Hi, Sandy! First, thanks for the sympathy and the story about your mother. How long ago was that? My dad died in 97 but the recent death of an uncle has brought the feelings back again, together with the cooler weather as you mentioned.
Okay, meds! For IBS specifically I take a prescription antispasmodic called Bentyl (generic name dicyclomine). There are several other ones doctors use also. My doctor actually got after me for only taking it when I had an attack and told me to start taking it every day as a preventive. That was one of the key things that got me stable. And of course I take Imodium aggressively, at the least gurgle! And Gas-X every day as a preventive.
For anxiety, I take a prescription med called Xanax (generic name alprazolam). My anxiety is more closely related to my fibromyalgia but since fibro and IBS are both autonomic nervous system disorders, they overlap. I'm sure the Xanax is helping my IBS as well as my fibro. Again, I started out just taking it once in a while, then realized it helped so much that my doctor prescibed it as a daily med. Before Xanax, I hated leaving the apartment because I didn't feel safe. Now I just put on my shoes, grab my purse and leave, like a normal human being!!
And as I said before, I consider both these meds, as well as other meds and supplements I take, to be just something my body doesn't produce enough of on its own, like insulin for diabetics or calcium for strong bones.
Good for you for deciding to give up coffee and soda! You'll definitely feel a lot better. If you drink a lot of it, you may want to taper off gradually to avoid getting that nasty caffeine withdrawal headache. But if you only have one cup a day, you can probably quit cold turkey!
I love hot cocoa and cocoa powder is IBS safe as is sugar (although not waistline safe!), but remember that dairy is a trigger. I believe there are soy milks and rice milks that are chocolate flavored. You could just warm some up in the microwave and voila! Hot cocoa!
Keep up the good work, sweetie pie! And keep me posted on how you're doing, okay?!
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Laura
Keep it simple!
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Re: Laurasue..I posted to you in another thread but it may be hard to find (m)
