how can ibs be maintained ? is it even ibs? should I be worried

[isabell11]

hello everyone

so the last couple weeks I've been having unusual diarrhea (it's not all watery) but it's not like the "normal" way of going

I've been having the worst anxiety thinking about why this is happening and I finally went to the doctor yesterday

a couple months back when I went to get bloodwork done everything was normal other than the fact my triglycerides were higher than they should be ..

I have gained a lot of weight throughout the past year and a half and after hearing that I knew it was time to get serious about my weight ..

shortly after that I joined weight watchers and so far I lost 15 pounds and the one thing I've noticed is that I've changed how I eat .. I ate healthier but I started eating lean cuisines meals for lunch at work everyday

and I would have a pure protein bar everyday and tried to drink 4 water bottles a day

that's the only recent change I've made in my diet and also on top of that I think I cut half of what I used to eat

but back to my crisis .. I've been having yellow to brown diarrhea (sometimes regular but not really)

and when I went to the doctor he told me that I have ibsD and that's he very confident in saying that

he said he could prescribe me anxiety meds and that I could do a colonoscopy if I wanted to but he really felt that I didn't need to

I did standard blood work today to see how my levels are but should I be calm since I went to the doctor ?

should I have anything to worry about ?

I'm 25 years old never had (knocks wood) any real issues

other than the diarrhea and bad anxiety i don't have any other things going on. but I'm really paranoid

somebody please help with more life experience.

[HomeChef]

Hi honey:

I was also diagnosed with IBS when I was very young (I'm 54 now.)  It's not really a true "disease" but rather a default diagnosis.  That means that after doctors rule everything else out, they lable you as IBS.  

In the last few years, doctors have added a letter after it; either IBS-D (which means you have diarrhea) or IBS-C (you're constipated all the time.

Like you, I've got IBS-D.    In my opinion, you should be tested for everything you can to make sure nothing else is going on, before accepting the "IBS" label (I've heard one doctor say the other physicians joke about IBS saying it stands for "I'm Basically Stumped.")

If you DO have IBS, you're going to have to do a lot of trial and error to see what works for you.  There are a lot of drugs available now to help treat symptoms, but many have side effects.   That doesn't mean you shouldn't try them, though.

Through my own experience, I found that the two biggest things that helped my IBS were:

1. Exercise.   I began jogging daily in my late 20's.  30 years later, my joints and back can't take the pounding of running, so I've switched to walking, and a stationary bike.   Regular, daily aerobic workouts definitely helped my stomach.  

2. Keep a food diary:  Write down every single thing you eat every day and then, how you feel an hour or two after.  You may begin to notice that certain foods don't agree with you.  I love to cook, but I can't tolerate anything hot or spicy.  I cheated last week and had buffalo wings at a restaurant with my best friend.  Oh. My. God.  That night AND the next day, I had horrible stomach pain and diarrhea.  I can't eat citrus fruits either, which is a total bummer, since I love grapefruit and oranges...but they're on my NO-NO list now.

3.  Don't eat large portions.   This is huge for me.  Eating a full meal always ends up with me getting sick.   If I have  sandwich, I'll eat half.  If I'm hungry an hour later, I"ll eat the other half.  

4. Watch out for protein.  It's super healthy for you, but protein molecules are very big and take a long time to digest.  I can't digest protein shakes or bars; they make me sick.  

Cut out all soda; especially diet soda.   You mentioned Lean Cuisines.  The good part about them is that the portions are very small, but the bad part is that they are heavily processed...lots of preservatives, etc.  

I try to eat as cleanly as possible...meaning no processed foods or anything with a lot of ingredients.  I have melon for breakfast...a salad for lunch, and dinner is just plain chicken (grilled or baked) and brown rice.  

I stay away from cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.  They make me gassy, bloated and nauseous.  

Good luck to you, sweetie.  IBS is an up-and-down thing.  You can go for months and feel good, then have flare up and feel miserable for weeks or longer.  As I mentioned, you have to be your own detective and figure out what your body can tolerate and what it can't.

Let me know how you're doing..and good luck.   -Home Chef