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New and crossing my fingers

613 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Hester 
#1 ·
Hi all. I'm new on the forum though I've been dealing with my IBS-D for several years. I believe it started in my 20's (I'm 55 now) when I was always getting D with my period but I just assumed it was a side affect of menstruation. Now I'm not sure. Anyway I had a hysterectomy in about 2000 due to endometriosis and during the five years prior to the surgery I had D very bad. At that time I figured it was the endo. After the surgery it continued though not as frequent. Currently I have episodes of D most every week but not so bad as to be a real quality of life problem. Then every once in a while (I think it's been several months now since the last episode) I will have a VERY bad episode which is long lasting (for me that is several hours with several days of residual loose stool without urgency, with some abdominal pain). After reading many of the posts here I realize my case is not that bad. But I had an episode yesterday that was really inconvenient. Driving home from work in major traffic (a normally 25 minute drive took much longer) I didn't make it. It was a terrible mess and I had to disrobe in the tub when I got home and clean up. Yuck! I'm just wondering how the rest of you deal with this sort of thing. I have started carrying extra panties to work with me and now thinking about making that extra slacks too! But I'd hate to have had to deal with yesterdays mess in a public rest room. I may get some Depends in hopes they will contain things better. Any experiences here that might help me cope? For now it's infrequent enough that I have not wanted to start any heavy meds. I did take amitryptaline for awhile but didn't really feel it did much. Hard to say though as my bad episodes are so far apart. I do take Calcium as a supplement because my doc wants me to for my bones (aging female and all that) and I take Vit D as I had a deficiency and just found that out a six months ago. My last test it was back to normal. I had thought my IBS-D was better in the past year since taking the Calcium. My gastroenterologist basically says if you have IBS-D and you eat you will have D. He doesn't feel it is food or stress related or at least says they haven't scientifically linked it to either. I know it is at least somewhat stress related for me though lots of times when it hits I don't think I am stressed. I haven't really experimented much with the diet stuff...we use lactose free milk which I don't use much of anyway but I do eat yogurt and cheese usually with no problem. I've been "dieting" lately for weight loss as I am about 30 lbs overweight. I generally eat oatmeal and a banana for breakfast, salad for lunch sometimes with a yogurt, pretzels as snacks, and usually chicken and a veggie for dinner. I don't drink alcohol often and then only a glass of wine or a single hard lemonade. I've had weeks of vacation where I've drunk alcohol every day with no problem so it's hard for me to think that affects me that much. I don't consume caffeine and little sugar as I use Splenda for beverages. I think the whole thing is very unpredictable and it seems they really (and I really) don't have a clue what causes it or when it will hit. So I am just crossing my fingers that for me it doesn't get any worse. I really sympathize with all of you who are so much worse. I have no clue how I would live with it. Betty
 
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#2 ·
I had a constant 10 year case of this before finally getting it under control. For me, it seems to relate to inflammation, presumably caused by a lifetime of smoking. One of the things that has turned up this year is just how pernicious inflammatory sources can be. This can extend even to anxiety, due to reactions to adrenaline; and, certainly, many of us seem to be reactive to food groups, although there is nothing that affects all of us, which may also relate to inflammation. There was one person who contributed long ago, Mike NoLomotil, who has been involved in a company called Now Leap which, I believe, works to develop food sensitivity testing. I believe he finds most (all?) of this relating to inflammation sourced in the small intestine. (I'm only repeating from memory, so this may not be totally accurate.) In my case I seem to have found a supplement that affects the platelet behaviour attached to the exacerbation of colon and presumably stomach inflammation, which has been a godsend for me.It was interesting to read your experience while on vacation. My IBS has reached a point where it is little more than 2-3 movements in the morning, soft, with some urgency. I do not consider this a problem, after what I have experienced. Last summer I was in Seattle for a week, with lots of bad eating and drinking. During that time, my bowels were well behaved, as was a case of eczema that had been developing over the summer. When I returned home and to my normal diet, I found my movements softening and becoming more urgent and frequent again, as well as my skin worsening. It took me some time to discover that I had become quite reactive to all nuts--as opposed to just peanuts--which included almond butter, which I ate quite frequently. The point of this is to suggest you look at what foods you were eating while on holidays and compare them to what you normally consume. As well, since you mention the role of anxiety, what stressors you have in your day to day life that you might be able to modify. Mark
 
#3 ·
I sympathize with your incident. I did not go out when I felt bad like that. All I did was stay home by my bathroom. Sometimes I would barely be able make that 15 foot "run" without being a mess. Hence, travel was out of the question unless I brought old towels to sit on, took a great of Imodium and didn't eat for about 8 hours or more. My problem is not as bad as it was and it changes from time to time. I have IBS-D, SIBO, Motility damage and severe food/additive allergies that even cause hives/itching or blistering of my mucus membranes as well as hair loss. So far, each day is different. I can tell by my mouth and eyes what to take. For example: if my mouth and tongue are blistered, dry and coated with red burning eyes and I have bad gas and cramps, I take an antibiotic for a few days. Once relieved I go back to my probotics and fiber and a nonGMO diet, devoid of alcohol, sugar, pop or coffee. If I start to get runny stools, I back off the probotic and drink lots of herbal teas and also take calcium/D and (if needed) Immodium. I know I am really full of bad bacteria when I smell bad, sweat a lot, have bad breath and feel my teeth are coated with a film. Again, that means take the antibiotic. . . As crazy as this sounds, I do have somewhat of a life again and travel about 5000 miles per month by car. So far, no accidents. However, there have been a few times, I have been very glad to see a gas station rest stop.
 
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