Augie, how are things???
#135924 - 01/06/05 11:02 PM
|
|
|
|
|
gigi
Reged: 03/21/04
Posts: 1442
Loc: South Texas
|
|
|
I didn't see you this evening, I hope you have been able to go. IF not, come talk to me, I will listen. I have been there, and it is a terrible place to be. I actually got so sick to my stomach and body aches and pains. I hopeyou havent gone that far. Let me know.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Yep. Goes for me too. I suffer from a lot of d now but as a kid it was always c, sometimes so bad I'd get a fever and vomiting with it. I hope you're feeling okay. Let us know. I worry about you. We seem to be the two people on here who just stay bad or get worse all the time and nothing seems to be able to fix us!
--------------------
Amy
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
we seem to be the lucky ones who don't seem to be able to take or eat or do anything to alleviate our symptoms. It is hard not to get jelous of others who are stable or heading that way. I just wonder what I am doing wrong! I try so hard to do this the right way, trying all the things the others who are stable have tried, but I think I am just doomed to exist with this pain and symptoms forever  I am feeling very discouraged, frustrated, and hopeless. And to be honest, sometimes when I read the boards I just get more confused because different information on the same topic is so different. Some posts say one thing about a particular food or supplement, and then another few will give the opposite advice. This is causing more stress than help for me right now. I don't know which way to turn. I am stressed to the max at all the different advice and thought maybe I should just go away from it all for a while.
I know everyone means well and is honestly just reporting what they have found helpful for themselves. I know everyone tells me we are all different. But for those of us who can't figure out our trigger foods, or don't know if a food is okay for us because we are always having problems, it is disheartening and frustrating to read such varying advice.
Different SFS's, fennel is bad, fennel is good, fruits are good, no fuits cause attacks, white rice is good or brown rice is better for C, bananas cause problems, no wait, bananas are safe daily stable, calcium carbonate is less gassy, no citrate is easier on Gi symstom, etc...
And as I said, and it is humiliating to admit, I do get jeoulous of those who are doing so well when I don't seem to be able to get a handle on my own symptoms. I mean I'm reading the same books, so why doesn't this work for me? I am happy others are overcoming this hiddeous IBS, but I want to be part of that group!
Plus, I thought I'd give everyone a break from me by going away for a while!
Thanks for checking up on me. I've just been really down on this whole diet. I am crying right now. I just try so hard to do this right, guys. I try so hard! I read and research every day, and still am so symptomatic. I'm just tired.
And before anyone suggest a psychiatrist, I have found one but am also having problems finding an antidepressant I can tolerate. I also have osteoporisis and don't know if I can tolerate the actonel, and the calcium I don't know which is best to take. Plus I am GF on top of it all and finding it hard to adapt that diet to this one. Someone suggested the white rice GF bread I eat everyday may be causing the C, but I can't find a safe brown rice bread! I am just plain overwhelmed and still sick.
Well, that's about all you guys can handle hearing. Sorry to go off like that. just feeling alone and scared, and of course sick. My whole life is consumed with trying to figure out what my solutions are.
DoubleTrouble, how are you doing? Have you found an SFS or any diet to help you?
Gigi, thanks for worrying about me. I'm worried about me. I am just ready to give up.
BTW, is the calcium carbonate better for you? Have you found an SFS for yourself?
--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Augie
#136309 - 01/08/05 10:24 AM
|
|
|
|
|
jamiep
Reged: 12/21/04
Posts: 92
Loc: Arroyo City Texas USA
|
|
|
Augie,
I just wanted to say how sorry I am you are still suffering.
Love,
Jamie
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Augie
#136321 - 01/08/05 11:14 AM
|
|
|
|
daliatree
Reged: 07/10/04
Posts: 1176
Loc: Manhattan, New York
|
|
|
hey there, I am sorry if I contributed to your confusion...I really think you should stop taking most of the supplements you are taking and start again at square one: I think most people here would agree with that advise...most of us achieve stability by chronicling everything that we eat and feel and seeing how it works . Here are two recipes: I have plenty more also if you want.
APPLE CRISP
4 cups tart apples
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup brown rice flour
½ cup sugar
¼ cup canola oil /applesauce
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Peel, core and slice the apples into a bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Blend the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Spread the apples in a bake pan, and cover with the blended ingredients. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden.
