stressing
#239333 - 01/18/06 06:29 AM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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urgh. SO I had 2 fabulous weeks...I was starting to get stable and was so excited. Then, out of nowhere (I was eating super safe, exercising, doing the hyp. tapes) I got an attack on Sunday...it lasted until Monday...I mean, bathroom time lasted 2 days...yesterday I felt crummy as I was recovering...but was OK. Then today I woke up and ate cereal and the cramps started again. Well, I was supposed to work today, so I got crazy emotional. I ended up calling my mom and just crying and being so overwhelmed. I get these little panic attacks before work or during when I start feeling cramps and all...it's frustrating because there is still that old part of me that wants to just stop the crying and push through...but I can't anymore. So, tomorrow I have an appt. to talk about AD. I think it's time for these--xanax helps, but not the ebst for me. a whole pill knocks me out and a half hardly helps. So, I am going to ask about lexapro. I did a search but just wondered about personal experiences with this drug...good? bad? ugly? Let me know, I really really appreciate it!
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IBS-A
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haven't started taking it yet. I know there are some on here that swear by it and it has helped them a lot.
I'm sure you'll get some replies for those folks!
I can totally relate to the stress of going to work. That's one of my biggest triggers!
Sandy
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thanks. do you mind me asking why you haven't started taking it yet? Is it one of those drugs you can start immediately? Just curious... I wish IBS and work could go together better! My job is just so active and I never get to sit down for 7 hours...but, somehow I still love it!
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IBS-A
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I guess I read too much about...every side effect. I know they have to put everything that can happen when you take something but it kind of scared me off. (that could be true of any medication) In my mind, I have a hard time believing it will really help me. I'm a D and one of the side effects is D. I think for a C, it may be more effective. I don't know for sure and I probably won't know it can help me until I start taking it. I did hear that you have to give it some time for it to have an effect. You can't judge it by the first week.
I think it is probably one of the better Anti-D's. It may be worth a try.
Sandy
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One drugfree alternative is the IBS hypno CDs. They really help me get out of the IBS panicky feeling, and I get a lot fewer of the feelings now that I finished the program.
This is not to say that A/Ds might not help you a lot! But hypno can work with them and help teach you how to relax into an attack (which often makes the attack go away).
--AC
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...more than one time, AC? Or did the first time do the trick?
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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My doc just gave me Lexapro, today. We'll see how it goes. I didn't wanna do another AD either because I have bad side effects but he told me that it is IMEPERATIVE that I push through the side effects or I will not get better, ever!
So, I will do it HIS WAY and see what happens. I will start 10mg tomorrow.
Good Luck!
Sorry to hear you had an attack. I was kind of doing good too for a week and started having attacks again a few days ago. Setbacks suck!
Take Care,
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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Day 8
#239510 - 01/18/06 02:10 PM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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Well I will do day 8 tonight...so I am JUST starting out, so it might be a bit before I see results. I am positive about it though... but Lexapro might give me that push towards where I need to be. It's tough to feel totally anxiety-ridden when I'm only 22...thanks for the advice!
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IBS-A
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Have you seen a new doctor yet or is this the same one as before?
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Re: stressing
#239612 - 01/18/06 05:47 PM
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amo616
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 236
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Just keep in mind that everyone reacts differently to different drugs. So if one doesn't work for you another one might.
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Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Your exceptional Bevvy! 
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Hi AC, I think it's your own will(to defy the IBS) that you're
appealing to.I think the tapes helped you realize that is
what you have to do. When attacks start to happen you just
relax, stay cool, and not worry about it, even ignore it,
and more often than not it subsides and goes away in a
relatively short period of time. It's your will to beat it
that wins. That's the impression I got when we chatted.
You know, sometimes it seems to me that IBS is an evil
extraterrestrial entity that feeds off obsession, and the
more you ignore and defy it, the weaker it gets. It reminds
me of an original Star Trek episode where the Klingons
boarded the Enterprise and both sides ended up having to
fight each other with swords and knives. No matter how
wounded they got they would heal and go back to fighting.
