You know my road to IBS started 10 years ago.I was always a scrawny kid growing up. Suddenly for the first time I had a gut. I thought it was due to a lack of exercise. Soon it became a running joke, so I decided to get in shape.I joined a gym, started to work out.It didn't matter, I still was scrawny and fat at the same time.I hired a PT. It didn't help.I went to an RD. It didn't help.The RD thought I might have a food allergy, so I saw an allergist.Nothing came back, saw a GI. Diagnosed with IBS.IBS makes it so I cannot achieve my fitness goals. Because of the bloating and distension, IBS destroys all of my work at the gym.Instead of showing off a ripped stomach and cut, toned muscles, because of IBS I have a fat, inflated gut and weak, scrawny muscles.You see, when my IBS is bad, it pretty much sucks/traps all of the weight/water/matter in my body in the stomach.Thus the stomach is super inflated, while the rest of my body, my muscles are extremely empty.Think of a hose...when you squeeze the middle of the hose...the middle gets really big, and the rest of the hose gets flimsy.This is what happens with me and IBS. It is a double whammy...not only do I have a fat stomach, but I have "drained" empty muscles.I am extremely frustrated not only in having this, but in having NOBODY believe me.Everybody thinks I am crazy, but I swear when I am not bloated my stomach is FLAT and my muscles are MUCH fuller.Does ANYBODY have this or know what I am talking about?
Anybody With IBS Have Skinny-Fat Syndrome?
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V - Yes, YES! I think I said that before. Granted I am an old gal but used to pride myself on my body. It was fantastic, ripped, fit, six-pack - the works. IBS took all of it away. All muscle tone left and it took everything I had to even TRY and work out. Finally, I was to the point of 15 to 20 explosive urgent watery diarrhea episodes daily and could no longer stand or leave my bedroom. My doctor did NOT believe me, especially after ALL of my tests (and I HAD everything even the IgG and IgE, gluten biopsy, small bowel with contrast CT scans, upper and lower X3, H-5)came back NEGATIVE! My Natropathic doctor did a live blood cell analysis and could not believe I was alive. The samples were 99 percent BACTERIA. That was enough for me to know my cut was leaking bacteria all through my body. I was gasy, bloated, dizzy, crabby, mean, thin, sick, weak . . . Tetracycline for 6 months did it for me. Now I cycle the antibiotic for one week with a refrigerated probotic. (Floragen3 is a good one but I think there are better that survive stomach acid). Yesterday I went to her to see how I am doing (blood-wise). My test showed my blood is still dirty but no toxins, no bacteria, few holes in my gut, some yeast. I am on the road to recovery. I still cannot drink any alcohol becuase my gut good-bacteria is so limitied (alcohol kills it too). But if I take a ton of the probotic, I can have some gin and tonic water. The organic diet is great including the breads. She put me on a yeast killer (there was some) and a detox tea to start periodically as well as organic fiber/energy bars - dairy free. I really think if you do any bodybuilding drinks, you set yourself up for problems. They are like taking poison to people like us. I am back to working out but going to do it with ORGANIC EGG WHITES AND free-range/hormone free/AB free chicken and the Arbonne shake which is all natural and has NO whey or dairy. Although I might just up my smoothies and put flax, glutamine and a minerial supplement. I am very D deficient and need a whopping dose of that too. So, YES. I was skinny, weak and looked terrible with a bloated flabby gut. Worse yet, I developed horrible cellulete that is everywhere on my body. It makes me look skinny, lumpy and terrible. It is finally going away too. I really think you have have some bacterial overgrowth. I also think you may have problems with all Whey and diary. Just based on your body typing. Again, any changes have to be very, very consistent. Those energy and body drinks ALL have whey and will make you much worse and bloated. Your small bowel and body will starve and digest itself so ALL of your lab work looks fine, but you and I both know you are not. Get a doctor who is your advocate and willing to try things that YOU think might help as long as they won't hurt you. You can email me if you want me to write up exactly what I did to stop the diarrhea. I am not perfect, but I will take this and everyday as long as do not cheat, I get better and better. Best to you and I am not a doctor so take this with a grain of salt.
