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IBS-C sufferer, mostly

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 7/14/2009 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, I'm new here.  I've been suffering with different forms of IBS for about a year now.  Like most of the people in here, I have been to the doctor multiple times and been on tons of different medications and supplements.  My predominant symptom is excessive gas and I'm more often than not constipated.  For awhile I was getting the bloating and pain, but most of the time it is just gas.  I didn't even notice I had a problem until I overheard co-workers talking about me.  From that time on, I have been on a quest to get the gas to stop.  I definitely think it is all stress related, as it gets much worse when I have to go to work or to church or anywhere I know there is going to be people in close proximity to me.  I'm really tired of this.  I hate having my whole life start and end with what my stomach happens to be doing at the time.  mad   Anyways, I'm nearing the end of my second week on Align.  I would love to hear from anyone else who is trying this...especially if they are further in than I am, and if they have had any luck.  I felt like I was having luck at first...my constipation went away for the entire first week (of course the gas got worse, but I sort of expected that.)  Then in the second week I'm bouncing back and forth between C and D.  So I don't know what is going on.
Posted 7/16/2009 9:05 PM (GMT 0)
 

I am new here too, maybe we can get help from others. As far as the Align, I

gather you are not seeing a change. I have Phillips Colon Health. I figure they

probably wont hurt but probably wouldn'y help. I have IBS-C. It is a nightmare.

Have they given you Amitiza yet? I just started. Good luck

Posted 7/16/2009 11:52 PM (GMT 0)

Hey, Maxie!  Nice to meet you.  I took Amitiza for a little bit.  I got samples from my doc and they were helping but I gave up when I realized my medical plan wouldn't cover them and they cost about three hundred dollars a month, or something like that.  Since then I have been doing whatever I can over the counter.  I am probably spending at least a third of that if not more on OTC things.  I also thought Amitiza was making me go too often (if that is possible when you are constipated...but I always felt like I had to go.)  At this point I really don't know what to do.  I can induce D with bad-for-me food if I need to, but I hate doing that, because I know it is upsetting the IBS even more.  I took Phillips Colon Health awhile ago and I remember it helping actually.  I am thinking it might have helped more than the Align is helping me, but I might just be remembering things wrong at this point.  I thought probiotics were my answer because they seemed to help me the most out of anything I have ever tried, but I think I am taxing this one too much.  I was on a really strict diet back when I took Phillips (I also took Digestive Advantage for awhile and that seemed to help too.)  I need to get back to my really strict almost no-fat diet for awhile because I know that is what helps the most so that my gut can heal itself.  It's just really hard to face that.  What do you eat that helps you?

Posted 7/17/2009 5:12 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for replying. I don't even know if my insurance is going to cover this. I am still using samples. So far I haven't even gone to the bathrrom since I started it. Too early to tell but I will let you know how I feel on it. The Phillips I take with dinner. To tell you the truth who knows if they are even helping. As far as foods, I am probably the person on this post with the absolute worst diet ever.
I do not eat vegetables or fruits. I pretty much don't eat anything healthy at all. I contribute to my IBS I know. I will eat a muffin or bagel in the morning. I love diet coke and even IBS can't make me give it up. I eat pasta and pizza, chines when I know I shouldn't. I eat alot of chicken and rice. Rice is not good because it is starch and turns to sugar. I love chocolate and coffee. Any way, my doctor never tried to help me with diet so I am kind of lost. All I know is what my body has taught me.

