So far this is what is working for my IBS-C
#41782 - 01/29/04 10:44 AM
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cymoon
Reged: 01/13/04
Posts: 28
Loc: Texas, Houston
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Chamomile tea tends to work better for my spasms than the peppermint and helps me 'go', usually within thirty minutes. I use teabags and steep two at a time leaving them in my cup making for a strong brew. Once I feel 'done', my tea is regular strength for the rest of the day. With the diet and Chamomile tea I have gone off of the anti-spasmodic medication. I am now off all meds!
I was strict with my foods when I started a few weeks ago. No insoluble foods until I was pain free most of the time. With no insoluble fiber during this time I struggled with constipation but the diet along with my medication helped the spasms get under control. I then discovered how well Chamomile worked for me and was able to drop the last med two days ago.
I get some spasms after eating or while driving in Houston rush hour traffic but the tea gets me relaxed again. A glass of wine when I get home helps also. I don't drink wine if I have the burning pain in my lower abdomen because it makes it worse. But I rarely have that now. Three weeks ago it was 24/7 and had been for the last two years!
I am taking the full dose of Acacia now (1 tablespoon 3x a day) and at bedtime I take Metamucil. I take more than the recommended dose of Metamucil. It took a while to work out the right dosage for me but it is around 1 3/4 tablespoons. Anymore than that and my stool is too loose causing severe spasms and the burning for hours in my lower abdomen. As long as I take it at night I have a bm in the morning after my tea and have no gas or bloating the next day.
I get up at 5:00am take my Acacia with water then have my tea. I am at work by 8:00am and usually have another cup of strong tea if I need it to help go again. I do not eat until after I feel done. This seems to let my digestive system concentrate only on emptying. If I feel finished and I am hungry, then I eat. Usually it is oatmeal or a soluble fiber food with a V-8 (provides a little insoluable fiber without bulk and has always been soothing to my system). I drink an 8oz or more glass of water every hour and then what I need once I get home to get me to at least 128oz of water for that day. Soups and my V-8 are not counted into the 128oz but cups of tea throughout the day are.
I hope this can help someone trying to work out a system for C.
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"I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work." Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
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Sounds great that you've found something that works for you. I'm still struggling to find things that work and then I can start on a routine. So far i've been on the acacia for 4 days and have had a bowel movement everyday! I also started drinking some peppermint tea, but I think I drank it to late at night and had to get up and go at least 4 times! I also have some aloe vera softgels that i'm thinking of trying. What I want to know is how many times do you have to pea during the day? I have to really work to get my 64oz! I don't know if I could handle much more than that!
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Thanks so much for sharing what works for you! I just got my acacia in the mail yesterday and started it this morning, and I can't wait until I am able to up my dose and see what it can do for my C. I notice that for me peppermint tea often has the same effect chamomile has for you... it almost always makes me go! Especially when I have it first thing in the morning. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading about your regimen, and I'll keep that chamomile in mind next time I get bound up! 
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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LOL! I do make frequent trips to bathroom but with severe C I need a lot of water. Thank goodness my cubicle is not far from the lady's room or the water cooler.
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"I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work." Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
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The Acacia for me at this point seems to only work as a buffer for trigger foods and to hold spasms/pain at bay. The Metamucil is the only thing that will get me to go each morning. BMs are different since I have been on the Acacia but don't happen unless I take the Metamucil at night.
I think the chamomile relaxes my colon better than the peppermint which in turn allows things to pass better.
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"I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work." Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
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Sound like you are doing well. I have been having a lot of luck with the acacia, Jarro and tea as far as having good BM's, but I still battle with bloating regularly. Which is do (I think) to all of the gas that my body refuses to pass. Are you having that as an issuse?
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Hi
I was just wondering does the Peppermint tea make you need to move your bowels, as I suffer from D. and have been drinking quite a bit over the past few days, and wonder if this is making my symptons worse?? 
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It's a smooth muscle relaxant and pain killer. With IBS, most diarrhea comes from the gut muscle contractions coming too fast and too hard. Peppermint relaxes these muscles, and calms the contractions. With most IBS constipation (especially when there's cramping/spasms and pain), the gut muscles have contracted too hard and simply stay contracted, almost "seizing up" into something like a charley horse, and motility comes to a halt as a result. Peppermint relaxes the muscles and allows motility to resume normally and ends the spasms.
So, long story short, it will help diarrhea just as much as constipation, and won't exacerbate either one. It's not a laxative, just a muscle soother and pain killer.
- 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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Phew, thank you!!! Good to know, and will sitck with it!!
Lynnie 
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Heather is right about peppermint and I do drink it throughout the day. Chamomile for some reason just works better for me when my colon is seized and I need to 'go'. Of course my body has never followed the norm. I failed to say that it is peppermint tea that I mostly drink throughout the day and chamomile in the mornings until I have a bm. At least for now this routine is working but I expect things to change as my body adjust more to the Acacia and this new way of eating.
I believe with all of Acacia's benefits I will eventually be able to stop taking the Metamucil at night. I am very appreciative of Heather's book and quality Acacia. I can't believe how quickly they both have helped me along with this message board. Thanks everyone!
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"I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work." Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
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