I want to eat like a regular person again. Again, I'm referring to my upcoming trip to the US. I'll be staying with roommates for 3 months while I'm there, and I just... *Sigh* I just wish I didn't have to worry about IBS.

I wish I could just veg in front of a TV with my friends there and have some popcorn, even some ice cream... I wish I could have a chicken burger with fries on the side next to them and just laugh at whatever.

I wish I could say "I'm not hungry" and barely eat in a day. If I did that now, my whole digestive system would crumble.

I wish the bloating and gas would just go away. I wish I had regular BM's.

I wish, I wish, I wish, there it goes again.

I know I have IBS, but it seems it's VERY hard for me to accept it.

I thought my bigger obstacles would be related to academics, which way to save the world and all that. But apparently, I'm just destined to eat bland food for the rest of my life. 'Cos whenever I go out with my family, I end up having either chicken soup or steamed fish with rice. That's it.

Unbelievable.

Hi everybody, I am a new user to this site and am hoping someone out there can help shed some light on my condition. I have not been diagnosed with IBS or any other syndrome but I am growing increasingly concerned that there is something seriously wrong with me.

ok first all to give some background info, I am male, 25, very active (run and lift weights), and have no family history of any bowel disorders. I am currently on a high protein and high fiber diet, i get plenty of raw fruits and vegetables, and drink a lot of water.

my symptoms: I have very bad and very stinky gas which makes me feel bloated and causes abdominal pain. usually i do not feel any abdominal pain in the morning but around lunch the saga begins. My bowel movements are very inconsistent, usually go 1-4 times a day. lately (and this has happened in the past) I have had narrow stool, which usually breaks up into many little pieces, although sometimes stays long and narrow. also latley it has been flat!!! which it very concerning because that means there must be some kind of obstruction. right?? sometimes i do not feel like i am satisfied w/ the bowel movement but cant push any harder because it hurts, which may be from hemhroids i was diagnosed with about 8 months ago. Not sure why i still have those, i guess from lifting weights. Many times there is blood on the TP and lately has been more than usual. but no noticeable blood in the stool. For the past few days there has been black specks on the tp too!!! almost like little crushed black pepper but too many to be undigested food. also my rectum just feels swolen a lot of the time after a BM.

It has gotten to the point where this is begining to dictate my life!! My symptoms seem dreadfully similair to rectal and colon cancer. But i have no idea how i would have that considering my age and history. Also seems very similair to IBS, UC, and celiac disease. stress and anxiety seem to make it worse but i dont know if it is just the symptoms stressing me out. I certainly dont want any of these and especially not cancer. I am scheduled to see a G.I. doctor on the 24th and hopefully he will give me some good news.

The only natural thing i can contribute my symptoms to would be the whey protein i take is not sitting right, or the raw veggoes... too much protein?? too much fiber?? so if anyone has any knowledge or experience with my symptoms please let me know because i need the piece of mind now. I CANT Wait the two weeks to see the doctor too much uncertainty. thank you kindly

-David

After a couple of days of taking the new med for artritis, it seems to be helping, now I wonder if this is a take as needed, or if its going to be a everyday thing. The price of some of the medicines out there I really feel for those that don't have insurance. It hurts my wallet with insurance. If the president gets his healthcare plan passed I wonder if the country can afford it, and if the ones that want to keep the insurance they got will get stuck with a tax of some kind to help pay for the national plan.

To get this started I'll introduce myself, I am 48 soon 49 yrs old, blue collar, working male with a great family. I really enjoy where I'm at in life right now, and I am lucky enough to have been married to my wife for the past 27 years (high school sweet heart). Enough said about that, I decided to start this as a way to post and complain about Crohns and Drs and such and also so others might share some of the same feelings.

I rarely went to the Dr up until about three years ago, that when I wound up being hospitalized with a partial blockage in the small intestines. After that it seems I now go to the Dr ALL THE TIME! which I really don't like but all in all it could be a lot worse. I hate taking meds too, and it seems that that is what I have to do all the time. Take this med, try this med, lets see how you do on this med, come back in four weeks ( get the picture ). Now the question, when do you talk to the Dr and which DR about what is the best and right coarse of treatment? I didn't think my problems with Crohns was bad enough to warrant anything other than the meds I was taking, now my family Dr has me taking a med for arthritis so I am taking three different kind of pills a day now. I want one medicine that will cover it all !!!!

