2 Questions... for IBS-C and IBS-A
#316514 - 10/12/07 08:48 AM
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haleym
Reged: 10/07/07
Posts: 73
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OK I know I have so many questions but Im still a lil confused....
1) ok so what do people with IBS-C mean when they say " I havent or had an attack in...." what does an attack look like for someone who has IBS-C. I mean I get what it can look like for someone with IBS-D, running to the bathroon b/c you have to go. But for someone with C what does that mean? that you havent had a day were you werent able to have a BM or what...?
2)also when Heather explains that you are only supposed to do the breaking the cycle part of the diet( mostly all sf) until you are "stable" then you can add more IF, what does "stable" look like for someone with IBS-C. As in my 1st question I can see what being stable means for someone with D( not having to run to the bathroom with D) but what about for C??? I mean, I have been following this for 7 days....day 1&2 I ate mainly all SF and had BMs. Then days 3,4,5, I added a little IF( veggies and fruit) and was gassy but didnt have a BM in all three days and then yesterday (day6) I had to run to the bathroom with D 3 times??? This doesnt seem "stable" but dont know what that means for someone who is almost always C
can anyone explain????? thanks sooooo much
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Hi Haley, here are my answers from my experiences (it's probably different for others)...
1) An attack for me is when i get severe nausea, bloating and abdominal discomfort. Also, it's when i've had 0, 1 or 2 BMs in a week. I also know that my body isn't working as well but isn't having an attack as such because when i'm functioning at my best i can have 5 BMs in a week without the use of any medication or fibre supplements etc.
2) I think you should only ever do Heather's break the cycle diet for 3 days maximum anyway. But i think "stable" in this instance is when your stomach feels calmer and isn't cramping so much and not so nauseous. With me the bloating will still be there after 3 days on the BTC diet because i usually don't have a BM in that time. However, my stomach does feel less irritated and more settled on it. To be honest though, i've only done the BTC diet for 2 days as i feel that this is sufficient for my attacks. Also, i've never had a D attack after it. However, i do suspect that the D is just a result of your body being so bunged up that it needs to expel the waste somehow so D occurs. Apparently this is quite common when someone is really constipated. In the instance that you gave i would consider you stable again if your stomach feels ok as you've had a BM even if it was D. I could be wrong though as all this is just my opinion and what i've gathered from chatting to others. Anyone else please feel free to disagree with me!
Hope i've helped a little bit at least.
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Sarah
IBS-C
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I agree - it's pretty much the same for me:
1) For me an attack is when I have severe bloating and cramps that make me wish I could just get in bed and curl up in a fetal position and forget about the rest of the world. It doesn't really matter whether I did or did not have a BM that day. I can still get an attack after having BM or I can feel fine even though I haven't been to the bathroom. But usually it goes hand in hand - no BM for a few days, an attack comes... I still get bloated but as long as there's not this killing pain I don't consider it an attack but rather a bad day.
2) I think the idea of the BTC diet is not to get stable but to get relief from pain (and for Ds running to the bathroom all the time). My understanding is that it takes months to get stable (and this also depends on what you consider "stable"). I usually do the BTC diet for a day or two and then start adding other things, given I feel a bit better.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant 
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I agree with Sara and Zara.  (I'm a poet and I don't know it! )
I was never the kind of girl that gets cramps or cranky when it's that time of the month but this Monday that just passed, I got my period in the morning and my belly looked like a friggin' balloon! Then the cramps make it confusing because I don't know if it's an IBS thing or a menstrual thing or a mental thing (I've developed anxiety since my IBS). I also get queasy or filled with malaise and if I don't have a BM by day 3, I really want to hurl cause I feel that if I eat, I'm just adding to what's still there. I carry ginger chews with me to curb the nausea (they're a God send!) And then I always have that feeling like I have to have a BM but it's usually a false alarm. When the real feelings come through, OMG, it feels like my backside is going to explode and I've got to go to the potty ASAP to get relief--if that! Sometimes after having a BM, I'll still feel queasy or I become queasy and if I'm not at home, the anxiety kicks in because I start to aggravate my tummy by worrying about how I'm going to get home.
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Wendy IBS A thru Z 
Taking it one day at a time...
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I am IBS-C. Stable for me is when I have a BM every morning and no cramps throughout a day;
IBS attack for me is when I have a stabbing pain in my colon, unable to breath evenly, sweat, cramps and terrible gas.
Hopefully this helps.
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IBS-C since 2006. No signs of IBS now, it's been 4 yrs. Only dairy allergy now.
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5 BMs a week!!!! with no supplements or laxatives??? thats amazing.... wow can you give me a sample of what you eat in a day? So you probably dont eat any wheat or dairy right? Do you eat a lot of IF and not have gas??
