I think line has provided some very good suggestions. I follow several of these suggestions myself and must say that it has gotten much better. I used to have 8 BM in a 2 hour period 4 to 5 mornings per week - I'm now having typically 1 BM every morning. Here's what I've been doing
1. Diet - I follow Heather's diet very strictly a typical day consists of the following:
Breakfast: oatmeal and 1 slice fresh white toast (dry)
snack: fresh french bread and single serving Mott's applesauce
lunch: white rice, tuna or chicken breast w/ yolk free egg noodles or mashed potato with soy butter
snack: fresh french bread and single serving Mott's applesauce
dinner: grilled chicken breast or salmon and w/ yolk free egg noodles or mashed potato with soy butter
I know it sounds very boring, but it sure beats the alternative. I do plan to add more items to my diet after I've been stable for a couple of months.
2. Exercise - talk a walk everyday
3. Teas - I drink fennel tea all day long every day (for gas), if I have D or too many BMs then I drink peppermint tea (I always follow peppermint tea with fennel b/c peppermint seems to give me gas but it stops the D).
4. Relaxation - I spend 1/2 hour in my hot tub every night then go to bed and listen to hypnotherapy tapes
5. Sleep - I've noticed that I have more trouble if I don't get 8 hours. My "old normal" amount of sleep was 5 hours per night so this has been a big adjustment for me. I often have to take xanax to ensure that I sleep 8 hours.
5. Probiotic - I take Udo's Choice Super Bifido Plus 3 times a day.
Some things I've found that aggravate my symptoms:
1. bananas - cause constipation and gas
2. acacia fiber - cause constipation and gas
3. Fat - even very small amounts cause NUMEROUS BM with urgency followed by gas
4. carrots (both cooked or raw) - cause BM with urgency
5. Probably many others that I have eliminated and not re-introduced yet.
While I'm sure that stress is a trigger, I think that most of my symptoms are diet related - I base this on a recent adventure. I had to travel for work last week - which can be pretty stressful - you know the whole rushing to the airport, getting through security, finding your terminal, flight delays, 4 hour flight all the while in the back of your mind, your just hoping and praying that you won't have 8 BM during this process. Then of course there was the whole week of being in a strange location around complete strangers and relying on others for transportation (can't ask them to stop 3 times during a 15 minute commute). Oddly enough, I had no troubles all week (with the exception of 1 day - which I later found out was probably b/c the hotel had cooked the green beans in butter after I specifically told them NO FAT!!).
Hope this helps! I know what you're going through and it is pure HELL!!!!
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Jeanette IBS-D, then switched to IBS-A, now stable with Udo's Choice Super Bifido Plus Probiotic
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Re: I need advice about morning problems with my IBS