Is it some specific analysis? Because all my analysis came back "normal" as doctors said.P.S. I don't live in US, but maybe I can ask doctor here to perform the same analysis.
Hester, I am a little confused.First, are you saying I should see a naturopathic practitioner OR a functional practitioner (or are they both the same?.Second, does this article by Dr. Hyman http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/5-simple-steps-to-cure-ib_b_576578.html go hand in hand with your approach?Did you get an IgG test by your naturopath or regular?Now I thought I had disclosed this before, but...I have been on a very strict diet.I have avoided dairy/redmeat/foods with more than 25% of calories from fat/whole grains and alcohol.Yet even then IT still sucks.I do NOT have those protein drinks because they all have dairy.I am bloated and also have gas/constipation. I used to as well have diarrhea...stopping dairy ended that BUT the other symptoms remain.I am glad somebody in this world can confirm my symptoms of being skinny fat.I honestly feel like no matter how well I eat, no matter how much I lift, it does not matter.I still look like I have a beer gut with empty, saggy muscles.It still FEELS like all the weight/matter/water in my body is stuck in my stomach and that my muscles are empty.Do you have an explanation for this...and do you really think a functional medicine doctor like Dr. Hyman or what you saw is the answer?
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Good artcle V and I would say that fits my symptoms and approach. The "live blood cell analysis is ONLY done by doctors of Alternative Medicine. It is not looked any too fondly by Western/Traditional Medicine. Glad to hear the D stopped with the nondairy. Your bloating/gas/lack of muscle tone could be bad bacteria combined with not enough REAL nutrition to get your muscles built up. Those are my first thoughts after reading your post. The bad bacteria eat everything and just produce more gas and bloating. They coat the small bowel and prevent proper absorbtion of nutrients. Sadly, you will probably never be "bad" enough to throw off a traditional lab value at the hospital. No test can get into the SB to see the lining or the contents. When that mess hits the colon, it either reacts with diarrhea, constipation, gas/bloating, pain or all of those. Mine eventually overgrew completely. I had absolutely uncontrolable diarrhea 15 times plus daily for a year and no appetite at all - nearly died. I had three doctors: My GI specialist, A doctor of Infectious Disease and the Alternative Medicine practitioner. I spent a fortune on tests to figure this out. I still have to take Tetracyline ever so often to kill whatever grows up SB - I think I lost my housekeeper wave. Xifaxan did not help me - just not strong enough nor does it penetrate all the tissues. It is only good to kill e-coli. Additionally, after finding out about not having any bifidiobacterium strains through a really fancy stool test (week long 20 samples), I take that strain in droves orally. I also take something for yeast, fiber and detox every six to eight weeks all from the Alternative doc. I hate to say it, but no ONE doctor seems to be able to help us. I learned from this group and was very methodical about what I tested on myself. It was the Alternative doc that found my live blood was 98 percent bacteria. That led me to believe I was drowning in my own filth = no lab values ever caught this. My red cells had no "light". My white cells just sat there like slugs and the bacteria were everywhere. After six months of Tetracyline 2000 mg a day or 1500 depending on my headache and kidney function (real doc), it was gone. So was the diarrhea. The D would come back every now and then. However, it has not come back since taking the strain of good flora I was missing. In fact, I AM now getting constipated. My GI doctor called the colon the human body's compost pile. I laugh because anyone who has ever tried to have a good - nonsmelly compost pile in their backyard knows this is no easy task. The probotic did stop the horrible "smell" that seemed to follow me out of every room and has firmed up the stool and given me lots of energy. (LOL) The organic diet is because I truly believe the genetically modified food in the U.S. is killing us early and allowing toxin to build up while not feeding us a nutritionally complete diet even when we think we eat right. So, if your D has stopped and you now have A, I still think it is some type of overgrowth. I am guessing you have had your liver and pancreatic enzymes/labs checked, upper/lower GI and all that good stuff. My regular stool tests all kept coming back negative until this fancy GI doctor in the U.S. had me do this elaborate test from North Carolina. I think there is also a lab in Texas that does it. . . they look at ALL the bacteria and give you a five page print out of your gut flora. I would have to find the name on my chart if that interests you. . . (they are 800 dollars if you do not find a lab with insurance coverage). I am going to be without internet service for a week (maybe), so sorry if I do not reply back. You may want to send me a PM.
