O/T. Diagnosed with IBS!!

W

willowe

Cathlete
Hi All,
Just really wanting some advice! I have been suffering with diorrhea (sp?) and fairly constant and painful bloating and muscle cramps in my tummy for some time now. I'm just getting over a 2 day stomach bug and finally went to my GP who told me that he thinks I have IBS!
Of course, I know a fair amount about the symptoms of IBS as I have various clients who suffer with this condition. However, knowing about the symptoms and being told that you are a sufferer yourself are two completely different things!
I never realised just how painful this condition can be!
What has upset me the most is that my GP says there is absolutely nothing he can give me - not that I would be happy about taking medication to control it - I prefer to take natural products wherever possible. He did mention that foods such as wheat and dairy can aggravate the condition (which I already knew) and to cut these out and see how I got on.
I'm just wondering if anyone else suffers, and if so, what measures you have taken which you have found to be effective?
Have you found natural/herbal remedies which have helped? Have you excluded certain foods from your diet? I know that stress is also a factor, so I am trying to be more aware of monitoring and controlling my stress levels.
The discomfort of this condition is really starting to get me down and is interfering with my normal lifestyle - any help or advice would be gratefully received!
Many thanks,
Kaz.

Today Is The Tomorrow We Worried About Yesterday And All Is Well.
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON May-12-02 AT 10:11AM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Kaz:

I don't suffer from IBS. I do suffer with those symptoms, mines more from my digestive system getting overloaded and it'll shut down. Then all heck breaks loose and I get so dehydrated that I'll pass out. I have to be very careful with what I eat, I had a major organ removed. I wish I would've never had it done. So, I'll share with you some tips and tricks that I've discovered while living with this condition and see if there is anything that you can use.

Now again, I have to be careful about overloading my digestive system otherwise I'm down for days.

1.) Metamucil cookie wafers, once a day with 48 ounces of water.
2.) Kaopectate cables, when it's a bit more severe.
3.) Phazyme, for gas.
4.) Imodium Advanced when it's really severe. - When I eat fruit, this doesn't even help me.
5.) Dietary changes. With IBS it's more of a type of food than a day of eating from what I understand. I don't know if this will apply to this particular situation, but I cannot eat fruit, of any kind. It breaks down to quickly in my stomach and throws my digestive system into a type of sugar shock. Then I'm down for at least 72 hours.
6.) Nuts and seeds are very important to get into your diet, at least with mine it is.
7.) Sugary foods, high fat foods (especially bad fats, such as red meats, pork, butter, and greasy game), and high protein foods (again more of the bad fatty foods) aggravate my condition. I'm not sure if it has the same affect with IBS.

Again, I don't know if these things pertain to IBS, but these things are what I've learn over the last 18 months since I've had my surgery that started this whole thing for me.

Just some suggestions. Good Luck!

Keta. :D

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I've had this condition for many years. You need to figure out what your body can and cannot handle, everyone is different. Also, sometimes, if you limit the amounts of questionable foods, they will not bother you. Fiber really annoys my IBS, so I eat it in small amounts. Drink plenty of water, exercise and be happy that you have a problem over which you have control. You might want to keep a food diary and see what your triggers are. Good luck.
 
My friend suffers from IBS. She drinks cups and cups of every kind of tea (decaff) under the sun for it- peppermint, earl grey, ginger, cinnamon etc. She normally uses 2 tea bags instead of one in a cup. Apparently it helps her a lot. She also includes a lot of soup in her diet - normally she purees high fiber veggies like spinach, cauliflower, celery or broccoli with some pine nuts. Hope that helps.
 
I've been recently diagnosed myself. I've spent a couple hundred $ on supplements, etc. I don't get diarrhea ever, just cramps and the urge to "go" when nothing is in there. But here is what is helping right now:

1. Citrucel 2-3 times a day. (Metamucil doesn't work)
2. Caltrate, twice a day. This is supposed to be especially helpful for IBS-D types.
3. 5-HTP. This is a supplement that gives the body more "raw materials" to manufacture serotonin. I had little or no IBS symptoms when I was on antidepressants, but the other side effects were terrible. I take 50 mg. three times a day. It's a little pricey, but it's worth it.

I hope some of this will help. In my case, avoiding certain foods when my symptoms are bad can help a little, but when things are bad, just eating at all hurts.
 
I have bouts of IBS, and find that the drug, Colofac, helps. It is an antispasmodic agent that you take 15 minutes before eating. It prevents the pain that I get after eating a meal, and helps the bowel get back to normal.

Other things that I have tried that didn't work for me are pepermint tablets, increasing fibre, live yoghurts.

Hope this helps.
Sharon.
 
Thanks all!
I probably should have mentioned that I live in the UK (doh!) so alot of the brand names you are mentioning I'm not familiar with. However, I have found a natural product here which is supposed to help the bowel walls heal and help prevent the spasms, so I'll be giving that a go, along with the diet restrictions.
Thanks so much for your help and advice! I guess part of the healing process is learning what your individual triggers are.
Thanks again!
Kaz.

Today Is The Tomorrow We Worried About Yesterday And All Is Well.
 
My IBS is caused by two things: food allergies and stress.
I agree with KAZ 100% about the diet. My doc put me on an anti-candida diet which is very similar to the plan Kaz outlined and it helped tons.
The one single supplement that has made the biggest change for me is acidophilus. I get the refrigerated kind that comes in capsules and it is relatively cheap.
Dairy is a huge aggravator for me, as is sugar, coffee, white flour, and any of the foods to which I am allergic. I am lucky I was able to get tested and know what I shouldn't eat now.
Everyone has an opinion, and I went through about 20 of them until I found my current doctor. I used to get diarrhea about 2-3 times a week, never went anywhere without Immodium in my purse. It was just the way it was. Now, having pretty much cut out dairy, processed sugars, coffee, and yeast plus knowing what I am allergic to and avoiding it in conjunction with the acidophilus has helped a lot. I had great results with aloe vera juice until I developed an allergy to it; Noni juice helped alot as well but it tastes like prune juice and is very expensive.
I would suggest starting a food diary and take note of what you ate before your attacks. YOu might start to notice a pattern and be able to avoid the worst culprits.
Good luck, I know this is just plain aweful to deal with. :)
 
Hi Kristina,
Sorry to hear you too have had such a bad time! Sounds like you may have figured out what works (and what doesn't!) for you now though!
I also take a probiotic which I really feel does help. I think also that sugar may be an aggravator for me as well. Pasta is a big no-no, and I'm beginning to suspect potatoes also! As you say, keeping a log would be really helpful in isolating which foods are causing the most damage!
Thanks for your help and advice!

Today Is The Tomorrow We Worried About Yesterday And All Is Well.
 
RE: Peppermint

I can't believe I forgot to add this. Enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules are awesome, you can get them at any health food/vitamin place. In the beginning, before I figured out my trigger foods, I took 2 before every meal. Now I just take 2-3 if my stomach is upset or my colon is spastic, this helps usually within 30 minutes. It greatly reduced my dependance on Immodium. :)
 
Hi Kaz
There are several tests that you can take (usually through wholistic practitioners) that will tell you if you are intolerant to certain foods. I found out that I have intolerances to most grains (tough for a vegan!), but cutting them out of my diet certainly improved my lifelong digestive problems. You also might what to check out the Blood Type Diet (I think it's called Eat Right for your Blood Type). I found that cutting out foods that were not good for my blood type (type O) helped also (plus I lost those last 5 pounds that I could never lose!)

Good Luck,

Robin
 
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