A very odd thing!
#304634 - 04/11/07 04:53 PM
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I have had pretty bad symptoms now for some weeks. I did an elimination diet in December and felt better and then had greasy hashbrowns at a restaurant and got sick. Looking back I think I have been bad all through January, February and March and the first week of April. Then something strange happened. Thursday I felt some really sharp pain in the morning, with dizziness it was so bad. Then I had a little more later. But by late afternoon when I normally am at my worst, something was different. I didn't get bloated and painful. I could tell something changed. I didn't feel the tight bowel feeling like my guts were in knots. Since then I have been just fine- a little bit of bloating last night and a little bit of gas tonight. I can tell I am out of the bad streak I was in. I feel like everything will work for a while. But the odd thing is I didn't do anything to change it. I was going to buy food for another elimination diet and start Saturday but I felt so good there would be no change in symptoms. So it seems like my gut just does its own thing- true IBS. Eating right will help me stay this way, but as soon as my gut decides to change I won't be able to prevent it. This new thing just makes one more unsolved mystery in IBS. I wish I could figure out what to do about it. Is it just the time of year? Its not warm here at all so it doesn't seem to make sense.
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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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I have a few ideas that I want to get comments on. For those on oral contraceptives, have you noticed any effects on IBS?
Also for everyone: has anyone noticed that just eating more in general, not at one time but the day as a whole, causes them problems? I feel better when I eat less in general and that could be why winter is so tough. My appetite just dropped this month and could be leading to my stabilizing.
What about season, besides depression symptoms, do you have worse IBS symptoms in winter and if so why do you think that is?
What about stress, how much of a factor is that to you? I was stressing because my IBS was so bad I was having trouble working and when I got better I don't think my stress was less, so it is confusing.
Any comments will be helpful.
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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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Stress is definitely a big factor with my IBS. Other than that I can find no rhyme or reason. It is an enigma to me.
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Snookie, IBS-C
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Regarding BC, getting on a monophasic pill and skipping periods has been HUGE for me. PMS used to wreak havoc with my IBS, and I'd get horrible migraines. Not anymore!
The less I eat, definitely the better I feel. I typically can do really well eating very little during the day, but once I get home from work, I get the munchies. I think that's why I tend to get a little gassy in the evenings.
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Lisa, IBS-C (Vegan)
Stable since July 2007!
Mommy to Rhiannon Marie (Dec. 13, 2008)
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I'm on the pill skipping my periods and that has definetly helped calm my IBS down. However I have been looking into other alternatives such as NuvaRing to give my digestive system a break from the hormones.
I definetly feel great if I eat small amounts during the day, and keep the overall total low. I'm underweight so this really isn't an option. I find trying to gain weight makes me have more symptoms because I'm eating too much overall during the day, even if it's safe good IBS food.
Winter overall my symptoms are worse probably because of mood and comfort eating in the evenings. This could also be due to school since I am most stressed with this November-April. Summertime I get worse symptoms only on really hot humid days, but it's isolated to those days only.
As for stress, normal everyday stress doesn't affect me (ie: running late for an appt, getting my work done, having time to cook dinner) but unusual stressors like giving a presentation, meetings, exams, etc all cause more problems..
Hope that helps,
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Kat
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I find this frustrating, too. Stress and hormones are my biggest triggers, I think. But I am really careful with diet and sometimes the pain and upset just hits out of the blue - it really gets me down. My period was really awful this time and has triggered major upset - it doesn't matter what I eat, I have pain and C. Like you say, it's a mystery.
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What I found so strange about the breaking of my bad streak was that I got better when I stopped the pills and got my period. The afternoon my IBS got better was exactly when my period started. They are very light and my IBS is usually not worse, excepting stinkier gas at times. So I have been on BC since getting IBS and I wonder if my body doesn't like that being pregnant feeling BC causes. I also think it leads to being 10 lbs overweight too. I am going to journal it and pay attention to how I feel on and off BC. I definitely don't want to alter efficacy!!!
