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i have IBS or whatever it is for far too long to be ignored anymore

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 4/21/2006 3:21 AM (GMT 0)
sorry i had this for so long that this will turn out to be somewhat of a short story because i want to explain all of it. Here goes... it all started when i first went to college about 2 years ago and i made a lot of friends there and hung out with them a lot. I stayed up all night with people around me all the time, even in the day. Since there was always someone around i kind of forced myself to hold in my gas whenever i wanted to fart because i didn't want to embarrass myself, especially during class. also classes were getting harder and i had no idea what major i wanted so i think stress was also a big contributor. i think this was when it all started. I held it in so much that i started having pain in the lower abdomen and sweating and excess oil production occurred on my face, probably from trying to hold it in so hard. This is the point where i had problems pooping. I would sit there for probably 5 minutes or so and if nothing comes out i would just leave and deal with the irritation. Since i didnt know what it was at the time, i took some pills that made me have diarrhea( i think ex-lax) and i took probably 5 or so boxes containing probably around 25 tablets of these. They made it better for a little while, but in the long run, it hurt more than helped. Whenever i couldn't go at all, even with the pills, i felt like i wanted to die. So along with the stress from school, embarrassment from farting in the presence of others (and mentally developing a way to hold in my gas) and stupidly taking those pills, i realized that my condition worsened.

last year, i saw a speacialist and he said i had symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome(the constipated version), and i even went through a colonoscopy. the doc found nothing wrong with my digestive system and said that there were a few small hemorrhages(probably from me holding in my gas too much), but there was no problem. He just prescribed me some medicine that didn't work so i didn't bother seeing him again. My condition now is the same as ever, if not worse. Let me tell you my routine of the day. i will start at night, where i will try to go to sleep, but i have that feeling of wanting to poop, i sit on the toilet for 15 to 20 minutes(this is when im lucky that it comes out in that time range, usually i sit on the toilet up to half an hour) and if nothing comes out, i just try to go to sleep. Also i can't lie straight on my back because that makes me feel so uncomfortable, so i lift up one of my legs to relieve it, and surprisingly it does make me feel a bit better. Usually i lie on my side, and not just any side, it has to be on my left side, so that i can pass some gas since its nearly impossible for me to fart when im lying on my back. When i fall asleep, i usually wake up around 2 or 3 and try to go again, but since i am kinda tired i only sit there until i almost fall asleep on the toilet, which is the point where i get off toilet and back to bed. Again i wake up, but around 4 or 5 to try again for 15-30 minutes and successful or not i go back to bed. Usually i get the most success during the morning around 6-8. In the afternoon it is decent, but at night, its the worst and the hardest time for me, especially when i try to go to sleep. Don't get me wrong, when i go, it's not a lot, actually its very little each time as if a normal person empties their intestine once or twice a day, i get little by little success at more than 9 times a day. My poop is usually hard and dark(i've heard from eating veggies) and sometimes they are very small pellets to small size poop compared to "normal" sized ones. After every meal i am able to poop at least 2 times between meals, but after dinner is the toughest time for me, i just dont know why. I've also discovered that drinking two cups of milk during one meal will give me instant diarrhea, maybe im also a bit lactose intolerant, but i found that if i drink just one cup of milk for each meal will help me with my excessive bowel movements. At night without the milk, i find it very hard for me to fart and also im just lying on my bed suffering from all the pain from my abdomen and even my anus.

Im sorry i have bored you guys for so long, thanks for reading. i just wanted to "get it out" so to speak. I have more to tell but i am very tired and i even feel the "urge" right now so im wrapping it up. 

