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Hello! I just found this board and am hoping I can benefit from everyone else's experiences. I'm 35 and have had stomach problems my entire life - severe heartburn and extremely loud noises you could hear across a room. They would get mildly better with antidepressants from time to time.About 7 years ago, while house shopping, I developed spastic colon - it felt like I had hamsters in my intestines. I've never really been able to burp, but along with the spastic colon has come almost uncontrollable frequent gas. Since then, the doctor has diagnosed me with what feels like the stomach-problem-of-the-month - GERD, hiatal hernia, Acid Reflux, Spastic Colon, and IBS. It got significantly better when I went on the Atkins diet a few years ago (my acid and heartburn have gone away just about completely), so I've almost completely cut out white flour, processed foods, and reduced my sugar to an extreme minimum. One cup of coffee per day, and I only drink water (and lots of it) - never cared much for soda, anyway. The diet part is fine - I like fruits and veggies, anyhow, although I miss bread and pasta sometimes (I do sneak in the occasional piece or two of 8-grain toast). Simple old dried plums/prunes (about 3 a day) seem to help, too.I've had 3 upper GI's, 3 ultrasounds, and a colonoscopy that only showed a hiatal hernia. We've tried propulsid and previcid, which either did nothing or made me nauseous - I quit seeing the GI doctor because he pretty much had nothing else to offer me. It just seems like the IBS gets worse and worse no matter what I do or try, as if my body builds up a tolerance. I can fit into my clothes one day, and not the next which is extremely frustrating - like having PMS every other day. I have increased gas, and today I had some pretty good abdominal/back cramps going when I woke up. I have both C and D, depending - much worse when I travel or have to sit for long periods of time. It feels like I have constant abdominal tenderness. I walk for an hour 4-7 times a week, which has helped overall, and am trying deep tissue therapeutic massage once a month - can't hurt, and it sure helps my stress level quite a bit.Many people I know are having success with other ailments by seeing Chinese or naturopathic doctors, and I'm strongly considering it, as Western/traditional medicine has run out of ideas, apparently. Has anyone else tried either of them?I'm about to start hypnosis tapes - again, can't hurt, right? At any rate, I'm looking forward to having other people with the same experiences and conditions to talk to and learn from!
