Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: New Member with a question

Hey, Deb, welcome to the Boards. In general, this Board (the IBS Fitness Board) is for talking about exercise and losing or gaining weight and is not about IBS directly. You'll get a lot more response to your questions about handling IBS if you post on the "IBS Diet" board. As long as we're both here, though, here's some info on the site. I'm not sure how much reading you've done on this Website outside of the Boards so I'm going to start with the basics.

The Boards are designed to support an approach to managing IBS developed by Heather (that's her picture up at the top of the page) and called "Eating For IBS" (EFI). A lot of Heather's approach is dietary but she also discusses stress management, the use of herbals teas, and prescription medicines.

In order to really understand what people are talking about on the Boards you need to understand the basics of Heather's dietary approach. You can click here for an old post I did that will walk you through the basics. Once you understand what Heather is recommending you can try her approach and see how you do with it.

As for medications, Imodium has proved useful for many people with IBS-D. Some people take it as needed, some people take it regularly once or even twice a day, at least until their problems calm down with time on Heather's diet. My own experience was that before I followed Heather's guidelines, Imodium didn't do much for me. Once I started eating based on the guidelines, Imodium worked wonders. It seemed that the EFI diet has gotten most of my symptoms under control and Imodium could take care of the rest. The more stable I got, the less I needed Imodium.

The prescription drugs usually discussed for IBS-D are anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, and Lotronex. Anti-depressants work wonders for some people and do nothing for others. My Family Practice doctor says she's had great success with Elavil although it did nothing for me. Other people on the Board use other anti-depressants - just remember that ones that work for those with IBS-C may not work for those with IBS-D.

Anti-anxiety meds address the fact that stress can make IBS worse. Worst of all, stress about having an IBS attack can actually bring one on. Some people on the Boards report success with anti-anxiety meds, some do not. Some who do use fairly powerful ones and take them regularly, others - like me - use a very low dose one and take it infrequently.

Lotronex is the big gun in the IBS-D arsenal. This is a miraculous drug for some people but it can be a dangerous drug. Unless the rules have changed, you can only get Lotronex from a subset of GI doctors who understand the risks of the side-effects.

You should be sure you've had all the tests you need to be accurately diagnosed with IBS. There are other conditions that can mimic IBS and they need to be ruled out before your doctor concludes that what you have is IBS.

Finally, let me say that when I found this Website years ago I was sick as a dog and was hardly willing to leave the house. Heather's approach has worked miracles for me and I hope it will do the same for you.

I hope this helps. Take care and good luck.

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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]

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