Posted 4/21/2006 4:03 AM (GMT 0)
Hi jason,
Welcome to HealingWell! :-)
What sort of med did your doc prescribe? Zelnorm? Miralax? Did you give it enough time to take affect? Have you considered seeing another doc and/or specialist (GI)?
Have you tried taking a fiber supplement and drinking lots of water? What about the natural route... like prunes? Aloe vera seems to work pretty good as well. There are several things you can try... Please tell us more.
Posted 4/21/2006 5:31 AM (GMT 0)
For some reason laying on the left side for gastric problems is recommended. I know for acid reflux it is and gas and acid go together. Milk creates acid and acid creates gas. You might try going off all milk for a while and see if that will help get the gas under control. At this point it seems like you are not having contipation anyway so you may be one of those that goes back and forth. It would not hurt to give up dairy products for a week and see if it helps. Also, you could take Gas-x after you eat or Maalox Max, something with Simethicone in it for gas. I don't think if you are having any diahrea they would give you Zelnorm.
Posted 4/21/2006 12:02 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jason,
Lil and Canyonbabe have given you some advice.
Wanted to add my welcome to the site.
Take Care :)
Posted 4/24/2006 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
sorry for replying for so late, i can only use the computer at my library right now because i don't have access to the one in my dorm at the moment. yea..medications that i have been on are:

1. generic walgreens ex-lax pills (i think i went through 5 boxes of them)
2. senokot (finished a 100 tablet bottle) prescribed by primary doc
3. milk of magnesia (i think 2 bottles of the normal size(well it was large or small so i'd call it normal) by primary doc
4. prescription medicine from a GI specialist, but i don't know the name of the medication. i just remember that they are tiny round pills that look like "M and M's" and even tastes sweet, but not chocolately sweet. :) (i finished one bottle which i think lasted for 3 weeks to a month, but maybe i should have taken more since the specialist told me it prevented excess gas, but it seemed like it changed nothing)
5. prunes (i think i ate it excessively at one point, probably got through 3 or 4 plastic containers a week and whenever i couldn't go, it was like torture so i gave that up. i don't remember if it was effective at the time, but i just remember the pain

about the milk, i guess i will try to go without dairy products for one week and see if it makes a difference. it's strange because i've been eating and drinking dairy products ever since i was a little kid but now it seems to have a bad effect on me.


Oh yeah, and thanks for all the advice and i feel very welcome here. Thank you.

Post Edited (jason85) : 4/24/2006 8:54:37 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/24/2006 1:26 AM (GMT 0)
Jason,
Is there a Health Services at your school? I urge you to consider seeing a doctor about your problems. Maybe they can prescribe another med for you.
Do you take probiotics? Eat yogurt? Ever since I have been taking probiotics and eating Activia I have been pretty regular (which was RARE before). Could this somthing you would try?
Posted 4/24/2006 4:51 AM (GMT 0)
Jason, I have been eating and drinking dairy since I was little and I am almost 70 now and just developed the "adult onset lactose problem" It all has to do with the enzymes in the stomach and sometimes they just get out of whack. This may be only temporary but try it for a week. I could run faster when I was a kid, too, and swing from monkey bars. Things change and so do our bodies. Try for a week and just see if it helps. if not nothing lost.
Posted 4/24/2006 3:57 PM (GMT 0)
i'm not an avid water drinker, so i think drinking more water is a must even if i didn't have this problem. Also I don't plan to visit a different doctor b/c it will be the same situation all over again from the start. "The doctor will tell me i have IBS and say that there is no cure and then he or she will prescribe me some medication and if the medication won't work, then a have to get a colonoscopy where the doctor will find nothing wrong with me".

oh yea, i also tried "aloe vera" and eating papaya for a little while and i think that just softened my stool, but i still went to the bathroom the same number of times if not more.

Maybe i'll try all your suggestions like taking "gas-x" or "maalox max," after my meals, and I like the idea of eating yogurt, but that has dairy in it and i don't even know what probiotics are and how do you get them.

And Canyonbabe711, i guess you're right that i don't really have constipation since i am able to go. But sometimes it's really hard to excrete, and it takes a little while, ranging from 5-20 minutes. I guess in the time range where it's up in the twenties is when i have gone a couple times before(meaning that it is near the evening). I guess i have that feeling of bloatedness that makes me think i need to go all the time. But what's weird is that when i get off the toilet once i think i'm done, i feel like going again in the next 20 minutes or so. Maybe just gas is the problem since i am known to burp a lot and pretty loudly too, even when i'm hungry and didn't eat anything for a long time. I always seems like I need to pass gas, but i do it in a controlled silent way when i am around friends and strangers(that hurts quite a bit sometimes whenever it doesn't come out) and i can fart loudly among family without embarrassment, which doesnt hurt at all, so i guess it's a different situation among different peers, but with the same bloatedness.