Cereals high in fiber no good for me
Multi grains cereals no good for me
Large amounts of icecream no good for me
Lots of Cheese : A NONO
Tomatoe Sauce and Meatballs my favorite but a killer for my stomach.
Salad, no no
However, in my case it seems like everything bothers me so the question bears this is it really the foods we eat or the way our digestive tract is behaving at the time of which we eat the foods. And why is it that we can'[t eat certain foods. I mean sometimes icecream is fine and sometimes not. Most of the time chicken is fine and once in a while not. I am very confused when it comes to diet and I don't have the money to spend on a nutritionist. Maybe this post will help me with my food triggers and what is and what isn;t good for me.
Maxie J
Posted 7/17/2009 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
Huh. You sound just like me. I have been trying to figure out what to eat and what not to eat for a long time. The problem is, the same food can do two different things to my stomach. I agree with all your no no's though. I've found that oatmeal doesn't treat me badly but whole wheat does a number on me most of the time. In fact my mom just brought me a sub from subway made on wheat...it had turkey, ham, lettuce, lite mayo, and was on wheat. Halfway through it I began to feel sick, which is actually pretty unusual for me. My pain and gas and stuff usually comes about thirty minutes after I eat. But I know I have a problem with wheat. I would say that I am gluten t intolerant, but I also have the same problem with dairy. These are definitely trigger foods for IBS. I also wanted to mention that I am 30 so we are in the same general age range. My IBS definitely started with stess and after I had my second baby (and I think my accidental crash diet attributed alot to it probably.) I just wish now that things are more calm that I could get a handle on the stomach thing. People tell me I'm depressed and stressed, but it is a vicious cycle. I'm depressed and stressed because I can't get my stomach to work right. I have a bad diet too, btw. I go for weeks doing a really good lowfat diet and then I just get tired of it (especially around that time of the month ;) ) and then I eat really bad for a few weeks. Then I get mad at myself and start all over. This cannot be helping, but its another vicious cycle I've fallen into. Talk to you soon.
Posted 7/24/2009 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone,I'm new on here. Here's my situation,I have delt with constipation since as young as I can remember. Going once a week had always been normal for me.Then when I got pregnant 14 years ago, the constipation got worse over all.I was having a BM about once every two weeks. I've always had excessive gas since I can remember. However, it was truly humiliating that I got mistaken as being pregnant.Well,I kept going to,Dr's and all would say,I'm constipated,prescirbe Miralax, stool softeners, Metemucill and I consume a lot of fiber,water and finally I started working out,because after years of suffering from this,as far back as I can remember,I convinced myself it was belly fat. Finally, even after beginning to work out, I noticed my energy level wasn't imporoving but was deterioating. I finally then discovered a,D.O Doctor that treats the whole body and not just symptoms a few weeks ago and she refered me to a GI dr because I was finally experiencing lots of blood loss during bowl movements that she thought may be endometriosis or ulcerative colitis,or colon cancer. So it took all of that to get refered to a GI dr. I had a colonoscopy 3 weeks ago and have a fissure,hemmoroids and that's when I got diangosed IBS-C. I suspected for many years I had IBS_C due to reading the symptoms but whenever I asked Dr's about that possibility in the past,they blew me off as constipation and sent me on my way with laxatives. After years of taking laxatives, they quit working.

My Dr prescribed,amitiza 24 MCG and didn't inform me of anything about this drug,but when I first took it,I experienced nausea and diaherreah,but my DR advised me I take it with Miralax. I discovered if I don't take it with Miralax, I will not have a BM. I saw my GI today and told him what I'm experiencing and told him,I'd rather deal with diaherreah then being so constipated, I have no energy and extreme pain that keeps me up.He suggested,I take one pill a day,take it with a heavy meal and skip a day if I need to,just as long as I don't get constipated. I have also researched that anti depressants and Peppermint oil or peppermint capsules help. I bought peppermint capsules today,had a BM and am already 8 pounds dropped in bloating thus far! The abdominal pain is minimum but to me this is far better then the pain from constipation and humiliation of bloating being mistaken as fat. No one understands just how much this makes us suffer and is great to have a support system. I have also read that Herbal colon cleansers work well for some,incase you cannot take amitiza. I hope this helps
Posted 7/24/2009 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for telling us about yourself, ilovemyhubby! I agree with you that constipation is about the worst thing there is. I have a friend whose daughter recently had surgery on her shoulder and she had temporary constipation due to the meds. My friend finally called me because she knows how much I have suffered with constipation in the past. She asked me what to do because the doc prescribed mag. citrate but it wasn't working and they were worried. The daughter was like "forget the pain in my shoulder, nothing I've been through so far is as bad as this constipation." They had her eating fruits and veggies, and other sources of fiber and she was probably getting really backed up. I could tell she was miserable so I told them to do an immediate enema to get some of it out and eventually the mag. citrate was going to kick in hard core. Of course everything turned out just like I said. Of all the things to be an expert on! She is now back to normal digestive health. I could help her, but my own symptoms completely stump me. They never seem the same twice. I'm interested that your doc told you about eating a big meal, ilove. Because one thing I've noticed right now is that the only way I can get myself to go is by eating a fairly large meal at noon. I haven't tried this in the morning, because I'm afraid of the gas that will be associated with eating so much first thing. But by noon, I can usually handle a bit more food. I was banking on Align working for me, but I'm pretty sure it isn't, as I posted somewhere else. But this small voice in the back of my head is wondering if it actually is, but it requires the big meal to make me go. I'm afraid both to keep taking it and to stop. Not real sure what to do.
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