Whats the next step?????
#357775 - 04/13/10 02:05 PM
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mrae
Reged: 02/05/09
Posts: 481
Loc: California
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I have been taking my lomotil and getting on with my life thanks to the pills but I just don't understand why I can never ever be stable without them. I have diarrhea issues everyday if I do not take the lomotil and I just don't know where to go from here. I haven't seen my doc in a few months but its time for a checkup and a refill on the lomotil. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the next step might be. I mean most people with ibs have stable moments and I don't so I am a little thrown off by that.
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and have been checked for the frequently overlooked culprits that can mimic IBS listed here
By definition, IBS is supposed to be chronic but intermittent, which means you should NOT have nonstop diarrhea every single day.
Are you taking a soluble fiber supplement? One general rule I've gotten from a GI doc is that diarrhea that does not resolve with 15-20 grams of a soluble fiber supplement per day is a big red flag for something other than IBS.
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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mrae,
I don't have stable moments or times at all.
I have D every day of every week of every month of every year for many years now.
I deal with it by many means but I do deal and am grateful that I can.....many can't.
If the Lomotil works for you and you are willing to take it, then????
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IBS-D
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I have had all the tests on the list except the urine, bacterial and food allergies. I do have diverticulosis so I do take the fiber and it still doesnt stop the bathroom issue. I wouldn't say its diarrhea but its VERY urgent bathroom visits. Yes the lomotil works thank goodness cause I don't know what I would do without it but it just bothers me that they havent found anything except to tell me ibs. Even my doctor thought it was weird that I never have a stability moment without the pill.
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Well I went to the doctor yesterday and he had me get some blood work done. He is checking my vitamin d, calcium, thyroid, pancreas and one other thing but I don't remember what it was. So if this all comes back ok then I guess I will just stick with the lomotil and deal with the ibs.
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a Habba syndrome before. Did you ever have the tests for that? http://habbasyndrome.com/_wsn/page3.html
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Stable IBS D
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Quote:
I have been taking my lomotil and getting on with my life thanks to the pills but I just don't understand why I can never ever be stable without them. I have diarrhea issues everyday if I do not take the lomotil and I just don't know where to go from here. I haven't seen my doc in a few months but its time for a checkup and a refill on the lomotil. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the next step might be. I mean most people with ibs have stable moments and I don't so I am a little thrown off by that.
Mrae, I know we've run into each other in the past regarding the same symptoms, similar situations. How did the lotronex work for you?
I know that when I first started getting IBS flare-ups about 3 years ago they would come and go. I would have non-stop D for a month or two on end and then it would gradually subside and sometimes completely go away for months as well. But for the last year after this current flare-up (start of 2009) I have had mild D (soft stools) every single morning with no subsiding of symptoms. It seems now that this is my current "stable". I take fiber supplements to bulk up my stools but the sheer amount of stool every morning is horrible, its like my guts are emptying out completely of the previous days digestion but then the bowel movements usually stop and I can function for the rest of the day. I have tried Lomotil but Immodium seems to work better and doesn't have the dry mouth side effects either. For the past 4-6 months I haven't been taking either of those as to me it's simply covering my symptoms temporarily and slightly at best.
I wish you the best of luck at getting stable or finding out what is causing your symptoms. Unfortunately for me this seems to be what "stable" is going to feel like for a while.
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Quote:
and have been checked for the frequently overlooked culprits that can mimic IBS listed here
By definition, IBS is supposed to be chronic but intermittent, which means you should NOT have nonstop diarrhea every single day.
Are you taking a soluble fiber supplement? One general rule I've gotten from a GI doc is that diarrhea that does not resolve with 15-20 grams of a soluble fiber supplement per day is a big red flag for something other than IBS.
- H
Heather, what do you mean by the "diarrhea should resolve"? Should it be gone completely? I have in the past and continue to experiment and take fiber supplements but it seems to only bulk the stool and create more of it (its still on the soft side). This just masks the problem in my opinion.
Should I be having rock hard dark stools when taking a table spoon of fiber 3-4 times a day? My stools tend to be orangey in color (from the metamucil) and on the softer but formed side.
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I'm interested in the response to this as well.
I am currently taking 4 tbsps of Heathers Tummy Fiber daily and there is no form to my BM's at all. What I like to call IBS-M or IBS Mush.
This has been the case for years now, as in daily.
Prior to this, I was IBS-D, watery D, 6-8 times daily for several years.
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IBS-D
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By "resolved" I mean that you shouldn't have urgency and watery stools. Soft stools are fine - that's actually much healthier than rock hard.
So if you're on the "softer but formed" side that would not be diarrhea at all.
Also, calculate your dosage of fiber in terms of grams. Tablespoons don't mean much because different fiber supplements vary greatly in how concentrated they are. Are you getting 15-20 grams of fiber from your supplement a day?
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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