Post Edited (jason85) : 4/27/2006 5:02:45 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/24/2006 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
You said you had hemmroids (I think you meant that instead of "hemmorages"). Did the doctor say anything about them being so inflamed that they are causing a partial blockage? They could be the reason why you are having such a hard time getting stuff out, especially if what comes out is not very hard.

I know soft poop isn't fun, but you may consider taking a mild laxative like aloe vera or prunes or Ducolax for a week or two just so you don't have to strain your rectum as much. Hard stools make hemmroids worse and they may be what's causing you some of the problem in the first place. They certainly won't recede with you passing hard stools, straining and spending a lot of time on the toilet.

I know this sounds crazy, but I have read that holistic healers don't like Western toilets. They say that people are made to squat and do their business (quite true), and that Western toilets don't put the body in the correct posture to help facilitate bowel movements and that some people's constipation can be linked to this (don't know about that, but it's a theory). If you do a little research on it, you should be able to find information on simulating a squatting position while you are using a regular toilet (I think there was something about putting your feet up on a stool and drawing your knees up). At the very least you're supposed to sit up very straight when you are on the toilet because that's supposed to help things come out better; hunching over is supposed to bend the intestines into an even less favorable shape.

I know you are in school and probably don't stay in once place all day long, but the way I have found to make sure that I get enough water is to fill up a 2-liter tea pitcher with water and set it on my desk at work. See, I'm too lazy (or busy) to get up often and refill my glass if I have to go to the kitchen, but with the pitcher right here, I'll fill'er up as quick as I run out. I end up drinking this whole pitcher (64oz, which breaks down to the 8 8oz glasses a day you need to drink minimum) at work, usually a 8oz glass or two extra in the afternoon (because I drink all of the water in the pitcher before the day is done), then one or two 32oz cups of water with supper.

The easiest way for you to get more water is to just buy yourself some bottles of water, figure out how many of them you need to drink during a day, then put them in your backpack. When you get to class, you set the water out on your desk and you should find that you naturally grab for it when it's there in front of you. Save your empty bottles and refill them with regular tap water or from a fountain to save money. Some places--one of our local hospitals, for instance--also sell huge water bottles that will hold 64oz. It may take some getting used to for you, but I am content to drink water at room temperature, which is why I can leave my water pitcher out all day. Whenever I get hot, I will get some cold water from our water cooler, but for the most part it's room-tempature water for me. If you like it better, you can make tea--green tea is good room temperature--or kool-aid, but most people don't want drink that much sugar everyday. Although green tea can be drunk with less sugar than Kool-Aid

Also, always use really big glasses at meals. If you have to, carry one to the cafeteria with you. Like I said, if you have to run yourself ragged filling up a bunch of small glasses, you will not drink nearly so much as when you have one huge glass in front of you.
Posted 4/24/2006 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
I just looked up it in a dictionary to find out the spelling. Yes, I meant "hemmorhages". Thank you for the correction, Keriamon. The doctor said they were minor ones, so I'm guessing the hemmorhages weren't too serious.

Judging from your reply, drinking more water is a main component to consider.

I have already tried the prune and aloe vera treatments with no success, so I don't know if I should try that again. Also about positioning on the toilet, I never knew that sitting up straight would help. I've been doing the wrong things all the time. I've been crouching down, sometimes all the way down unitl my chest reaches my knees, or swaying to one side, particularly the right side(I've been doing this recently and finding that it helps, or I just think it helps), and sometimes I do weird things like sway my hips around in a circular motion when I am desperate to get it out, so you can tell I don't really have straight posture because of sitting on the toilet so much.

