah, that was the main thing, looking forward to traveling, but the little things too, like being able to go volunteer for a day at the food pantry or being able to just go over to my families for dinner, meet friends out.

(29:09)It was all those things that were taken away from me because I was so sick. So yeah, sometimes I just sit back and I’m like, “Who am I right now? I’m actually meeting somebody for breakfast and not just sitting there saying I can’t eat anything and I may have to rush to the bathroom. Please don’t mind me.

Jessie (29:26): ” Love that. I love that. Okay. Well, last question for you. What would you recommend to others who might be listening to this who may be a bit afraid?

Sarah (29:37): Yeah, I would say do the program, sign up. I would say it’s so important to have an expert like you too and people that really know IBS and can approach it from that viewpoint. I would tell someone to just do it right away. You’ve probably already put it off for too long and you need We need to get a more normal life back and just do the program with you guys because you are experts. That’s the real difference too. It’s not just a generalized advice like this is what you do. This is what you know. So that’s my best advice.

Jessie (30:15): Thank you, Sarah. And I think to what you were saying too, most of the time when people come into the program or when people graduate from the program, their only regrets is I waited two to three years. And I lost those two to three years to IBS. They could have started sooner if they found us sooner. I think that part too is being a small business, I think it’s hard for people to find us, but thank you so much for coming and sharing your story. And we are currently enrolling for our small group program for spring 2026. So if you’re interested in working with us, go check out our free IBS Relief Masterclass, learn more about our approach and see if it’s a good fit for you. And that is okay. And you can, I say this way too often, but I want to say people can, you can take your life back from IBS.

(31:05)Yeah. All right. Well, Sarah, thank you so much for your time and sharing your story. Yes. And one thing before we go to, I think Sarah was also a really huge, what is a cheerleader for other members in the group as well to teach people to advocate for themselves, to tell people, “Hey, don’t give up on this. Follow the guidance. Keep doing it step by step.” And that’s, I think, the power of having a little group. So I think when you joined the program, somebody else was cheering you on, sharing their story. And then to at the end, you were cheering other people on it. It’s just lovely. We have the best ladies in our small group program.

Jessie (31:43): Yes. You do. For sure. Well, thank you, Sarah. Thanks. Thanks, Sarah. Thanks. Thank you for tuning into the IBS Nutrition Podcast. We hope today’s episode has brought you closer to understanding and managing IBS. Remember, you are not alone on this journey and finding freedom is possible. For more on IBS, make sure to follow us on your favorite podcast platforms and please leave us a five-star review. We would really appreciate that. You can access links mentioned in this episode in the show notes to learn more about your type of IBS and how to identify your own food or lifestyle triggers. Register for our free IBS Masterclass, Three Steps to IBS Relief for our proven, holistic three-steps approach to managing IBS once and for all. Head to IBSdietician.com/masterclasstoregister. Until next time, take good care of your guts and hears to your health and happiness.