Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Thanks Stephie and Linz, but i'm getting so confused...

Steph already answered this really well but I just wanted to reiterate re: the water as laxative. I think it's really oversimplifying it to say that water in = water in your bowels. Just because D is well, wet and C is not, does not mean that simply drinking more or less water will fix the problem. We do not get D because we drink too much water. It's sooo much more complicated than that! Basically, it's mostly about spasms, which is well explained on the link Stephie gave you. SF and SFSs help to regulate the spasms, which is why they help both C and D. Remember too that an SFS is NOT a medication - it's just a nutritional supplement like food, so don't worry about taking it with any other medications. No matter what else you're on, you should be on an SFS.

Also re: immodium and how much. I take 1 tablet to prevent an attack and 1-2 to stop one that's already started (if that doesn't work, I may take more but it usually makes me C... just 2 tablets and I'm usually ok). That usually works for me but I know some people on the boards to cut the pills in half and still others are even more sensitive to it and take the liquid form that you can get prescribed by your doctor. I also think it's very possible to work up a tolerance to immodium - i.e. the more you take over a period of time, the more it's going to take to stop a D attack. That's happened to me, but I don't know if there's any scientific evididence for that or anything

(In my case, if I lay off it for a while and then try it again I can usually do wiht a pretty small dose.) But if you're getting C from your dosage, try taking a smaller dose to see if you can find a balance that will stop your D without making you C.

And you'll know if you've broken the cycle... basically it just means this: when most D people find this site they're getting constant D and can't really stop it, i.e. no matter what they eat. The BTC diet is pretty much just designed to give your bowels a break for a few days by eating only foods that are totally safe. It's not going to make you stable 100% by any means, but it will start you on that path (a path which will last months). As Sand said, you can also go on the BTC diet later on for 1/2 a day or 1 day here and there if you're going through some rough spots. I consider myself mostly stable and I do that occassionally. I also sometimes stick to the BTC diet more or less, usually with some protein added in, when I know I'm going through a really stressful time, kind of as a pre-emptive measure to stopping an attack before it starts.

Anyway, HTH!

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