Reading and typing on this forum has helped me a lot. I've been on the computer for almost 2 hours without really feeling the need for a toilet break. It's given me such a good feeling that I lasted this long without my bottom touching a toilet seat. :-) There's still the occasional passing of gas, but other than that I think I would be normal. hopefully it will last until tomorrow, but that will be a miracle, if it were to happen.

Two major changes I have done are giving up on dairy products(is soy milk a good substitute for milk?) and drinking more water. They seem to help, but I was wondering if my diet mattered. For instance eating apples, oranges, bananas, granola, hamburgers, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, onions, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, chicken, doritos chips, etc. These are some of the things I eat frequently and occasionally. I wanted to ask this forum because i would believe people who have this disease rather than some site that may provide false information.

Post Edited (jason85) : 4/24/2006 5:46:45 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/25/2006 2:09 AM (GMT 0)
Jason,
Probiotics are "good" bacteria your intestines need to function properly. They will help rid the bad bacteria. You find them in yogurt or in supplements (like Acidophilus). I take Kyo-Dophilus which is 1 pill with a combination of several probiotics.
Many people who are lactose intoleranct can handle yogurt. For some reason, Keri might be able to explain, the lactose isn't an issue.
Good luck! It seems as though you have some good advice already.
Posted 4/25/2006 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
The bacteria in the yogurt consume most of the lactose, so that's why it doesn't bother most people who are lactose intolerant--it's been taken out. But it still has calcium in it, which may pose a problem for someone with constipation, but I think calcium-induced constipation is more from the heavier doses of supplements than regular dairy, unless you consume a lot of dairy. A yogurt a day shouldn't make you worse, I woudn't think. But you may want to avoid it for a little while just to see. You can get probiotics in pill form instead.

I have heard soy milk doesn't taste very good, but I'm sure you can get used to it, especially if you like tofu and miso soup and other soy products already. But it is a good substitute for people who can't drink regular milk. Someone here on the boards--I think Canyonbabe--is on almond milk and she said it tastes good. I've heard it tastes very rich and, obviously, nutty, but if you don't like the soy milk, try it. It's probably only available in health food stores. There is also Lactaid, which is lactose-free milk and I drank it some in college and it's very good--just like regular milk. But you're back to the calcium thing again on that one.

It sounds like you have a pretty good diet--lots of fruits and vegetables listed. That's good because they all contain fiber which will help to keep you regular. One thing, though: bananas. Fresh they can be kind of constipating. Dried (banana chips--usually found in trail mix) they are SUPER constipating!! Don't ever eat dehydrated bananas with your condition. In fact, you probably should lay off the bananas all together.

Also, I will recommend for you too the OTC medicine Equalactin. It is a type of calcium--different than what's in supplements and milk--and it can help constipation by drawing more water into the bowels (more on that in my reply post on gall bladder problems). It helped me have nice stools, although I wasn't as bad as you all the time. But maybe it will help. It should only take a day or two to notice a difference.
Posted 4/25/2006 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
d'oh i just started eating bananas because i thought it would help, but i guess not.

about soy milk and yogurt: My school provides soy milk and lactaid and i actually like the taste of soy milk and i just wondered if it was a good substitute so i will stick with it since you say it IS a good substitute. i can buy yogurt at my school store, so i will try to eat it once a day(does the time of day matter?). You can tell i will try anything by now, except going to see a doctor.

Yes, water retention is a huge problem for me. I think i have a very weak urinary bladder. Whenever i drink some liquids, i don't retain it very well. For example, during every meal i drink at least 2 cups of liquid and half an hour later i just pee a lot out( not in one session, but probably like 3). It's like it goes in and comes right out. Maybe not retaining enough water is another major reason why i'm constipated or feel like i'm constipated.

Thanks for explaining the probiotics to me, 7lil. I thought it was some sort of vaccination. And Keriamon, could i buy "Equalactin" at any drug store?

Post Edited (jason85) : 4/25/2006 12:20:36 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/25/2006 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
I know I have gotten Equalactin at Walgreens, but I think I've found it at CVS too. It can be hard to spot because they rarely have a lot of it sitting around and it's usually up at the top of the shelf or down low, kind of hidden. But you can usually get someone who knows where it is or who can help you look.