One other thing do we all start falling apart at age 50 ??? I never thought to much about birthdays and such because to me it really is just another day and you are as old as you want to be. I have noticed though that I do have a lot more aches and pains where I didn't use too. Doctors aren't much help with aging either, comments like well you'll be 50 soon and you need to have that checked regularly, or since your close to 50 you need to get these test done every year or two.

Now taking different medicines for the different problems associated with Crohns and Arthritis who tell which is a side effect of the medicine, or the condition.
Seems every med has the same side effects ie. diarrhea, constipation, nausea, headaches, so here I sit waiting on the next side effect sending me to the potty room.

And life goes on. !

Hi Everyone,

Hoping that anyone can help i decided to write this blog.
I was diagnosed with IBS 8 years ago, but to be honest i have never noticed any significant symptoms until a year ago.
I started having servere diarrhea with stomach cramps, feeling really hot and feeling really nauseous so the doctor gave me tablets to stop the diarrhea. The problem was that they worked too well and i couldnt go to the toilet for 2 weeks, not surprising i ended up in hospital with servere pains, so they gave me some laxatives to help. Over the next 2 months i had countless blood and unrine test as well as scans and xrays saw countless doctors nurses and surgeons and in the end they decided i had a kidney infection but they still wanted me to have a Colonoscopy.
So March this year i had the colonoscopy and they didnt find anything, and at this point my symptoms had subsided.
Now i have started again with the same symptoms and a different doctor from last year has said that my IBS has flared up due to stress and that i need to relax, drink herbal tea and try a get more fibre into my diet. He also gave me Mebeverine tablets that i have to take 3 times a day which i have been on now for over a week and nothing has really changed.
Has anyone got any ideas that will help with the nausea and the pains?

I'm 31 and have been diagnosed with IBS about two years ago. I personally feel like they gave me that diagnosis because they could not really figure out what is wrong with me. I mean the symptoms for IBS are so different from one person to the other, it becomes quite easy to tag someone with it. How do you feel with that diagnosis? Do you sometimes feel like me, like they couldn't find what's wrong with you so they diagnosed you with a very vague disease, IBS?

Long story short: the results for the parasites test came out yesterday and say I have cysts of Entamoeba Coli in my gut. Today I went to my gastroenterologist and she said we live with it, that it's not related to IBS.

I was in shock, I couldn't talk. I had the last tiny bit of hope in the E coli thingy, and now not even that could explain why my IBS symptoms have gotten worse as the months pass.

Then she checked me and found out I have an extra long colon, a part of it goes over my liver instead of behind. So yay me, that explains the constipation...

Why now? Because I hurt my digestive system since I was 15 or 16. I ate a lot, I ate ####, then I developed binge eating disorder, I'm still trying to cope with it, and my long colon, which had been resting peacefully all these years, suddenly went nutty (I can't tolerate nuts now, so it's not funny) and I developed IBS. Wahoo.

I'm really frustrated for the E coli discovery. I wanted the problem to diminish a little bit, at least! I take good care of what I eat and of not getting stressed, I even talk myself out of binging and all...

I feel defeated. Less than two decades old and I'm defeated. By my colon, by the boogie woogies, by binging, by Hume (whom I have to finish reading besides doing other college stuff)...

Question: How the HECK do I get rid of the victimizing mentality? I want to be strong, cope with this, 'cos it's not like I'm gonna die or anything, it's not that I'm gonna be a social outcast.

So why do I feel like such a victim?

ViCtoria~

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Good Morning...I am hoping and still searching for a solution to my IBS symptoms. Today is day 4 of a probiotic called TuZen. My doctor highly recommended it to me, but it was difficult to locate. I had to ask my pharmacist to special order it. I haven't had a bowel movement in days, which was good in a bad way. I could leave the house because I wasn't tied to the toilet. I made it through the day, yesterday, without taking any pain meds (bentylol-normal pain and spasms, and morphine-horrible pain)...WOO HOO, that in itself is worth celebrating. I did feel sluggish and very, very nauseated so I broke down and took a gravol. The most unmanagable part of my life is my IBS, never knowing what my bowels are going to be doing. I have officially broke down and gone on a medical leave from work. I have had IBS for approximately 2 1/2 years and since June (of this year) my symptoms have been severe. I try so very hard to stay strong and positive about my IBS symptoms, so 1 good day is better than none. This site helps me to stay focussed. OH NO...aside from having snow on the ground (LOL) this morning, I have just had a BM...I wonder what the day is going to be like. I hope for a good day...take care, Carol.

