Over 2 Years now constant D unable to eat dropped 120 pounds now
#325034 - 02/19/08 04:42 PM
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Photofabix
Reged: 06/03/07
Posts: 49
Loc: N Florida
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I have been dealing with constant D, stomach cramps, for well over 2 years now and I have dropped over 120 pounds now. I am 31 male, no prescription drugs, no alcohol. I am not working as of right now, and the county approved very basic medical (sent me to an MD, and to a Gastro. I will include below everything I have tried to date and would welcome any suggestions and comments from anyone 
First I'll start with what I've done then move to the doctors , I have eliminated anything and everything from my diet. I started with eliminating Milk, and all diary products over a year ago. I gave up coffee, and I also reduced my fats to only very little canola and olive oil, no hydrogenated oils, no bad fats/oils. I tried eliminating gluten for close to a month with no change to my diet. I tried just eating brown rice every day for close to a month, still cramped and suffered from D.
In the last couple months I have pretty much given up on eating. In the AM I am making Bob's Scottish Oatmeal (finner grain of steel cut oats) and serve with a little bit of rice milk. Other then that, I some times will try to eat pasta, toast (no butter), I made my own sourdough bread from scratch with NO fat, that didn't help so I been buying Aleverda St organic Multi Grain Flourless bread.
I also do no consume any soda, nor do I consume any artifical sweetners. I drink about 6-8 glasses of water a day. Sometimes I will make hot black tea (decaf)
I tried to follow the recipes here, and I just bought Heathers IBS cookbook on eBay yesterday, I been pretty to broke not working to be able to afford a new copy.
Supplements/Fiber: I tried Heathers Tummy fiber worked up to 2 teaspoons a day, was getting bloating so I quit taking it. I just started again last week with it, right now I'm worked up to about 1 1/2 teaspoons a day.
I was on a non dairy probiotic, and just switched to Jarrow's Probiotic yesterday.
I have tried a digestive enzyme by GNC, but they changed the formula it now includes milk, I switched to Now Plant Enzymes (totally vegan ezymes)
Doctors: As I started above the county agreed to send me to a doctor 2 months ago, he was of no help. He said seeing as I am still at 190 some pounds(5'10") (I'm around 180 something right now) he is not concerned with the weight loss and further more says I'm still overweight. He agreed to send me to a gastro.
I had complete bloodwork that come back normal, Diabetes test was normal, Thyroid normal, Cholesterol really good, and I had a urine test that come back fine.
The gastro did a colonoscopy, and he stated that it doesn't reveal any problems. I have not had any follow ups with him since the procedure 3 weeks ago and that is the ony test he ran. I have called him and he asked if I was feeling any better, I said no. He said well just start a fiber supplement and call us back in a few weeks.
I unfortuantly can not go to any other docotrs, the county has advised me that they can only approve one doctor for each field. If I don't like them or the treatment I will need to pay out of pocket to go else where.
So at this point I feel hopeless, and I don't know what to do at this point. I am guessing what I have is IBS, since last week I have dropped another 7 pounds. I also hurt allot since the procedure, I advised the gastro and he stated that it's not from the colonoscopy and that was that.
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IBS-D, Lactose Intolerant, latex allergy, MCS, Sun allergies, depression/anxiety, 156 pounds weight loss now (still dropping), cramping, rarely leave the house.
Edited by Comfortablynumb (02/19/08 04:57 PM)
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Wow. Dennis, you have really been through the mill. Take heart if IBS is your problem, you can control it. However, I would really suggest you pressure your doctor for tests related to the gallbladder to make sure you don't have any problems there. In the meantime STOP eating whole grain stuff like Scottish Oatmeal, brown rice and whole grain bread. That is way too much insoluble fiber. If you read Heather's books and this website carefully you will find that you have to first break the cycle. I did it by eating plain jasmine or white rice with poached chicken (cooked by me at home) and cream of rice (found with other hot cereals at the grocery). Drink lots of water and HERBAL teas like peppermint, Tazzo Calm, etc. Absolutely no black teas even decaff. I use almond milk but rice milk is fine. Also very crucial is to begin a good probiotic with a good soluble fiber supplement. I like acacia (ordered from this website) but if you can't afford it I have read that benefiber is a good substitute but have never tried it. I have also found that I can't have honey or smoked turkey or chicken. Everyone is different. Don't try to add anything else to your diet for about two weeks. Get a schedule and eat something (sourdough bread it good) every two to three hours when you are awake. Get plenty of sleep. Get some exercise every day!! Most of all RELAX. Don't put yourself in stressful situations. Keep us posted on your progress.
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IBS-D, Gas & Bloating
Barbara50
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Ok I'll cut the oatmeal out I do have Jasmine rice, I'll cut the brown rice out too. I found I can't eat any processed meats, even the ones that claim to be natural they all have some kind bad ingredients in them.
I still have Heather's tummy fiber, my first post was a bit to long but I just started taking that again last week. I am up to 1 1/2 teaspoons right now. I also started Jarrow Formulas Jarro-Dophilus EPS.
Are bagels ok? We finally have a bagel place here that is claiming to be all fresh and natural ingredients and hearth baked.
As for bread I am not sure if my sourdough starter is still alive or not  I haven't baked any in months, I feed it here and there but I have neglected it.
I would look for sourdough in the store, but I can never find anything natural, they all seem to have hydrogenated oils or some other junk in them. The bakery at my local store (Publix) isn't much better. I really wish we had a Whole Foods here, but the closest is 2 hours south.
Quote:
Wow. Dennis, you have really been through the mill. Take heart if IBS is your problem, you can control it. However, I would really suggest you pressure your doctor for tests related to the gallbladder.
I wish I could pressure him, I have terrible pain my left side around my waist area, had for years (10 or more) after a slip in wall at a store I worked in. I mention it to every doctor I have come in contact with and they just shrug, one did an x-ray and said I'm fine.
Also the side pain has been a bit worse since the colonoscopy, but the Gastro just says it's not from the procedure and to just take fiber.
I also forgot to mention lately, when I stand I feel really faint, I was advised by the MD that I need to drink more water.
Heh so you can see what I'm up against here, I've tried going out to get work but I'm always so nervous trying to think where there are restrooms along the way, that and the fact there is no work in this town and everything in other towns is at least 30 plus miles one way. So I pretty much stay cooped up in the house, scared to go anywhere, Immodium AD helps sometimes but when you start cramping you don't know if it's just a false alarm or if you need to find a restroom ASAP!
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IBS-D, Lactose Intolerant, latex allergy, MCS, Sun allergies, depression/anxiety, 156 pounds weight loss now (still dropping), cramping, rarely leave the house.
Edited by Photofabix (02/20/08 10:08 AM)
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