We still don't know what causes it, do we?
#201466 - 08/01/05 02:13 PM
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Anthem
Reged: 10/01/04
Posts: 76
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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Hi, everyone. I have been so optimistic because I have been taking Lorazepam and paxil, both of which keep my natural anxiety at a very low key. I hoped that this would in turn keep anxiety caused IBS symptoms down to nil. In a sense, that is true, but IBS is so dang complicated. Today (after a respite of about 4 weeks) suddenly I have "D" again.
I am sure that I speak for many of us when I grab a teddy bear and ask God "WHY? WHAT CAUSES THIS?"
I follow Heather's diet impeccably, I take fiber each day, I exercise, I have a healthy mental outlook, and yet FOR NO KNOWN REASON suddenly my pattern of good days ends, and I am back on Immodium. THIS is when the lack of any sense of control kicks in and I just do not know what to do.
Heather seems to think that with proper diet we can lick this thing, but I have not seen this. THere are the proud few who claim "1900 days without a 'D' attack!!" and I want to be one of them. Yet, even with mind mellowing drugs to supplement the soluble fiber diet, and the peppermint caps, and the fiber pills, and a daily Quiet Time praying with God, etc., it is still there when I least plan on it.
Sometimes I feel we are just in the dark ages, like people in the 14th century trying to treat diabetes on our own with just food and faith, while the underlying cause requires much more than their knowledge could provide.
Come on, people! I am usually the happy guy who jokes around. Can I get a few strokes and sympathy? You know how us men are, we get a hangnail and it is a catastrophe. (smile).
Love, Anthem
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Yeah this a bigger problem with ALL the men I think. 
It takes time. You've been doing great but you haven't been doing this for very long yet.
And yes, it's not understood and that's crap. And that does mean that the best we can hope for is control, not a cure. Having the odd bad day when you've been doing everything right is bloody annoying, but it's a hell of alot better than a lifetime of completely out of control and debilitating IBS. And remember as well that there are so many triggers OUT of our control like the weather. 
Hang in there. The bad days get fewer and fewer. Just remember how much better you've been doing recently! 
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Linz, as always, is right on. There are so many factors, and so many of them that are out of our control. Weather is a huge one. Not getting the perfect amount of sleep is another. And personally, no matter what I do, I can NEVER control all the stress in my life. (And hey, look on the bright side... at least you're a guy... us women have PMS to throw into the mix.)
There are a very few of us who have been able to lick this completely, but I'm not one of them. I consider myself stable now, but I still have what I would call minor attacks once or twice a month, where I have to go for my handy dandy bottle of imodium. I also just went through a particularly bad spell where I had D for a month straight. No rhyme or reason to it, it just happened, despite the diet, etc, and anti-anxiety meds. Imodium did me no good. Annoying? Aggravating? A little depressing? Hell yes. But it really DOES make you feel better in the long run if you can remember that (1) you're better than you were, and (2) you were feeling better and you WILL feel better again.
Hang in there... it really DOES get better.
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It is upsetting, discourging, depressing, and enraging so consider yourself given all the sympathy you can imagine. However, as both Linz and AtomicRose have said, better a few bad days than a few good ones. And, hey, at least no one is trying to cup us, leech us, or exorcise us.
PS - Aren't you supposed to be off at a clinic for two weeks about now?
--------------------
[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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I'm replying to the kind folks who responded. Thanks! We all need a hug from time to time. One thing I have to do is stop "Catastrophizing". I tend to do this (I see an invisible chorus of friends all nodding their heads).
I keep a diary of my daily food/meds, symptoms (hopefully none) and emotional overall daily status. Well, I color coded these for the doctor (although he has no interest in it and just says FIBER FIBER FIBER). Anyway, Green is a great deal, yellow is fair/cautionary, and in keeping with the traffic light system, red is a really bad bad day.
Now, I automatically made any day with "D" a Red day, but today, for example, I realized that except for the bout in the bathroom and my emotional feeling about it, today is FINE! I went to the Fitness CLub to work out, I did some projects around the house, and I feel pretty good!
So, maybe I need to stop considering any bout of "D" a Red day, and change my classification system to allow myself to have more GOOD days even when in the middle of a "D" situation. I always saw "D" as a failure on my part, that no matter what I do, I have failed. And there are times when "D" is definitely a Red day, oh....yeah! But other times it is like my friend said naively but truly "What difference does it make? It comes out, some days fast, some days slow, some days perfect, you carry on with your day instead of making up hymns about it all."
Thanks again and I do console with you all who have problems in this area, and seemingly cope without needing to be cuddled very 5 minutes. Guys can be so self centered at times, but isn't that what makes us so adorable? I better stop now.
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Quote:
It is upsetting, discourging, depressing, and enraging so consider yourself given all the sympathy you can imagine. However, as both Linz and AtomicRose have said, better a few bad days than a few good ones. And, hey, at least no one is trying to cup us, leech us, or exorcise us.
