Help! Anyone else out there like me?
#188560 - 06/23/05 08:01 AM
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I just want to know if anyone out there experiences my particular symptoms. I was diagnosed IBS years ago. My main symptom is VERY VERY SLOW gut motility. It's amazing how much I eat and how little comes back out! I've always been this way. I had a colonoscopy 7 years ago and they found that my colon is twice as long as it should be "due to chronic constipation" over the years. I only go every now and then and I can never go when I'm on vacation (weird, I know). And whenever I go to a book store, if I'm not thinking about it, I need to go. It's some sort of strange mind-gut association that is beyond me.
Anyway, I had a baby 18 months ago, my first one. Since then my gut has seemed to gradually slow down even more. Worse than it's ever been. I now never feel like I've completely eliminated my bowels, ever. And I weigh at least 10 lbs less now than I did before I was pregnant. I don't know if the pregnancy changed my metabolism or what but I only weigh around 112 lbs and I'm 5'7". I don't know what's going on. So I'm going in for another colonoscopy (fun) next Monday. And I'm kind of freaking out that there's something else going on and I'm really scared.
So is there anyone else out there with similar symptoms? Anyone else out there who has a story to tell with how pregnancy may have affected their IBS?
P.S. My GI doctor put me on Rx Miralax temporarily and I'm also taking Acacia. Neither of which does much if anything.
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Do a search on slow transit colon or STC. It's something that apparently gets mis-diagnosed as IBS quite alot as it only just being properly investigated.
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Hi there jnbeitel,
I too suffer from ultra slow motility due to a long and twisty bowel. Apparently it is genetic as my dad had the same thing. I have suffered with this all of my life. I would have a BM like once a month!!! Yikes, I know. Funny though, I never suffered pain or bloating. At any rate, after I had my baby, I actually started suffering MAJOR cramps and diarrhea - a HUGE change from what I was used to. I had all the tests done and was diagnosed with IBS. I think all of the diarrhea and cramping was a hormonal issue. Well, my diarrhea is under control (crossing fingers it stays that way) but now I am back to MAJOR constipation but this time WITH the annoying pain. I take milk of magnesia (i really need a rx for miralax) but it only helps so much. Slow motility is very frustrating and it is something I battle with every single day. The foods that speed up my motility are bran foods and they cause me SEVERE cramps, so I don't go near them anymore. What's a girl to do. Not sure how much I helped you, but I do know where you are coming from.
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Dana
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Just a note on the miralax, I find it works best if I do this: Take it first thing in the morning on an empty tummy and mix your choice of SFS in with it! I take a spoon of acacia and a cap of miralax and mix it in a juice glass, add enough water to mix and then full with whatever juice you like the best. Drink it down and wait about 10-30 minutes and then eat breakfast. I find this works very well to keep me going most everyday! It is an osmotic laxative so you do need to be sure to drink lots of water through out the day for maxium results!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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My bowels are also different after having my second baby almost 3 years ago. I'm more prone to C & cramping (even taking Miralax). Before I had him, I went almost every day & didn't even have to take the Miralax every day. Now, I rarely skip the Miralax because I just get too C.
I wonder if stress is contributing to your C troubles? It's so stressful being a first-time mom. It really changes your world! I generally take my Miralax first thing in the morning. Sometimes I also take a dose at night before bed, if I've been particularly uncomfortable.
Wishing you the best.
