Need to focus on my IBS--suggestions?

Hi all, I'm a lurker in this forum, but now could really use some imput.  I've had been DX with the trifecta: ulcertaive colitis, IBS-D, and GERD (yeah, fun, fun, fun).  I've spent most of my time dealing with the colitis (over 10 years now), expecially the past three years b/c of increase of chronic sx's, major hospitalization and trying to get it all under control.  Anyway, past year I have had a increase of stomach pain 80% of time time I eat ANYTHING and often when I drink just water.  I'm getting to the point that eating as little as possible or not at all is the only thing that is working for me--but there's the little problem of having no energy to deal with.  GI prescribed Bentyle awhile ago, but didn't like the side effects--nausea (which I suffer from chronically anyway), dizziness, tired.  I'm on UC meds, not sure if they translate to also helping w/IBS: asacol, rowasa, prilosec, prednisone/proctofoam (off/on, depending on intesity of sx's).  GI doc doesn't want me to take OTC stuff because of UC.  My question really is: Is there a standard medication that people w/IBS-D are prescibed?  If anyone has the time, can you list the more common ones, pros/cons and any recommendations.

I've been seeing the same GI doc to over 10 years and she is good, but we really focus on the colitis stuff and I'm feeling I need to go into my next appointment with more info, for some reason the IBS is really "ignored" for lack of a better word.

BTW: have colon/endoscopies yearly to track "progress" in case you're wonderin.

The most common thing to take with D around here is imodium. Did your doctor ban you from taking that to control your D? Also, Caltrate 600 w/ Vitamin D is helpful to a lot of people. It's naturally constipating, so it can help reduce the D in people with IBS-D. Also, calcium is good for the intestines. There are studies which tentatively link calcium with a decreased risk of colon cancer. It appears to reduce minor inflammation in the colon. Not enough to help your level of inflammation, but it may help it some. Also sounds like your stomach is irritated from all the acid. And with you on a PPI, you need to be worried about getting calcium, since PPI's are linked to bone loss. So ask your dr if you can take calcium supplements.

Also, people on PPIs are at increased risk for catching bad bacteria. Apparently if you decrease the stomach acid too much, it no longer kills some of the bad stuff you digest, so it can take root in your guts and cause all sorts of problems. You might ask your GI to give you a breathalyzer test to check you for bad bacteria.

And has anyone checked you for a stomach ulcer? That's the first thing I think of with severe stoamch pain and nausea. That is also caused by a bad bacteria problem (although I don't think it will show up on a breathalyzer the way bad bacteria in the guts will).

Bad bacteria in the guts and in the stomach don't show up on a blood test because they don't do anything to raise your white count, which is what the blood tests are looking at. In fact, h. pylori, which causes ulcers, is so hard to detect that the most accurate test is an endoscopy where they take a sampling of your stomach lining.

But bad bacteria farts bad gas. That's what the breathalyzer is about. If you are breathing out weird gases that aren't normal for humans to breathe out--or breathing out a lot more of something than you should be--then they know you have something in there that you shouldn't have!