Hi, Im 25 years old and was just told by my doctor that I have IBS. He gave me medication and sent me on my way. However, the medication did not work, and based on all the info that I have read about IBS.....its just not that easy to solve..take a pill and u'll be fine. HA! My symptoms are actually way worse! So I am getting a new doctor, but in the meantime, I am trying to figure out other ways to deal. I cant figure out any trigger foods.....I have taken certain things that I thought bothered me out of my diet and then re-introduced them again a few days later and didnt have the same result. So I dont think its certain foods that trigger my "sickness". I suffer terrible stomache pains, very sharp pains that are so bad that I get really hot and almost dizzy like I am going to pass out. Bad diarreah......uugghhhh......and the urgency to go. I dont leave my house...unless its to go to work. And somethimes I dont even make it there. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I feel is those pains in my stomache, and thats how the rest of day is. I am starting to get scared b/c it just keeps on getting worse and worse and I have no control. I am not an emotional person and I dont like to cry, and I balled my eyes out the past few days b/c I feel so alone and out of luck with the situation. I am at a loss of what to do as I wait for the day of my doctor appointment to come....

I am hoping to get some encouragement through this group and my blog. I am 38 and have been having terrible bloating for over a week now. I have had constipation off and on for several months, but this bloating is unreal! I feel and look like I'm about 6 months pregnant. My doctor sent me for an ultrasound of my gall bladder and it came back normal. He now has me scheduled for a colonscopy, which really scares me. I just want to know what this is! Does anyone else have this extreme bloating and dull pain on the left side? I am so worried that this is cancer, or something serious! I am a single mother and I have to be here for my kids. Very anxious..... Help!!

Well, I am officially on a medical leave, after 2 1/2 years, of suffering. I was hoping to find a solution to my severe IBS problems, constipation, pain, diarrhea, pain, nausea, pain, vomitting, pain, bloating, and pain. I started having severe symptoms in June and I have not gotten any better. I don't leave the house too often because I never know what my insides are going to do. I was hoping to have a solution by this time, or even a happy medium. I suppose that was just wishfull thinking. I have been referred to a GI specialist in my city, however my appointment is not until June 2010. I have since asked my doctor to refer me to another doctor, who is out of province. I am hoping that I can get in to see him sooner. My doctor has recommended that I try a probiotic called TuZen, it is supposed to be for people who have IBS. I could not find it at any of our health food stores, so I had to ask my pharmasist to special order it. I am willing to try anything, at this time. I have tried altering my diet, but that really hasn't changed anything. I have been keeping a food, symptom journal since June and I have not found any specific triggers. I have had various medical tests done and everything checks out fine. I can only assume that my body is completely stressed out from my IBS. I have had a lot of stressfull situations occur in the last 2 1/2 years so I DO NOT understand why my IBS is worse now. I had my gall-bladder removed in March 2007 and that seemed to be the initial beginning of my IBS. I had complications from my surgery and my symptoms were fairly managable. I lost my father, August 2007, and my IBS was not that bad compared to the grief that I was experiencing. I still had a life for the next year and a half. My hardest month, emotionally, was December 2008 I lost my mother of natural causes and my Uncle (father's bother) was murdered. My IBS was still at a happy medium. I have no clue why my IBS is now worse since June 2009. I had previously, emotionally, endured the worst time of my life and my IBS was some what controllable. NOW, I am blogging to keep myself sane and still hoping for a solution. Sorry for going on...Have a Good Day, Carol.

Hey everyone. First of all, with truly sincere excitement, I say I am excited to finally post on this site. (I have no idea how to create a topic in a forum so i figured i would do a blog). I want to tell you a bit about myself.

