Still confused and asking more questions, sorry
#152470 - 02/21/05 01:22 PM
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Ok uhm btw where did my posts from yesterday go?? I can't find them. 
Ok I've noticed a lot of you saying you've had this since childhood.
I'm really amazed by that.
The 1 Dr I saw (not a specilist in this tho)said most people get it around their 20's.
I was in there because my symptoms began after my C-section of my last baby. I was convinced they'd messed me up in surgery somehow.
I'd never heard of IBS before that appt. I'm still learning.
But I am certain I did not have it before a year-maybe 2 years max-ago. Before then I was like clock work, I very rarely had problems "down there". I used to get a large Muffin, 20oz Latte for breakfast and fast food for lunch and even after that I was rarely even gassy!
My mom tho has probably had IBS-D most of her life. She was told it was Lactose only, but ever since my studying this she too has come to think it was mostly IBS.
My questions then is....is IBS genetic?
Can a Csection-or any abdominal surgery-cause IBS?
Can you "catch it"...like say I did for a long while work in preschools. I do infact remember a day I'd eaten left overs from the school lunch and gotten very bad D and ever since my regularity got worse and worse. That was about 2yrs ago. I grew up in England too and ate a variety of European food, and even tho I was the only one in my family who usually did NOT get sick from it...could that have caused IBS?
Can weight be to blame? My IBS problems have gotten worse since I gained 60lbs. I was very skinny before and very regular then too.
And have any moms on here noticed their IBS get better or worse in pregnancy??
And does IBS ever just go away or get much better with age??
Thanx once again!
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Let's see which questions I can answer. 
As for IBS being genetic, I don't think it's proven, but I strongly believe it is. Bowel problems run in my mom's side of the family... I call it the Family Curse. My mom's had IBS for years. I think it's definitely genetic.
As for when it comes on, that's totally individual. I've had a mild case most of my life that got worse just a few years ago, but I've heard of people getting it at all different ages. Heather says it may be caused by some kind of trauma to the gut, which can be caused by medications, procedures, etc. It seems pretty possible to me that your C-section "triggered" your IBS, although you were almost definitely prone to it to start with. I suppose your bad food could have triggered it too if it traumatized your gut. You may never know. I don't.
And yes, weight is definitely a factor. If you lose weight and exercise regularly that can definitely help reduce your symptoms!
Symptoms can change throughout your life, but IBS doesn't go away, unfortunately. But the good news is that it may get a lot better and once you get your symptoms under control it's easy to live a normal life with it!
I hope that helps. Welcome to the boards and good luck!
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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weight doens't seem to have an impact that I know of....
people here were diagnosed and started having symptoms at all ages...
IBS isn't "hereditary" but I have definitely noticed a trend towards stomach issues in people... mom has crohns, my paternal grandmother had a sensitive stomach... looking back I think she had IBS but it was so long ago that they didn't call it that... and what she did to treat it wasn't that different from how I eat now!
I've had stomach problems since childhood, getting worse in my teens, and I started cutting things out because they made it worse when I was in my teens.. and no one listened to me... the oddest part was it is things that are now acknowledged common triggers for IBS!
Good luck!
Oh! posts from yesterday- look back on the board. sometimes we get pages of posts in one day!
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Dietetics Student (anticipating RD exam in Aug 2010)
IBS - A
Dairy Allergic
Fructose and MSG intollerant
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Causes of IBS- read this
To answer some of your questions specifically:-
Can a Csection-or any abdominal surgery-cause IBS? Yes, any abdominal trauma can..see what Heather has to say-
Quote:
There is mounting evidence that for some IBS sufferers the condition is precipitated by some type of grievous insult to the gut – dysentery, food poisoning, intestinal flu, abdominal surgery, even pregnancy.
Can you "catch it"...
no but it can get triggered by something, like stress, surgery etc, see above
I grew up in England too and ate a variety of European food, and even tho I was the only one in my family who usually did NOT get sick from it...could that have caused IBS?
NO
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S.
