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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 5/12/2006 8:35 PM (GMT 0)

confused   Hello Everyone,

I am a 32 year old female.  I have constant diarreha.  I also do have Panic Disorder.  I have been doing fine until November of 2005.  A huge amount of stress set in, going back to work after maternity leave etc....  So as of November, I started having constant diarreha, I use to weigh 120 lbs, and am now fluxuating between 95 - 100 lbs.  I am 5'1 and look like a rake.  I eat all the time, but it seems that as soon as I eat, about 10 - 15 minutes later I have to go to the bathroom.  The girls in my office started to cause me grief, saying, why don't you eat something etc... I explained my situation but they kept on hounding me they were kind of acting like a pack of wolves going after the weak prey.  Anyhow, my doctor has put me on a 3 month short term disability, I have seen a doctor that does the colonoscopy and had one of those, they removed quite a large benine polyp.  After the colonoscopy I had two "normal" bowel movements, then back to the squirts!  I also have this may sound gross, a problem with my anus/rectum,  it seems as though when I go to the bathroom, a swollen ring comes out too, when I wipe, it almost sets off some sort of a reaction to go some more!  The doctor's think it is a rectal prolapse, I don't know, I am just so sick and tired of this.  I just need to know that some of my symptoms are the same as others, like, almost seeweed type texture diarreha comes out some times, sometimes there are "pineapple chunk" looking objects, burns sometimes, major weight loss, fatigue, and the most awful sometimes not making it to the bathroom.  sad I have also got very depressed as it has worsened, none of my clothes fit me.  I know I sound like a complainer but I need some support and after reading some of the forum I know I have found the right place,  Any support or suggestions or stories from your experiences are MORE than welcome.  Sorry for being so graphic.  I want to be "normal" (back to my old self again).  I am going to Gastroantorolgist (spelling?) soon, but I want it to go away.  sad sad sad sad

Posted 5/12/2006 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
Has your doctor put you on any anti-depressants or anti-anxiety meds to control your panic disorder? Not only can feeling less stressed lessen your gut problems, but there are some anti-depressants out there that seem to work on IBS, even when the person is not depressed and not anxious. Something about they relax the intestines and encourage them to work regularly and be "less stressed out."

We have all pooped some really weird things. Seaweed-looking poop, I think, is a first, but it all depends on what you eat; people who have diarrhea frequently poop out only partially-digested food, so leafy greens could come out looking like that.

You mention that your poops sometimes burn. Are they also yellow or a yellowy-brown sometimes? That can be caused by excess bile. For some people it's an indicator of a bad gall bladder, but that has a lot of other symptoms with it that you haven't mentioned. There are plenty of people with IBS-D that have a little too much bile in their stools, I think just because everything moves through the guts too fast to get absorbed. When you see the G.I., and if he diagnoses you with IBS, then you can ask him for some Welchol. It's what they're giving people like me who don't have gall bladders to soak up the excess bile. We have at least one person on here who was put on a similar product--Questran--who has bile stools but still has a good gall bladder, so I don't think there's any reason why, if you are having too much bile, you can't also take that med and get it soaked up. I personally recommend the Welchol because I've not had the first problem with it and it works like a charm for me. Some people here on the forum have had excess gas/ gas cramps with the Questran.

Have you seen our numerous posts on the virtures of calcium? Caltrate 600 w/ vitamin D soaks up excess water and can help stop a lot of people's diarrhea. It helped me back when I got my guts tore up and the Welchol alone wasn't enough.

Definitely mention to your G.I. that you seem to have some sort of rectum problem and have him look at it. That may be contributing to your problem to some degree or may otherwise not be a good thing and need to be fixed. Of course not being on the toliet all the time is usually a pretty good start to helping a lot of problems, from hemmroids to fissures.

When you go back to work, and those women start in on you need to eat something, smile sweetly and say, "Are you a good cook? I'd love to try something of yours." If they want you to eat more, they should feed you! And then maybe they will see that you are eating and still not gaining weight. Of course, if they are vicious, they probably will accuse you of going to the toilet to throw it up; some people just can't mind their own business that way. Most people, in all fairness, are genuinely concerned and want to help, but they can't take a hint that no, you're not anorexic and no, you're not in denial about being anorexic. You can also reply coolly, "Are you my mother?" That usually gives people the hint to back off the nagging.

