So I think I have irritable bowel syndrome. All my symptoms of late seem to fit. I've also got a doctor's appointment coming up, so I'm not just going on my own layman's opinion and the help of a search engine.
Knowing that I could be wrong, what can I do to ease the general discomfort in my body? I have very light nausea (which generally disipates every time I burp), but it's quite annoying, and general feelings of uncomfortable gasiness. I won't go into detail about BM symptoms, but it's generally been a constantly changing occurence in appearance. (Never any blood, however.)
Any help would be lovely. My discomfort is by no means disabilitating, but it certainly is annoying.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I'd look into what you are eating first. Certainly keep your appointment with the doctor.
By what you are eating, I mean do you eat a lot of sugar and white flour? Do you get enough fiber? Do you ever have yogurt?
Extreme shifts in diet are probably going to cause further stress, though.
I hear various apocryphal factoids about the gut having more synapses than the brain. It does use an awful lot of seratonin, anyway. Good sleep and stress reduction habits might help. Where are you with relation to all that?
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Been there-done that-cleaned up the mess.
Tums may help, with the nausea and burping in particular. If not, its just a Calcium supplement that won't do you any harm.
It may also be more of an Acid problem, and something along the lines of a Pepcid or Tagamet (I prefer Tagamet--works better for me) may help as well. It cuts down on over active acid production. I think (and I'm no medico) that the excess stomach acid causes problems at both ends of the digestive tract.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I have IBS. The first thing they had me do when diagnosed was keep a diary of what I ate, stress level, and symptoms I had. I did this for 2 weeks. You could start now. I found my main triggers were pork, dairy, grease, and stress.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: I have IBS. The first thing they had me do when diagnosed was keep a diary of what I ate, stress level, and symptoms I had. I did this for 2 weeks. You could start now. I found my main triggers were pork, dairy, grease, and stress.
Your triggers describe my entire diet! (Heavy on the stress.)
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
Stress level may certainly have something to do with it. My show opens this week, which is awesome, but I've been going from work to rehearsal for the last few weeks with very little sleep.
I may have been eating a lot of those things Pooka, but I confess that I don't look at labels and am not schooled enough to know if a meal has, for example, enough fiber.
I never eat yogurt. On the suggestion of a friend I've been staying away from dairy recently, though I'm not sure if it's helped.
I think I'll pick up some tums before rehearsal tonight.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
You might try a fiber supplement, too. I manage my IBS with diet and Citrucel, when needed.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I have it too. Activia helps me a bit. And the drug derived from datura, levcin also helps. If I take it.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
I think in the long run this may be a good thing. Nothing like a good kick in the butt to actually make me start eating healthier.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Activia is a yogurt with probiotics, I believe. It's not the same as dairy in general. Milk and cheeses are what people mean in avoiding dairy.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Actually, yogurt with live cultures is about the same as cheese and canned/shelf-stable/dried milk to me-- I can consume more of that than of fresh milk but not much even of those.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
kq, i assume you've tried a lactase supplement?
Posted by Sachiko (Member # 6139) on :
Hi, pardon me, not to hijack, but is there a connection between the higher incidence of women having IBS and women more often "holding it in" when they have gas?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Yup. Helps some, not enough. With that I can consume fresh milk at the same rate as the processed products. Since it's IBS, not lactose intolerance, it doesn't do quite the right job for me.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sachiko: Hi, pardon me, not to hijack, but is there a connection between the higher incidence of women having IBS and women more often "holding it in" when they have gas?
What now?
All the women (and the one man) in my family have IBS. None of us do that that I know of. I think in our case it's just genetic.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I think women might have more stress and anxiety, and female hormones have more effect on other parts of the body than a lot of people suspect. I don't know all the details on it, but I do seem to recall that Birth Control Pills often have weight gain as a side effect. It's not for nothing that PMS is treated with Prozac sometimes. Another side of it is how antibiotics mess up birth control pills. (The probiotics in yogurt are related to the gut flora, which is the suspected reason for that effect.)
Posted by Sachiko (Member # 6139) on :
That makes sense, Pooka.
The few times I've had the misfortune to use birth control pills (not bad for everyone, just for me) everything went haywire.
I wonder if chocolate has some kind of specific effect upon intestinal flora...that might help explain why sometimes I need chocolate for "medicinal" purposes at monthly intervals.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
KQ, it looks like you are responding to Sachiko's question, in quite an amusing way.
Posted by Sachiko (Member # 6139) on :
*looks back*
heh. Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
The Tums helped SOOOO much! Thank you!
I have a doctor's appointment on the 28th, so I'll make sure to keep you all updated, if you like.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)