Uh.....hello? I'm new - anyone there?
#72887 - 05/24/04 10:13 AM
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poop
Reged: 05/24/04
Posts: 6
Loc: Grosse Ile, MI
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I'm not a girl who likes to sit around and commiserate about issues. I don't see a therapist and I don't gather with my girlfriends and bitch about men...much. HOWEVER, IBS has thusfar kicked my ass. I went to various doc's last year trying to figure out what was going on with me only to receive greatly varying recommendations. I remember being so frustrated I began crying when the doctor told me he had no reason to believe my recent weight gain of 10 lbs. in just 4 months (I'd been stable over the past years) was in any way linked with IBS. This particular highly reputable internest also stated that there have been no links to the severity of IBS and diet. I had the blood tests, the barium enema's, the colonoscopy (by the way, they found a very large pre-cancerous polyp), the laxatives, the paxil, the zelnorm, etc.
I'm active - I run/walk about 15 miles/week. I eat much better than most by the average person's standards. I'm going to try the IBS diet TONIGHT. I seriously can't take this. Anyone throw on a pair of pants in the morning and by nighttime, you've blown up so much the pants effectivly segment you like a sausage? I am 5' 9" and with Zelnorm I lost the initial weight I'd gained, but I've had a terrible 2 weeks and have gained 6 lbs.though I've eaten less - nausia helps with that. I'm sorry for everyone out there with IBS, but I'm damn glad to know I'm not alone.
I hope to talk with many of you soon. Any immediate advice for someone just starting to look into the diet aspect of things?
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Hi.
I just started on the boards here a couple weeks ago. It's good to talk to people who understand - believe me. I do more loosing weight with IBS than I do gaining weight, but I do have problems with bloating and gass sometimes. Diet DOES make a difference - a massive one! I find that the foods to avoid are more important than the foods that you should eat more of - except ginger, that one's good for me, but something else may be the more essential for you. Everyone is different and we will all ask questions about to see what other people experience. Feel free to ask questions - we all learn from each other's answers.
Welcome to the boards and hope you get lots of useful advice and weather you're one for it or not...we all can deal with commiserating!  Hope you feel better soon.
Min
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Welcome to the boards! Isn't it nice to find others like you? This website is great and has helped me a great deal. I am IBS-D and only deal with bloating when I am in the throws of an attack. I drink peppermint and fennel teas right away and they help me alot. I also take a peppermint cap. I use Heather's products that you can find here. I know there are others like you and will soon introduce themselves and their helpful hints. Until then you can "search" under bloating and see what comes up. The one thing I have learned from the diet is read labels. Trigger foods and additives are everywhere so beware! Hope the diet helps as it has for me and many others. Keep us posted.
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IBS-D
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i'm here.
#72892 - 05/24/04 10:44 AM
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jenX
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 3252
Loc: Richmond, VA
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glad you found us. sorry your highly respected internist is a loser who has no clue about nutrition!
this is a great diet and should help you feel better soon. the biggest things to do are, in my opinion:
- give up the coffee and soda
- start a soluble fiber supplement that doesn't contain psyllium (just in case you have an adverse reaction to it as many do)
- get yourself some fennel tea. NOW.*
- read as much as you can as you navigate this site. the stuff Heather wrote, the stuff that's been posted. you'll learn tons. then later, read it again. and again!
*fennel tastes like licorice, and if you don't like that, i would suggest you try as you might to get used to it. it will help greatly with the sausage-pants problem you describe. it really cuts back on bloating (and gas, too). if you must, start making it weak and use some sugar or honey or my favorite- cardamom. to make the tea: take some fresh fennel seeds, mash them a bit or not, and put about a tablespoon or a tablespoon and a half into a tea strainer, then pour in a cup of hot hot water.
more tea tips: ginger works for nausea. peppermint can help with stabilizing the spasms in the colon. (these flavors in Altoids can help, too, in a pinch! as can the real thing: slices of ginger, some fresh peppermint.)
here's a little thing i wrote to help people get around: hope this helps.
welcome to the boards! (PS: i'm not a therapy type chick, either, nor was i a support group girl, but really, you can't beat a bunch of people who can help you kick the IBS to the curb!)
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Welcome to the best place on earth to help your IBS! I am also IBS-C, and the Acacia Fiber and peppermint caps have made me a faily normal and much more comfortable person! I know I'll not go back to Zelnorm! Anyway, know that your symptoms are totally understood here! IBS is a life-changing type of problem, but with a few adjustments and the help from the wonderful folks here, you should be feeling much better soon! Welcome!
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God is Faithful!