BROWN RICE MUFFINS
2 cups brown rice flour (freshly ground is best)
3 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum free, such as Rumford brand)
2 tablespoons Sucanat, maple syrup, or other natural sweetener - no artificial sweeteners!
3 egg whites
1 cup milk
¼ cup melted butter
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate, small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, melted butter, and liquid sweetener if used. Mix well and pour the batter into oiled or buttered muffin tins. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes. Makes 12.
--------------------
Feel the fear and do it anyway!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I quit trying the sfs, I have tried just about everything out there, and I also got so sick of it that I just quit it. Now, I do find myself more C, but, the sfs, all of it, gives me gas. Tired of the gas too.
I know you are discouraged, depressed,and just sick of it all. I had a wave of that feeling wash over me last night, I can't let myself go there, I had a breakdown once, and I just cannot loose one more little bit of myself. So, I try my best like every one else. What I am saying and sorry to gt off track, dont you ever give up, there are so many people here who care for you and want to help.
I am wondering if you could stand to give up the bread? What could it hurt, I've done it, I actually try to eat very little bread unless I have to stabilize my gut. I don't know honey, I hope you can find an anti-dep, that you can tolerate. I am taking Lexapro right now, I hated it the first couple of months, but now I am hanging on, so I guess it is working.
I know you are so confused, thats why I hate to give you anymore advice, just love. I pray you start to feel better soon! gayla
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Gayla
#136332 - 01/08/05 11:47 AM
|
|
|
|
|
Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
|
|
|
Your love and prayers are probably the best "medicine" I can have right now!
I can't believe you even had a breakdown and that last night was also a bit difficult for you. Yes, I tend to lose myself to this IBS--it steals your life away and that is not an exageration! I hate this hiddeous IBS! It hurts people mentally and physically. IBS is EVIL!
I will try not to give up. Just some days it's so hard. I am in a teary mood today. Just reading your post brought tears to my eyes. But good tears. Thank you for your love and for caring. I'll say it again, this board has just incredibly compassionate and wonderful people on it.
If you've given up your bread, what do you use as a soluble base for your meals?
Incidently, lexapro is the current med my psych has me trying because my anxiety is so sky high! Have you found it to make you any more C? I was on it for a month but stopped because I thought it was the cause of the C? I was trying to find any culprit! Have yet to decide whether to try it agains or try prozac, his second option for me. How many mg of lexapro are you on?
Did you ever find a calcium supplement you could tolerate?
I'll try and keep posting, so check in periodicly okay? And I think hanging out in the Living Room makes me feel better too. Just to get to know my peers better and read and talk about less intense issues and less confusion!
All my love to you!
--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thanks for the recipes! That was so nice of you to go to the trouble.
Everything confuses me at this point, so please just keep being honest in what you truly believe can be helpful! As long as you don't mind me keep asking for clarifications and explanations. I'll start now, what are considered "tart apples"? What is succanant? And is it either oil or applesauce or 1/4 cup of each? Rice milk replaces regular milk in muffin mix right? What kind of "butter" do you use? Hope you see this soon as I am anxious to make these this weekend.
And yes I would love some more recipes! You can even send them to my email address in my profile as to not block up the boards with them. I noticed you didn't have one posted, as I was trying to reach you! So,I just kept bumping my post to you!
Thanks for caring and for giving so much of yourself to my posts.
Love to you, Dalia
--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
Edited by Augie (01/08/05 01:10 PM)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
hey sweetie!
left you my email in the other post...answers:
tart apples are cooking apples....not sure what people in the us call them...but normal apples are ok too..don't worry.
use sugar in the place of succanat (sorry).
you can use either oil, or applesauce, or a mixture of both (like I am pretty tolerant of fats, so I would use oil, but others aren't so I am not sure whats good for you)
Rice milk replaces normal milk for sure!
I use a vegan soy butter in my baking from the health food shop.
I will search some more recipes for you and send them to your email asap!
--------------------
Feel the fear and do it anyway!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Thinking of you...
#136381 - 01/08/05 03:55 PM
|
|
|
|
Angie113
Reged: 12/31/04
Posts: 297
Loc: Alternate b/w Northern and Southern California
|
|
|
I just wanted to say that I hope you can stabilize soon and start to feel better both physically and emotionally! We are all here to help...Although you seem so desperate right now, sometimes it helps to remember that many of us have to hit *rock bottom* before things start to change. I hope that this is your worst possible hour and that things can ONLY get better...
