[itsmelee]

Hi everyone,I've been reading through these posts, and so let me start by saying how sorry I am to hear of your symptoms. Like so many of you, I find myself here looking for advice after failing to find help from several different doctors. My symptoms have been ongoing for about a year now, and the whole ordeal started when I moved overseas and took up a different lifestyle and a VERY different diet (I was living in South Korea). Anyways, it started with awful constipation which then led to an awful cycle of alternating between two painful extreme ends of the spectrum. I have now been back home for 3 months and went back to my normal diet (mainly vegetarian, never red meat, fruits, veggies, whole grains and limited dairy). It seemed like it was getting much better, but now it's like I've relapsed without any apparent cause. My family doctor thinks that I developed IBS as a result of the extreme changes but doesn't seem to think any of it is a big deal (which seems to be the trend). It seems that all the usual suggestions like uping the fiber and water intake aren't working. Anyways I guess I'm wondering what to do next...Should I go back and ask for more testing (I've had an x-ray, colonoscopy, and a stool sample test - all "normal" aside from the x-ray that revealed constipation)? Should I just accept the IBS diagnosis and hope for the best? (It just seems so strange to me that an active 23 year old on mainly a plant based diet would have these problems...but maybe that's just the nature of the disorder??)Should I be on medication? I haven't been offered anything except the choice to go on a daily laxative but do you think this is advisable? Especially if I also experience the big D? How bad should I let it get before I resort to the over-the-counter medication?Anyways, your advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ziggy7]

avoid most doctors cause most of the time they do not know what they are doingone things for sure you gotta start eating meat again your body needs that in order to grow stronger and heal your stomach and suchhttp://www.biblelife.org/bowel.htmread that link it should help your IBS alot as for your constipation that may also be because of your vegetarian diet your bodys muscles are weak from a lack of meat and also you eat mainly vegetables and no solid foods which also would maybe make your intestine muscles weaker from lack of exerpenienceif you started eating meat after not eating it for along time your stomach would have a hard time handleing it at first for the first 2-3 weeks i would guessmaybe start out with easy to digest meats like soup and such but dont over cook your meat make sure its freshalso you cant combo to many carbohydrates with meat and fat or els it will give gashttp://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=112669and since you have been eating vegetarian you may have also been eating alot of soy but soy proteins are no good this link will explain whyhttp://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/

 

[blondeoverblue24]

I don't think you need to or should avoid doctors. I think it is about finding the correct doctor, preferrably a gastroenterologist who understands the GI tract a little better than a family doctor (there are some exceptions - some family doctors are very good with the GI stuff). It's possible that living somewhere else could have started your GI symptoms. I would ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist - They can do a better job of assessing for things. My instinct is that they'll start off with some blood work as well as stool studies (since you've been traveling).If you want to remain vegetarian, you don't need to start eating meat again. Just make sure you're getting protein in various ways and supplementing yourself with the proper vitamins (don't know your specific daily diet, so can't suggest anything there). There's a lot of bad press about soy lately, but most of it is not backed up by actual medical studies. Please be very careful what you read online and check with a doctor before you do anything drastic.Hope you feel better!