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hi--
i know your symptoms as i go thru waves with my bowels and BMs. i have it set up to follow a very specific dayplan to make sure my body is comfortable and if i skip it or get lazy, my bowels back up. and if i skip a BM, i get annoyed with it and eat whatever i want instead of following my plan. ill skip more BMs and eat more and i never understand how all the stuff i eat doesnt just eventually come out.
i used to be on fibercons and for 4 years that i took them, i found no relief so i changed to psyllium caps--a vegetarian cap actually. this with a TBSP of acacia seems to do it better for me. i have a Rx for miralax too but never take it b/c the whole laxative department is just bad news. even colon cleansers that reward themselves with a natural label are still harsh--if not right away, then in the long run. i had a terrible laxative abuse problem partially b/c i liked going [and who wouldnt?] but partially b/c my doctor kept telling me to increase the dose, as i periodically found myself at plateaus with my current amount. i recommend the psyllium very much but take it at night! it causes bloating a bit
im sorry to say though that im only 20 and havent had a baby yet  but i babysit 2 very young ones and find it hard to eat as much as i used to. perhaps you are just really busy? did you gain alot of pregnancy weight? BTW, congradulations  that must be wonderful--i hope you find some fast relief! i cant imagine your pain *HUG*
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VEGAN ASHLEY~IBS/C
www.myspace.com/dutchflowers
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This was posted on the fitness board but it appears to be frozen on me. I'll reply here.
All you wrote is in red here.
My main symptom is VERY VERY SLOW gut motility.
Yep, that used to be me, before the diet etc. big time. Usual poop was every few days, one poop, often marbles.
I only go every now and then and I can never go when I'm on vacation (weird, I know). And whenever I go to a book store, if I'm not thinking about it, I need to go. It's some sort of strange mind-gut association that is beyond me.
Oh my God! I finally don't feel like a weirdo!!! Yes, when I'm on vaca, there's either NOTHING, or depending on the water, I can't get OFF the pot. And bookstores and music stores, that's me! I NEVER understood that! Maybe it's some sort of animalistic anxiety thing in there that gives me the poops. Never fails. So strange, hey? But only EVER in a bookstore, music store, or art stores. Maybe it's the high walls???
Anyway, I had a baby 18 months ago, my first one. Since then my gut has seemed to gradually slow down even more. Worse than it's ever been. I now never feel like I've completely eliminated my bowels, ever.
During pregnancy, I had NORMAL soft poops 3 times a day. I had a few serious pain and D attacks diagnosed as the flu that sent me off to the hospital.
MY IBS was milder and unknown, till my DD turned 2(she's 2.5 now). I got way worse, enough to seek diagnososis finally. I was very C for a week at a time, then it'd break with an excruciating bout of D for 2 days every week or so.
Now, I have some C and hardly ANY D, but have stabilized big time due to Heather's diet and recommendations. YAY! I still have pain bouts but they're short lived, I know how to avoid them, and I can control it all now.
I do appear to have very little peristalsis in the end of the large intestine, and often, poop DOES get stuck in my rectum and I feel like I PUT something up there. I have to sometimes push it out from the outside.Yuch!
And I weigh at least 10 lbs less now than I did before I was pregnant. I don't know if the pregnancy changed my metabolism or what but I only weigh around 112 lbs and I'm 5'7". I don't know what's going on. So I'm going in for another colonoscopy (fun) next Monday. And I'm kind of freaking out that there's something else going on and I'm really scared.
I kind of wish we were alike there. I was my pre-preg. weight a few days after giving birth,cool, but I gained AFTER, up to 15-20 extra pounds, and some are sticking around pretty seriously. Let us know how that colonoscopy goes, OK?
So is there anyone else out there with similar symptoms? Anyone else out there who has a story to tell with how pregnancy may have affected their IBS?
I hope this makes you feel a bit less weird. I know it did for me!! I would definitely get the big weight loss checked out, OK?
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Shannon, IBS A, happily stable! (well, mostly)
Edited by Sore_No_More (06/24/05 09:16 PM)
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Thanks so much for your replies! You really helped me out and made me feel less alone. I stopped taking Miralax as it did nothing except give me lots of gas. I'm up to the maximum dose of 4 tbs a day of acacia and while it helps soften the stool, it doesn't help me get the urge to go at all. I think I'm just all stopped up. But the colonoscopy preparation tomorrow should help that out and I'll just go from there, I guess. I hate having these problems!!
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