medicine vs. herbs, etc.
#91644 - 07/19/04 07:20 PM
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I have been diagnosed with IBS-D, GERD, gastritis and IVS(ileocecal valve syndrome). In the dr.'s words, he has "thrown the book at me medically with tests and medications". This seems so extreme to me; to be 35 years old and taking soooooo much medicine. Do many of you find that once you have found the right herbs, diets and strategies that you can wean from the meds? Or do you always take the meds and then just add on with your own lifestyle changes?
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The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.
Proverbs 13:19
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As far as the IBS-D goes, the only med that I currently take is for pain when I have a really bad attack. (I did start out with several meds.) The peppermint tabs work better for me than the anti-spas. meds did. And the Acacia helps alot with the D problem. I think between these two things and the IBS diet and a couple of other "natural" remedies, My really bad attacks have gone from a couple of times a week to a few times a year. I still have D, but the attacks are generally not as frequent as they use to be.
Everyone is different, some people will have success on meds and some will have more success with herbs. I think that it is important to find what works best for you.
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Thanks for your encouragement. I am so glad your good to bad days ratio improved so dramatically. It is helpful form me to hear stories like yours.
I hate being on medicine with all of their side effects and such. It just feels to me that since there is no "cure" for ibs and related disorders that the medical community has written me off with Prevacid, Levbid, Triavil, Belladonna, Ultracet and several lovely suppositories. I just don't want to live like this. Is there hope of living a healthy life with supplements and diets and exercise and not being chained to the unfeeling solutions of drs.?
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The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.
Proverbs 13:19
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there's a whole section of the website devoted to this in the IBS News and Reviews section right here letters from readers
Most of the letters are about the dietary information in Eating for IBS (which is what the dietary information on this site is directly excerpted from) but they're also about using lifestyle management strategies to manage IBS in general. And, to give you even more hope, the couple hundred letters on the site are a small fraction of the thousands (yep, thousands!) that have been sent and that I just haven't had time to post.
So, don't worry, give yourself permission to hope for good things even though you've been disappointed in the past, and I promise that the changes you make will help you feel better.
And as for me, I used to have a prescription for an anti-spasmodic that I don't even fill anymore, because the peppermint caps and Acacia work a whole lot better for me, with none of the side effects. And all that is actually a bonus improvement, on top of the difference that eating properly makes (without the IBS diet, I'd be sick - violently, agonizingly sick - every single day. With the diet I'm sick a few days a year). Plus yoga has totally eliminated any IBS attacks that stemmed from menstrual cramps (hot packs help here too).
Not to mention all the good the IBS hypnosis program can do to just stamp out anxiety related symptoms...I think you're starting to get the picture. 
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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I will get started on reading the stories of hope. I am new to this board, but not new to ibs. I have had it for 13 years (documented) but probably had it since birth  !
Whereas I have previously controlled my ibs through lifestyle choices, I have had an awful year and feel like I've lost my way. Not to be maudlin, but since Sept, I have lost my unborn baby, my pastor and my best friend. Naturally my ibs kicked in and I gained 40 pounds on saltines, goldfish, mashed potatoes and the like.
Right now I'm recovering from a battery of very invasive tests given just to "reassure me" that it's not something serious. Personally, I consider vomiting, D, reflux, cramps and rectal bleeding serious, but hey that's just me. I'm sure there is an archive thread on the joys of the medical community that I should look up too!
I want so much to be where you are now. Any reasonable estimates on how long your plan can take to begin to ease my symptoms? I have just ordered your book and I'm sure I'll find the answer in there, so you don't have to bother responding. I appreciate this web site very much and feel a little better already knowing I have some control.
Thanks to everyone for sharing so honestly.
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The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.
Proverbs 13:19
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