Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hello!
First of all, welcome to the boards.. I don't think I've seen you around before, are you really new to posting on here?
I'm sorry you are still have problems with your tummy after starting the program, I think it can take an awfully long time to figure out what your triggers are and what you should do more of and do less of... I'll tell ya, a month ago I was a real, real mess.. I mean, I'll bet you could look back about 5 weeks and find posts from me where I was so miserable. I know how frustrating it is for something not to work right away, but if you stick with it and keep trying and testing different things, you will probably start to feel so much better.
As for what I did, I think one of the biggest things for me was finding a doctor that 1) Listened to me 2) knew _something_ about IBS. I went to SO MANY doctors appointments, and left in tears because I have been dismissed or told they couldn't help. When I finally found someone who confirmed it wasn't in my head, promised me they would help me and really talked to me about it, I felt better almost right away. Seriously; The day after my appointwent was my first day without liquid D attacks, and I haven't had one since.
My biggest trigger seems to be stress-related. I get really anxious about a lot of things, especially anything involving being out in public, so I think getting that dealt with was a huge thing for me. I got put on a _very low dose_ anti-depression medication that I think has really helped me calm down, and thus alleviate some of my symptoms. He also gave me some tablets to take called Celevac that are just chewable things I take twice a day.. I think they might be fiber and something, but they really help.
Another thing that made a HUGE difference to me, but might not be relevant to you, is that my GP had put me on meds for GERD that actually 'cause diarhea.. so that was just making a bad situation worse... A LOT worse. As soon as I stopped taking them, the D got a lot better. Like I said, it might not be relevant to you but I learned to really check up on meds.. when you have different doctors for different things, it can get messy with drugs, I think.
I also quit a job that I hated, and made me sick (literally, the cigarette smoke made me want to throw up and I was running around all day so I was exhausted) and got a new office job that is much more convenient for bad tummy days.
Although I know the diet is an excellent start for getting your IBS under control, I have learned that for some people (like me, and some others have said it as well) it is not enough. You need a good doctor, you need the right medication, and you need to find ways to deal with stresses and other non-food triggers in your life. I was on the diet for months upon months, just getting sicker and sicker because I didn't want to accept that I needed to keep going back and back and back again to the doctor until I got some real help.
I hope you start to feel better soon.. I would keep a food diary if I were you, that seemed to help me a bit as well and others have had great success with them.
Good luck, hun!
--Steph

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~~I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell-I know right now you can't tell~~Matchbox 20
IBS-D,pain.

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