[Paula J.]

What remedies have worked for your C & G, and how long did it take to work. Details would be appreciated. Thanks to all who respond. Only respond if you're over 50, or close to 50.

 

[ghitta]

hi paulo (again) - i'm 47 going on 48, close enuf? once again, what works for me is: 400 mg mag supp per day plus my reg vites and 1000mg of C spread over two doses, one FiberChoice pill right after dinner, herb teas, (especially fennel, ginger and peppermint) - lots of cooked greens especially spinach smothered in olive oil, a tablespoon of olive or flax oil first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, prunes (stewed) at night with a dessert pudding (usually soy or some kind of tofu ice cream), limiting my wheat and dairy intake (gas pains and bloat) , eating organic meats only including poultry, and trying to walk as much as possible on a daily basis. recognizing the connection between my stress levels and C also helps. giving up work in the mornings or other morning committments has also helped enormously as when i race the morning clock i have a hard time pooping for sure. i also sometimes use a french hemorroid suppository, at bedtime which smoothes the way in the morning. any other Q's, don't hesitate to ask. i avoid laxatives like the plague but i keep enemas and mineral oil and milk of mag in the house.....just in case, and sometimes just the thought that i could always resort to one can help me go. good luck !!!!!! g-

 

[Joan Gregg]

Paolo,Would you make private messaging available or could you PM me and I could reply?I'm 48 and have some questions for you, too.P. S. Where's Rose, other than that terrible trouble with her daughter?

 

[Guest]

I tried just about everything at one time or another. I found that resolving my anxiety was a great help. But oddly enough, it was only after I went into the hospital last spring to have a sessile (flat) polyp removed that I found a surprising cure. I had about 12 inches of my colon removed and with it a small cancerous polyp. That was the bad news...the good news was that for some reason, I have been regular as clock work ever since. Go figure. Oh yeah, and I am 54 years old.

 

[Guest]

(sorry dup post)

 

[Paula J.]

Hey, I've been having a really bad time lately, but I am going back to some old stuff, and I bought some Kashi. Ghitta may have heard of it as the girl that checked me out said it was very popular in France. A lot cheaper there also. Ghitta uses a lot of good stuff from what I can tell. One reason I'm curious about the age thing is that I've not seen many older types that I know of using this board. I'm hoping that with age it gets to be less of a problem. This is getting to me lately. I try to fight it, but I'm starting to get depressed. It should pass if I could get over this bad spell. Thanks for taking the time to write. Some say having part of the colon removed does help, but what doctor would remove good tissue? I don't know wish I did.

 

[Paula J.]

Joan, I opened it up for ya!

 

[Cigarello]

Hi: i am in my mid-50's; my problems started at 40; I am sure you have read my many posts about my problems with constipation; I think my colon is older than I am though; my colon makes my feel 80

 

[bellyknot]

cigarello,Hah! I know what you mean about feeling 80. I'm 53 and IBS started at 48. Along with menopause came IBS. I have never had any other menopausal symptoms but I'd swap anytime for the relentless spasms. Lately things have been better..much better. I'm taking Zelnorm and VSL#3. I'm no longer C but still have spasms and pain most of the time. I hate to say it, but the longer you have this thing the more you relax about all the fears of having some fatal disease and its much more managable. I sure do hate the thought of having this forever but it could be worse.

 

[ghitta]

hi paulo- when you say "kashi" do you mean a cereal blend (oh oh) or "kasha" aka buckwheat? kashi is, i think, a blend of different grains that is sold all over and i've seen it in many different u.s. supermarkets and different companies make it. if i so much as look too hard at a box of it, i'll bloat, cramp, etc etc. the worst thing for me is a cereal mix. on the other hand, if you mean "kasha" - ah, that's good stuff, non wheat, a staple of the russian diet, a basic food in eastern europe, and very good for you, high in fiber etc. let me know if you want hints on how to prepare it. if you have a bad reaction to insoluble fiber and most cereals (wheat, bran, etc) then Kashi is not for you.

 

[Joan Gregg]

Paolo, I pm'd you about 10/1 or 10/2

 

[Paula J.]

Doesn't appear to be many at all. This could be a good thing.

 

[Paula J.]

Ghitta, It's Kashi the cereal. Go Lean. Has both fibers in it. Fiber has been gassy, crampy for me also, but maybe if I go slow, and not eat a lot it might be better. I don't have to be in public right now very much, so I'm experimenting with many things I've tried before, only now giving them more time to take hold. I have probably over half a bushel basket of stuff I've bought, and it didn't seem to work, so I gave up. Happy B-Day whenever it is! I'm 50 on the nose. I feel like I can eventually figure this out, but it will take time.