--------------------
~Angela
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Augie I really think you're stressing yourself out way too much Before you give up on yourself, I really think you need to give SFS's a try more! Give them each a fair shot before you get so hopeless. It seems like you're getting too overwhelmed. Perhaps what you should do is try one SFS a month(or 2 months to ease it up slowely?), that way you can have a game plan in your mind, and feel like you're doing something, instead of feeling so defeated by the IBS. Seriously, it takes time, but you have to give things a full try before you give up!
--------------------
IBS-C
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Dear Augie
#136671 - 01/09/05 08:21 PM
|
|
|
|
|
Taylahmai
Reged: 11/03/04
Posts: 257
Loc: Western Australia
|
|
|
I really feel for you, its not fair when day in day out life is miserable. I know that conflicting advice is what causes you the most stress but I would like to add something myself. Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying below, I have tremendous respect for Heather, the IBS diet and message board. I just thought you might like to hear my story.
6 months ago I thought I simply had food intolerances. I went to a naturopath/ food allergist who tested me for all the foods under the sun and put me on an elimination diet, containing only the foods my body wasn't reacting to (eg rice, fish, chicken, seeds, rice milk, a small number of veges and fruit). He also prescribed supplements, and outlined exactly when and how much to take. The diet was tough but after 1 week by BMs were gloriously normal and after 6 weeks I was almost symptom free except for mild bloating.
I then went for a colonoscopy/ endoscopy to test for coelic, was 'diagnosed' with IBS, and found this website. The wealth of info here was like a dream come true! But I also found there was too much info to digest, one person was saying this, another was saying that. I was trying fennel tea, peppermint caps, SFS, aloe vera, introducing white bread, cutting out fruit and veges, etc etc, and in the end I got really sick. I was trying too many things when all along I should've just stuck with the allergy diet I was originally put on and the supplements I was prescribed, because they worked for me.
What I found was that putting complete trust in one person to tell me what I was doing wrong and how to fix it really really worked for me. By adding in so much extra information, confusion and conflicting advice I got sooo stressed and became obsessed with IBS and focused on my symptoms minute in minute out.
Unfortunately I am still obssessed with IBS, I still have worse symptoms then I did before I knew I had IBS (through obsession with my condition and the stress of trying to find out how to fix it). I love this message board and have grown immensley because of it, but some days I wish I had just kept faith in my allergist and the diet & supplements I was on. Its only now that I realise he really did know what he was doing.
So I suppose in a long winded way, I'm trying to say - is it possible your search for answers is making you more and more sick as time goes on? Are you able to see a food allergist/ naturopath/ dietician who can give you personal advice on what will work for you? I can't praise my allergist enough, he has been an absolute godsend. When we are sick we don't want to know what has worked for everyone else we want to know what is going to work for us.
I know I feel tired. Tired of trying sooooooo many different things and tired of having none of it work for me. Tired of taking so many different supplements cos they work for others. Tired of trying so many different things cos they work for others. Tired of eating, sleeping, drinking, not eating IBS!! I think its possible we rely on this message board too much and it overwhelms us. Learning from people in the same situation as us is the greatest gift anyone can offer, but when this information overwhelms us and causes our symptoms to grow worse through stress and depression perhaps we need to stop and take a breather. Of course I'm not suggesting you leave us Beth!!! Absolutely not!!!! But are there additional avenues of support you can tap into?
DISCLAIMER! I really hope my intent of this post is clear, I have tremendous respect and gratitude for this message board and everyone within it. Its just that I became obsessed with it, and my search for answers, and this ended up making my symptoms worse. I really hope one day soon you'll find the answers you've spent so long searching for
--------------------
~ Live life, don't let life live you ~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Fishnets
#137069 - 01/10/05 08:02 PM
|
|
|
|
|
Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
|
|
|
Thanks for your encouraging support. I know I am way too stressed over this, but I don't know how to get beyond the stress. Perhaps I am self inflicting the IBS symptoms on myself in a way because I am so stressed over trying to find some answers and only getting more confused. I am trapped in a vicous cycle: IBS=stress=even worse IBS= even worse stress, etc. 