I am 34, white european male. Live in Canada and have had IBS-D for about 20 years. It started in high school. Actually, this is the funny thing, I remember when Greens+ came out, and I bought it, and for me, that was my 'initial trigger' .. it probably wasn't it.. but for me, it's what I remember. So for me, IBS-D meant always urgency, in mornings, incomplete bowel movements, feeling bloated, or the need 'to go' almost after eating every meal. Gas, blah blah blah.. I am so exciting to tell you how I feel I have really worked to resolve my issue .. no im not selling anything.. so don't worry .. But i hope you read this because i am taking detail to write it to prove a point ... you'll see. There's a true link to everything I write. I'm not religious, believe in natural cures, none of that. I come from an Italian family, i work in management consulting now, and am just a regular guy. I just really want to share this information with others, and want to see if anyone else had the same results.

Ok, so at 16 or so, my mom took me to the doc (she manages a doctor's office) because i used to get sick in the morning all the time. Doc said it was lactose intolerant. so.. I've always had that, and I know, if i eat heavy cream, certain dairy, i'll get either sick, or irregular bowel movements.. even with a lactaid pill (which i find just creates a build-up of gas)

So when I was in my late teens, early 20s, I moved to Ottawa to go to University, I lived in residence, and would always use the rest room on a secluded floor that was used for studying as no one was ever around. I was pretty 'regular' still in the sense that i didn't have the crazy urgency but still would have incomplete movements, and the odd time cramps.

So all during university, (even when I got my first apartment) i had this issue.. the ibs-d.. most of this was before internet, no one had heard of irritable bowel syndrome, nor was it a term. No one talked about this actually. At 22 or so, I went to a pharmacist and tried to explain the issue, and of course, i was told take fibre (or fiber as Americans spell it).. this MADE EVERTYHING worse.. and i remember having to take a day off work because i was going non-stop.

Here's the weird thing. As I got older things did not improve. As I began typical 9-5 jobs, it would get worse.. worse with age. Because I was typical hyper person.. (you know, the type that my parents thought I had ADHD) everytime i would see my doctor, they would chalk it up to stress and say I needed to relax and de-stress.I even went to psychiatrists who put me on everything from effexor to paxil and celexa (the celexa in the past few years).. none of these did anything to help.. follow-me here, trust me..
When things would get worse, you know what would help, a prescription for cipro (the antibiotic for the gut).. i'll be honest.. after a few days on cipro id have normal bowel movements.. and things would be fine. WHen i'd stop, i'd be great for 2 days, then the cycle would start again.. this is what i would wonder:

Why is it that killing all the bacteria would be good? Why would I keep getting 'bacteria, or rather bad bacteria' in the gut???

In my late 20s, I went to see an internist at the recommendation of a colleague. I had a colonscopy done, and endoscopy. I had traveled out of town to see this specialist. The results - nothing.. everything fine.. all good.

4 years ago I went to see a naturopath who thought I had candida and that i showed signs of candida. Infact, she also said that all the cipro i took was giving me typical candida build up. Fine. SO i bought this product made by a canadian company called inno-vite, it's called the candida buster kit or something similar. It's essentially caprylic acid, with bentonite clay and fibre. Let me tell you. This stuff made me feel amazing, gave me complete bowel movements, but it didn't resolve the urgency or anything else. It was 'cleaning me out' and actually i recommend it to people for a detox cleanse.. it's quite brilliant... but again, this helped resolve the symptoms because it didn't let food 'run in and out' of me so quickly, and it actually helped me get off antibiotics..

problem was, i didn't want to be doing this every day and it never gave me 'firm' bowel movements. The fibre makes u have more full ones, and the bentonite and psyllium clean / scrub the colon/intestines.. great product.. but anyhow

Like everyone else, I reverted to supplements. Most supplements I tried were the results of recommendation from those on groups like this, or heather's ibs group (the site where she recommends the acacia tummy fibre etc) My favourite supplements were:

1. probiotics (bio+k) or any with b.infantis.. i find the b.infantis did wonders. They don't sell AlignGi here in Canada so i would get probiotics with b.infantis, or ones that i know were quite reputable. I also tried vsl3 .. which really didn't do anything at all
2 l-glutamine, this helped give me more firm bowel movements. I would take this supplement when working out. I would take 5-10g a day
3. oil of oregano if i felt i was getting a stomach 'flu' or really bad symptoms
4. digestive enzymes (meh, im not sure if they did anything really)
5. drops (passionflower, avena sativa) for 'calmness'
6. Gas-X or Phazyme (usually 180mg simethicone pills)

does any of this sound familiar to you?