So the fighting would go on and on and on. They finally
realized there was and evil entity on board that fed off
violence, and thus agreed to stop the fighting and the
evil alien entity fled. I know, I know, I watch too much
sci-fi<laugh>. -Bob
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<img src="http://www.math.mtu.edu/~rwkolkka/BritPicA.jpg">
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Beth, I think she did the whole thing once, but ocassionally
re-listens to parts of it. However, you don't necessarily
need the CD's. You just need to let "The Force" be with you.
The CD's are just a convenient device that assists many in
doing that, but it's just one of many ways of achieving it.
-Bob
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Don't you think if we could all just "will ourselves" well, we would? I just think it is more complicated than just wanting to be well. We all want to be well....but we can't make "the force" be with us.  Wouldn't that be great if we could, though!
Do you have any other suggestions on how to achieve this, Bob? You've seen to have come a long way in your battle against this IBS-C. How are you doing it...how do you keep so positive? 
Thanks for your support!
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Good point!
#239709 - 01/19/06 06:32 AM
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Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
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Lexapro worked wonders for Casey...but it didn't touch my symptoms. Just don't give up trying to find one that may help your own brain chemistry.
Good luck to all of you embarking on your trial with Lexapro. It's suppose to be a great AD...with little side effects, if any!
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Re: Good point!
#239751 - 01/19/06 07:51 AM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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Well I go to the doc today to talk about it... this is my first time at a new GP. It should be interesting to have to go through my entire life story! And, my belly is feeling terrible this morning (like the past week!) So hopefully I'll be OK. At least if I get worse, I'll be an emotional wreck and the doc can see I really need something...lol
Wish me luck!!
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IBS-A
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I listened to the whole series once, but I go back to the final session at least a couple of times a month. I must say, though, that while my IBS has been life-long, it isn't terribly severe. I just got good and tired of feeling crappy and so went after diet and lifestyle changes with much enthusiasm! 
About being anxious and 22: heck, I've been an anxious person all my life. The good news is that my anxiety has gone way down over time because I've worked on it and because I've gotten more experience in life (since my anxiety is triggered mostly by ignorance, which leads to fear).
I find that my IBS cannot be scared away or willed away - relaxation is almost the opposite of willing something away. Instead of tensing and adrenalizing, you are relaxing and accepting. Our "fight or flight" responses might be good if a pack of wild dogs is chasing you down the street, but it just makes our IBS worse! Relaxation/self-hypnosis/meditation is a third way, and it really does help. It is a matter of will only because our society does not reward or encourage this third way, so you have to consciously choose it.
--AC (also a big SF fan!)
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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I took my first Lexapro, today at 11:15 with lots of food and I was good until 1:00....I think I'm going to die! My stomach is killing me, I'm having a D attack, shaking like crazy. My head hurts and I'm severely nauseated. I think I'm going to throw up before it's all over. I cannot gain control......
I cannot handle these side effects. I feel LIKE CRAP!!!!
Hey, Bethy!! I will email you when I can get out of bed.
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
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But try not to jump to conclusions yet. This drug is pretty tolerable...so maybe it wasn't necessarily the Lexapro. Try it again for at least a week or two. Call your doc and tell him and see what he has to say, okay? This drug has the potential to really help some people.
Hope you feel better soon! I'm having a rough day too.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Michelle
#239802 - 01/19/06 10:32 AM
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lalala
Reged: 02/14/05
Posts: 2634
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Michelle, sorry to hear you're not doing too well. But I agree with what Beth had to say - don't panic and make sure you stick with the medication for at least a few weeks or however long your doctor or pharmacist told you it would take to start working. If the Lexapro works, ultimately its benefits will outweigh the side effects you experienced during the adjustment period. In the meantime, maybe you could follow the BTC for a few days.
I haven't seen you around much lately, but please know you were missed!
Take care!
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OMG, that was horrible!! I think the worst of it has passed but I have totally lost my apppetite and can't eat. I'm so nauseated, I don't even feel like I can tolerate my fiber. I think I will throw up if I take it.