Hope you can find something to stop you up so you can get better.
Posted 5/12/2006 9:33 PM (GMT 0)

Keriamon

I had my gallbladder removed about 5 years ago, so maybe that is the yellow color you were talking about,  I am on 200mg of Zoloft and 1mg of Colonazapam for my nerves, he has recently given me Triazadone for sleep too.  Big hug to you thank you for your support

Posted 5/12/2006 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Barbaroski-

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I have IBS-D and it sounds alot like yours. I also have panic/anxiety disorder. I have had pretty much constant diarrhea since February. I started out overweight and should be thrilled with the 20-25 pounds I've lost, but it's very unsettling to lose weight unintentionally like this. It seems nothing is absorbed by my body, all going straight through. I can relate to both your seaweed and pineapple descriptions.

My diarrhea is somewhat improved of late. I avoid dairy and fat. If I have either one, I end up with major problems. I take acidopholus daily, this seems to help. At my last GI visit, I was prescribed Questran; I have not tried it yet as I am doing a little better and don't want to rock the boat. Also, my anxiety is being treated and with that settling down I have seen improvement. I take Ativan, see a therapist, and go to a holistic chiropractor.

I'm sick of this, too. I swear I will never again wish to be thin! Just going to the bathroom makes me panic thinking about what's going to come out. Oh, to be "normal" again!

Sami
Posted 5/12/2006 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
No gall bladder? Get Welchol!

You almost certainly have Post-Cholecystectomy Syndrome. Basically, that's when, after you get your gall bladder out, your guts don't straighten out like doctors claim that they should. A lot of people have this problem, even though there are a good number of doctors out there who are fervent believers in all people becoming perfectly normal after gall bladder removal. My reaction to this is, umm, hello, I'm missing an organ. How am I supposed to be normal? Just because you can live without it doesn't mean that it didn't serve a useful function, and taking it away means that nothing is performing that useful and necessary function anymore.

My mother-in-law had diarrhea everytime after she ate and when she had to give lectures, she'd not eat, even if her lecture was late in the day. Because as soon as she ate, she was on the pot all day long. My G.I. put me on the Welchol after I saw him complaining of diarrhea--frequently with bile in it--and boom! it fixed me right up! I'm still on it two years later. I clued my m-i-l into it and she has nothing but rave reviews too. She no longer gets diarrhea after eating and can now travel and do her lectures without worrying about need to go to the bathroom all the time.

I really don't have IBS; I have the Post-Cholecystectomy Syndrome. Things that bother IBSers don't bother me and I almost never have any of the other symptoms of IBS, like gas and gas cramping. In fact, I can eat pretty much anything I want to, so long as I'm on the Welchol. I still have to avoid caffeine, I am careful about how much and of what fried and greasy foods I eat and I do seem to need to avoid apples. But everything else, I'm good on. Dairy, fat, raw vegetables, pizza, chocolates--I can eat them all with the Welchol. But doctors frequently lump Post-Cholecystectomy Syndrome into IBS (just like they lump just about every other known bowel problem into "IBS" even though that's technically supposed to be reserved for motility problems with no known cause), so I stay here and try to help out the other gall bladder people. I've also learned from the IBSers about things like calcium, which I also use to treat my guts.
Posted 5/13/2006 5:17 PM (GMT 0)

Hi barbaroski,
Welcome to HealingWell!  :-)
You've already gotten some great advice from the previous posters.  I just wanted to say "Hi!" and tell you that you are not alone.  We're all totally stressed out, most of us have D, and probably all of us have pooped our pants or at least sharted.  Good times, isn't it?   tongue    Sometimes we need to keep our humor or this IBS thing will take over and leave us in the gutter.

I think it's great that you made a GI apt.  Make sure to write down you symptoms and all your "troubles" before you go.  Take the list with you and don't leave until you have everything addressed.  You may also want to keep a food diary... You will notice what foods bother you most.  Taking that to your doc would be super helpful as well.

Have you seen the post about Calcium?  For those with daily D it could really be beneficial.

Calcium info from lnape 

(((HUGS))) to you, barbaraoski.

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