One thing i also noticed is that in the winter, it would be worse, but really not too too bad by summer's end and early fall.. i don't know why. I also decided I could no longer eat wheat. I did do a gluten-free diet, it helped a lot, but i was tested for celiac (blood work) and i do not have it. I did go to an allergist who said I had no allergies, and also did that vega test.. i don't know the exact name.. but the results said i had a screwed up ileosecal valve (don't ask, cuz i don't even know)

The Turn of the Tide.

So, i'm one of those people who gets excited about the prospect of a new supplement or vitamin that shows promise. Infact, I usually research everything on pubmed which is a service by the US National Library of Medicine which houses biomedical articles, journals, studies etc.. (legit ones, not ones by supplement companies)

So anyhow.. this March, there was an article in Canada's globe and mail newspaper (it's the more prestigious newspaper here).. and the article was on vitamin D and cancer: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article756975.ece

So being the good kid.. i shared this with my family and began to research the link of vitamin D and cancer prevention. The person quoted in the article, as a worldwide vitamin D expert lives here in Toronto. So I emailed him about IBD.. and he wrote:

"Dear Rob
Thank you for the nice email. If you have IBD, your doctor would be
justified in getting your 25-hydroxyvitamin D level tested (OHIP covers it),
along with serum and urine calcium (Calcium/creatinine ratio should be under
1.0 mmol/mmol).
As for your question about the safety of 5000 IU/day, of course that is
safe.
I attach a couple of reprints to support this information.
Best wishes,
Reinhold Vieth"

This was in early summer. I was sent a link to this website called the Vitamin D council.. and it shows crazy research on vitamin D deficiency and many many illnesses.. nothing on bowels or IBS, or IBD, or crohn's. This site recommends adults taking minimum 5000 IU a day (seems like a lot because in Canada you can only get 1000 or 400 IU in pill form)

Now, in August 2009, I took a trip to NYC and found vitamin D capsules with 5000 IU pills and these great probiotics called 'digestive advantage' bought both, brought em back. So, since I've had people I know die of Cancer, I began taking 3000 IU of Vitamin D (3 of the 1000 IU pills I had but never used) surely but slowly, i stopped having crazy urgency to go, and began to have more normal bowel movements. Infact, i started having a few normal ones a day,.. i then began reading more on the vitamin D council site and googling research on vitamin D, especially on pubmed, and the link between vitamin D deficiency and diseases. I then began taking 5000 IU of vitamin D a day.. and since then (it's now Oct 2nd)..i feel i have turned the tide on ibs... from going many times a day, staying home from work, being sick.. now i go.. well it would be one, and maybe 2 a day,.. good decent bm's (btw, if you've never written on this group, its so weird to type this stuff out!!)

The other day, i found this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq1t9WqOD-0...feature=channel

it is an american expert on vitamin D talking about how most people are vitamin D deficient. I got my blood work back and i am deficient. Now i am trying to build this up. This is the weird thing about this whole ordeal. Do i feel ive resolved IBS.. yes and no. it has improved substantially, but it takes MONTHS to bring vitamin D levels up to normal. Do i think Vitamin D has helped, absolutely .. because ive been taking everything else for years.

This is the crazy part that relates to previous stuff in my story.. vitamin D increases antimicrobial peptide regulation in the body. These are the 'army' that prevent cells from being infected with bacteria, viruses, and fungi, infact, most vitamin D experts say that by taking 5000 IU a day will for sure prevent colds and flus. I found this explanation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--NqqB2nhBE...feature=related so i think this could have played a part with why i have not have had stomach flu's anymore, and not had IBS issues in the past month. And things are improving.

Again, it has only been two months.. i want other people to read this, check the links, and try this out. I think we don't hear about this much because vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is something you can't really patent.. everyone can get it everywhere... and yet we're out there trying to find some 'cure' for a disease, and maybe, it's not a disease, but a deficiency in something we need.

Moreso, the amount of literature i have been reviewing has showed that people in my country (Canada) and other northern countries have higher rates of IBS and IBD than anywhere else.. the farther from the equator, the more risk. I also didn't know that it's hard to make vitamin D from November to March.. and it's not just being in the sun, it has to be at the right time, with the right exposure etc. This really has helped to explain (to me anyhow) why my problem got worse with age, as i've stayed more indoors, and have had less sun exposure. Now, I will preface all this by saying, at first, when i looked into vitamin D, i had no thoughts that it may help my IBS.. none at all...i was looking into it for cancer prevention.

