About IBS Symptoms (kinda gross)
#86111 - 07/04/04 07:11 AM
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Daisymc
Reged: 04/10/04
Posts: 126
Loc: Alexandria, VA
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My best friend has IBS also, but I think we are on different planets. It has gotten to the point I really don't even want to talk to her about it because we are so far apart & we have been friends for 20 years. I have tried to talk to her about Heather's website & how much better I feel, but she is not interested. From what I gather she has IBS-D, where she knows where all the bathrooms are in the area. She also has a very stressful life (yucky nasty stepdaughter issues, bad commute, stressful job). I mentioned not eating red meat anymore & she asked why? There are foods that I do not eat any more because they cause me great pain. For me, what I consider a severe IBS attack is the following: I eat and within two hours I will have intense cramping, which gets more and more painful. I will have a bowel movement, which as the time goes by goes into a watery d. The whole episode with cramping etc lasts about 40 minutes. The first day after, I feel tender & the next few days is when I have the C. The night my son graduated, we got Popeyes Chicken & I said to heck with it & I just ate like I was a normal person (I medicated myself first & took Equalactin before & after) it wasn't enough & I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. I had to take another dose of Equalactin to stop it. I was so scared. To me the pain is comparable to hard labor pains. The rest of the time, I might have a rumbly tummy here & there, but nothing I can't deal with. I guess this is where my question comes in, are these painful attacks normal? Do you guys go through them? What do you guys go through? When I tried to explain all this to her, she just sat there in silence & then told me maybe I needed to go back to the doctor. Her feeling is all things in moderation & doesn't understand me cutting anything out at all. I guess if she didn't have IBS I wouldn't be surprised by her attitude, but since she does have it, I am a little stunned. This will not hurt our friendship, I just won't discuss my IBS with her, I have you guys for that 
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Daisy
"Sometimes you are the Windshield, sometimes you are the bug".
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hi Daisy,
From what I have read everyone has such different symptoms and different levels of attack. Your friend seems to have a mild case of IBS, where you , like so many of us won the IBS jackpot. Symptoms vary so much from person to person. You mentioned your attack could occur 2 hours after eating something offensive....for me two days after is the norm. I have also experianced the episodes of a BM ending in watery D...that used to be the norm for me, but has been under control for a few months. My biggest complaint is having to return to the bathroom numerous times for cramping that results in barely a thing.
When I was having the bad stomch cramps about 6 months ago, I had been constipated for a couple days, then when I had a BM my stomach would cramp as I got to the D, the cramping was so bad at times I wound up sweating and exhausted, after laying down for about an hour I would feel somewhat better, but still had a tender gut. Hope this helps some.
Colby
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There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
--Bern Williams
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Denial
#86116 - 07/04/04 07:37 AM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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Hi Daisy,
Your friend is in denial. Your efforts to help her are admirable, but she doesn't want to hear it. Weren't you in denial too at some point? I know I was. I didn't want to hear the inevitable, even when I originally contacted Heather, almost 2 years ago, and even after I read "The First Year" the first time around. Heck, I was on the Boards here, and even started the hypnotherapy program while drinking my beloved cuppa joe. DUH.
You can lead a horse to water, but......
There's nothing more you can do to help your friend. But that doesn't mean she should bring you down. You know what you can and can't eat, so your entire focus should now be on YOU. I believe that, once you get yourself stable and are able to function more like a normal person, your friend will take notice and wake up to her own reality. Until then, your reminding her of it will only serve to distance her from you. It's all about denial.
Yes, I have the same symptoms you describe, although my D never turns to C. And now I very seldom cheat; when I do, it's never deliberately, because -- to me -- no food or drink is worth those cramps!
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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You know it is funny, I think of my symptoms as mild compared to what I read what others go through. I thank God my symptoms are so mild . Even looking at yours make mine look great . Thanks for sharing.
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Daisy
"Sometimes you are the Windshield, sometimes you are the bug".
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Re: Denial
#86133 - 07/04/04 08:40 AM
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Daisymc
Reged: 04/10/04
Posts: 126
Loc: Alexandria, VA
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Bev,
Thanks for responding. After our conversation the other night, I decided this was one subject we (my friend & I) should avoid. You are right about the denial thing. There are times even now that I wonder if I have IBS, then after episodes like the Popeyes Chicken, where its like do you need any more proof my friend? After talking to my friend, I wanted to post my question because I never had seen people mention so much about the pain & that is what made me curious. I had seen about the cramps, d & the c & I was like let me ask about the pain. The pain is why I cut out red meat (two bad episodes) and pork chops:).Thanks again.
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Daisy
"Sometimes you are the Windshield, sometimes you are the bug".
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Re: Daisy....
#86139 - 07/04/04 08:57 AM
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gigi
Reged: 03/21/04
Posts: 1442
Loc: South Texas
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HI Daisy! I have had IBS for 30 yrs, OMGosh that makes me sound old. For so many years I would have attacks and was told it was Ovarian Cysts, Bladder infections...on and on. I just wanted to know what was causing me to suffer so, with 2 small children, having attacks that would literally make me feel as if someone was throwing me to the floor in such pain and unable to move. When I was finally told I had spastic colon, (I was given Librax) but no help in living with it for many more years. What I am trying to say, if I had known to eat to keep myself from having attacks, I WOULD HAVE STRICTLY FOLLOWED THE DIET. But, thats just me. I have always wanted to know what I could do to help myself, so I could just stop hurting. I take Levsin/Hyosyamine for the cramping and gas. I have to take it every day. It was hard for me though, to give up the coffee and dairy, (the beef was another story, we are beef breeders, having a freezer full rib-eyes, roasts,... made it difficult but I no longer partake). When I gave it all up,I immediatly started to see a difference in how I felt, it was wonderful. I have been so blessed, my family and friends are extremely supportive, to the point of asking me what I want to eat at gatherings, to calling ahead to the host of a get together to make sure I have soluble fiber. Most of the time, I don't want to put a burden on someone having a party, so I take foods that I can eat and plenty for others.
I am now at the point to where I can go to almost any type of restaurant and find something on the menu that I can tolerate. ( I cheat alot too, thank goodness for Equalactin!)
Girl, just keep on the diet, take care of yourself, and be patient with your friend. We all have obstacles, she just loooooves her food and is struggling. Good Luck to you, its going to get better!!!
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Wow! I am glad that you are stable. 30 years huh. I love my best friend dearly, we have been through births, divorces, cheating boyfriends (one painful month of not speaking) so we will get through IBS together. We just won't talk about it I also am looking at, I have to take care of me. I found Heather's website because I was hungry & figured that somewhere out there somebody could tell me how to eat for IBS. I didn't buy my the eat whatever & take Immodium & get over it. I like to eat & having constant d just wasn't working for me. I just knew there was a solution out there & Heather's website was the first thing that popped up when I did my search & the rest is history.
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Daisy
"Sometimes you are the Windshield, sometimes you are the bug".
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Re: Daisy....
#86148 - 07/04/04 09:24 AM
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gigi
Reged: 03/21/04
Posts: 1442
Loc: South Texas
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Girl, I love my best friends too !! WE have all been through some tough times together, and still love each other! Aren't we blessed to be so loved ? You bet !
She'll come around in her own time. Thats ok too!! Hope you get better soon !!
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