Thank you Hester.I am very glad to find somebody who can confirm my symptoms.Now I do have some questions because since me and you share similar problems...and since you were able to get to be ok...I'd like some advice so I can get better.1) Could you clearly and methodologically tell me what you did, and what you do, to control your symptoms?-Do you see a naturapath dr or an RD or a GI or both?2) What do you think I should do?-I have pretty much given up on GI doctors. I was going to work with an RD I heard good things about...she has a more holistic approach. She has a good reputation but is not in my geography so consults would be by phone.-Should I see the RD or get a naturapath doctor or another GI dr.?-What about tests...what tests should I get done?-What drugs should I ask for and what supplements should I ask about?-Basically...can you write a methodocal, step by step guide on everyone and thing I should see/do? I get the problem...but am confused on how to solve it!3) Nutrients. You said my lack of muscle tone/skinny fatness is due to bacteria and poor nutrients. I diet though as best as I can for the gym...so I do not get why nutrients are an issue.
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First I want to say that I was diagnosed as IBS D initially by a GI specialist. He tried EVERYTHING - antidepressants, antispasmodics, flagyl, more pills. I tried so many "IBS supplements" that in one month I bet I easily dropped a grand. I had three lower GI's and one upper, I had a small bowel CT scan which was NOT completely normal as it did NOT image a portion of my SB. Shortly after drinking all the stuff for the scan - about eight hours - I passed a 'rock' for lack of a better term. It was some strange hairy white thing. I think it was a portion of my dead lining from the burning drug reaction that got stuck. . . OK, back to the IBS D. So none of the supplements really worked except for the calcium and D. That did provide some relief for a little while. Then I got worse, much worse. My diarrhea was 20 times a day and yellow water. The stench could clear a room. I was extremely bloated and all of my muscles wasted away, my hair fell out and I could not walk or breath well. Still a bunch of labs and stool cultures showed NOTHING. Maybe I was a little anemic. I was pretty certain death was coming and a friend said to go to a local Natropathic doctor who is a nutritionalist. SHE did the black spectrometry microscopic LIVE BLOOD CELL analysis. I was in very bad shape and could see all the bacteria swimming in my blood. At this point, I had read several articles about small bowel bacterial overgrowth and figured that my diagnosis of IBS was wrong. Usually muscle wasting and severe weight loss (I had lost 35 lbs) does NOT go with IBS (nor the sweating and on and off fevers). I knew I could safely tolerate the antibiotic Tetracycline. I called my GI specialist and he said "sure, we can give it a try". He wrote it for 2000 mg a day for two weeks. The two weeks passed and the diarrhea came right back. So, on it went until I was eventually on the AB for more than 7 months straight. Everytime I would back off the diarrhea returned. I went to a new GI specialists who sent a five day stool culture to a lab in North Carolina that analyzed for all gut flora and pathogens. I came back with two possible pathogens (low level) and NO good flora. I was told to take Floragen 3 which helped. But once I got a copy of my file and print out, I saw that the one good flora strain I was missing was Bifiobactrium. I shopped online to find a LIVE billion/billion strain version that comes refrigerated. So, I now take that for two weeks and my AB for one. Sometimes I have to improvise based on something I eat that disagrees with me. I KNOW NO DAIRY, NO GMO FOODS/GRAINS. I avoid coffee and sugar, no pop or sports drinks. I do have clear alcohol from time to time but have to take more fiber and the bacteria. I do take the Calcium and extra D, lysine, flaxseed, my organic fruit and nut smoothies, organic fiber bars, organic soy milk and lean hormone/AB free meats. Am I perfect? No. I still have pain on the lower left and sometime horrible gas, but it seems to be getting better. I try to eat more regular and am not afraid of food as long as it's organic - including sardines, oils, spreads and crackers. I rarely need Imodium anymore. So, drugs I am still taking:Tetracycine - on and offBifiobacterium - two dailylysine - a few a weekCalcium plus D - dailyValium - dailyBenedryl - only if I eat garbage and at bedtimeBiotin - dailyLiquid vit and minerals - dailydetox tea - once every six weeksOrganic fiber bars - nearly dailyfiber caps - (special blend) dailyanti yeast supplement - dailyThat about sums it up.