You've read my pasts posts. You know how frustrated I am at trying to find the SFS for me. Everyone can tell me what they take, but that doesn't mean anything for me, I have learned! Do you think that maybe some people just can't handle them and are better off without them? I know quite a few people (Sinead, Tina, Gayla, Dalia, Amanda, and some others) are not taking them either because they don't need them or because their bodies don't like them and cannot tolerate them.
Thanks for the suggestion on the trial period. I wouldn't even know which one to start with! The only one I don't currently have sitting in my cupboard right now is Acacia! So any suggestions on which to try? If any. I really wish I could be one that is stable without one.
BTW do you take colace, zelnorm, mirelax or anything besides the metamucil?
Oh, one other non-IBS question. I see in your profile you are a student. What are you studying? I love finding out what people are planning on going into!
Again, thanks for your continual support. You guys keep me from really just giving up on life in general. Yes, I am pretty depressed as well as major anxiety.
--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Doesn't look like your still on line.
I'll respond to your post tomorrow. I'm so sleepy tonight I need to go to bed. But we need to talk! It was brave of you to be so honest in an attempt to help me. And I want you to know I appreciate it.
One thing though. I too think I may be worse than before I even started trying to do all this. I have become totally overwhelmed with all this information and different and opposite advice and I have become severely obsessed with my IBS. It has overtaken my life.
There is more to say, but I can't think straight. Just want you to know I could have written your post myself. I am so in the same frame of mind as you with feeling overwhelmed. I know it is my personality. If I could just relax and learn to use the website for my benefit instead of having it stress me out, I would be in much better situation. But I don't know if I am able to do that without leaving it altogher, and leaving this website scares me because I would die without all the support and loving advice and encouraging people on this board. They have become very dear to me. They keep me going. It's a hard call to make. Oh no, now I have stress over this!
More later!
--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
Edited by Augie (01/10/05 08:44 PM)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Sigh.... you are in a really hard place at the moment. But I think you and I are really similar. We desperately want to get better, we have sooooooooo many questions, we think we understand what makes IBS tick, but for some reason none of the remedies people talk about seem to work. We get stressed about the bloat and C, we hate the way we look - even though we're slim - we can't get over the fat tummy, it takes over our life, our stress makes our symptoms worse, we get so depressed and once in that dark place its hard to get back out again.
I was there a couple of weeks ago and the best thing I did was find some outside help about my symptoms (went back to my allergist). It was such a relief to talk to a professional face to face and get personalised help. I still join this board every day I can. I love the people here and their help and support is invaluable. But I'm not as obsessed with IBS as I used to be. I reallllly don't think you should stop posting, the support you get here from friends will help you through your dark time. We all worry about you and want you to get better.
Send me an email sometime as chatting may just be what you need at the moment:) I'm away on holidays until next Wed but will hopefully be checking the website in the meantime.
Take care, try to relax, don't be so hard on yourself and remember that you are a special person who many people care about and want to see you get better.
--------------------
~ Live life, don't let life live you ~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Well which SFS's have you taken so far? I remember you saying you've tried a couple I think...I think you really should give them ALL a try if you have to, one at a time upping them slowely. You might as well, what have you got to lose? I mean aside from any pain/gas they might cause There isn't any one person who can tell you what will work for your body, it's really a lot of trial and error! Have you tried the Acacia yet? I think any SFS you try you should start out only 1/4 the dose at a time, up it really slowely. Other then that, just pick one and start, see how it goes.
On top of the SFS, I take 2 Colace everyday, it helps a little. I did take Zelnorm which helped great, but I felt like it was making me eat a lot, plus I'm kind of wary of it since it hasn't been tested that much. Unfortunatly Miralax actually gave me attacks! But I think for most people it helps. I also did take magnesium supplements which helped a little. I ran out and didn't bother buying them anymore though, but you may want to try that. As far as eating, I try to eat as much insoluble fiber as my tummy can stand. I especially noticed how this helps when recently I had the flu and was too sick to go food shopping, so I was stuck eating lots of low insoluble fiber food(saltines, white bread, ect), and I couldn't go for days! Mind you, I still eat those foods, but adding in fruit/veggies does help!
And as far as school I'm a psychology major  I want to eventually become a therapist. You? Sorry you're feeling depressed, maybe you should talk to someone about it like a therapist? I too have had depression, basiclly my whole life. Recently it's gone away, but now my therapist said she thinks I have an anxiety disorder, ahhh!
--------------------
IBS-C
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
Posts
