Irritable bowel syndrome

[Dr. Zaus]

Wholly shit this hurts.

I get irritable bowel syndrome symptoms maybe once every few months… and it’s incapacitating.

Anyone know a solution to this?!

 

[Arkaign]

(1)- See a specialist.

(2)- Keep track of what you eat/drink to look for any patterns, similarly note if you're stressed about anything that might aggravate an ulcer that you might have.

(3)- See a specialist.

(4)- Follow specialist's advice.

 

[Bignate603]

My wife's got it, it took quite some time to figure out what it is because it doesn't necessarily have symptoms unique to IBS. They had to check a few other things to make sure it wasn't more serious.

For her the pain is caused by her digestive tract going into spasms. A GI specialist was able to prescribe this medicine that works wonders to stop those spasms. This is the med that she takes.

As others have mentioned though, see a specialist. They'll be able to help you out. Luckily, our family doctor pointed us to a good one.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Fewer carbohydrates and less fiber may help. Keep track of what you eat, avoid caffeine, and go see your doctor. There are a few drugs that can help.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Fewer carbohydrates and less fiber may help. Keep track of what you eat, avoid caffeine, and go see your doctor. There are a few drugs that can help.

Careen and I are one... Fuck

 

[Powermoloch]

See your doctor (GI) and have a low residue diet for the meantime.


SEE YOUR DOCTOR

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Careen and I are one... Fuck

It may help. Given that you only get symptoms once a month or so and you're addicted to it, I doubt it will help much. But if there's nothing else that works it may be something to consider.

 

[nboy22]

I thought I had IBS, but I actually found out I just lack a lot of different enzymes. I would be sick to my stomach by eating dairy, red meat, or anything greasy. Now I just pop 2 enzyme pills before a greasy/cheesy/meaty meal and I feel great.

 

[cerebusPu]

I thought I had IBS, but I actually found out I just lack a lot of different enzymes. I would be sick to my stomach by eating dairy, red meat, or anything greasy. Now I just pop 2 enzyme pills before a greasy/cheesy/meaty meal and I feel great.

mind if i ask what enzyme pills? i just know of lactaid for dairy products.

 

[CZroe]

Poop.

 

[highland145]

Thought this was a call out thread. I.B.S., heh.


Sorry to hear OP. Hope you recover fast.

 

[Platypus]

It sucks. I have IBD and was sick for almost a year straight, doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I had two surgeries as well, they came up with jack shit.

I ended up figuring it out myself. OP I suggest you keep a food journal and write down what makes you sick. For me, typically 45min after eating I start to feel the effects, then the next day is fucking hell. Write down what you eat and make note of similar ingredients. For me I found mine and as soon as I eliminated them from my diet, I was 10000000% better overnight. Good luck.

 

[Krazy4Real]

so did you go see a doctor yet?

 

[John P]

Few things to try:

1) Fiber (Metamucil) each morning
2) If you're a coffee or pop drinker switch to tea. Maybe enjoy coffee once a week and have tea the other 6 days.
3) Try to avoid artificial sweeteners
4) If you feel symptoms coming on try drinking some herbal tea like:
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/wellness-teas/tummy-mint
5) Balanced diet - not too much fatty foods several days in a row, plenty of salads/fruit with your regular meals
6) AVOID STRESS at all costs. I have read a bunch of research that shows a lot of IBS symptoms/attacks are stress related.

Hope that helps some....

 

[highland145]

It sucks. I have IBD and was sick for almost a year straight, doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I had two surgeries as well, they came up with jack shit.

I ended up figuring it out myself. OP I suggest you keep a food journal and write down what makes you sick. For me, typically 45min after eating I start to feel the effects, then the next day is fucking hell. Write down what you eat and make note of similar ingredients. For me I found mine and as soon as I eliminated them from my diet, I was 10000000% better overnight. Good luck.

:thumbsup: Good for you.

What food?

 

[Platypus]

:thumbsup: Good for you.

What food?

Foods with naturally high amounts of glutamic acid. It is an amino acid that my body simply rejects in hilariously awful ways. The 'big 3' are tomatoes, parmesean and mushrooms.. so Italian food is basically dead to me. It was awful at first but I've found pretty good substitutes for most things. Life's a bitch sometimes.

 

[highland145]

Foods with naturally high amounts of glutamic acid. It is an amino acid that my body simply rejects in hilariously awful ways. The 'big 3' are tomatoes, parmesean and mushrooms.. so Italian food is basically dead to me. It was awful at first but I've found pretty good substitutes for most things. Life's a bitch sometimes.

That sucks, in a big way. Ketchup IS a food group. Pizza too.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

so did you go see a doctor yet?

I was up from the time I posted this screaming profanities until 5am... screaming profanities. Eventually my body started retching very very hard and I passed out.

Now i'm awake and checking this thread: everything hurts... but not the IBS "rip my guts out please" pain.

Few things to try:

6) AVOID STRESS at all costs. I have read a bunch of research that shows a lot of IBS symptoms/attacks are stress related.

Hope that helps some....

I'll do what I can there John...

But I'm a Ph.D. student working 80 hours a week; so less-stress is not an option.

I just need to find someone to read to me while I'm in horrible fucking agony.

 

[disappoint]

I take it it's not a Ph.D. in medicine.

 

[Azraele]

You *have* seen a Dr. right?

You know..to rule out scary stuff like cancer...

 

[manlymatt83]

(1)- See a specialist.

(2)- Keep track of what you eat/drink to look for any patterns, similarly note if you're stressed about anything that might aggravate an ulcer that you might have.

(3)- See a specialist.

(4)- Follow specialist's advice.

I would also see a specialist.

 

[John P]

I would also see a specialist.

Def do this, but all it's really for is to rule out that it's not something more serious than IBS.

IBS is a very generic term and if you google you'll see nobody really agrees on cause and cure. As others have posted you need to track the symptoms and figure out what individually affects you. It could be diet, could be stress, could be a combo of both.

Keeping in mind that stress could be causing your agony will likely help reduce the stress - i.e. come to the realization that stressing is not worth it. Easier said than done though...

OP - Can I assume you have horrible rolling cramps in your abdominal area, are constipated, have flu like aches all over, and maybe even have hot/cold flashes when your symptoms are the worst?

 

[Dr. Zaus]

OP - Can I assume you have horrible rolling cramps in your abdominal area, are constipated, have flu like aches all over, and maybe even have hot/cold flashes when your symptoms are the worst?

Exactly.

You *have* seen a Dr. right?

You know..to rule out scary stuff like cancer...

no... going to class in 20min.

 

[joutlaw]

Around 1999 I had a lot of GI problems. I lost a lot of weight and was in a lot of pain. It turned out to be IBS triggered by stress.

I was prescribed Librax which combines GI specific medication with a benzo type anti-anxiety component.

It worked well I would say. By 2000, my IBS symptoms went away and I quit taking Librax

 

[biostud]

my gf has this as well, and she takes a shot of Aloe Vera before breakfast and supper, and it helps her. Also she has found out that beef worsen her symptoms.

something like this:

http://www.fitsugar.com/Health-Benefits-Drinking-Aloe-Vera-Juice-14835896