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Hey, that's funny, my stomach problems started the day after I had my C-Section which leads me to believe that hormones are to blame. Before delivery and even pregnancy, I had no gut problems whatsoever. Then, just after my C-Section BAM my gut went haywire and i started having awful attacks of D and pain. My doc said that sometimes, after birth, all of our hormones don't go back to the same way they were before and some of these affect the gut. Of course he also adds that nobody knows for sure blah blah blah... Interesting that someone else experienced the same thing. I am just hoping one day everything will just right itself. It's been a year and no such luck
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Dana
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That's what we're all here for. 
First off, your questions from yesterday are still around - these boards get REALLY busy and most likely, it's just scrolled back a few pages. The easiest way to be able to find your posts in the future is to "bookmark" them - when you scroll down past the post, you'll see a little link on the bottom, on the left-ish side, that says "Add this thread to favorites" or something like that. Click that. To see your favorites, go up to your "My Home" (the link is near the top of the page) and it'll be in there.
Also in "My Home", you can set your board preferences... if you're only logging in once a day, you might want to set your display preferences to show more discussions (threads) at a time. I think the default is something low like 25. Setting it higher will put more new posts on one page, which is a little easier to navigate.
New mantra to remember: Doctors do not know everything!! If you look around the boards, you'll find people who got IBS in their 20s, but you'll also find a lot who got it much later in life than that, and many who have it since childhood. It's a very individual thing, and doctors who make generalizations like that are silly.
It's not contagious. Nor is it hereditary, as far as I know. I'm the only person in my family who has IBS, although I'm not the only one who has digestive problems (my father had ulcers and diverticulitis, my grandmother had a fistula).
It *can* be caused by what Heather calls a "trauma to the gut", and surgery could definitely count as trauma. This is NOT to say that the surgery wasn't done properly, or anything like that... it's just possible that that was enough of a jolt to your gut to start the whole IBS problem.
IBS really doesn't go away or get better with age. I've had periods of "remission" that sometimes even last a few years, where I feel perfectly fine and have no problems, but then the IBS comes back, and it's usually even worse than it was before (depending on how I've been eating in the meantime!). I've been like this since I was a kid, and I'll be like this till the day I die, and I've accepted that. It could be worse!!
Welcome to the boards, by the way!
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Hi TP!
As far as how long we've had this wonderful ailment, it varies from person to person. Heather has had it since childhood, while I didn't get it until I was in my 40's. This is the first time I've heard that "most people get it around their 20's." I don't believe that to be true.
As I recall from Heather's book, sometimes surgery can "encourage" IBS symptoms. But don't quote me here. If you haven't read "IBS, The First Year," I strongly recommend it.
Like you, I'd never heard of IBS before either. I had all the symptoms back in the 80's, but didn't realize what it was, suffering through it all for 20-some years. DUH.
Actually, my symptoms got worse, which is what finally sent me to a doctor for a diagnosis. I think that's what happens -- without knowing how to eat properly for IBS, our symptoms get worse. Have you tried the "diet"?
I don't think it's genetic. I don't recall anyone in my family having any kind of digestion problems. But I also don't recall anyone in my family being as "sensitive" as I am. Every part of me is extra-sensitive: my skin reacts drastically to touch and to different fabrics and lotions -- much more so than other people. Why should my gut be any different?
No, I can almost assure you that you can't "catch it." As I recall, Heather talks in her book about the fact that a lot of people who have IBS also have another "problem." For instance, I also have diverticulosis. A lot of gals here also have fibromyalgia. Some have GERD, while others have endometriosis. Do you have another "ailment"?
I can promise you that weight is definitely NOT to blame. A lot of the gals here are very thin (dontcha hate them?), while others are normal and others are overweight (I won't name names, don't ask me  ).
No, I don't think your weight gain had anything to do with your IBS getting worse. As I said, I believe the symptoms increase until we change our eating habits to those atuned to IBS.
I can't answer the pregnancy question, sorry. Never been there, never will. Someone else here will have to help you out there. I will say this about that, though: my IBS didn't "develop" until I had female surgery in 1983, which threw my hormones completely out of whack.
Yes, IBS does, very definitely, get much better, but not with age -- with DIET and PATIENCE, maybe even a little hypnosis. Yes, I went through the hypnotherapy program; it was a Godsend for me, and completely rid me of all anxiety. I believe my IBS is pretty much in "remission," except for the occasional attacks when I drink too much coffee.