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Hey Poop! (Love the name)
I hear ya! I have gained 10 pounds in the past year, and was diagnosed with IBS last summer. My GI doc was kind of an arse, so I don't know for sure if it's IBS. I'm 5'6", 144, 26yo, also active (I'm currently doing Beach Body's Power 90 In Home Bootcamp) and getting married in July. I am stressing a bit over how I'm going to feel on the Big Day and pissed as hell that I'm 10 pounds heavier (and way more uncomfortable) that I want to be.
I've heard many different suggestions about diet, meds, OTC meds, etc. but this site has offered the best info by far.
My first piece of advise for you is to get yourself a soluable fiber supplement. Citrucel works for me. Start with the lowest dosage and work your way up per Heather's instructions. Fennel tea is great for bloating. Steep it for at least 10 mins and make it STRONG! Then start working on your diet. Do you have the book? Go get it and start eliminating suggested trigger foods from your diet and incorporate the good ones in. It works. This way of eating has helped ease symptoms for many folks on this board.
I have an entire wardrobe of pants/jeans that I cannot wear because of the pressure they exert on my tummy. I get home from work and put on a pair of pajama pants because they are the most comfy. I can't stand anything that puts pressure on my waist. I look five months pregnant at the end of the day on a good day; pregnant with twins and three weeks late on a bad one. UGH! I feel your pain!
I'm going to my doc again tomorrow morning. The stress of having to worry about this in addition to wedding plans is getting to be too much for me. I'm not bridezilla or anything - plans are mostly done and I'm really laid back - but this is just ridiculous!!
I hope you feel better soon! This sucks, but we're all here with ya!
EDITED TO ADD: Just noticed you're from Michigan too! I'm from the west side of the state, Grand Rapids area. What was your doc's name?
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~jules
Edited by jules (05/24/04 10:49 AM)
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Hi Jules. I used to work in GR on East Paris. Very cool town. I go to Zac Lewis for all my colonoscopy needs - as I have to have one every year till I croak now. He was great but still downplayed how incapacitating the symptoms I was having were. My lovely Mother spent quite a bit of time grilling her malpractice lawyer buddies about a good doc. and they came up with Dr. Larry Stayewick out of Providence Hsp. He prescribed a low dose of Zelnorm for me which worked (you should try). I think my body has gotten used to the dose as it seems to be having very little effect lately. Though he felt there was no coorelation between diet, weight gain, and IBS, I saw an allergist out of desperation. I paid a hundred bucks to spit in a cup and have him tell me that wheat would be the death of us all and told me to read this book called Evil Wheat. Can you believe it?
I did order Heather's book. Have you had a hard time following the diet? Has it helped? I too have a closet full of clothes I can't wear. I don't even want to go out with my boyfriend anymore - I darn near have to wear running suits or what I call floppies that I wear when I'm just lumping around. Unfortunately, I have to wear a suit every day to work and none of them fit! I feel like a total cow. I know I'm kind of rambling - it's been a long day.
Let me know if you're able to get zelnorm. I think that would offer some rather immediate relief. I want to see if I can get a diet that works so I can get off the meds. longterm.
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Hey there!
I tried Zelnorm last year and it sent me to the potty with serious D about six times a day for the week that I was on the meds. My doc gave me a sample and I think that the dosage was too high. She didn't know much about IBS but was very open to new ideas and to try what she could to help me out.
The last GI doc I went to was a total jerk and I didn't feel that he was very empathetic to the seriousness or debilitating nature of this stupid syndrome. He gave me his "IBS Diet" that was filled with whole grain products and told me to try that for three months. He didn't even to a test for celiac or food allergies. So I fired him, found this board and swore off doctors until now. I'm miserable and want to be able to feel like going out again with my fiance. Thank God he's fairly understanding of all this.
Honestly, I have a hard time following the diet. I'm stubborn in my way of thinking. I want to be able to eat what others do, so I kind of forget about the whole diet thing. I can't do weight loss diets, either because of that same mentality. Stupid me. I gained weight because I used the excuse that Honey Comb was safe, so why shouldn't I be able to go through a box in two days...
I was debating whether or not to go to a food allergist. I have a TON of questions that I've written down for my doc, and that is one of them. I also want to make sure I'm not lactose or gluten intolerant.
What a lovely pain in the ass this is, eh?
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~jules
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Thank you! Did you eat less and gain weight too? Were you EXHAUSTED? I'm going grocery shopping tonight. Where can I get all these strange things..Ginger? Peppermint caps? Fennel seed?
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I thought I was the only one who knew about Power 90! Haha. That thing killed me. I did really good in the beginning (very motivated)...and then I just got SO bored of it! How are you doing with it? My husband did it with me for awhile and he mainly just laughed at the guy, so that didn't help. I did lose weight on it though, for sure. And my arms got a lot more toned.
I should go dig that up again, it probably has a layer of dust on it
Congrats with the wedding and good luck!
~Cara
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~Cara~
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