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Do you usually have a BM every morning??? thats amazing! do you take anything? heathers fiber, magnesium etc??? can you give me a sample of what you eat in a day. that would help a lot, i can look at lists all day long but i need an example of a day of eating that will allow a BM everyday, even every other day would be awesome!
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Hi there, just thought i'd add my bit too
I have BM every day, i'll be honest (graphic info sorry) most mornings its a bit of an effort and i usually spend about 30 minutes sat on the toilet patiently waiting for the event.
I take benefibre and i have found that has helped lots, occasionally i have bad bouts and i'm very naughty at these times becasue i take a senakot (laxative) for a bit and that works everytime!
Claire x
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Aged 31, 1 Husband 2 Cats and maybe (hopefully) a baby soon
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Yeah, i miss it!!! Things haven't been that good for at least a year. I get stressed and worried that my diet was bad, and i don't have as much will power for some reason. I'm trying to get back to it though. My diet involved eating no wheat and dairy, i didn't drink caffeine but did enjoy red wine, and i ate little and often. For example, breakfast was a cereal bar or porridge, then i'd have quite a big fruit salad (no apples, pears, or bananas tho- can't handle them), later on i'd have a handful of brazil nuts and some oatcakes, and i'd sometimes have a sneaky bit of chocolate. Then dinner would be vegetable soup with a side of broccoli, or roasted carrots and parsnips with skinless chicken breast, or vegetarian chilli. I also drank lots of herbal tea and walked 40 mins minimum per day as i had to walk to and from work. I found that when i was stable i could eat out more easily and have a little bit of the bad foods. I hardly ever suffered from bloating back then but i did have bad gas. That one i can't seem to escape. I think the gas will be with me forever! I did lose a bit too much weight on that diet though so i think as i go back to it i'll add in more soya yoghurts and other stuff. However, i was never underweight so it can't have been that bad. I never paid any attention to IF and SF either. I just focussed on eating a natural wholefoods diet and no wheat and dairy. Hope this helps. I really have to go back to that diet.
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Sarah
IBS-C
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Wow, your attacks suck! I'm sorry that you get them so bad. Hope your system recovers soon. I can sympathise. I get so depressed when i have to watch my husband eat dominoes pizza. x
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Sarah
IBS-C
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Yes, since I took control over my IBS I usually have BM every morning, at times even twice a day. I take Heather's fiber, but not all the time, when I eat lots of starch and know that I didn't get enough fiber in my diet.
Here's what I've been eating lately:
Morning:
wheaties cereal with raisins and unsweetened vanilla soy milk (wheat doesn't seem to bother me much)
2 hrs later: oatmeal with raisins and soy yogurt
Snacks: organic -banana,
apple with skin (I tolerate the skin if it's very soft, sometimes I can't tolerate, depends on how stable I am, I choose to peel or not to; lately I eat it with seeds and just leave out the tail; my mom always thought me that apple seed has very important vitamins, so I chew them up really good before swallowing)
ginger cookies,
tea: peppermint, camomile-boil flowers myself, lemon-hot water over slice of lemon, ginger-grind it myself;
Meal: white rice with smart balance butter substitute (tastes just like butter, lactose free), veggies: carrots, avacado, white mushrooms;
2 squares of bitter, dairy free chocolate-only 4 grams of fat and hardly no sugar;
soy ice-cream-chocolate/cherry from Trader Joes-best soy ice cream I ever had;
Grilled salmon with baked potato, butter substitute (in this case I'd take 1 table spoon of Heather's fiber, because of large potato)
That's about what I eat in a day, seems a lot, and maybe it is. I am very under weight, so eating a lot in small portions throughout a day doesn't hurt. Soy has lots of iron/calcium and it's constipating, but I still get to eat it with cereal in the morning and 1-2 soy yogurts later on.
Be well.
Tatyana.
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IBS-C since 2006. No signs of IBS now, it's been 4 yrs. Only dairy allergy now.
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There used to be a time when I couldn't go for days. My belly was swallen and I looked pregnant. It was painful to move around and I think my gut was really swallen because of all the stool collected in it. My friend recommended Magnesium and I took 1-2 capsules before bed every day and I had a BM every morning. Then I started having rash on my face and stopped using it, but it works wonders if you can tolerate it. Heather's fiber helps with BM, cramps and general pains.
Good luck.
T.
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IBS-C since 2006. No signs of IBS now, it's been 4 yrs. Only dairy allergy now.
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Thank you very much for your reply. I cant wait to get heathers fiber I have been taking benefiber and my aloe( as I am trying to get off the aloe) but nothing has really changed. Still very constipated and gassy. Well thank you for the suggestions...Have a great weekend
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