As of today, I have officially been stable, no D, for 7 whole months!! It's been over three years since that's happened (my IBS got much worse around that time.) How did I do it? I got serious about Heather's diet. Specifically for me, it was a combination of three things, any two of which were not enough -- it took ALL THREE!
1. Heather's diet, especially no alcohol, no red meat, low fat, not too many calories at each meal, and most importantly making soluble fiber foods the basis of each meal. (Love my starches!!)
2. Soluble fiber supplement, full recommended dose. Metamucil works for me although it gives some people gas. I had to work up to the full dose very gradually, but now if I miss a dose my tummy lets me know right away!!
3. Meds, both Rx and OTC. I had been prescribed Bentyl but was only taking it when I felt an attack coming on. When I checked with my doctor he said to try taking it every day. BINGO!! That's when I finally got stable. I also take a generic version of Gas-X every day, plus acidophilus probiotic twice a day. AND whenever I feel even a teensy bit iffy, I take Imodium, which thank goodness does NOT make me C in the amounts I take. In addition, some of the meds I take for other health issues also help with the D, for example Elavil (amitryptiline sp?) and Xanax (alprazolam).
I don't mind taking meds if they help. I figure they're like SFS for the brain!! If I had penicillin or diabetes I wouldn't hesitate to take my meds. IBS is no different. Okay, maybe if I followed Heather's diet EXACTLY, I wouldn't need meds. I do cheat in some areas for various reasons (some health related). But I KNOW I'm cheating and I'm NOT in denial about it, thinking "Oh, it's okay, I can eat this with no problem." It's a trade off that I can live with, but I would NOT recommend that anyone else cheat in the areas I do. In fact I refuse to even say what they are because I don't want to encourage anyone and then have a problem. So when asked I will always say, "Do what I say (follow Heather's diet EXACTLY), not what I do."
Cheers and here's to an IBS free week for all of us.
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Laura
Keep it simple!
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I DID IT!! 7 MONTHS NO D!!