I might just take a 1/2 a pill, tomorrow. I don't think my body can handle a whole pill right now. I HURT SOOOO BAD!!! WOW, this is worse than the Remeron AND the Elavil!!!! I don't know if I can hang on......
These side effects really suck..... I really do believe that this crap is side effects from the med. Oh, .....I don't feel well again. Time to lay back down. Breaking out in a sweat again....... Bleh!!!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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Well, I never got into STNG while it was current, but I've still seen a bunch of the episodes one way or another. I've probably seen 99% of the shows in all the other Star Trek series (I miss Voyager terribly) and all the movies, of course. Stargate SG-1 I'm about a season and a half behind on (thank goodness for Netflix), haven't tried Atlantis yet. About to rent the first season of Battlestar Galactica from Netflix. Thought the Firefly series was much better than the Serenity movie, although the movie was excellent. The series was truly a classic and the network execs who messed around with it will go down in history as barbarians.
As for scifi reading, I did a lot of it in high school and college, but I'm now about 20 years behind, except for the books a scifi-addicted friend of mine keeps giving me for my birthday. My husband reads a lot more of it than I do.
Okay, really, really off-topic, but for some reason today feels like Friday afternoon to me - you know, when work gets shoved aside and everybody chit-chats.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Hi Michelle,
I was kind of awaiting how lexapro affected you as I didn't start taking mine yet. So far I'm not encouraged! I do know you have to give it some time to get in your system and the side effects should lessen.
HUGS,
Sandy
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Everyone is different. Please don't let Michelle's reaction prevent you from trying it just one time. It could help you so much.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Hi AC, Will is not limited to just fight or flight. It's
rather the ability to attain the right mindset to face or
confront a certain problem. Thus IBS can most certainly be
willed away to a significant degree,maybe in the rare case,
entirely, by relaxation, meditation,etc. In some contexts
will does involve adrenalizing, like in the will to win a
military battle or a contact sport game,etc. However there
are many contexts in which the will to chill is the way to
go. -Bob
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<img src="http://www.math.mtu.edu/~rwkolkka/BritPicA.jpg">
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Sand, Wow you're a bigger sci-fi fan than I am. I too really
liked the Voyager series! Also, the Deep Space 9 series,and
particularly the Ferengi bar owner, Quark. Yeah, it does
feel like a friday. Well, at least that's tomorrow. .-Bob
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This same thing happened to me when I took Wellbutrin and I had to stop taking it. It only got worse and worse.....it never got better. So, the doc figured he better just take me off if it before I had to be hospitalized. It tore my gut apart.......this feels the same way. I can't eat, I'm trembling, I have a migraine and I just cannot force myself to continue to go through this. This is not the med for me.
I agree with Beth, though. It does work wonders for some people and I told myself all morning that it would work for me and it did okay for 2 hours.....that was it. I started shaking and got nauseated and it's been downhill from there.
I'm sorry I don't have a better report. I hope, if you decide to try it, that it will do better for you. If these symptoms were mild, I could deal with it. But, I have not even been able to to look at food today. All I have eaten all day is a mini bagel. I tried to drink some broth and had to spit it out because I felt like if I swallowed it I would throw up.
This really sucks. I wish I would have never taken this pill. I was good all morning until I got brave enough to take this stupid pill!!!!! Stupid me!!!!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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Hi Beth, Yes, you can will it away to a significant degree.
However, it takes some time, and yes a positive attitude
most certainly helps. And yes, you're very welcome to the
support, and it's always there for you. . I do have suggest-
ions, but I have to run and catch a cab home now. I'll email
you tomorrow. -Bob
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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Michelle, your suffering troubles me. Do you think, perhaps, that a brief hospitalization might be effective? You sound very desperate, to me. Also, the fact that you're having trouble with liquid nourishment (i.e. broth), is alarming. I'm worried that the D might be dehydrating you.
Kate, IBS-D.
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Oh, no......I'm okay. I'm not dying.....I don't go to ER unless I'm in Anaphylactic shock. As long as I'm breathing, I stay home.