I don't know of any particular time you need to eat yogurt.

I don't know if you necessarily have a water rentition problem; when I drink a lot of water all day, I go to the bathroom every hour--sometimes every 45 minutes. When I'm not drinking about two pitchers of water a day, and especially if I'm outside and hot, I may only pee three or four times a day. My mother always said I had the bladder capacity of a horse, so normal people may need to go more often than once an hour when they drink a lot. I think night before last I got up three times to pee, lol. For some reason I didn't pee a lot early in the day; I needed to pee a lot in the afternoon and evening, even though I typically drink less as the day goes on.

But you may be right about losing more water than you should. I don't know of any test that will confirm that, but drinking more water should be helpful since you will be replacing what you pee out so quickly.

I don't know if you are a big cola or coffee drinker, but caffeine is dehydrating--it basically makes you pee out all of your water. Alcohol is also dehydrating. You should avoid both as much as you can. If you want to have a drink at a party, then make sure you chase every alcoholic drink with a big glass of water. I've heard that the latest research shows that hangovers are caused by dehydration and that if you just drink a glass of water between every drink, you are much less likely to get a hangover, if you get one at all. But you really shouldn't drink enough to get a hangover with your guts messed up. I don't know about constipation, but the girls on here with diarrhea say that beer is the worst thing they can drink for their IBS. Hard liquor bothers them much less than beer. I think wine is kind of in between the two. You probably shouldn't have more than one or two drinks in an evening, and probably not drink two days in a row. And if you are suffering from gas pains, you should give up carbonated drinks all together anyways because they usually just make the gas worse.
Posted 4/25/2006 9:27 PM (GMT 0)
Ah, thanks for the info. I will look for that medication at a Walgreens when I get the chance.

Nope, I drink neither soda nor coffee. As for alcohol, I live in a dorm with 6 other guys, who drink and party all the time, but miraculously i haven't drank a sip of alcohol because i heard that it will worsen my condition and I guess it's true.

And I wish I had a urinary bladder like yours. :-)

Post Edited (jason85) : 4/27/2006 4:38:29 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/25/2006 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hey, good for you for abstaining. Not that having drinks is bad--unless you have IBS--but there's so much pressure, especially on guys, to drink until they pass out when they are in college. I went to a party on campus my first week at college and I sat around watching everyone get really drunk and wondered, what on earth is so great about acting like a total idiot? (I don't drink because I don't like the taste of alcohol--I'd have made a wonderful wine taster in another life though; I can detect even the tiniest traces of alcohol in food.) Needless to say, I didn't go out partying after that. I made friends with people who drank nothing or maybe a little in moderation and did nice, geeky things on the weekends, like go to anime club. That and I had a good time freaking out the bartenders in Ireland with my abstinence, lol. Really got to love Finch's sparkling white lemonade and orange drinks mixed together in a pint glass. Of course the carbonation wasn't the best for me, but still, it was good.

Oh, if you do ever crave the taste of colas, I drink Stweart's black cherry colas (in glass bottles). They have no caffeine and very little carbonation. I can't have caffeine anymore, so that's what I drink to get a fix. And once you get used to those, you won't touch a regular cola anymore--they're nasty in comparison to the smooth, rich, non-caffeinated, low carbonation cherry taste of a Stewart's.
Posted 4/26/2006 11:04 PM (GMT 0)
lol you have convinced me with your nice advertising for the Stewart's cola.

Yea ever since I found out that I had this problem, I don't even look forward to drinking or partying anymore. Heck I don't even want to hang out with people anymore either, since hanging around people makes me physically and mentally hold in my gas (painful) :(. And whenever I need to go the bathroom, I don't want to make my friends wait like 10 to 20 minutes for me each time I go. So if I have it this rough with friends, you can tell it's hard for me to get a girlfriend :(. Also IBS affects my job because I have to be missing from my job for around 15 minutes from time to time. Luckily my boss is very lenient, even though she doesn't know I have IBS.

