Hello People,I know this sounds awful but it nice to see so many people with IBS, I thought I was alone with this condition and did start to feel like a bit of a freak. What a relief to find people with the same problem. Im new to this so I apologise in advance for rambling but I just don’t know what to do.I have had IBS for 9 years now, where in the past it has been manageable it is really now starting to have an adverse effect on my life. Im late for work every day without fail, im having to give up hobbies for fear of needing the toilet whilst partaking, my confidence is slowly being eroded, I even avoid trips out with my family for fear of needing the toilet when there isn’t one close by. My worst ordeal is the drive to work in the morning, its only 13 miles from where I live and I find myself rushing for the services almost every morning to use the toilet.In the past I have tried colpermin, colofac, mebeverine, rescue remedy, even seroxat which I had to stop taking. All seemed to make a slight difference but no cure. I take j collis brownes every day which has been my saviour but now this is starting to fail. I have also been to a naturopath that has put me on a diet and supliments however I still have yet to see an improvement. It is the worst its ever been to the point where I just cant cope with it anymore.The symptoms always occur at their worst in the morning. Ill get up and go to the toilet a few times then start to make my way to work. The minute I get in the car my stomach starts to feel cramped. Occasionally that’s all it is but the majority of the time its followed normally by an inconvenient urge to use the toilet which normally results in a rush to the nearest supermarket or services to use the bathroom. After the morning ordeal im normally ok then for the rest of the day. I guess it is the stress of the drive to work that brings it on. Although having said that even a trip to town in the morning can bring it on. I will also have an urge during the day to which I think thank god im in an office and not out on the road.I really don’t know what to do. If I could just reduce the symptoms so that they are manageable I would be over the moon. I am contemplating trying immodium but was afraid that long term this would be bad. I also searched the web and found digestrol, anyone tried this?I would be grateful for any advice as I really am now at a loss.
I just dont know what to do next
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As long as we know it is IBS and you aren't taking Imodium to avoid getting the diarrhea diagnosed you should be OK.It may be that to help the mornings if you get up an hour earlier than usual you will have enough time for eveyrthing to run it's course.You might look at LNAPE's Calcium threads as well.I would avoid most of the "miracle" cure for IBS supplements on the web. A) the bigger the hype on the website the more they overcharge for the product. Often you can find the same stuff in any herbal supplement store for much less money and
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they don't live up to the promises. It is pretty much all hype to get you to spend a lot of money, and not much else.K.
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With respect to what Kathleen has saaid, I have been successfully treating mine with a flavonoid supplement for about 8 years, now. (Grape seed, ginkgo biloba, etc.) It seems to do more than stop the problem, it also seems to affect whatever is causing it for me. (Unlike Calcium, Questran, fiber, and Immmodium which affect the liquid in the bowels, when I stop the flavonoids the D does not immediately return.) Back when I began using it, I was paying about $20 a month for it, which hardly seems excessive. I have since increased the dosage in order to maximize it's cardio functions, which has doubled my cost.It is an option.Mark
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The one's I'm specifically talking about are the rather large number of "cures" for IBS that are all over the web.Have you looked at them? Sometimes they cure many diseases, not just IBS.They typically (when they bother to tell you what is in them) have the same stuff you can get at the herb shoppe in any town for 1/3 the price.What is funny is almost all of them have nearly identical pricing schemes.$60 give or take a couple of dollars for one bottleBuy two bottles, get one freeBuy three get two free, etc.Of course it's easy to give you free bottles when you can buy what is in them for $20 that doesn't hype the product like Digestrol does.Here are a few to look at.http://www.techmedica.com/digestrol.htmlhttp://www.colocerin.com/google/index.html...AodUC922g#buyitThere are some supplements that people who I believe have IBS used that post on thise board.Most of these Buy two get one free $60 a bottle stuff ONLY ever has people post inquiring about it. None of the thousands and thousands of people they claim they have totally cured ever seems to find the board and say the stuff is great.Just makes me think most of these $60 a bottle, stuff might not be all it is cracked up to be. Especially since they usually have pretty run of the mill stuff in them. Often the ingredients are stuff that people use here from the herb shoppe. Sometimes some of it works OK for some people. None of it cures 98% of the IBSers who use it or whatever hype the website is boasting of.Like I have said over and over and over and over on this board.I AM NOT IN ANY WAY AGAINST THE USE OF SUPPLEMENTS!!!I really do wish you'd stop following me around trying to make me look bad for questioning websites and products.I am against scam artists who take advantage of sick people. I really didn't think that was a bad thing.
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Based on the FTC and other regulatory groups medical scams are very common and I think we all need to be wary of anything that is seriously overpriced and overhyped. Especially when the only people it "helped" were the people paid to write the ad copy, and there is no independant evidence it ever did anyone any good.Everything I say is not a personal attack on you or the product you use and sell. REALLY IT IS NOT!!!I have no idea how to convince you of this, I really wish you would believe me one of these times.K.