Yep, I have a very bad habit I refuse to give up: coffee. It's a 43-year-old addiction I can't shake. When I have an attack, I pass on the coffee that day, and my cramps and Big D go away -- proof that I could be completely symptom-free if I stuck to Heather's program.
Hope some of this helps, TP. You're smart to ask questions like these -- that's how I got better.
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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I think you are right.
At home with my parents untill I was 20 we always ate very healthy, no candy, soda, lotsa fruit, veggies, home cooked meals. Salads with every dinner. Our only beverage-water usually.
Once I left home I went crazy and pigged out on Lattes sometimes 3 times a day, soda, fast food, pizza, Sweets and other easy to make junk!!
I lived comfortably eating that way nearly 3yrs.
I got food poisoning a lot actually. I remember throwing up a bunch. But no IBS like problems untill that one time at my job. I'd been very gassy and quesy all day and asked to go home. My stomach hurt so bad. By the time I made it home it was major diarhea for days!
I've never really been the same since although it was never this obvious untill after my last pregnancy and then once I got the csection it became a daily nightmare.
I'd say the Csection was the climax of it all. But not the begining of it.
So thats probably right.
Eating so recklessly for so long probably traumtized my system. Forcing your body to digest Taco Bell, Pizza and Lattes everyday is not good for anyone.
So yes I'm hoping to try the diet ideas here.
I've noticed major improvement just in eliminating sweets!
I just love this board tho!!
I felt SO alone with this! It is so hard to exsplain it to people and I hate that my inlaws think I have a social anexiety disorder and my friends are thinking I'm avoiding them on purpose! Ugh! They have no idea!!
But you can live normally with it??
When does the fear go away, such as that nagging fear you'll have to "go" when you are out and what if there are no bathrooms!! That fear has held me back so much.And ofcource the fear then stirs up the IBS and round and round we go!
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The Last Question
#152548 - 02/21/05 04:25 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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TP, check out the hypnotherapy board, and in particular the success stories. I had that problem too, BIG TIME, to the point where I was completely home-ridden, unable to leave the confines of my home for even a moment, riddled with fear of having to go and no public bathrooms anywhere around.
I went through the hypnotherapy program, and came out totally anxiety-free. It ROCKS!
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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Hi sweetie, I agree with some of the stats. I showed signs of IBS after I contracted a severe intestinal bacterial infection caused by the common stomach flu. WOW all that in one sentence.I was a person that could eat and drink what ever I wanted and not worry about it. My IBS is not as severe as others on the board. My mother has IBS for years and hers was a outcome of a Hysterectomy(Spelling) with cancer, and then some on set of food poision, I just found out the other day that my moms only sister has IBS D and it gets pretty bad, reason just born with it. I have three sons and my youngest since birth has dealed with IBS the pains and then explosive bowel movements. He will be nine this year and he is now understanding what to do to help. He loves to try my recipes and is stable most of the time. He loves the teas and they help out great. My husband even enjoys it!Your weight will have nothing to do with geting IBS, your diet may have a direct effect on it.I believe being younger or catching the problem earlier in our life can help us get stable and stay that way. Bottom line is we all react differently to our IBS. But I swear, if I hadn't found this website, I beleive my IBS would be a effecting my life in a negative way today.
Sherri
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Hypnotherapy!
#153000 - 02/22/05 07:17 PM
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Kree
Reged: 10/08/03
Posts: 3748
Loc: Northern NY
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Quote:
TP, check out the hypnotherapy board, and in particular the success stories. I had that problem too, BIG TIME, to the point where I was completely home-ridden, unable to leave the confines of my home for even a moment, riddled with fear of having to go and no public bathrooms anywhere around.
I went through the hypnotherapy program, and came out totally anxiety-free. It ROCKS!
Bev
I completely agree with Bev! I was about to suggest hpnotherapy. That's what really helped relieve my anxiety about eating out and other eating and bathroom related issues too. Not to say that I don't think about my IBS now, because it's still on my mind a lot, but I feel a heck of a lot more normal than I did before. I'm also able to do things I was afraid I'd never do again. The hypno CDs are definitely worth checking out!
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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