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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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I'm also on the pill but don't skip my periods, and yes, my IBS is always worse during this time. Is continually taking the pill and skipping periods something that is recommended by your doctor? I'm just wondering if it is a healthy/safe thing to do.
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I do the exact same thing. I do really well not eating too much at once during the day (I don't want to have problems at work), but once I get home I have a really hard time controlling my portions. And yes, I have more problems in the evening too. I'm still trying to work on this one.
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It was recommended to me by both my family doctor and my gynecologist to deal with really bad periods. Everything they have told me and everything I have read online shows that it poses no more risks than taking the BC pill normally. If it's something you want to consider, then you should discuss with your doctor whether it's a good option for you.
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Kat
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Re: hormones
#304979 - 04/15/07 05:19 AM
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Coll
Reged: 10/14/06
Posts: 19
Loc: Maryland
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just another note about BC...
when i followed up with my GY, she had reminded me that the effect of the pill takes about 3 months so you may not notice a difference right away!
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Quote:
I have a few ideas that I want to get comments on. For those on oral contraceptives, have you noticed any effects on IBS?
Hey there! I was on oral bcp for 7 years and recently stopped getting periods for about 6 months and was told by my doctor to go off the pill to see if I would go back into a regular cycle. I have been off the pill for about 10 weeks now and I haven't had many IBS symptoms. Usually, I could credit this to just being my tummy doing whatever it wants, whenever it wants without much explanation *BUT* I went to the UK and Spain so was pretty stressed, eating bad food on my travels and all that and didn't have one IBS attack in 3 weeks.
That being said, I got gutsy and have since been eating really, really crappy food and have had bad gas and one day of bloating and needing to run for the loo (though not real D once I got there). Am pretty sure this could be solved by eating a more normal diet.
Is it the BCP change? I have no idea...but thought I'd share.
Also for everyone: has anyone noticed that just eating more in general, not at one time but the day as a whole, causes them problems? I feel better when I eat less in general and that could be why winter is so tough. My appetite just dropped this month and could be leading to my stabilizing.
I don't really find the amount overall that I eat makes too much of a difference, but if I sat down and ate a really big meal, I am definitely uncomfortable and feel worried about it making me have to "go" more.
What about season, besides depression symptoms, do you have worse IBS symptoms in winter and if so why do you think that is?
What about stress, how much of a factor is that to you? I was stressing because my IBS was so bad I was having trouble working and when I got better I don't think my stress was less, so it is confusing.
I definitely think stress influences my stomach. When I get into an argument with my bf, my stomach automatically starts tying itself in knots. If I am stuck in traffic and think I Am going to be late for work, I feel all gurgly and nauseous. I think when life in general is more stressful, my stomach is definitely worse. I should mention, though, that I am taking an anti-anxiety med at the moment as several months ago my anxiety attacks got really bad and I felt sick all the time. So now that I am on it, I dunno how much of a difference it makes for how stress in general impacts my IBS.
Any comments will be helpful.
Hope this helps a little with solving your mystery!
Steph
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~~I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell-I know right now you can't tell~~Matchbox 20
IBS-D,pain.
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A doctor on the news said it is safe and docs in med school and interns do this.
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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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2 weeks
#305371 - 04/18/07 06:54 PM
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Tomorrow it will be 2 weeks since my horrible spell was over. I am still doing well. Last night I had the first bit of pain for 2 weeks. I had some sharp gas pain really low and I was gassy/burpy. Otherwise I have had very minor bloating/gas without pain. Today I started to get bloated. I peed and ate and it went away immediately. Usually I would have been super huge and bloated all afternoon and evening. I just cannot attribute my good streaks or bad streaks to anything. I even ate chocolate today! I just had such a rough winter (I was depressed and low in February and sad at work too) that I cannot bear for it to go back to that!
