Very disheartened
#110646 - 10/05/04 06:29 PM
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Digby
Reged: 07/31/04
Posts: 453
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I totally sympathize with Retrograde. I'm battling the D again too. It gets worse thoughout the day. Used to be I could take one Immodium and be stopped up for days. Now I'm lucky if it slows things down for the afternoon!
I've been following the diet, taking Acacia, seemed to be doing fine and then I'm hit with another bad episode of the dreaded D with cramping pain. This is so depressing!
I can't figure out what went wrong. I upped the Acacia from 1/2 tsp to 3/4 tsp. Was that it? I didn't sleep well last night. Was that it? I've been eating the same thing so I can't blame it on food. And I can't live on solubles forever. Jeez this sucks. I envy all those people who can eat regular food without problems.
Okay, I know there are IBS-D folks out there who have been D-free for a long time. How did you do it???
Sigh.
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I had D for a few months, then D and C off and on. I started taking "Swiss Herbal, Full Spectrum" Digestive Enzymes. I took them with lunch and supper. Now only with supper. I started forcing myself to go to the gym..when I could. De-stressing REALLY helps with D. I am now 95% D free, but I still have pain, bloating, cramps, and gas almost every day.
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More SFSs!!!!
#110703 - 10/06/04 03:06 AM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Okay, you have to increase youur SFS dose slowly to avoid side-effcts, but 3/4 tsp Acacia isn't going to do a hell of a lot to stop D. Thats only about 1g of SF - Heather recommends 12-15g a day (as long as you can cope with it)! I'm now taking 3 Tbsp Acacia a day (had to up it to counteract bed things to do with my Fibro). Keep on going with the Acacia. The side effects of upping your SFS dose are gas and bloating, not usually D, so I'd up it again! IMHO, the gas (from upping the dose faster) is worth the good effects of the SFS, so take more if D is your problem! The gas will ease in a couple of weeks anyway.
Try taking Immodium as a preventative, instead of just taking it after you need it. If one tablet doesn't make you C anymore, then I'd recommend taking one tablet every morning. If you take it regularly, it'll have more of an effect. And you could still take another tablet if you get an attack.
Btw, not sleeping will def. make your IBS play up.
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Yes!!
#110705 - 10/06/04 04:12 AM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I second everything Linz says. I didn't notice any good effects from my SFS (I'm an A, so I alternate between D and C) until I'd worked up to 7-8g/day. Anything less than that, it might as well have been candy, for all the good it did. Stick with it and increase a little every few days. It's worth it!
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I too had IBS-d, only now I have become pretty stable. It's been months since I have had D. Besides following the diet, I use acacia and a probiotic. I started with 1/2 teaspoon acacia and increased it by 1/2 teaspoon a week. I am now taking almost 2 tablespoons and am fairly stable.My goal is between 2-3 tablespoons of acacia. Make sure you are truly following the diet as unsuspecting foods will undermine the acacia. I also drink ginger tea in the morning to calm my system. When I have gas and pain, I take ginger capsules (2). Do something during the day to relax you. (I have a hot tub to relax in.) Make sure you get plenty of rest. (I have found I need about 8 hours). Hope this helps. 
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Don't Give Up! It takes some time to get your body calibrated. Here are the things I did to get stable.
Followed the diet completely
Pro-biotic VSL#3 - here is the link to their site web page link
Try to walk everyday when feeling okay
Acacia fiber - started with 1/2 tsp twice a day, then three times a day, then gradually upped each of those doses (one at a time) to a full tsp., and now the one before bedtime I'm at 1/2 TBSP.
It seemed to take time but things were always getting better and able to go for longer periods of time without an episode.
I recently had my gallbladder removed which triggered the D again but the last four days have been fine.
A hint about the fennel tea - I didn't care for it either. I usually fill a teaball with 1/2 peppermint leaves 1/2 fennel seeds.
Hope this helps,
Leigh
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Linz actually said it all, but I wanted to let you know that I understand your problem amd hope you feel better soon.
Lene 
--------------------
God never promised life would be easy, but he did promise to provide a way out!
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Thanks to all of you who responded. It really helps hearing from folks who also suffer from IBS.
I had another sludge BM today. I just wanted to cry. I really thought I was getting a handle on this.
If I'm intolerant of Acacia, at what point will I know? Those of you who have increased your dosage, what side effects did you have and what did you do about them? I hope it works for me, because I haven't had luck with other fiber supplements. I got too gassy (embarrassed to be around others because of all the noise!), or it caused too much pain grinding through me. I had to choke down Guar Gum, so I like the smoothness of the Acacia. Well, I'll try adding a third 1/2 tsp per day and see how it goes. And I'll give the ginger capsules a try. I forgot about that; I used to take peppermint/ginger capsules for nausea and when traveling on winding roads.
Thanks again gang! You're the best!
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Well, the side effects of increasing your dose too fast are gas, bloating and occasionally nausea, but these go away in a couple of weeks, so you might want to just stick it out to get the benefits quicker! My doc started me on the FULL dose of psyllium (before I found Heather), so I had major gas, but then I felt so much better so fast I didn't care!
Acacia is so gentle, I have NO side effects from taking it and certainly no "grinding". You'll only know if it's not the one for you if, when you're on a decent dose AND you've been on it for a little while, it's not helping your symptoms much. But, I bet you'll love it!
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