I stopped the D with 4 imodium, finally and I talked to the doctor's secretary and she told me to stop taking it. He hasn't called me back and I suspect that he won't.
Apparently Lexapro is one of the AD's that's supposed to have the least amount of side effects of all of them. so, I'm probably out of luck in the AD department which means he won't be able to help me. We'll see. He might call me back......I was eating pretty well before, today, too. It really bothers me that I haven't been able to eat, today. Not a good sign......
I'm finally able to drink some broth as of about 6:00. So, as long as I don't take any more of that crap, I think I will recover okay.
Thank you for your concern, Kate!!! I'm glad you don't have to go through this, anymore! I cannot stand this stage of having to try new drugs to find one that works. Sometimes, like today, it really hurts!!!!
HUGS!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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MY first pill
#239963 - 01/19/06 03:40 PM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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is tomorrow morning! I got it today at the doc and I'm hoping for the best...I'm sorry it didn't work for you, though! I am still giving it a go and doing a bit of praying!! I'll let you know what it does for me!
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IBS-A
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You're a C, so it will probably be fine....I'm a D and it gave me really bad D...so, it might just work out for you perfectly. It's not supposed to have really bad side effects like most of the other SSRI's. I hope you do not get ANY of the side effects that I experienced, today!.....
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
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Michelle....
#240105 - 01/20/06 06:25 AM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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I just took my first pill, and my doc started me on 1/2 a pill the first week. Is this what you did? I'm hoping for the best and praying you feel a ton better today!
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IBS-A
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"The will to chill" - I love it!!
I added my remark just because I used to try to will or ignore my IBS away, and it was a miserable failure. "Willing it away" was fighting it like it was an attacker. "Ignoring it" was just pretending I didn't have it and eating marginal stuff to be polite.
What did work was accepting that I have IBS and choosing to do what was needed to make myself feel better. Sometimes it means forcing myself to mellow the heck out, sometimes it means forcing myself to ask for special meals in restaurants (going against my Midwestern upbringing ). So it definitely takes a strong will, but one that treats IBS and my gut like the permanent companions that they are, not enemies to be vanquished.
--AC
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No, he started me on the whole 10mg. I still don't have an appetite, today. But, at least most of the nausea has passed.....as long as I don't eat. I almost threw up when I brushed my teeth this morning, though. That stuff really messed me up. I will go down to a 1/4 of a pill maybe in a couple days. I need to recooperate and get my appetite back before I try this again.
I pray that you will do okay!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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AC, Yeah, I can dig that.Although I'm much better now, I'm
certainly not the way I was before it, and I shouldn't say
that I totally ignore it, because I don't. I've expanded my
diet, but I certainly don't eat everything I want. I avoid
pizza and ice cream like the plague, and those were two of
my favorite things. I don't have much pain now, but I get
daily discomfort at some times, and I do ignore that,
because it's nothing compared to the way I was just a while
ago. Btw, there's a post on the get-together for you to
read on another thread. -Bob
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Re: Aly.....
#240189 - 01/20/06 09:43 AM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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well, i took my half this morning. I am kind of sick to my stomach...but I can somewhat handle it. I had a terrible diarrea attack on Monday and since I'm usually a C anyway, I haven;t had a BM until this morning..so between the cramps from getting things moving and the new pill, I guess I can accept feeling a little under the weather... I just have to get better because I work tomorrow and Sunday!
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IBS-A
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Sorry to hear about that, Aly.....((((Hugs))))!!
I hope you do get better. I couldn't imagine having to work yesterday, with the way I felt....I wanted to die.
I am really glad to hear that you only took 1/2, if it's still upsetting your tummy. Imagine what it would be like if you took the whole thing.....HOLY CRAP! THAT HURT!!
I'm MUCHO better, now. It's getting out of my system, finally, and I'm getting back to normal. Thank God!!
I hope it makes you all better in the long run!! Keep me posted, k?! You can email me if you want, so we can track progress together, every now and then. I'm going to start taking it again, tomorrow, I guess..Not looking forward to it.....
merchantg@comcast.net
Take Care and get better!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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