Ultimately to sum it all up, IBS has made me anti-social and has officially ruined my life. :(

Post Edited (jason85) : 4/27/2006 4:36:30 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/27/2006 3:00 AM (GMT 0)
(((HUGS JASON)))
We can relate!
Posted 4/27/2006 2:37 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, I have to be careful of the Stewart's because I like them so well I can drink a 4-pack all at once. I only let myself have a pack a week because they're a bit pricey and I really shouldn't have that many empty calories anyways. They have them in diet, but they can be very hard to find; I get them for my diabetic fiance, but I try to avoid fake sugar when I can. I have never had a stomach problem with any fake sugars (except sugar alcohols), but I'd rather just eat natural things when I can. Not that refined sugar and high fructose corn solids are all that natural, but maybe a bit more so than Sweet N' Low.

I can sympathize with you. My gall bladder went bad my spring semester of my freshman year in college and I had problems with it for five years. I ended up living off campus with a roommate my sophmore year, then she left after that year and I lived alone. It can be scary getting up in the middle of the night in horrible pain and there's no one there to look after you. I was 6.5 hours' drive from home to boot. I became pretty unsocial--although that was actually less because of my diarrhea and gall bladder attacks and more because my roommate had been my best friend and we did not part on good terms and I didn't really have any other friends besides her. I kind of got put off having friends. But then my senior year I got into the anime club, which met for three hours every Friday evening and that was a welcome diversion. It wasn't so much that my stomach problems got in the way.

Now that I have my gall bladder out and I am doing much better, I do medieval reenacting and met someone while doing that and we're getting married sometime in October. If it makes you feel any better, I think I went on all of three dates the entirety of my college career, lol. Of course, I went to an all-women's college, so that makes it a bit harder to find a guy, but I really didn't let it bother me--too much, lol. You have plenty of time to meet someone after college. Not that you probably want one of those girls that comes to parties and gets drunk every weekend anyways. It's like I tell my best friend from high school; don't pick up men in a bar. After you get married, do you want him still there on the weekends drinking? The same is true for men looking for women. I doubt you're the kind of guy that wants the Paris Hilton, still-dancing-on-table-tops-when-she's-nearly-30-white-trash kind of girl. Sometimes even girls need a little time to mature (I don't think there's any hope for Paris Hilton, but that's another matter entirely).

What you need is a dog. Then you can fart with immunity and always blame it on the dog. LOL.
Posted 4/27/2006 11:47 PM (GMT 0)
hi 7Lil, you mentioned something about "eating Activia" a while back. What is it exactly?

(((HUGS BACK))) I'm glad, but more sad that there are other people like me.

I actually made a list of things to buy from all the suggestions from the thread. Here it is:

1. Stewart's drink

2. gas-x

3. Equalactin

4. maalox max

5. Kyo-Dophilus(Acidophilus)

6. Activia

I know I can't take all these together, but are there some that I could take at the same time or are they all separately effective drugs? (omit the Stewart's drink though)

Keriamon, congrats on your future marriage. So extracurricular activities are the way to go to meet future soulmates, eh? Maybe I'll give them a try. :)

Yea actually about diversions, I find that when I play a video game, I can play for hours and sometimes I forget about going to the bathroom until I really feel the urge and I go the instant I sit on the toilet seat(AMAZING), but with my busy lifestyle I can't be playing video games all the time. In fact I barely have time at all, except for the weekends.

Yea blaming on the dog would be a funny idea, but I would have to keep it near me at all times so that I can keep blaming it and that would be a hassle. Also I would have to buy a dog first and train it not to bite me. Hopefully my farts won't be the trigger for the dog biting me :).