Hey Kathleen, I think I know exactly what you mean....its unbelievable the amount of fraurulent claims, and even the misleading claims...it is hard enough for someone like yourself to discern that truth in medical claims let alone a desperate lay person...if it works it works...anyway Mark I am still on the fence using the Ginko...the stuff affects the adrenal corticoids so I have read on Pub Med....anyway I have felt this in several ways....the corticoids inhibit and promote inflammation, and it sems the ginko at the dose I take effects both types of the immune response, because while it stifles the gut reactions it increases arthritic or bone pain, the type I used to get with the Fibro....so I started taking to boswellia to also effect the the inflammation issue and it works but gives me a little more anxiety so I tapered down my Gingko to about 120mgs divided in two sometimes a little more, three doses....and I have the fibro pains flaring every once in a while but not constant...at the moment anyway....the ginkgo really does hit some some strange receptors and to think it does it at a relatively low dose is amazing.....its turning off something in the pain fed back loop once in a while I feel like the gut wants to spasm like it usually does but then only slightly depending on the stressors ...maybe CRF receptors are getting hit too....in your case Mark I would think after being turned off or blunted they would stop to produce the same triggers and your IBS would mostly subside without the provexcv but obviously it has not.....very strange
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Hi Hduk;Welcome to the board!! I'm glad you found this site, as it is a very informative and can be supportive place to come to.You described me almost to a T. I have had IBS-D for 9 years, mornings are my worst, a flareup in the daytime can happen often, and I understand your frustration when you've tried things that were working for you and all of a sudden, stop! There are many things that work for people, but everyone is different. What works for one, may not work for another. All I can tell you is what works for me as a general rule. I do use Imodium -AD, so it not only takes care of the diarrhea, but the bloating and gas. I use it when I have to be out of the house and have already gone to the bathroom 2-3 times, and I need to get it under control. I do give myself extra time in the am when I am going to be gone for the day. I am on an antidepressant, and have been on them since shortly after I was diagnosed for IBS-D as an experiment with SSRI's starting to be used as a treatment for this. I am on Cymbalta, though, now. I also use a antispasmodic, Librax, for the cramping. It does wonders for me. I gave up a long time ago trying to associate a type or types of food that would trigger it, because I could eat something and be perfectly fine, and eat the same thing another time and have a flareup. The only thing I do try to limit myself on is hard to digest foods, such as nuts, etc. I found I cannot eat corn at all. I haven't had it in over 5 years. That was the one food that I got sick repeatedly on.As far as the Imodium, I would not be afraid of it. It is an accepted form of treatment for IBS-D. If you are trying to stick to more natural things, there are plenty of threads you can read on here to get some ideas of what works for others. I know breathing exercises help me, trying to stay calm and focus on something when I'm having an attack. I decided a long time ago not to let IBS control me!! I don't not go places because I'm afraid of having a flareup. I think it's important to not let "it" get you. It's great that you posted on here, and you're not alone! Good luck and hope you find something on here that works for you!
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Question: do you usually eat breakfast at home before going to work? The reason I ask is because since I stopped eating bkfast at home I stopped having bowel problems on the way to work. I eat breakfast here, where I can go to the bathroom when the urge hits. This isn't something I did on purpose, btw, but in hindsight I decided that must be why I stopped having that particular problem for the most part.
Hey all,Thankyou very much for your replies it has certainly given me ideas for things I haven’t tried yet.At the moment I really do feel as though it is getting worse, however that does correlate with increased stress at the moment.Im not sure if it makes sense but the naturapath that I went to said that its adrenalin that’s caused buy the stress in the morning is what triggers the attacks. Does this make sense? Would there be something to suppress it if this is the root cause?She has also told me to try linseed in the morning, anyone tried this yet and got any feedback?I have tried bulking agents like psyllium but to be honest I have stopped taking it the last few days and feel better for it. The calcium sounds like something to try, does anyone know the calcium content per dose that is required or even if there is a brand in the uk for this?As for getting up earlier I have also tried this but as the whole thing seems to be stress triggered it always starts to play up when I leave the house. If im in all day im fine and on the same note the later I leave the better I feel.I am also considering hypnotherapy, anyone got any views on this?I look forward to your responses.
Im not sure what the correct definition is. I always though incontinence was going when you dont know you are going.My problem is that sometimes i just have the real urge to go when the stress level is high i.e On the journey to work in the morning. I havent yet not made it. The urgency frequency varies. I have been ok for months and months but the last couple of months have been the worst ever but the stress levels have been considerably high because of work. Im fine on weekends when im not working or when i dont have to travel first thing. Any suggestions?
I found the following definition :- Title: Fecal incontinence. Author: Bharucha AE Source: Gastroenterology, 124(6): 1672-85 2003 and it said something about two types of fecal incontinence which reminded me of the differences between my incontinence and that of leaky gas type.It said there is urge incontinence where the desire to defecate is perceived but one gets to the toilet too late . The other is passive incontinence where the patients are not aware of the desire to defecate before the incontinence episode.That sums up the differences doesn't it if we replace "desire to defecate" by "desire to pass flatus" ?People with urge incontinence have reduced squeeze pressures while people with passive incontinence have reduced resting pressures in a recto anal manometry"Further, urge and passive incontinence also sugeest increased or decreased rectoanal sensation respectively."If the above is correct then i can say i am not incontinent, although the margin is very small maybe 20 seconds to spare at its worst. Have you any ideas to help based on the symptoms described? I know inhibiting stress would be the best cure.My naturopath said that it is too much adrenalin caused by stress is there any way to supress this?I also read a post on seratonin. BTW nanobug your story is very interesting, based on what you have seen of my symptoms what would your next action be? I really need some guidance.
What happens if you wait a minute, then? Would you defecate against your will?
The goal would be to reduce stress as much as possible. Meditation and/or therapy would possibly be very helpful.For the stress induced defecation, I've recently learned about a Japanese product called Seirogan that might help. I don't have personal experience with it, though.
Hi Nanobug,Most definitely yes that extra minute would be the edge that i hope i never have to cross. Although lately it has been really bad at its best maybe that would happen once a month. But would still get the lower abdomenal cramps every day.Can you get the seirogan in the uk?
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