Finally I post.. Finally I feel IBS is no longer an issue.. i have overcome it.

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.