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I suffer from Ibs and this is what helps me

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 1/19/2007 12:38 AM (GMT 0)
I just wanted to introduce myself. I am a 27 year old male that lives in Chicago.

I was diagnosed with IBS since the age of 13 and have been battling it for ever, but it was much worse when I was in high school. I am also lactose intolerant and certain combinations of foods are just completely volatile to me.

Even something like bbq sauce or coffee creamer will just send me the bathroom constantly.

There are certain things that I have supplemented in my diet over the years that I believe have worked for me. I know this sounds horrible, but ephedra was one of the best things that used to control my stomach. It would make me go regularly and loosen up my stomach.

Now I drink redbull before my workouts and sometimes when I'm exhausted and I find that it soothes my stomach. Could be the caffeine or it could be the additives inside of it. The product that really keeps me feeling very light and doesn't weigh my stomach down or send me to the bathroom is soy milk.

My ex-gf used to work for an all natural supplement-doctor who would prescribe supplements to his patients over standard medicine. I used to get these isagenix isalean protein shakes and mix them with ice/water. They tasted really good and kept my stomach feeling very light.

I have tried other proteins, but something in most whey proteins just give me the worst gas and makes me bloated all night long.

It's the only protein I have ever had thats sensitive to my stomach.

So what I do is take Silk Soy Chocolate Milk and mix it in with 2 spoons of Isagenix Chocolate Protein. I will have one for breakfast with a banana before I workout and One in the evening. They fill me up, give me added protein, and it keeps me lean. I have not tried any of their other products, but because this one works for me, I wanted to sell it. One can should last 6 weeks. I have not tried the vanilla with soy milk, but with ice/water it tastes delicious. I crave both of them, but the fact that I can mix the chocolate in addition to silk soy is just a plus.

I really feel like this is something I can use the rest of my life. The only problem is cvs and dominicks constantly run out of chocolate silk soy milk :(

Anyhow If you would like to check it out,

http://raff.isagenix.com/cleanse_isalean_shake.dhtml?inv=0

 

If anyone has any other products that they really stand by and use day in and day out, I would love to get more information.


Sincerely,

Eddie

 

Posted 1/19/2007 12:57 AM (GMT 0)
Oops I forgot to add in that constant exercise and lots of water also has helped my stomach quite a bit.

I workout almost 6x a week early mornings and drink 6-8 glasses a day.

Posted 1/19/2007 2:36 AM (GMT 0)
Ya, redbull and those energy drinks are loaded with caffeine and all kinds of sugar and likely artificial sweetners so they're a big no no for IBS (and IBD too)...just be careful with the soy as well, some is good but I've often heard too much is bad for anyones health in general.

Avoid sugar alcohols too, they're pretty much in anything listed as a "diet" product, food/beverages.

:)
Posted 1/19/2007 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
Well soy protein is much more digestable than whey protein.

I will agree that a massive amount of soy is not the best for you, but in reasonable amounts, it's quite good. It produces estrogen at very high levels.

The isagenix shake is very digestable and I am both lactose intolerant and have ibs. I also tried designer protein which gives me very bad gas. The worst protein I've ever had was a all soy protein from trader joes.. My girlfriend actually kicked me out of her house because it was that bad heh :)

I disagree with your statement on energy drinks though. There is something in the caffeine in energy drinks that reacts differently than coffee.
As for sugar, I am lucky that it doesn't affect me like it does with some people. They do also make sugar free redbulls.

I will also say that since I started drinking redbull, I haven't had any fevers, soar throats, infections, or any flu symptoms in the last 2 years.

 

Posted 1/19/2007 3:08 AM (GMT 0)
Heather Van Vorous and my doctor told me that artificial sweetners were bad for people with IBS and so if caffene and carbonated beverages
Posted 1/19/2007 3:28 AM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure who Heather Van Vorous is but I can tell you as someone who is an office manager for a psychologist, that I meet people who have stomach disorders everyday.
All Ibs suffers have different symptoms and though the we have commonalities in what we can and cannot eat, IBS in itself, is a very vague diagnosis.
Meaning they still haven't been able to fully understand it just yet.
The two things that ease the pain is stress management, through lifestyle change/weightloss/exercise and through the combinations of different foods and different intakes. If those changes don't work as well as they should, medicine is then prescribed.
The doctors are not sure why the bowels do not work properly, all they know is that they don't function like normal. It is not classified as a disease and everyones symptoms are different. Some cases I have seen where people get flare ups from extreme temperature change. There is no specific cause for IBS and technically is is only classified as a theory.
So to say that caffeine directly affects IBS in a certain way is only a theory or maybe only applies to certain people. I personally haven't seen any files of patients that have had complaints about this.

Oh I just wanted to add an interesting story slightly off topic.

I recently went to an all organic/cold-raw restaurant here in Chicago. I believe it is the only one in the city. It was very interesting to say the least. I didn't particullary like the food, but it was extremely healthy. The owner of the restaurant lost over 50 pounds in one year from eating his recipes that he researched. I on the other hand got so sick from the food, that I couldn't work for 2 days straight. I was in the bathroom for two days and it completely threw me off. So yes it was extremely healthy, all organic, all natural, no preservatives, no additives, but look at how it affected my stomach!

