I thought I had found my cure
#182348 - 05/31/05 06:08 PM
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susan127
Reged: 05/25/04
Posts: 49
Loc: Vermont
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I haven't posted in ages - too much going on with surgeries and family deaths,etc. So - it is nice to be back and reconnect. Last fall I figured out that I am soy intolerant. Cutting out the soy isoflavones and the rest of the soy from my diet helped my D incredibly. And then I read Harvard Health newsletter about the effects of too much other supplements and realized that too much magnesium could cause D. I was taking that for menopause. I cut that out and it really, really, really helped. I was like back to normal more than I had been in ages. Then once I went into surgery I experienced the other side of IBS and was constipated for the first time in my life. I got that under control. Then my husband and I finally quit smoking and now I am back dealing with IBS from the other side. I am often constipated and other days doubled up in pain with D. I never knew this side of IBS - for me it was just always the liquid D five times a day. Now it is something else. So, I am back to the boards. I know I can get this under control again - I just hate the gas and bloating. I am eating all the right stuff and exercising and doing everything right and I think it just must be the nicotine withdrawal. Any thoughts?
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Smokers/former smokers tend to swallow more "air." That could
be a factor in the gas/bloating.
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boy, you have been 'thru it,' and congrats on all the strides you HAVE made!
i know i swallow air whether i smoke or not. air-swallowing is a very hard, ingrained habit to break!!! i have to wonder if there isn't some heredity factor, as my dad still swallows air....and hasn't smoked for almost 30 yrs.
my therapist, a nurse, hasn't smoked since the early to mid 1960s - and then only during her pregnancies. this was before they knew how harmful it was to fetuses. the reason she only smoked during those times - 4 kids - was because other nurses and docs pointed out that smoking has a laxative effect - hence your constipation upon quitting.
air-swallowing is often also a symptom of un-medicated anxiety and/or depression, just for the record. smoking can 'cover up' a mood disorder, like these 2. i have one friend who found this out, once she quit. she had to then take paxil. no shame in that, of course.
for relief (?): altho i'm a firm believer in quitting smoking cold turkey, i do know several who swear by the nicotine patches. perhaps it would be worth your trying(?) i strongly suspect nicotine gum wouldn't be feasible, due to swallowing air from chewing it. then again, i have no real idea if these different forms of nicotine delivery would give you the desired anti-constipation effect.
eating small amounts and chewing very thoroughly should help some. you may already be doing these things.
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If you're not already, I'd get on a gentle SFS like Acacia to help prevent you from "swinging" so much. I find it really helpful with my IBS-A. And just be super careful with you diet whilst your bod's going through the withdrawal.
Btw, WAHEY  for you for quitting! 
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The air swallowing is an interesting thought. My husband I and I are both dealing with bloat and gas. I am not recognizing any air swallowing. Any suggestions on how to spot this and stop it?
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