IBS

[mogziemoo]

After 3 struggling years I have accepted that my symptoms are IBS related, nausea, air in stomach, bloated with gas.. oh the gas and mucus...
I am being careful with my diet, gave upsmoking, no booze and am limited with coffee, hypnotherapy etc. I am so tired all the time and can not gain the weight I have lost but am trying to take one day at a time. My GP has been very supportive and is trying me on different meds, which as of yet has not improved my day to day life but I live in hope.
I would be grateful for any tips on trying to deal with this as I know it is not something that will just go away so any advice would be gratefully recieved

[keeleyzinc0100]

I haven't seen a doctor but with much research and talking to a friends that has IBS I have come to the conclusion that I have it. except mine may or may not go away over time. it was brought on my large amounts of stress and having a bad stomach virus for a long time. its horrible!!!!! I cant do anything!! with out feeling sick or hurting.. im not used to being so still all the time. I have always been a healthy person until early April this year.

[gigi4748]

Just read you first post.
Has your physician tested you for Celiac/Sprue Disease?

I had similiar problems, was misdiagnosed with IBS for 6 years, I suffered greatly those 6 years, got to a point where I was down to 98 lbs from my normal of 130lbs. Once my weight starting dropping drastically, my Family Physician took notice and referred me to a really good Gastroentrologist. I had an endoscopy, showed damage to small intestine and then had blood work done, three tests to confirm Celiac/Sprue. Once I was diagnosed correctly, I changed my way of eating, no glutens, and I am fine.

I do not know if my story might help, but I hope so.

[mogziemoo]

I decided not to go down the anti depressant route personally even though trust me I so could have. I am now near my ladies monthly probems and I also start to have problems getting a good intake to breath properly.
I am now on antspasmatics and also a tablet to remove the acid from my stomach which has helped with the mucus.. (glad we are all friends) as this was a real problem and not nice. The nausea comes and goes but the fatigue stays with me. I have a demanding job but have to keep going as I have a mortgage to pay.
Some times I have to remember that its boring for people I know to listen to and I NEED to get the moan out of my system instead of bottling it up as this makes me more irritated.... One day they will come up with  a cure. We live in hope. In the mean time ensure we always know where the nearest loo is, always sit on the end of a row and keep some mints with us to try and use when we feel we need to puke!

[kevrock151]

yea it just all together stinks....its like a vicious circle of being nervous to eat because it makes you go and themn when you go it makes you nervous not to eat and if you dont eat you dont feel good then when u eat for the first time somthin good and hole it makes you go lol it never stops

[FurballsMom]

It's true what you said about the antidepressants and antianxiety meds.  I was taking Paxil at one time and developed an intolerance for it.  It had started making me nauseous all the time.  

IBS-C is so different than IBS-D, which is what I deal with the most myself.  I know that anyone dealing with diarrhea needs to avoid taking magnesium supplements altogether, since magnesium will only make the problem worse.  BUT, calcium is known to aggravate constipation, as is supplemental iron.  I wouldn't recommend using more than the RDA of either one of these supplements, but perhaps these things would help a little bit.  I've only experienced limited amounts of what you're dealing with, but I know you need to treat the IBS symptoms much differently than I do.

I know IBS really *****, since I'm dealing with the opposite end of the scale.  The bloating and the cramping affect everyone with IBS to some degree or another.

[kevrock151]

yea but the xanex and those kind are just to relax you short term and there addictive not realy solving the problem at hand just puting a bandad on it you know ssri's solve the nervous problem all together and if nothing else help with the depression that comes with ibs....i have explosive loose stools not watery just unformed n loose, i use to be a big weight lifter and loved cardio n playing hockey my life is paused and i refuse to accept it im 25 years old with a 4 month old daughter i will get to where i was some how some way or i will die trying

[kevrock151]

i know it just ***** i miss eating and being full and loving it and not being scared of eating or not eating and as im tryin to force somthing dwn as im eating thinking god this is gonna explose out of me in about 10 minutes im terrified of the exploding loose stools or the idea of it might happen i wanna bang my head against a wall ...like im scared to drive dwn the shore a 2 hour ride that i wouldnt think twice about because of what might happen ...and drinkins out cant do that havnt been workin out i lost so much weight people think im sick and i went on a 2 day span with out eating n didnt drink enough fluids that my blood pressure came dwn a little thats how bad mine got. and no offence to you but for the both of us and anyone who has it i think its a mental vicious circle.( its set off by somthing while were not sick, then were scared of going to the bathroom so we get scared of eating so by not eating rite were going to the bathrrom to much or not enough then when we do eat our bodies arent use to it so we go to the bathroom and we get nervous and then we think somthings rong n get more nervous and on and on and on, what im gonna try if i can be brave enough is get over the depression accept that i had a problem with my stomic and im gonna eat and tak immodium and eat no matter what happens ..and keep eating for a hole week and see what happens. what do u think

[FurballsMom]

There are other anti depressants and anti anxiety meds besides the ones already mentioned here.  A friend of mine takes Xanax for the IBS.  

I'm not sure which symptoms you're dealing with, with your IBS, but I know what you're talking about concerning working out, since all that bouncing around makes the pain worse, regardless of which IBS symptoms are most dominant with you.  To stay active, I go for easy strolls and walks--not power walks, since that's still too difficult for me, too.  I need to walk as much as I can myself, just to stay as active as I still can, because of other health concerns I have to deal with.

Fiber supplements are helpful.  If Metamucil and Citracel are too harsh for you, then you probably can't tolerate psyllium fiber.  There are other fibers you can try.  Benefiber and other water soluable fibers that are based on psyllium fiber are much gentler, which is much better if you have GERD in addition to the IBS, which a lot of do have together.  Another thing that can be used is flaxseed meal either added to water and juice or simply added to food directly.  Fiber is supposed to help with IBS, regardless of which symptoms are most dominant with you.

Antispasmodic medications, like Bentyl and Levsin are helpful for both kinds of IBS.

[mogziemoo]

Isn't it bad.... some times I can't see an end to it all and it affects everything, people don't understand and have had 2 GP's basically ask me outright if I have an eating disorder, luckily found a fab GP who is lovely and totally wants to help. I loved my food and the odd drinking session on a night on the town but had to even give that up. Boring!
I had to even stop working out as I was sooooooo tired and frightened of loosing even more weight.
You will come to terms with it and you have to get over the fact that maybe you can't do all the things you love but try hard still to enjoy things.
I have no enjoyment for food but make sure I eat little and often as this does make things a little easier. Just wish there was a magig potion.

[kevrock151]

i just posted on a topic for this i think i have it i know its terrrible but i heard some meds work andd i heard the right ssri depression meds like paxil n zoloft help they say it helps with the brain gut thing or somthin but what do i know i just had it for a month and am so scared of it that im terrified to eat ...n this is someone who eat all day long healthy and worked out 5 days a week and was always drinking fluids ...now i look terrible n feel even worse ...i know what your goin though hopefully we can help eachother