Anyhow, this has been fascinating me, and i wanted to share this. Please comment, and i'd be more than glad to answer any questions. I'm not a doctor, I can just tell you what has worked for me. I now take 5000 IU a day (sometimes 10,000IU), i still take probiotics, and eat cleanly.

For those who may be more interested, google the vitamin D council's site.. its a non-profit site. If you have any questions for me, let me know, i'll try to respond on here. Thanks for reading. Again, its only been about 2 months now.. i'm going back shortly to get another 25(OH)D (vitamin d test)

Rob.

Yet again, she hurt her body in the most awful way possible...

I was already in SO much pain from binging on Monday... It was a kind of pain in the stomach I hadn't felt before, it was appetite loss... I still feel like that now, it's even worse after I binged... And I was so worried and I haven't eaten much these days, so I binged... Sooo much it hurts my stomach.

I'm just waiting for my mother to come home, the only one whom I can talk with when I'm feeling like this. My cousin is never around, no matter how much I need her, how much I beg for her...

I don't want this stomach, I don't want these bowels, they make the binging so much worse... Maybe this pain is an ulcer? I've hurt my stomach so badly that my gastritis has now formed an ulcer in my stomach?

And tomorrow I have an exam, and I have to be at college from 8 to 4 pm, and I feel like ####, my stomach hurts... And I don't know what to do after I binge. I can't exercise, I'm too full, all I feel like doing is staring at the computer screen and that's not healthy, I do that 24/7... I need to study but it hurts and I feel so bad, I don't feel guilty but I just feel the pain in my stomach and I'm bloated, bloated like a beach ball...

I wish things could change.

should i eat or should i not eat? should i eat or should i not eat? should...ill spare you. but thats the kind of intelligent conversation im having with random internal organs right now. if i dont eat ill be free to socialize and enjoy next couple of hours. but ill be hungry and it isnt very healthy. if i do eat...i wont get too graphic.

i did spend about a year and a 1/2 (recently) eating just enough to survive when my schedule didnt leave room for antisocial brakes. when i look at pictures of myself from then it scares me. im a thin girl usually but then i was all skeleton. my cheekbones stuck out, my eyes where too large and i was very pale. i dont ever want to go back to that kind of stage. i try to fit at least one good meal into every day.

besides im trying out women’s life force multiple for the first time today. i read on some thread here that it helped some people with ibs-c. i cant quite do much assessing to see if its working or not if i dont eat anything.
so.....

im on my way to raid the fridge. so much for cognitive dissonance.

I spent Christmas of 2008 in Mexico. At my return, in January 2009, I had diarrhea. I ignored it and let it run its course for 4 days. Everything look okf for me. But as the days passed by I started to get this terrible stomach, like stabbing, pain in the center of my belly. At that point, I went to the doctor, of course, no appointments are available and have to be seen by the nurse. She very quickly said I had a virus and it will go away in 10 days. I went back home and ignored the symptoms and continue eating anything I wanted and keep doing Pilates and Yoga. More days passed by and started to have nausea, anxiety attacks,chills, urge to defecate with rapid heart beat in the middle of the night. That scared me as I have never felt that before in my life. I went to the doctor, she told me I had giardia and prescribed Flagyl 500 mg 3 times a day for 10 days. She never tested for Giardia, but I used to believe anything she said.
Well, after I finished flagyl, my life changed completely. I continued to have this sympthoms:
Increased Bowel Movements
Loss appetite
Constipation alternated with diarrhea and amount of bowel movements
Stomach sounds
Dizziness
Nausea
Every Night at 2:00 am I had a BM and an hr later another one
After the BM huge stomach pain in the abdominal area

There was no way to get seen by my doctor. She was working part time so went to see a GI, who had performed a colonscopy for me in 2004 and didn't killed me.

He run:
Blood work
CT Scan
Ultrasound
stool test to look for giardia still lingering

Everything came back negative. He directly said I don't know, see you in 6 weeks. I was astonished!. I was like do I still have to pay you?

