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What are some good natural medicines to start taking for severe IBS?

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 6/22/2012 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
I've been through so much for years with my IBS and Ive taken various supplements and vitamins, antibiotics, drugs, diets, you name it.
I've found myself sort of back at square one. I'm 20 years old, i had it so i wasn't having attacks everyday. I was still in great discomfort but now I am starting to have attacks all the time again. I am eating gluten free, trying to eat dairy free. I don't even eat much right now at all. I've been off and on antibiotics lately due to other infections so I'm thinking maybe thats what brought it on.

Anyway, I am looking for some relief.. and I want to take some supplements that will really help.
What ares some good things to start with? I am taking antibiotics right now due to an infection in my mouth so i am taking probiotics, and that's about all I am taking supplement wise.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Jess
Posted 6/25/2012 5:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I have had diarrhea-predominant IBS all my life (68 years) even as a child and have also tried everything suggested. A couple of years ago when I went to a G.I for tests, I noticed a pamphlet in his office about VSL #3. I asked him about it and he suggested I try it. I tried it taking one capsule every night and suddenly got constipated, a new and uncomfortable condition for me. The next time I went to the G.I. doctor he suggested I cut down to about 3 per week. I did that and except for extremely stressfull situations, it has basically cured me!!! I have a B.M. almost every morning (also a new and wonderful condition for me) and it seems to pretty normal. I can't begin to tell you how this has changed my life for the better. Except for the last few days when I ate too much watermelon and canteloupe, I almost never have any problems any more. Where was this 40 or 50 years ago when I was suffering almost daily?

I strongly recommend VSL #3 for anyone with IBS. I am not sure it will work for everyone, but it certainly worked for me. Good luck!

Marcia

 

Posted 6/25/2012 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
I forgot to add that I originally bought VSL #3 from Good Times Pharmacy but it is cheaper online. Just search for VSL #3. It is still kind of expensive, but well worth it.

Marcia

Posted 6/26/2012 3:02 AM (GMT 0)
Marcia - I'm glad you found something that really helps you and makes your quality of living more normal. Like you before taking VSL #3, my gut's a mess. I wonder if I should try it.

So walk me through this - you started with one capsule per day but figured out you just need 3 a week. So is that every other day, roughly? What time of day do you take the pill and do you take it on a completely empty stomach (what I do when taking my probiotic)?

There's a local pharmacy chain in my area and one link I found stated they carry it behind the counter, in a fridge. But I heard Walgreens did this and found Renew Life products sitting on the shelf, at room temp! So I'm a little wary to trust this other pharmacy for VSL #3. Is it just better to buy online? And do they come shipped in dry ice?

So many questions, sorry!
Posted 6/26/2012 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hi. No problem with the questions. My G.I. doctor suggested the three times a week. I take one at bedtime along with a fiber capsule on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I don't take any on the weekends. Don't know why, but this seems to work.

When I first got it at Good Times Pharmacy, they never said anything about it needing to be refrigerated. I got it a couple of times, but it was so expensive (around $60). I then began searching online and found it for around $49 instead and ordered it. When it was delivered, it was in a box with some kind iof chilling thing to keep it cold and they said it should be refrigerated immediately. Since I take all my supplements and prescriptions at bedtime, putting them in a seven-day container, I figured I would just do as I had always done and put them in the Mon, Wed, Fri sections so I wouldn't forget them. And it seems to be fine.

I get the bottle of 60 capsules and it doesn't say anything on the bottle about it needing refrigeration. The directions also say to take 2 - 8 capsules daily, but all I take is one. Perhaps others need more.

I take only one fiber capsule every night, even though those directions also say to take more. All I know is that it works for me. I have recommended them to a couple of others that I know with IBS, but haven't heard whether or not they have helped.

I can't begin to tell you how miserable I was for so many years. But I guess you know that. I never went anywhere without knowing where the restrooms were. And I worried so much about whether I would have an attack that I think I brought them on sometimes. There were times when I would go out to eat dinner with friends and often couldn't even make it to the end of dinner without having to run to the bathroom. After awhile I just quit going out for dinner or even lunch. Sometimes I even stopped eating as long as I could because it seemed that whenever I ate, I would have an attack within 30 minutes. When I was working, at times I could barely make it through the day. And even if I left early I always worried whether or not I would make it home in time. No one except one who has IBS realizes how it takes over your life. I have so much more confidence now and am extremely grateful to have found VSL #3.

