Connect
Your experiences with IBS
It would really be helpful for me to hear from others about what they're going through and how they cope with their IBS issues. I've never had this problem and could always pretty much eat what I wanted without any ill effect. Now if I accidentally eat even the smallest amount of gluten or anything with dairy I am sick for 2 to 5 days and I feel totally exhausted the entire time. First starts belching, then painful bloating and cramping and I become constipated. My upper abdomen hurts as if I had been hit with something hard, my gut feels raw inside and often unremitting nausea also sometimes happens. Once the bloating calms back down, out of the blue I experience urgent diarrhea that can come even if I eat even a few bites of "approved" food. (I've been on FODMAP since Feb). My appetite has gone away and I've lost 19 lbs since I started eliminating foods on the list. The diarrhea can last the entire day and by the time it stops my body is weak, i'm very tired and my abdomen feels tender for the next few days. I've become hesitant to eat, although I'm falling woefully short of calories nearly every single day. Food has lost it's appeal to me and feels more trouble than it's worth. My social life has been totally impacted by these problems and I pass up on fun activities that have been a part of my life forever. Going out to a restaurant is mostly a nightmare now. My GI dr prescribed Bentyl and Omeprozole, which didn't help much, and basically sent me on my way telling me that I need to work on reducing my stress levels. I have dealt with major depression and an anxiety disorder for going on 25 years, which is currently well managed with the exception of the anxiety that being this ill can trigger. I'm getting acupuncture twice a week and that does seem to help. The D.O. that is doing this for me also has me on a regime of Digestive Enzymes. He's also given me a recipe for a "gut healing smoothie" that contains several holistic ingredients, including probiotics with acidophilus/bifidus. I'm currently waiting for these things to come in the mail so I can't speak to its effectiveness yet. At this point I'm willing to try just about anything to get my life back. I feel that I am constantly complaining to my friends and family when they ask how things are going, The only thing that I can point to as what brought this all on, although my GI dr wouldn't agree, is that I had two colonoscopies within 6 months (March and August of last year) as a result of numerous polyps, one of which was difficult to fully remove in one session. None were cancerous but all were of the type that will eventually turn into cancer. Because of this she now wants to start doing colonoscopies every 3 years, which I totally dread just it case it triggers my IBS to become worse. If its not related to those procedures and their prep, can and did your IBS just come on suddenly with no warning and nothing particularly prompting it? Do you feel, or have you been told that this illness will be something that you have to live around forever? Have you ever heard of it going into remission and/or going away entirely? I've done a lot of reading on this subject but really need to hear from those of you who understand and can relate to what I am talking about. I feel alone in this and am afraid that this is my new normal. Thank you for reading this and for hopefully sharing a bit about your experience with IBS.
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.
Connect
Be careful with peppermint if you have heartburn or GERD.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 ReactionsThanks, @harmonyln I don't think it's the fructose or sugar, I eat a lot of fruit, especially berries, and have no problems with vegetables, carrots included. It may not be chocolate, I am still working on this. I am being scrupulously careful about not eating a speck of anything dairy, not even small amounts which I can generally handle if I take 3 Lactaid. I have been good for two days now so maybe tomorrow I will try a piece of dark chocolate and see what happens. I hope nothing, I love chocolate and I consider it one of my few treats. We all need something that we really enjoy to look forward to.
Regarding your next post, whatever I have, IBS or just lactose intolerance, my only problem is the big D. I don't have any stomach discomfort at all! I don't suppose that peppermint tea would help with that. I am at least glad that I finally figured out, after more than two years, that it's not a problem simply related to my immunosuppressants, but a problem that the immunosuppressants triggered and that I can do something about. It has gotten worse and worse over time.
JK
Hi there, I do not have IBS, but I have an illness which creates digestive issues which can be very bad. There are two things that are very helpful. One is that I use powdered bone broth in juice at least once, sometimes twice a day. If I do not, I can be guaranteed extreme diarrhea for days after. I must use this. If you want more info about this, let me know. Bone broth helps your whole immune system and leaky gut, in general. Another amazing thing for your digestive system is Papaya. It is loaded with enzymes that normalize a bad belly. You will neither have constipation or diarrhea if you eat it. My mom was in a wheel chair and got very bound up being in one, and her care giver fed her daily Papaya. All constipation disappeared. Good luck. If you need more info, please get back to me. Lori Renee
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionIs the papaya a capsule or what? They use it where I work for tummy stuff also
Can't help but wonder if those colonoscopies were some kind of abuse to your colon. Did some kind of damage. Why would these problems start? Do you have any instinct in your soul what you should eat to heal yourself? Are there certain foods that you seem to do good with? Eat those. Stay with those. Even if you have to eat them a lot. Ginger grated into hot water is healing to your gut. Sip it. Don't let yourself get underweight or malnourished. Really try the bone broth. Easiest to use. Try it for a few weeks at least. Then try the papaya for a few weeks. It is hard to be sick. Very hard. Lori Renee
Hi @lorirenee1 - Thank you for your reply to my post. I definitely blame the colonoscopies for causing me such problems especially since they started out of the blue. I had my second procedure in August and was back in her office in mid September because I was having these problems (interesting timing). I was really surprised and disappointed that my dr didn't even suggest that these procedures could cause this kind of thing to happen to some people, because I personally believe it to be true. I think that the stripping away of the good bacteria in my gut, twice in a 6 month period, was just too much and left me totally depleted of what was necessary to keep me healthy and have everything in balance. I have found that strictly following the FODMAP plan is making a big difference in how I've been doing. My nausea has gone away and I have less abdominal pain issues. I think that the acupuncture is helping a lot, as well as the "gut healing" smoothie that my D.O. has recommending to me. I haven't heard of using bone broth for these problems but everything is worth a try, thank you very much for the recommendation!
Bone broth has very much do with maintaining a healthy gastro intestinal flora in a natural way. And a healthy gastro intestinal flora is the basis to healthy auto immunity and immunity. Please research bone broth and take it. Buy some high quality at your local health food store, or I am happy to tell you where I purchase mine. I happen to get mine from one vendor on Ebay. My mom had severe, chronic constipation until she got care from a Filipino caregiver who knew of using Papaya in place of the Metamucils, and various other gastro meds the gastro docs had my mom on. I would say that within about a week, my mom's stomach was totally normal, and never gave her a problem again. As far as the colonoscopy, I would not let a gastro doc touch my colon with all that long tubing down my colon. (or up my colon.) Why risk your whole colon in that procedure? Especially since you have not had cancer twice already. You can do that cologuard or that new blood test for colon cancer. Can you imagine how much money that colonoscopy procedure makes? Forget about it. Dangerous. Of course the docs will not acknowledge you got sick right after your colonoscopy. Imagine the money lost. Good luck. Try to stay as natural as possible. Keep it simple....God Bless. Lori Renee
I have to agree with this. I also use bone broth to make my soup that I eat everyday for lunch and I make sure it doesn't contain yeast and other junk. I am looking into the papaya and might give it a try.
No, you eat the natural fruit, papaya, if you want the benefits of it. It is kind of a perfumey tasting fruit, but wonderful but balancing out your stomach. You will have a normal stomach. Eat it regularly.
@lorirenee1 Hi Lori. I do have a question. Why powdered both broth rather than just drinking bone broth?
I don't recall ever buying fresh papayas and am not even sure how to prepare them! I always get papaya and mangoes confused. I do like one of them, but not the other. I eat a lot of fruit, but not papayas. I will check to see the calories in them.
Thanks for the tips.
JK