Needless to say I looked for another doctor. so I used my retirement savings to go to the Mayo Clinic, where the best doctors in the world are found (I found the exception to the rule )
This guy came up with the Post Infectious - IBS diagnostic. I was like are you kidding me?. The I don't know diagnostic and the exclusion diagnostic was a big shock for me. He gave me Florastor and the book with diet guidelines. I felt good for about 2 months, but lost about 8 pounds with the change on diet. It wasn't a bad thing at that time since I was working on lossing some weight.

The chills dissapear end of April beginning of May.
Most of the symptoms were controlled with diet, except for the gas part that even eating carrots with potatoes causes discomfort. Sometimes I feel my stomach swallen. I kept researching.

I started to read about IBS and figured if it is a exclusion, why I didn't have an Upper endoscopy and a coloscopy done?. so I went to another GI, this time covered by my insurance.

The new GI does the endoscopy and says I have chronic gastritis and H. Pylori with No Ulcer.

To my surprise after that I have the upper stomach burning and burping which I never experienced before the Endoscopy.
He gave me antacids for 10 days and once he got the H. Pylori from the biopsy, he gave me a treatment for it. I took it, but the bacteria is still there.
He didn't want to do a colonscopy because I had one done in 2004 clean. I beg him to do one becasue everwhere you read it says it has to be done. I told him for my peace of mind to do one. He told me he was going to repeat the endoscopy and if nothing is found he was going to refer me to a phsychiatric becasue I don not eat becasue I have mental problems. He got lucky I am not a psycho. That stament deserved a smack as a minimum. Here I was trying to look for help to have a regular diet and get my body back and there he was just assuming I am anxious and afraid to eat.
I was worried about the weight loss. He told me I do not eat enough calories and have ice cream for dinner. I was like really and what about the gas that the ice cream causes?. He is like everbody passes gas. I had it in the past, but NOT in the middle of the night waking me up to get them out and have palpitations to do so.

I fired this doctor as well. His contribution to my case was to add fiber to control diarrhea. That works well depending on what I eat. Too much fiber gives me more BM>

I went back to look for the wonderful world class GI doctor at the Mayo. I got this pseudo doctor who just told me I didn't even know I had gastritis before , all my issues are from IBS, just take immodium for the diarrhea and that's it. I read a lot of people saying that the withdrawal from it is really hard, so I am not about to get a brand new issue for free.

In the mid time I learned Lactobacillos was the main thing all this first class doctors have failed to suggest to do after all those antibiotics treatments.

So Now I am on the third GI. This one believes all my issues are from Giardia and that will resolved from 6 to 9 months. He thinks I shouldn't have the bacteria anymore, that I tested too soon before with a stool not been so reliable. He wants me to perform the urea breath test and I am in the process of getting an appointment to do so.
So far I have lost 42 pounds from January to Sept.

The funny thing is this one is leaving my city in 2 months. So I waited for 2 months for a doctor who is planning to leave.


Shall I look for a new one?...

It's that time of the year again -- the beauty of fall has also brought with it less sunshine and more gray sullen rainy days, and here comes another round of my struggle with SAD (seasonal affective disorder).

Since the day before yesterday, I've been feeling extremely tired and depressed. I lost interest in the things I usually love to do (yes, even the computer, even the Wii games) and wasn't even able to carry out simple housework. Then, I was further upset because I didn't do all the things I planned to do. As I struggled to get out of the couch to make dinner, it suddenly struck me that I didn't want to sink further down and I wanted to do something to stop myself from going into this downward spin.

I looked into my medicine cabinet and then realized, for my own reason (and a totally legitimate and doctor approved reason), I have planned not to take antidepressants for the time being. And besides, my old pills have past the expiration date. Sigh. what do I do now???

Anyways, I somehow finished cooking and realized how dark it was in the room (and outside, too). So, I turned on the brightest light in the house and then some more. True, these artificial lights aren't the same as the happy shining sun, but they are better than having to be in a dark environment. So, that gave me some confidence in gaining some control.

