Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

once it's coming there isn't much I can do to stop it. I usually only get about 30-60 seconds between the onset of rumblings and abdominal pain before the pain gets so bad I can't move, breathe, speak - anything. Once that happens I'm just stuck - literally - and hopefully I've made it to a bathroom in those 60 seconds, or I'll be blacking out wherever I happen to be.

If I can get some really strong, hot, peppermint tea into me right away, that will sometimes head things off or at least keep the pain less severe. It also seems to lessen the duration of an attack. If I can take a Roxilox (a prescription pain killer) that will kick in in about 40 minutes, and will help. But if the attack gets severe before then I'll just end up vomiting from the pain so the pill is not really an option.

Chewing Altoids can head things off too - that has saved my life a few times when I've been in the car and got suddenly hit. I think I've eaten about 12 of those things in a few minutes - but it worked.

I really wish the pharmaceutical research for IBS was in a direction of finding a drug to halt an attack quickly once it's started. Preventing things I find is a much better way to go, and I can do that pretty well with diet, soluble fiber, herbs, yoga, etc. I don't want a daily maintenance drug when I don't need a drug every day, and that's where all the research is. I want a drug that I can take only as needed, that will instantly stop the pain and stabilize my gut. I'd really love something that's an inhalant - I don't have the time or ability to swallow a pill and wait for it to take effect. Even the sublingual pills that dissolve under the tongue take too long. I don't have 15 minutes when I'm passing out from pain. The only other instant-drug I can think of would be an injection, and that's totally not practical. So, that's my IBS research fantasy, which I'm sure I will never, ever see come to market!

- 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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