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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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I am on the pill too and last year was put on Cerazette, I had some horrible side effect but they have now gone however I've put on more weight in a short space of time which I am sure must be to do with this pill and I also wonder what my IBS would be like if I wasn't on the pill.
I seem to be bloated all the time 
Niki
xxx
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I couldn't find any info online about oral contraceptives giving the side effects I was suspecting. It just seems like since they work by making your body think it is pregnant already that you would have the same side effects that pregnancy causes. I haven't seen anything about being bloated from the pill, only that it helps periods be lighter. Mine are light and I wouldn't want to lose that by going off but it would be interesting to see if I was less bloated off of them. I have been on since my IBS got bad with bloating. Before that time it was just a lot of C and occassional bad D. I don't like experimenting since I am very scared of getting pregnant. So if anyone hears anything about other side effects on the pill please post!
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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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I haven't read the other responses, but are you aware that most "pills" have LACTOSE as a filler?????
How dumb is that? My Doc looked everywhere to find one that didn't use lactose but couldn't. And yes, I think that the pill can cause bloating.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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What about switching to an IUD? There's one in particular that contains NO hormones at all. But even if you did get the one that contains hormones, they would be directed to a specific area rather than systemically. An IUD would also keep your periods very light, if not eliminate them.
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Lisa, IBS-C (Vegan)
Stable since July 2007!
Mommy to Rhiannon Marie (Dec. 13, 2008)
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For me it's a bit early to say if there are patterns over the seasons.
I have also been thinking about if more food means higher risk of problems even if you spread it out over the day, but I'm not sure about that. I know I should be eating more, so... Maybe the big thing is to not increase the amount too quickly. Don't know.
Stress is a huge factor for me. And I am guessing that it's not just the obvious stress that you can really feel, but that it can be subconscious stuff too.
/Ulrika, IBS-D
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Note that you don't actually have periods while on the pill, whether you have a hormone-free week every four or not. What you do get is hormone withdrawal bleeding, but that's not the same thing as a period. There's a very complete discussion of this at The Well-Timed Period. The short form: you can skip the hormone withdrawal bleeding with no issues. It was just included in the original pill regimen to make it seem more "natural".
As I've said before, I'm on NuvaRing and I feel that it makes my IBS better since I'm not putting the hormones into my digestive system. And using it continously is great because the hormone-free week would make my IBS worse.
--AC
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Quote:
Stress is a huge factor for me. And I am guessing that it's not just the obvious stress that you can really feel, but that it can be subconscious stuff too.
/Ulrika, IBS-D
Exactly. I get stressed from the day to day stuff. Just talking to people and doing my normal activities in general can stress me out.
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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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Something to look into.
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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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Funny how I was just asking the question of whether it was safe to skip periods while on the birth control pill and I picked up the paper today and read this article on a new pill designed just for that purpose. The FDA should approve it next month, according to Wyeth, the maker of the pill. The pill is called Lybrel.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/health/20period.html?ex=1177819200&en=2a3aa02e360e51a6&ei=5070
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I just noticed you posted the same link I just posted in a separate reply. The discussion in your link is very interesting, and I'm certainly learning that I don't know enough about my body and the birth control I take. Thanks everybody.
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I'm glad that this works for you and for others. I have to say, though, that it isn't for everyone. I tried this with very bad results. I wanted to skip a week of IBS symptoms every month and talked it over with my doc. We decided to give it a try and a few weeks in I started bleeding and didn't stop for a month and half. I quit taking the pill, finished the 45 days with one last shebang of a period (flow just got much heavier, I never stopped bleeding once), then finally stopped bleeding. I'll never do that again. Maybe after a few months my body would have adjusted but at that point I wasn't willing to find out.
Not trying to start a big argument or anything and I know that this isn't what happens to everyone. Just be sure to talk everything over with your docs.
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***********************
If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Can you ask your Doc whether the patch would be a better option? I'm thinking that the lactose is a filler for the pill - maybe with the patch the lactose won't be there????????
Hugs, and good luck, dearest.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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