When Hubby came back home, I mentioned how things changed for me in the past couple of days. A believer of physical exerices, he immediately said, "Hon, drag yourself to the loft and turn on the Wii game. After a couple of games, you'll feel a little better." I was cynical and said, "Yeah, right, here we go again, exercise cures all. I don't see how it helps, I usually lose the tenis games. And I hate losing." He said, "Then try the bowling game." "My level is so high that now every time I play, my score decreases if I don't match my best." "So what? Just go and pour your unhappiness out at your 'opponents'. Try it!" "O...K..."

So I went, played 3 single games of tenis. To my total surprise I won 2 out of the 3 and finally reached pro level. And truth is, although I didn't feel I lashed out my unhappiness on my pixel opponents (that part is what people without depression don't understand, it's not like if it was lashed out (even if it could be lashed out), it would go away) and I still felt/feel faraway from my usual self, I did feel a little less depressed. It's like the game *is* helpful in some way. So, maybe it's worth playing a little everyday after all.

Today it's still gray and sullen with rains here and there, but I got up a teeny little happier than yesterday, although I still physically have this pressure in my chest feeling. I don't know, I guess I've decided to give keeping (or forcing myself to keep) as active as I possibly can a try. Maybe it'll work? Hopefully? And I'm definitely turning on the lights.

This SAD stuff has definitely affected my gut -- as soon as I woke up this morning, I was hit by this bad pain and stayed in bed unable to move a single movement for at least half an hour. Luckily my BMs are still formed. Bananas and crackers really helped. And the reflexology pain/D reduction points were helpful, too. Although when it happens it still happens, I guess now at least I feel I have some ways to deal with it.

As a side note, interestingly, I picked up the same reflexology book at breakfast and found that there's a point for relieving mild depression (I guess mine is mild?), too! I'll give it a try and see how much it can help.

And this morning I saw this TCM show on TV and there's something that's really interesting -- ECIWO (embryo containing the information of the whole organism, which, btw has NOTHING to do with stem cell research, is termed as "holographic unit" in the past). Apparently it provides an important modern theoretical foundation for reflexology. That's really interesting! Maybe I could google something out and read more about this. LOL, as I'm writing at this moment, I realized that maybe I am on the right track! I'm feeling like I've gotten at least some energy to find some interest in this :-)

Anyways, I'll see if I could nail this and stop myself from becoming as much affected by this SAD thing as before. Fingers crossed.
Now what's with this bad pressure in my chest, like someone put a big rock on it?? This is something new -- I never felt like this during previous years' SAD bouts. No it's not my GERD, and no I didn't have insomnia this past couple weeks. And last checkup my heart is functioning well. I just really hope this could go away!

Food hangover, food hangover
How my stomach hurts
Can't expel you out anyway
Feeling swollen, a bit blue

Food hangover, food hangover
You first tasted so good!
But you've abandoned me
And now I feel sore.

The IBS symptoms flare up, my tummy is bloated, there is gastritis pain and I don't want to do a thing for the rest of the day. The lunch I'm taking to college is a bit spicy, so I'm afraid I'll be all gassy during my exam at 2 pm, an exam I don't want to take either (Descartes, you give me a headache!)

Funny thing, I don't get that much gas when I binge on sugar treats. But when I do take care of myself for my IBS, I feel as if there's popcorn popping in my colon!

Ouch, my gastritis is killing me... Thankfully I'll go to a new nutritionist this Friday, yay!*
ViCtoria~

I wish I could wear tight clothes again.

I'm quite thin, so I'd just like to fit into those skinny pants again. But it's really uncomfortable because I have been bloated for almost a year now, and the sensation hasn't worn off. Sometimes it's worse, but it never disappears completely.

I don't know, it's just a silly wish.

.

Good morning, well so far so good. Slight spasms, no pain or D. My husband, who is a wonderful cook, is making breakfast for the family and the smell is driving me bonkers. I am nauseated. I had a horrible week, could barely get off the couch. The times that I did leave the house, I was wishing I was back on my couch. LOL, or should I say toilet. Not good. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. SORRY, I am trying not to be negative. I truly do enjoy this web-site because I know that I am not alone in my suffering. I do not leave the house too often, so when I get my butt off the couch or toilet, I check this site. I find it inspirational and calming in a way. I am still looking for solutions to my problems because I do not see the gastroenterology until June 2010. I am hoping that I can find a happy medium, from this web-site, before then. I educate myself daily in the hopes of utilizing the information to best suite my needs. Well, on that note, I hope you can try and have a good day. Carol