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GI doctor plays his typical Western Medicine role. He does tests and writes Rxs. My Naturopath is my counselor and nutritional advisor. She is skilled in the use of the Black Spectrometry (sp) Microscopic Live Blood Analysis (some are not). My GI doctor is from a very famous clinic, ordered a comprehensive stool study that took about 7 days to perform (FUN!). I had to package it up from home and sent it to some lab via my doctor in North Carolina (I think - would have to look up address). They check for EVERYTHING! This included looking at your entire flora make-up and checking for pathogens. Here is where I found out I was missing this VERY, VERY important partner flora strain. Taking it orally seems to help but I have to take a lot and it is expensive. I researched a number of labs and found one that packaged the strain in brown glass and sent it cold - fresh in the billions.
Hi my name is Vicky and I live in UK.I have recently had to take both lactulose and ensure but I believe that im allergic to milk (including soya) and i can't seem to tolerate oil or salt wheat cereals hurt, as well as oats and barley makes me bloated, but i can tolerate wholewheat pasta and have organic rice cereal. Im getting really bad pain so i can't sleep and i don't see the specialist until the 20th september 2010. I have phoned but they didnt get back to me the same day. I feel awful I don't know what to do, I thought i was getting better when I came off the supplement but now i'm getting worse again. I am still taking the lactulose and I still have cow's milk with cereal. I'm absolutely exhausted, and as I live in the UK there aren't as many resources/food as there are in the US.Also since i started having these symptoms (constipation, right side pain that passes to centre),I have gone from being 12 st 6 to 8 st 2.Plus not sure whether have negative reaction the mineral water (no pain but not sure).Please help me.VickyWhen you say you avoid sugar, does that include sugar in cereals?
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Volatile, have you by any chance spent time on the Bodybuilding.com forums? That's the only other place where I've come across the 'skinny-fat' descriptor.Anyway, what's the rest of your body look like? If you've built up your chest, shoulders, back, and legs, it'll decrease the proportional size of your gut. Also, you could have some visceral fat in your abdomen which is preventing you from getting the aesthetic you're looking for.That being said, no one except people with exceptional genetics like Brad Pitt can really walk around in single digit bodyfat percentages and still feel great. Bodybuilders, fitness models, and actors who do shirtless shots in movies are all in peak condition. They dehydrate themselves and crash diet and apply makeup or tanning oils to accentuate their appearance. Right after their show/scene, they put on 10-15 or more pounds - mostly water weight - in just a few days.I watched one documentary, which you might want to check out, called "I Want to Look Like That Guy" where a normal overweight Joe set out to do a bodybuilding competition. He went from something like 30% bodyfat to single digit bodyfat in several months and lost his six pack just two days after the show.
I have the exact same story as most of you. It has gotten to the point where everytime I eat, I get so bloated that I look about 4 months pregnant (and the rest of my body is thin). My boyfriend and I joke about how I have a "food baby." It helps to have a sense of humor with it. I know I'm not fat, but yeah, it negatively influences my body image. This also helps because we are both acknowledging that it's not me being "fat" it's just because of my bowel issues.
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