PS - Aren't you supposed to be off at a clinic for two weeks about now?
Thanks for remembering. I cancelled this after learning some alarming information about this clinic. For $7000 I really could not bring myself to go there, especially after repeated calls asking for what program they have specifically for IBS and what their past results are got no response. This place probably does help some people, but it seen more as a "last resource" for people who have cancer and other incurable problems. I talked to a woman who took her daughter there, and although her daughter was helped, she was wary of me going there for IBS.
The first thing they would do to me is make me fast for a week, which I am not sure is very good for an IBS person that is accustomed to getting soluble fiber and trying to maintain a stable process. Then they stick a hose up the anus and force out anything inside, which I was warned can cause severe cramping and even lead to infection if the equipment is not clean. Then they give you lots of chemicals to induce "the runs" (if you havent already got them) to clear you out some more, stick you with pins, and caress your aura while dropping hot oils on your body. I just was not sure at this point that my IBS could handle this.
NOTE: I CANNOT VERIFY ANY ASSERTIONS MADE ABOUT THIS CLINIC. I AM ONLY RESPONDING TO PUBLIC INFORMATION POSTED ON THE INTERNET. IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT, HERE IS A LINK.
http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/young.html
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No, we don't, which is very frustrating for me, because I am a Chemical Engineer and my nature and my chemistry classes have made always look for a reason for something.
I hate the way I have to eat, to keep this thing under control. I think back to college when I was a healthy eater (fresh fruit, raw veggies, whole wheat bread), whereas most of my friends lived on alcohol, cigarettes, hamburgers and pizza. They are all fine, and I am screwed up. It is so not fair.
If my IBS did not stop me from doing things I want to do. I would go back to school and become a gastroenterologist so I could figure this thing out for all of us. But I can't imagine having to sit through class with the way my tummy feels most days.
Okay that is the end of my whining.......I am doing better than ever, and consider this website a blessing, but it is still very frustrating.
Good luck. Like someone else said.....the good days do really out number the bad. 
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Casey is so right when she says that women are worse off because they have PMS to deal with as well. That definitely enhances IBS with more gas and bloating. Anyways, if you stop and think "Thank God" that we all found Heather and her diet. I can't imagine trying to deal with IBS without her. At least we all have her diet guidelines to follow and people we can talk to on these message boards. Cheer up and as everyone here has already said, having more good days is way better than just a few bad.
It sounds like you're doing well for the most part.
Carol
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Thank you so much...there are so many factors. Who knows? Maybe it was the scary violent movie that I watched last night with friends and found rather horrible (certainly my subconscious wasn't pleased). But as a guy, I like to feel in control, and this ailment has led me so often to feeling out of control. I sat quietly a few moments ago and asked the universe if I could see IBS differently. What I got in my mind was "You are terrified, so very scared of IBS". I guess that may seem obvious, but I really had not seen it that way. I have been so very frightened. Then I got the feeling that I need to give that fear away to the deity of my choice, at least a little bit, day by day, and to make IBS more benign. For example, I have such stern rules. If I have "D", then it is a BAD day. Why? I can have "D" and still feel fine otherwise, so what makes it a bad day except a value judgment on my part? Yes, I have days where I am not really able to function socially, but I often can.
So, I am trying to redefine my relationship with this thing, this IBS, this so-called syndrome in a way that brings me more peace. The manly way of controlling it has not worked to my satisfaction so far (my partner in life says I remind him of John Crichton, trying to manage the entire Universe in Farscape).
IBS has been with me many years, so I am not new to it, but it is a newly humbling experience and (yes) it scares me. God forgive my silliness. As one old saying goes "Her complaints bespeak her privilege" (as she complains about her dusty diamonds, the peasants starve). I know I complain about IBS, whereas others routinely deal with much more life threatening ailments. But when we are each alone, it is still scary, and I can see why the ancients personified illness as demons. Wish Jesus was here to send this IBS into a herd of pigs (but where would I find a herd of pigs in this neighborhood? The Home Owners Association wouldn't allow them. Come to think of it, not sure what their policy on Jesus is either! There is a strict dress code to use the Golf Club Snack Bar).
You all are so helpful to me. Thank you again.
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Your "D" is clearing all the toxins out of your body for free! Hurrah! I'd try the IBS self-hypnosis tapes before spending any money on a clinic that wants to roto-route you up the wazoo.
Keep in mind that some psychiatric meds cause the squirts. One that actually helps IBS symptoms is Elavyl, which helps with pain, insomnia, and "D." I loved it when I was on it, but because of heart palpitations (which may or may not have been caused by the med), I was taken off. Sigh. Gone are the days of sound sleep.
Anthem, I think it all boils down to being cursed with being sensitive. We just have sensitive tummies.
Hey, aren't you the one who was willing to swing a chicken around and howl if it would stop the IBS? I tired it, it doesn't work.
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