 

[ghitta]

hi paulo -or, should i say, bonjour from paris. (we are returning to america soon actually) - anyway, - about GoLean's Kashi: take it real slow with that stuff unless, unlike me, you have no probs with insoluble fiber. for me, if i ingest seeds, (and i'm allergic to nuts as well) of any kind, that are not ground fine, i cramp and bloat up like you would not believe plus get blocked up. i have learned that for me, certain grains and cereals work better than others and i need to avoid combinations (wheat plus rice plus corn plus this and that etc) or i'm in big trouble. cereals that really help me poop without pain are (one at a time during any given meal) : kasha (not kashi, aka buckwheat,) brown or white rice, kamut, amaranth, and spelt. also, i can eat white cannelli beans without too much trouble but not other kinds. good luck to you with the Kashi but if it doesn't help, how about trying some brown rice or oatmeal in the mornings laced with honey or maple syrup etc? oatmeal is very kind to sensitive guts and is great fiber! use it with Rice or Soy milk. best, g-

 

[kamie]

Hi Paulo, I'm not quite 50 yet but I sure as heck have gotten constipated.I had emergency surgery to remove a life threatening impaction from the good ol' IBS-C monster.C at it's worst.We are talkin' texture of hard dead black wood, a shut down urine function and NO GUT SOUNDS.I never never never eat anything with Soy.I try as best I can to elimate anything at all with soy even as an additive.I eat Bran Flakes and grainy grainy whole grain bread. Museli bread with cranberries.All Soy Free.I eat fish. Much Salmon for the B-12 content and it's pink (my favorite color) so when I eat it I am happy too.Happy meal time mood is good for the crankey belly.No Apples, Just Pears.No BanannasStrawberries and black berries.Cous Cous - the spinach varietyOlive Oil, Olive Oil, Olive Oil.I even put that stuff on my skin.Pasta w/ veggies.Pasta with out veggies.Pasta with Olive OIL.I cook with Basil.NO RED MEATChicken is good.Coffee. I cup every single day with abit of metamucil thrown in.Yogurt, Yogurt, Yogurt pure and organicand full of live and frendly lactobacilli.more yogurt.Plain.Rice and beans( well cooked and occasionally)Many vegetables.NO GARLICNO ENCHINACEAFoot massage.Body massage.General pampering and indulgence in comfortYogaOne Tai Chi stepWalkingmeditationvisualizationrest and relaxationand MY MEDSEvery day with out failHyocyamine-essential to keep out of the ER - 4x a day.High Blood Pressure meds-essentialProzac and Elavil combo-essential for posthysterectomy surgically induced menopause.Regulates hot flashes-makes them non existent.Handles Neurological pain from the surgery.Helps with the brain gut thing and any attending angst that arrives for reasons all it's own.Xanax-semi essential to help when neededto help the other meds work better.Good anti spasmodic in addition to handling angst.MIRALAX-essential. A God Send.Unestrified Dry Vitamin E.Water, water, water, water, water,water,WATER..........................................sipping all day long.Cranberry tea cake w/ no SOYCranberry tea cake w/ plain organic yogurtI don't gain weight on this stuff either.Tonight I had hot Museli bread with Olive Oil to dip it in and it brought a BM on.I was feeling a bit sluggish because my pelvic pain is acting up.These are a few of my favorite things that help me stay out of the hospital.We all have our formulas.What works for me might be poison to someone else.Kamie

 

[rlpd]

Kamie,What is it that is so bad about soy. Is it just ovreall bad or to you alone react to it. Thanks

 

[ghitta]

hi all. kamie is right: one woman's medecine/food can be another's poison. i for one am not allergic to soy and love tofu etc but my boyfriend reacts badly to it. i suspect as well that people eating non organic soy products bought in supermarkets and not health food stores are reacting to genetically modified soy and not the real thing. in any case, we are all different. - i, for one, could not live without garlic and onions in my food, but don't eat yoghurt anymore cause i try to avoid cow dairy, altho i love yoghurt. g-

 

[kamie]

Hi Ghitta, Nope, I'm Ms Nature Preserve here and with the wholistic/holistic trip going on. I buy a lot of things from healthy land. Had my own herb business with a store front for years.1,500sq feet of nature and herbs.Am a hands on practitioner with energy therapy and body work and essential oils, etc...etc...etc... the whole gig of 20+ years in the lifestyle.Soy is bad bad bad news for me.Very very bad news.Oh I could write a book on what's so bad about SOY.And I am not in any way uninformed or saddly confused.I'm seriously thinking about that book.So I will keep my rather political intuitive feelings to my self at this time and maybe in some other space and time I will share.However, one has to stop and think when even cartoons and sit coms are making social consciousness jokes about SOY these days.No Soy for me please.It's a lifestyle personal choice I have chosen to make.These are my thoughts and opinions and in no way reflect any other reality except for my own.KamieP.S. anyone who would like to ask me privately about SOY feel free to PM me. My PM is ALWAYS enabled.However, I just don't debate on SOY.I'm not going to change my mind at all so attempts at conversion are useless and futile.I only say this because people have tried.I'm not available for the debate.However, if you too have a problem with SOY and wish to converse, then cool.Drop me a line.