No BM in 2 days after being on the diet
#63045 - 04/20/04 12:43 PM
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tomoko
Reged: 04/20/04
Posts: 39
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Hello,
I am a brand new member! This board looks exciting!
Anyway, I have IBS-D. I have it only 2 weeks out of the month (between ovulation and the period and the attacks always stop a day or two before my period). Things get rough during the bad period though. The cramping is sooo very painful and it often wakes me up in the middle of the night. Symptoms seem to be getting worse in the recent months (I have had this for 9 years or so) and I have been on Imodium AD a lot. (A doctor gave me Nulev for spasm, but I don't like taking medicine with a lot of side effects. Nulev made me feel loopy.) I have been diagnosed as having IBS and I just bought Heather's book (Cookbook only so far - the other book is on my way from Amazon), and this weekend, I started on Citricel (before every meal), Calcium, Peppermint tea, and the diet (oatmeal, very little oil, no raw veggies, etc).
Well, the good thing is, well the GREAT THING is, the cramping has stopped. I felt a little pain the lower back (the attacks always involve lower abdomen over my ovaries but not anymore) once and the feeling of the cramps starting, but that was about it and stopped.
The bad thing is I haven't had a BM in 2 days. This is almost like taking Imodium AD (except Imodium AD gave me dry mouth). I normally take my Citracel with 12 oz of water instead of the 8 oz like the directions say, plus I have been guzzling down on peppermint tea a lot so I think I am pretty well hydrated. I feel like I need to go but when I get to the bathroom, all I get is a little gas.
What do you think? Should I ease up on Citracel? Calcium?
Any comments are greatly appreciated!
T
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If you're feeling pretty stable then I would start to add some insoluble fibre to your diet a little bit at a time....that should help!! 
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Did you cut out too much INsoluble fiber??? Some people when they first start the diet go a little over board and cut out all insoluble fiber. You body needs to insoluble fiber as well, you just have to be careful how you eat it.
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Tomoka,
Just wanted to say welcome to the best place on earth!!!
BTW sometimes I don't go for three or four days after severe D. It's like I need to fill the pipeline again!
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Laura
Keep it simple!
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Be careful with the citrucel . Generally, it's better to start at a small dose and work your way up so if you have more cramping, I suggest you back off the C a little bit.
As for the BM, be patient. Sometimes, after attacks of D, the colon simply shuts down (which leads to constipation). It takes a while and some careful eating to get it working well and regulated. Keep up with your soluble fibers, and try increasing your insolubles, as someone suggested. Let us know how it "goes".
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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What dose are you at on the Citrucel? How much calcium are you taking?
Also, make sure you're not cutting out too much insoluble, and try to get some exercise. Try to keep track of how much water/tea you are drinking to see if you're really getting enough.
And welcome to the boards. 
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Thank you SO MUCH everyone for your responses!!
This is great. I am getting a good idea here... add some isoluble fiber!
I am taking either 2 or 3 scoops of citricel a day (one before each meal but I tend to skip the dose before lunch), and drinking a lot of peppermint tea. I only take 2 tablets of Caltrate 600 Plus (one in the morning and one at night).
The thing is I have added more buckwheat noodles, rice and rice pasta with this new diet hoping Citricel will take care of the blood sugar fluctuation (I am hypoglycemic, so before Heather's diet, I would eat smaller amount of starchy food with tons of insoluble veggies and good amount of fats and protein), but maybe I cut out the insoluble fibers in too big a way. Also all the starchy food I am not very used to may be adding to this constipation problem.
I am a bit crampy in a different way (nothing compared to the urgency of D cramps though.)
I think I will add some insoluble fibers tonight for dinner (I have some salad fixing still in the fridge.) I will also skip the Citracil tonight.
T 
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I just wanted to comment on how much pain you say you are in during your period. I used to get the same pain every month and it was horrible. I have been on orthotricylen fore many years and that helped make my periods less intense. Then just recently I started to piggy back my birth control pills so now I take 3 packs in a row (skipping the placebo week) and I get my period so much less often. It's been wonderful and I have found I can make more social plans without worrying about when I'm going to get my period. Some people have a hard time with BC pills and that will bother some stomachs and of course not everyone wants to be on oral contraceptives but I just thought I'd throw this idea at you.
Hope you start to feel well soon!
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Quote:
I am taking either 2 or 3 scoops of citricel a day (one before each meal but I tend to skip the dose before lunch), and drinking a lot of peppermint tea. I only take 2 tablets of Caltrate 600 Plus (one in the morning and one at night).
Note that calcium is constipating but magnesium has the opposite effect. You might want to sneak a little magnesium in there as well - the ratio to look for is twice as much calcium as magnesium. (I use a chewable supplement called "Cal-Snack" which has just those proportions.)
But I think insolubles are the big thing here. Start adding some back in when you are having plenty of insolubles. But, speaking as an IBS-C'er, 2 days ain't much. I barely even notice until it starts pushing a week... 
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Quote:
I will also skip the Citracil tonight.
I wouldn't quit it - you may want to cut your doses back a little. One scoop equals about 1 1/2 T, so you may want to just use a measuring tablespoon and do 3/4 or 1 T instead. You want that cushion for your insoluble fiber.
And don't forgot TONS of water - the SFS needs water to work!
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