 

Post Edited (eddiechi) : 1/18/2007 8:37:48 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/19/2007 3:37 AM (GMT 0)
well I dunno, to the best of my knowledge caffeine is caffeine regardless of the source...also sugar affects everyone negatively whether they notice it or not, it promotes bacterial overgrowth, that's just what sugar does. "Sugar-free" usually means they've added aspertame or some other(s) forms of artificial sweetners, also a no no for IBSers....

Could it be coincidence regarding the sore throat, fevers, ect??? You know, honey can calm a sore throat too and it's healthier too, espceially compared to something like "Redbull". But to each his own.

:)
Posted 1/19/2007 3:42 AM (GMT 0)

I'm not sure if it was a coincidence because I always used to get sick and get horrible throat infections when it started getting colder. I once was hospitalized for 14 days from bad throat infections. Could just be the vitamin c. It's just something that works for me!

nothing wrong with honey :)

I have to prepare my snack for tomorrow. Its lowfat peanutt butter mixed in with oatmeal and then refrigerated... yum yum :)

Post Edited (eddiechi) : 1/18/2007 8:53:26 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/19/2007 4:16 AM (GMT 0)
Well with all the nasty bowel problems out there that so many suffer with the main thing is finding something that works for a person or at least doesn't bother them...sounds like a good snack, I always eat organic peanutbutter, there's nothing added to it at all just plain old peanuts, no preservesatives or additives...oatmeal is especially good for IBSers too, fibre is really key in helping with IBS symptoms.

:)
Posted 1/19/2007 6:26 AM (GMT 0)
Ephedra is a powerful drug which speeds up the metabolism. It seems that most the things that help you are in that same vein so to speak. I am glad they help you but the Red Bull and the Ephedra you recommend should be used with caution. I am not sure reving up your system before you exercise is the wisest thing for most people. I was under the impression that Ephedra was off the market because of the danger it posed.

I can't handle dairy either so I use Almond Milk instead. Usually most people try to avoid caffeine with IBS. The only thing that we all know is we are all different and have to experiment with different things to see what works for us.
Posted 1/19/2007 11:39 AM (GMT 0)

i have ibs and they say that probiotics is good for you but its not for me.

i went on a suger and carb free diet with one meal a day with one tabelt of probiotics for 3 weeks.today i had to go home from work because i got the runs and im still going to the toilet ,havnt stop yet .its like a food poison effect.

im not going to take probiotics again after this side effect.

im so sick :(

Posted 1/19/2007 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
I stay away from artificial ANYTHING!
Posted 1/19/2007 4:32 PM (GMT 0)
Everyone's guts are different. Alcohol is bad for most IBSers, but we do have an occasional person who comes here and says that alcohol is the only thing that regulates them. I agree that it sounds like stimulants (rather than alcohol, a depressant) is what keeps your guts going. Me, I can't handle anything but trace amounts of caffeine; if I were to drink a Red Bull, I would be in the bathroom with severe diarrhea for several days. It's weird what works for some people kill others, and visa versa. While Red Bulls aren't the healthiest thing in the world to drink, you're still drinking water (although you should probably try for more than 6-8 glasses since caffeine dehydrates, so you will need more water than average) and exercising, so I wouldn't really see a problem with you continuing what you're doing since it works. To me, at any rate, there is precious little else more important than keeping the guts happy; all the other organs can be darned.
Posted 1/19/2007 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
Oddly enough alcohol doesn't do anything to me, but I rarely drink.

Two things I have found are instant laxatives, one would be coffee creamer. I don't know whats in the creamer and how it's different from milk, but Im just running to the bathroom. The other is dairy queens vanilla cone dipped in chocolate :)

I slept on the couch that night :)


I still have a few bottles of ephedra that I use when I go on vacation. When I go on vacation my body is completely gone. I'm tired, I can't go to the bathroom, I sleep late. I pop one pill and it basically makes me very alert and awake, makes go to the bathroom without a problem, and gets me adjusted to the time zone quicker. Lets just say I could never become a pilot!

Ephedra is dangerous because it's a stimulant.. I definitely wouldn't recommend it, It does work for me though.

Basically for the next couple weeks I'm going to cleanse my body and eat nothing but lean chicken, salads, and protein shakes with a few other healthy foods.

Yeah, basically if I don't take caffeine, I get veryyy tired, even though I am in perfect fitness shape and run 1-3 miles a day and sometimes do 100mile rides in the summer. Working out has cut my IBS in half since 7 years ago.

 

Posted 1/19/2007 11:23 PM (GMT 0)
I read an article recently on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and a new approach they're taking with it. I can't remember what drug they tried on a small test group, but it was hihgly effective, so they're going to do a larger case study. You may be tired all the time because of that; the caffeine is just propping you up.

You have problems with constipation, I take it? I guess that's why you need stimulants to get moving. Have you tried Zelnorm for constipation? I'm sure it's safer than the ephedra (at least it's still on the market).
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