Once in a great while I still have a problem, like last week when I ate too much canteloupe and watermelon. But most of the time I feel very confident to go shopping and where ever I want to go without worrying anymore. Good luck to you. Let me know how it works for you.

Marcia

Posted 6/29/2012 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
Marcia - well I broke down and ordered VSL #3 from my local pharmacy, #60 count bottle of capsules is $63.00. If they help me as much as they help you, next time I'll shop around for a better price. For now, it was easy for me to just phone the pharmacy and it took literally 3 minutes to place this order.

A few more questions, given the fact that I have multiple bm's per day, and sometimes the stool is messy and not exactly formed but I've never once struggled with constipation in all these years (13) from my resection/sigmoid removal, I think like you, I should begin taking these capsules every other day. I don't want to overwhelm my gut and take them daily. Do you agree?

I should add that anything that I do take - GI tract wise - has to be in moderation. A little goes a long, long way for my gut. When I have to have a abdominal ct scan, I can only consume 1/2 the solution and the last bit you drink 1 hour prior to the scan, I must drink as I am walking in the door for registration. As soon as the scan is over, I immediately go home and each time, I have a total and I mean total (better than any bowel prep) clean out. So I like to begin things like a new probiotic with small or light doses.

Thanks so much for any advice you can give me.
Posted 6/29/2012 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds like a good plan to me. Better to start with small doses. You can always increase it if necessary. Good luck. Let me know in a couple of weeks how it is working. It seems like it takes a week or more to start, but I can't remember. Hope it works for you. It has been a godsend for me.

I don't know if you also take any fiber supplements or if you get enough in your diet. I don't think I do. That's why I take them as well. You might think about that too.

Marcia
Posted 6/29/2012 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
I take Colace, twice a day, which is a mild stool softener. I need to eat plain foods on a regular basis although I can enjoy more fresh fruit and produce than initially I did after my resection (had to go on a strict low residue diet back then).

Currently, I'm taking Renew Life 50 Billion count, several times a day. Sometimes in a total 24 hour time period I recieve 100 Billion or 200 Billion, depends upon if I'm messed up.

So I take it these VSL capsules are even higher than what I've taken with Renew Life products? I used to take the 80 Billion count at bedtime but it seemed like my body needed more and that's when I hit upon the two doses per day, 12 hours apart.
Posted 6/29/2012 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
Wow! And you have IBS on top of all that. OMG! So sorry.

VSL #3 contains 8 different bacteria, which is more most probiotic supplements do and also in high amounts - 450 billion active bacteria cells. So, yeah, I guess it is more than Renew Life.

So I don't know about the fiber. Better go with what your doctor tells you. Hope it works. Really!

Marcia
Posted 6/30/2012 5:36 AM (GMT 0)
Marcia - I don't quite have the IBS official diagnosis, it's that my chronic symptoms mimic IBS. My tumor was located barely inside, located in the sigmoid and they had to remove 90% of the sigmoid. Probiotics have greatly helped me in the past 3 years since I've taken them. So I have to assume this VSL #3 will help and wouldn't it be great if it helped me as well as it works for you? I would gladly live a life w/o so many trips to the bathroom or like you prior to this, having to know where your next bathroom is located. I do all of these things, they are so ingrained in me, I never sit down on a toilet unless there's TP or if I think it may not flush correctly, I do a practice flush. Crazy habits like that, that are just a part of who I am now. Been living this way over 1/5 of my life too. Well I try not to obsess or complain, others have greater needs than I do. I just would like to have formed stool, and if I go many times per day, so be it. I hope this VSL #3 can help me achieve that stool stage I most want.

I never thought my life would revolve around a bathroom or a topic like this. But I've long past resigned myself to it all and no longer even feel embarrassed to discuss anything GI tract related.

Thanks again for the incentive to try VSL #3!
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