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Please help me if you can...IBS-D

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 6/22/2007 3:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hello all~

 

For all of you "IBS-Ders", I have a question...

 

Just how "chronic" is your diarrhea?  Do you have it absolutly everyday out of the year?  I do.  Just wanted to see if I was alone here or of anybody else can relate.

 

I've been dealing with it everyday since March '06...almost 16 months STRAIGHT now.  It started out of nowhere.  I thought I had a "bug", but it turned out that I didn't so I have had to live with the frustration of "not knowing" what is causing this nusiance and drastic change in my life.  It's been hard to adapt to a life that revolves around your bowels.  (Quite depressing, may I add.)   

 

Here are my symptoms...sudden onset of chronic diarrhea/loose stools 3 months after getting married, mucus in stools (sometimes it's all I pass), excess gas, always feel like I "have to go".  I do not wake up during the night with diarrhea.  It usually "hits me" 10-15 minutes upon awakening after a full nights sleep. As soon as I wake up I feel a sudden urge to dash to the bathroom.  To me, I would describe it as like I feel like the rectum is always full (I know grose, but where else to talk about it than here.)  I also have a funky taste in back of my mouth.  I feel full fast when I eat.  (I've had an EGD, all checked out okay....GI dr. said I had some mild GERD.)  I also burp a lot.  Does this even sound like IBS-D or does it sound like something else?

I would like to also add that I do tend to have a nervous personality.  I worry a lot about things that I shouldn't.  I have anxiety over my bowels and I know that it won't help the condition any.  I worry about my health a lot to the point where I feel anxiety.  It's like I feel like there is something wrong with me but the Doctors haven't found it yet...even after tons and tons of tests that checked out okay and normal.  It's like I don't, and can't, believe the results.  ALl of the treatements that my GI specialist has tried on me has not worked.  SO...I still feel like maybe it's not IBS-D at all, but something more serious...hence the anxiety starts all over again. 

 

I've been throught he ringer of tests (colonoscopy, EGD, small bowel series x-ray, hida scan, ct scans, blood tests, you name it, I've had it done) and my GI specialist & regular Dr. see no signifigant abnormalities...so, I'm labeled IBS-D.  I've even talked with a councelor about dealing with it.  It didn't help either.

 

I am searching for ANYTHING that may help this chronic diarrhea/loose stools/mucus problem.  I have tried the Rx medications (no help), Calcium (Caltrate with vitamin D...again, didn't work).  I am at my wits end. 

 

Does anybody have ANY ideas that I may ask my Dr. about, try on my own, etc. 

 

I am pregnant at the moment and due in a few weeks.  It has been hard to deal with the IBS-D and pregnancy...I have gained 30 lbs. though (yeah!)  I just hope the diarrhea doesn't get as severe as it was after the birth.  I am very scared of that happening.  I want to feel 100% while taking care of a baby.

 

If anybody has any words of wisdom or advice, I would love to hear what you have to offer.   I'm getting desparate here...

 

Thanks all...

Shelly

Post Edited (shelly1979) : 6/22/2007 10:06:52 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/22/2007 5:54 PM (GMT 0)
Are your stools ever yellowish in color (or yellow on the TP) or burn? Sometimes even people with good gall bladders have too much bile (and sometimes bad gall bladders just take three tests to discover); you could get your doctor to give you some Welchol for that. Calcium helps my bile D, but I have to have the Welchol to stop it fully.

Also, have you done the yogurt/probiotic route? The bad taste in your mouth may indicate a bacteria problem.
Posted 6/22/2007 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
I had diarrhea for years on end.  Now that I'm on anti-thyroid medications, things have slowed up a bit...but I still won't go more than a day without having diarrhea.  So you're not alone!

Posted 6/22/2007 9:24 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes it does have a yellow (lightish brown) tint to it.  Not all of the time, but sometimes.  It's almost as if the excessive mucus is the culprit.  If I knew what was causing the excess mucus production in the bowel, maybe I could get better.  Everything I read says inflammation causes it, but in IBS-D, there isn't supposed to be any inflammation, so again, I have no clue what to do here.  The Dr.'s and GI specialists have been of no help.

I have Activia yogurt that I eat.  I should be more religious about eating it everyday. 

It's just so frustrating that nothing that I try works.  I'm beginning to think that I will be like this forever...and that's not much fun!

I appreciate all of your replies...thanks all!  If anybody else has any ideas, please post.

Shelly

Posted 6/22/2007 10:02 PM (GMT 0)
You may want to continue to take the calcium supplements because even if they don't stop the diarrhea, they can help soothe an irritated bowel, so they may lead to less mucus.

Have you been allergy-tested or tried an elimination diet? Mucus in the intestines works a lot like mucus in the sinuses, so it's possible that excess mucus is a sign that something is bothering your intesintes, in the same way that something can bother your nose and cause it to run. The usual things to start with are eliminating all forms of dairy (have to look for the protein caesin, as that's in a lot of pre-packaged foods) and gluten. Try one at a time so you'll know what the culprit is if you stop having D.
Posted 6/23/2007 12:59 AM (GMT 0)

Good ideas, Keri!

You should try eliminating the following: sugar alcohols (sorbitol, etc.), lactose, and gluten for a couple of weeks.  It will be hard but if you are desperate you could do this :-)   You have to look at labels very carefully.  If you feel better after two weeks, you should re-introduce these foods one at a time to see if the problems recur. 

It's a long process, but it would be worth it to know if a food sensitivity is causing your problems!

Posted 6/23/2007 4:30 AM (GMT 0)
My cousin has had diahrea like that since he was in his 20's. He has had surgeries and every test you can think of and they have never been able to resolve it. He is now in his 70's and whereas he is very thin he is basically healthy except for this intestinal problem.  I hope yours doesn't last that long but it does show how our body compensates in ways to keep us going as other than that he is never sick.

Posted 6/29/2007 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Shelley-
I had IBS-D for a year and a half straight, probably caused by all the bacterial infections I've recieved while living in a 3rd world country. When I got pregnant my D got even worse, but after delivery it totally cleared up! Actually, it started getting somewhat better about a month before I delivered and I actually got constipated after my baby was born. (He's now 8 months old) I am checking out this site tonight because I've been having the tell tale bubbles in my intestines, cramps and soft stools that usually mean I've ingested some sort of bacteria! I still have mild problems maybe once a month, but it is sooooooo much better than it used to be.
I hope you get better! Good luck with your new baby! They're AWESOME
Posted 6/29/2007 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
Although Metamucil is marketed as a laxative it is used for diarrhea also.  For diarrhea sufferers the extra fiber make the stool firmer and more solid. Maybe that might work :-)  

 

Posted 6/29/2007 8:14 PM (GMT 0)
I am on Welchol and 1mg Lotronex twice a day. OMG this was a gift from god
Posted 9/24/2007 10:04 AM (GMT 0)
Ive tried colofac, it didnt help my D, i have had great relief from VSL#3

Hang in there... i had D about 20 or more times per day EVERY DAY for 9 months. You WILL find something that will help.
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