Post Edited (jason85) : 4/30/2006 5:21:24 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/28/2006 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Jason,
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you...
Activia is a Dannon yogurt especially made (or maybe just an advertising ploy) for your digestive system. It is supposed to help "regulate" it within 2 weeks. It worked for me! And, it tastes yummy too. I like Strawberry and Mixed Berry the best.
Anyway, it contains an abundance of probiotics.
I'm not sure about combining the ingredients you mentioned. I, however, eat Activia, take probiotics (2 different kinds a day) AND take Beano & Gas-X. Occasionally I'll throw in some Maalox or Prevacid for heartburn. My doc has never said no to my cocktail of meds. With that said, you should always talk to your doc before you begin a medicine (OTC) regimen. "Better to be safe than sorry."
Good luck and please keep us posted.
Posted 4/28/2006 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think you need both the acidophilus and the actavia yogurt, since that's just doubling up on the same thing, basically. Might as well just take two yogurts or two acidophilus pills if you feel the need to double up. But since probiotics can give you gas if you take too much at once, I would suggest starting off with a small amount and then work your way up so your guts have time to adjust.

The Equalactin is a type of calcium and, as far as I know, it doesn't interact with anything. If you're on prescriptions, you might want to check that, but I don't see a problem with taking it along with yogurt. I'm not so familiar with maalox max--I thought that Maalox was for heartburn--but I think people here are using it for gas relief, so it's the same thing as the Gas-X; you only need to take one or the other.

And of course the colas are just good, lol.

Personally, I would recommend picking one thing and taking it for a week or two and seeing if it helps you any. I mean you should be able to take all of these things together, but then if you get relief, which one helped you? Because you'll not want to be going on with all of it for a long time, so it's good to isolate the thing(s) that help you. Since you have a gas problem and constipation problem, I would start off with the Equalactin and the Gas-X or Maalox Max--since they treat totally different things--and see if you can get better poops and have less gas. If you don't get any benefit or only a partial benefit, then add in the yogurt or acidophilus for a month and see if that reduces your gas and bloating (may even help the constipation). The only reason why I recommend trying the probiotics second is because they can take a while to work. The Equalactin and the anti-gas medicines should start working in a day or two. If you haven't improved any in a week, then they either aren't going to help you at all, or you need to take more. You need to be on the probiotics a month to be sure that they aren't going to help.
Posted 4/28/2006 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
Keri, I take acidophilus in the morning, Kyo-Dophilus with lunch and Activia for an after dinner dessert.
The Activia tastes good and keeps me away from junk food. The Acidophilus in the morning helps with D and kick starts my digestion on a good note. Kyo-Dophilus is thrown in the mix because I love it so much... So why not?
I take Maalox for heartburn and Gas-X for gas.

All those combos work great for me.

It's all about trying things out and seeing which works best for you.
Posted 4/28/2006 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, you're downing some major amounts of probiotics there, Lil, lol. I get crampy if I take more than one acidophillus pill and I had to kind of work up to that. But the Digestive Advantage didn't bother me as much, so it may just be too much of the acidophillus strain that gives me cramps.

I just suggested taking one probiotic at a time not because putting them together is bad, but just because I thought it'd be cheaper to try one thing and see if it works first. I don't know about Jason, but I was pitifully poor when I was in college. I tried the Equalactin for a time and I fretted over the $3.99 a box cost. Didn't do a thing to keep my gall bladder from having attacks, but when I wasn't sick with that, I had perfect poops. Picturesque, even, lol.
Posted 4/30/2006 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
Haha, yea college is a real money drainer, but I managed to grab some of the stuff on my list. I bought the gas-x, "extra strength" acidophilus, and Equalactin(It's still 3.99). I'm taking Keri's suggestion so that I can find out if one works by itself. Actually, I need to save money. :) I'm trying the Equalactin first since Keri said it may work in a couple of days and I like the idea of fast positive results. It's funny when I first saw the box of Equalactin at a Walgreens, it said "relieves irritable bowel symptoms." I just had to say WOW, I was really amazed that there was a drug specifically for IBS. But the the daily doses are kinda extreme. On the back of the box, the directions say to take 2 tablets together, 4 times a day. So that means I have to take 8 tablets a day. I bought the 24 tablet pack, so that will only last me 3 days, and I'll have to go buy more and become more broke. :(

Hopefully these will help though, so I'll be able to see picturesque poops soon.

Post Edited (jason85) : 4/30/2006 11:38:05 AM (GMT-6)

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