For those with IBS

What do you do to control your symptoms?

I go wildly from severe constipation to "run to the bathroom QUICK"

I am loathe to take anything for either, fearing it will send me to the other extreme. I drink a lot of water, I have to, with the vicoprofen use I can (and have) get impacted. But, if I take so much as one fiber-con for the constipation I'm having horrible cramps and the need to know where every bathroom in the county is.

Vegetables go right through me undigested.

Such a lovely topic, but I know some of you suffer and would like some suggestions.

Charlotte

Bentyl (sp) is very effective for me once the cramping starts. I also switched to soy milk and cut out almost all wheat and gluten. I cheat every once is a while so that is why I say almost all. Also... no more rich deserts. I can eat cheese and yogurt but cream cheese is almost guaranteed to send me running. Vinegar based salad dressings are another trigger for me.. why? who knows.

I don't eat anything until I've been up for a few hours as an early morning meal equals a day spent running back and forth.

It sucks not being able to eat bread but Whole Foods has a really good gluten free sandwich bread mix that is super easy to make. And if you bake you can find several different flour recipes to substitute for wheat flour that sre hard to tell apart.

However, I almost always have an IBS attack after a bad migraine which I just have to live through. This has more to do with the lack of serotonin than anything I ate.

Alli

I can't eat resturant salads at all. I don't even make home before the cramping starts. One Dr. told me it's because of the preservatives used to keep lettuce fresh.

About five years ago it was at it's worst. I even kept a pocket yahtzee game in my purse to keep me entertained in dept. store bathrooms, McDonald's bathrooms etc. I did turn the sound off though so people wouldn't hear all the beeping coming out of the stall. I also kept a little spray bottle of air freshener in my purse LOL

Hubby and family learned to be very patient sitting out in parking lot's waiting for me.

Oh,and my pet peeve of a bathroom parker. When you go into a empty public restroom and there are fifteen stalls that no one is using, why does the next person to come in take the stall right next to you? Drives me insane.

Charlotte

LOL Charlotte, your hysterical. I have bathroom phobia and don't like to go if anyone is in there,
so I understand the bathroom parker annoyance.

Pocket Yatzee beeping had me laughing too

About a year or two ago my mom found this product. Its really nifty, its called poof. It's a
little tiny dropper and you put about two or three drops into the bowl before you go and it eliminates bad scent! Cool, right? Definitely worth it! Here's a link to their company. I'd highly recommend it.

They say it will leave the bathroom smelling like mint, well thats phoey. It doesn't. It smells like
nothing to me. But nothing is good! It's 14.00 but it lasts forever and I think it's worth the
price if you are constantly going in public places.

paradox wrote:

Oh,and my pet peeve of a bathroom parker. When you go into a empty public restroom and there are fifteen stalls that no one is using, why does the next person to come in take the stall right next to you? Drives me insane.

Charlotte

I don't like that either and the similar behaviors of people needing to pick the parking spot next to yours in an empty parking lot, or having to pick the one item on the shelf that happens to be where you're standing, even though the store is virtually empty and there are thousands of other items to pick from.

To give people the benefit of the doubt, I think the behavior is largely unconscious. I also think that it is a form of primitive territory marking perhaps inherent in the human animal.

Chris

Actually glad this subject came up. Have a bad sinus infection and for the first time in years was given a massive dose of antibiotics. At the same time, or nearly had doubled up on my fish oil tablets which helps my skin - had been at the beach for a week.

Something has done some good. Can't say perfect but certainly an improvement.

Anyone want to play guinea pig and give the double dose of fish oil a go? I'm tending to think from the time line that it is the fish oil that has helped. Would be interested.

Marion

Also watch out for the soy milk. Getting some bad wraps lately. I was recently diagnoised with Hashimotos and soy is a no-no. Of course my hashimotos hasn't given me any answers for my problems. It is still in the just being eaten away by the antibody stage and doctors say it isn't affecting my health. ie thyroid levels within range. But, a study I think at the Maryland University, of CFS patients came up with 40% with their thyroid being eaten too. Interesting

Some of the CFS and migraine symptoms overlap to a very large degree.

Science will get there one day.

I have fun varieties of this because I take methadone, so that can give me massive constipation. But my IBS tends to run towards the other extreme. But what happens is that I will have painful stomach cramping, such that I know I should be having diarrhea, but the constipation of the methadone won't let me. So I suffer in agony, letting tiny droplets of stool come out at a time. Sometimes hours (and several bathroom visits later), I'll get rid of it all, and then the diarrhea will come.

My mom has had severe diarrhea for a long time, and I finally got her to get her primary doctor to send her to a specialist, and after doing one weird test, she was preliminarily dianosed as only processing some of her stool properly and being constipated for the rest. So she is going to have to take a test where they insert a fake stool and watch its course. Isn't that just awful?

I'm at work and am going to have to take some Imodium...crud, I'll be bound up for DAYS.

I think I'll give the fish oil a shot!

Charlotte

Have any of you been tested for Celiac disease/gluten intoerance? I was in your position most of my life until I went on a gluten free diet. I no longer have to know where a restroom is everywhere I go. Thyroid and many other auti-immune diseases are associated with Celiac disease.
Cindy

Cindy,

That's what I was going to ask. My sister had terrible IBS/ stomach trouble for years and tested positive for celiac. She has been gluten free for 5 years and it all runs like clockwork.

Mary Anne

No, I haven't. Sounds like I should though.

Charlotte

Grandmother has celiacs but I test negative. Have tried the diet but made no difference.