question for all--
#270051 - 06/18/06 11:02 AM
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hi everybody:
its ashley aka little bear. if you remember me then you remember i took a break from posting a few months back. i thought i might "find a cure" that works for me but alas..nothing. im posting today b/c something is wrong with my butt--excuse my bluntness.
first off:i quit all my products. maybe not a smart thing but i was thinking the elimination of some may help. i didnt really notice much with/without the acacia. and i gave the fibersmart pills i had been taking, the boot since they only gave 1 gram of fiber. i figured for sure i could ingest 1 gram on my own. i tried *hesitantly* a new product>super cleanse>containing cascara sagrada---> i know this is bad. but i was desperate. the instructions made it seem impossible to become addicted so i gave it a try. it worked nicely, but then slowly started to be painful. i quit those .
second: i decided after all that to try again the acacia and peppermint tea s l o w l y--and to start my dosage over again with the smallest amount. this monday was the first day i tried. i got sick this past week with a cold. wednesday i had 6 bm's. they werent loose like D, but definately D for a chronic Cer. i thought it was the acacia, and that i was doing good. only that consistency has since deceased. when my cold got worse. i bought a multi-vitamin, *iron-free* to eliminate extra C, hoping it would help. nothing so far yet.
third: while i was @ W.F. thursday, i saw some herb supps i was curious about for C.
1. triphala
2. grapefruit pectin
3. bromelain
does anyone know if any of these are good? or any good probiotics? something that will help. i guess my concern is, when i finally get down to it in this long novel-like post is that: I STILL CANT "GO" NORMALLY! and i think im doing a pretty good job with my foods. what else is left for me to try?
thanks in advance for any advice offered.
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VEGAN ASHLEY~IBS/C
www.myspace.com/dutchflowers
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VEGAN ASHLEY~IBS/C
www.myspace.com/dutchflowers
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Little Bear, I don't know about the pectin and bromelaid, but triphala is great! It is an Ayurvedic Digestive Cleanser and Colon Support. It's a combination of 3 fruits and a potent antioxidant. I've been taking 1500 mg/day. You can take more or less whatever works. I also take extra Magnesium, 1 T of acacia/day. I had a complete blockage last year and I'm doing ok, now. Hope you get better. Bette
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(cool)
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Hi Ashley!
I'm having some fun times with C right now due to switching birth control types. I've found that going to the gym to exercise rather than just walking and gardening helps, as does heat (steam room, heating pad, humid Chicago weather). I tried cutting down on my acacia thinking that I was getting too much SF, but that just made things worse! I bumped it back up to 2 heaping tablespoons a day, and felt much better (no more cramping, less bloating). Of course, I'm still getting IF with each meal.
The only C-related supplement I use outside of acacia is magnesium along with calcium. I also eat loads of Silk soy yogurt, which I swear helps me.
So my advice is to crank up on the acacia if you're having any crampiness at all, and do consider probiotics if you're not already taking them.
--AC
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beth also recommended calc/magn to me but im not sure what types to look for/how to take it/how to use it. is the calcium dairy derived at all?
for the acacia, i am carefully taking 1/2 tsp every few days. its not safe for me to up it from that dosage to 2 tbsp is it? i was taking 1 tbsp for quite some time and got sick of feeling nothing. if i ditch it though, then i need it!
beth kept talking to me about a get-together with me, her and you. had she mentioned anything to you by chance? i know she recently stopped posting. so i havent seen/heard anything new.
thanks for the reply btw!! hope youre doing well soon
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VEGAN ASHLEY~IBS/C
www.myspace.com/dutchflowers
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There's a brand that I love at Whole Foods called CalSnack - it's made by Country Life. I think the part I like the best is that it's chewable.  If you feel like you're getting enough calcium now and just want a magnesium supplement, I once used Slow-Mag for a few months and it seemed to help.
Yeah, I would definitely not switch to my dosage of acacia overnight from your current dose, but you could try taking your dose every day rather than every few days. If you felt nothing with 1 Tbsp, you could try to get up to that level again and try going higher. I really notice my cramping getting better if I take 2+ Tbsp every single day, but everyone is different.
No, I should bug Beth about that get-together. We could even have it in my backyard - I could make some ultra-safe EFI snacks and peppermint tea, and we could feed the goldfish in the pond. I'm really open to meeting you and her anywhere, though!
My C is slowly improving. I'm willing to put up with this (especially since there's so many yummy IF fruits and veggies now available at the farmer's market) so I feel better all month and don't have to buy tampons anymore! 
--AC
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i noticed the same thing with taking the acacia everyday. i felt generally better or *less cramps*[which makes me feel better!] but it got to be that i needed to take it at a certain time in order to have a BM. i found out that taking acacia w/pepp.tea @ 730AM was the only way to ensure a bm and then continuous pain-free days. but im always so tired from work that i forget to wake up early for that. 
your snacks would rock i bet! only an IBSer would make safe ibs snacks unlike most people who insist on unsafe ingredients. but beth about it! im leaving for europe in 3 weeks  and still have to work a ton!! have you ever met beth? her and i email-chat about C remedies 
im gonna write down that calcium supp. is it dairy-free do you know? or egg free? that would be good. what does combining calcium with magnesium do for ibs-c? beth takes that too i think.
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VEGAN ASHLEY~IBS/C
www.myspace.com/dutchflowers
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I've never met Beth in person, but we've chatted over e-mail. We ended up at Northwestern Memorial for doctor appointments on the same day, but at slightly different times. I gotta e-mail her soon.....
Cal-Snack is free of a lot of triggers. Here's a helpful link: Cal-Snack info. It's something that's ultra-safe for me - I'll take it even when I feel horrible and it will make me feel better. Calcium is somewhat constipating, and magnesium loosens you up a bit - so if you're taking lots of calcium and you're C, getting some magnesium in there will help.
--AC
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AC, Who's going to be your doctor at Northwestern? -Bob
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<img src="http://www.math.mtu.edu/~rwkolkka/BritPicA.jpg">
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Hi Bob--
It wasn't a gastro appointment, but a mammogram one. They have *everything* at NMH!
--AC
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