[Jiffa]

My names Jen. I am new here and was wandering how other people cope with having D near enough all the time!I've had this problem for almost 5 years now and it has finally got the better of me. I can't deal with it. Everytime I go out, I have to make sure I know where the toilets are and if I know I am going out, I try not to eat. So I don't actually end up eating untill about 5 in the evening. If I am going out to do something new or go to a place that I have never been before, it makes me so nervous. For example, I have a job interview tomorrow but am afraid I will have D, so will not be able to make it. Its ruining my life and I need to know if anybody else is feeling what I am, and how they deal with it!please help!Thanks xxx

 

[Kathleen M.]

Have you been to the doctor? IBS-D can be that severe. But so can diarrhea from some other things and you should at least have blood work to check for inflammation (sed rate, usually part of a complete blood count) and celiac's disease if nothing else.If you cannot or will not go to a doctor (as prescriptions add to the list of things to try, or your doctor absolutely refuses to provide any treatment at all) at least use Imodium or try the Calcium Carbonate that is pinned at the top of this forum to see if that controls it.If you have bloody diarrhea or are losing weight even though you eat more than enough calories late in the day to maintain weight then you need to get checked out.For what it is worth, normally the eating pattern called avoid it for as long as possible then eat (which usually ends up being more than a regular meal) is a great way to make the diarrhea even worse. The longer you wait to eat, the worse the post eating diarrhea will be and the longer you will wait to eat the next time.It isn't always easy to transition to small frequent meals (200-300 calories each times however many of those you need to maintain your weight) can sometimes help control the diarrheaUsually people take Imodium 2X a day but some people do well with a small dose 30 minutes BEFORE a meal. You wait for the diarrhea to hit you get the drug in after you really needed it. Peppermint tea or other peppermint taking also before a meal (or prescription antispasmodics) can sometimes blunt the eating=increased colon activity enough to keep from having diarrhea.

 

[Hester]

Hello Jen: You are lucky to have found these boards as most of us here share what is happening to you. Many have suffered for years as well. At one point, I was stuck basically 10 feet from my bathroom for 8 months and lost more than 30 percent of my body weight. I think in order to truly offer advice, we would need more information such as: 1. What types of prescriptions or medications you have tried in the past? 2. Any herbals you have tried, 3. Do you have food allergies or know of foods that seem to make you worse? 4. Do you have alternating constipation and diarrhea or pretty much just D? 5. Do you have other symptoms such as pain, weight loss, blood loss, burning, gas, bloating, acid reflux or other medical/health conditions? 6. Have you been seen by a doctor and diagnosed with a GI problem and if so, what did they say and what types of tests have you been through/what has been ruled out?We are not here to replace the advice and recommendations of medical professionals. However, there is so much here. I have tried a number of the recommendations and gotten relief from horrible IBS-D and SIBO (small bowel bacterial overgrowth). If you have not ever seen a doctor regarding your problem, you should. There can be other conditions more serious that should be ruled out via GI exams, blood work, stool cultures. Some things that can relieve diarrhea and this is just a short list and it can be any one or several that work (Most take time - up to three weeks to see some benefit besides imodium). Also, adding and switching too many things at once can often result in not really knowing what helped you and what caused more problems:Imodium - take the max dose prior to going out - this seems to work regardless of what problem you have unless it is infectious or inflammatoryAvoid all dairy food, cheese, yogurt, casin and cassinate (pastry/bread/packaged food items) - one in four people cannot tolerate dairy of any kind and it is NOT just the sugar, it is the proteinAvoid Gluten (Wheat products) - Tests can be done for Sprue but some people are just sensitive to wheat/glutenFloragen - a good proboticKilfur - another probotic but it is dairyBubbies Sauerkraut - another live probotic at Whole FoodsHaung Lian Su - an antibiotic type chinese herb available on AmazonVarious IBS formulationsZincLysineGlutamine PowderGas-XCalcium carbonate plus D vitamins - great to form stoolsD supplementspeppermint caps - freeze and take with meals grapefruit seed extract drops as a natural antibiotic to kill bad bacteriaHCi tabs - extra stomach acid to kill bacteria in the small bowel to be taken with food but NOT if you have an ulcerRx antidepressants to control gut motility - many products work quite wellCodeine Rx to create constipationAntibiotics such as Tetracycline, Cipro, or Xifaxan if you know you have bacterial overgrowth of the small bowel or too much bad bacteriaDigestive enzymesRx Cholestryramine - a powder that is used if you have too much bile or Habba SyndromeBiofeedback and relaxation techniques or drugsAntiacids/PPi's if your problem is actually an ulcer, gastritis or too much stomach acid Check out the section on Prescription Medications to learn more. Organic clean diets and/or strict dietary modifications - some people have done very well with raw food diet. I have done better on all organic food, adding organic flax seed freshly ground, taking the calcium and vitamin D tabs, antibiotics when I'm really bad (but I have SIBO), imodiium for meetings and flights, avoiding coffee, alcohol, dairy, sugar and limiting processed grains. Basically, I personally eat nothing but organic fruits and veges, a few whole grains such as oats/oat bread, flax and organic grass-fed meat. Good luck.

