Question for A-ers
#234939 - 01/01/06 07:06 AM
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Of those of you that have stabilized, how many get D after being mildly C for a day or two and no other reason? I have had that a few times in the last 2 months or so, including today. I drink a lot but sometimes I slip down to 80 oz a day or so and I get mildly C. Then for no other reason I start out with a normal BM, get cramps and end up with D- nothing horrendous but enough to cause loagieness for a couple more days, nausea and lethargy too usually. This happens with a good safe diet and lots of acacia. I have to keep on the water and tea to such an extent I think!  Well I suppose this all comes to the point that I am an especially tough case and winter is most difficult for me. This is a bummer because I went out yesterday and did wonderfully, no bloat or anything and I kept to the diet well too.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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AAAAhhhh....yes, the joys of being an A! You have just described my life. Only my problem is much more severe. I get the C, then the D backs up behind it and in the process of "dealing" with everything (if you get my drift  ) my entire digestive system spasms out (literally) from beginning to end. I'm exploding at both ends simultaneously! (sorry...it's gross, but it's my life!) lol What a hassle and terror when I feel THAT feeling coming on. 
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I think I must be the same way. I know I'm IBS-A and there don't seem to be quite as many of us. Anyway, I have stuck to the diet PERFECTLY over the holidays because I am so paranoid about getting sick. However the day after Christmas I had cramps and D. Like you, all I could figure was that with all the travel and excitement of the holidays I didn't drink enough water/tea, giving me slight C for a day, and then all the sudden D! It really does wear you out for the next day or two. I was so upset about it because I had been taking my Acacia and eating very safely. I brought all of my own food to the 3 family get-togethers I went to! Never cheated once. But sure enough, without enough liquids, I got C, then D! So frustrating because I had been what felt very stable for two months prior to christmas. For me it seems like C turns to D, but D doesn't turn to C...so that's good I guess. I just need to drink enough! And I'm also nursing my 9 month old now which also really drains me of liquids, so I have to drink a TON.
BTW, How much Acacia are you taking daily? Like I said, I worked up to 1/2 Tablespoon (1.5 teaspoons) twice a day over the course of 2 months, and I felt really good/stable. I take a dose when I wake up and a dose before bed. Does that seem dumb since I don't eat between those two times? I just always felt like mornings were worst for me and read that it could help to take SF before bed. Now I also wonder if I should increase my daily amounts since I've been at this for weeks now. What do you think?
Do you find that lack of sleep also really influences your symptoms? My 9 month old is sleeping horribly and when he has really bad nights where I'm up every hour or less I feel terrible the next day. I think that and lack of fluids really hurts us A-er's! Especially since I've been sticking to the diet.
Hope you feel better soon and take care!
Amber
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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I hardly drink any thing. I drink probably a few glasses of water a day. Will drinking alot of water help my D? I thought it would make it worse. My doc said the Bentyl will help dry me up, so I figured I was suppose to drink less.
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Yep.
I take 2 rounded tablespoons a day. You only need to up if you feel you are not quite stable and have the feeling more fiber is needed; itis hard to determine. I upped mine whenever I was not so good, but now I am leaving it at rounded tablespoons.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Water
#235066 - 01/01/06 05:36 PM
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No, you need to drink more. I'm mostly D/sometimes slightly A, and drinking enough water everyday is really important to my stability too.
If you are just D, D itself is very dehydrating (for obvious reasons). But lots of water is also really important to keeping your body running and healthy. Plus if you are A or C, water is especially important to keeping your bowels regulated. Most importantly though, soluble fiber requires lots of water to do its thing in your digestive tract, which is important whether you are D, A or C.
Here's what Heather says on this page:
Quote:
Fresh water is crucial for good health in all respects, but is especially important for keeping your digestive tract functioning properly. In particular, soluble fiber requires plenty of water in order to be effective (remember, soluble fiber works by absorbing liquids in the digestive tract to form a stabilizing gel that relieves and prevents both diarrhea and constipation).
Together, fiber and water maintain gastrointestinal muscle tone, dilute toxic wastes in the GI tract, bind irritants, bring oxygen to the tissues, and help maintain the correct balance of intestinal flora. In general, the more water you drink the better, whether plain or as IBS-friendly herbal teas.
At a bare minimum, make sure you're drinking 64 fluid ounces (eight cups) of water each and every day, and aim for at least twice that amount.
Many Americans are actually chronically dehydrated without ever realizing it, and this is a huge exacerbating factor (and sometimes even the underlying cause) for constipation. If you're on the opposite end of the spectrum and prone to diarrhea, you're at risk of losing too much water from your body too rapidly, and this can then result in dehydration. So no matter what your IBS symptoms, and whether they're flaring or in remission, please drink up!
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Hi LM. I don't really consider myself A - I'm mostly D but I do get C on rare occassions. Anyway, the point is that those occassions are ALWAYS followed by a bout of D, completley untriggered and regardless of how stable I am/was. It's like the C itself is triggering it
Anyway, that's probably not terribly helpful but I definitely feel your pain. Glad to hear that, for the most part, you're doing well though! 
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Me, too.
#235104 - 01/02/06 07:10 AM
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Sand
Reged: 12/13/04
Posts: 4490
Loc: West Orange, NJ (IBS-D)
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Like Retrograde, I'm D, but if I do become C for some strange reason (usually meds or illness), the C usually resolves itself as a D attack.
I do think you might be on to something with the idea that not getting enough water might be contributing to the C. I went through a period where I was taking a lot of SFS but not getting enough water and I found that gave me mild C.
Take care.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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