 

[Jiffa]

Hester - To give you more information.1. I have tried loads of different tablets, the only ones i can remember are:-Lomotil (diphenoxylate Hydrochloride 2.5mg and Atropine Sulphate 25 micrograms).-Buscopan-Colofac (mebeverine Hydrochloride).-Imodium.-I also tried an anti-depressent but had to stop as they made me sick.3. I have not tried any herbals and I do not have any food allergies. But I have noticed that there are certain foods that make my stomach worse. Such as milk, juices, salad, and some vegetables.4. I have never suffered from constipation. So it is always diarrhea.5. I get really bad pains in my stomach, it sometimes feels like I have got a stitch all over and can't move as it is too painful.6. I have been to the doctors several times. I have had a Barium Anema and a Colonoscopy. They didn't find anything so have just said it is IBS. Apart from that, the doctors haven't really helped. I have also had blood tests which were also fine.

 

[Hester]

You do sound more like your diarrhea might be related to small bowel bacterial overgrowth. Sometimes people can remember a single incident that started the IBS-D. They usually describe something like a bad flu or food poisoning and it was all downhill from there. If I read your post correctly, it does NOT sound like you ever tried antibiotics for your problem. I think you may want to suggest the possibility of SIBO to your GP/GI and try Tetracycline or Xifaxan if you have no antibiotic allergies. I know I get a great deal of relief but have to keep taking the AB to maintain control. Once off of it, it is weeks to months and I have to take another round. For me, I think I lost my housekeeper wave and bacteria continues to infiltrate my small bowel. I also often need to take quite a bit of imodium and calcium to firm up my stools and keep me from running to the bathroom or worse, sitting in there for hours. I have also used various anti-depressants when it has been really bad until the drug ends up causing an intolerable side-effect. With so many new anti-depressants out there, you might be able to find one that works. For me, the best one with the least side effects was Zyprexa at the lowest dose and even then, I would cut the pill in quarters. It worked to help me sleep and not awaken with horrible diarrhea. It also helped me to put some weight back on and get some energy. You should probably run this by a good GI specialist or your own PCP. I would take more imodium, calcium carbonate with D, an antibiotic and avoid all dairy, sugar, coffee and alcohol for a while. You may also want to try a very low dose of Zyprexa which seems to have few side-effects other than extreme weight gain. There, of course, are probably 100 different ones you could also try since there is a strong gut/brain connection to our disease. I am relieved you have had some tests done. Please know you are not alone and maybe one day they will find something to help all of us. I have also gotten some relief lately from Benadryl!!!!! Yes!

 

[DanW]

I get substantial symptom relief from drawing a bath with water as hot as I can stand. Usually, the nausea subsides within minutes. The hot water seems to relax the cramping muscles and a quiet bath is soothing. The bad news is there's no tub at work.