women conquering diarrhea - page five
The tale of...Charlene
Hello everyone, I would like to share my experience and maybe give you some hope that you can get better! My problems started with extreme bloating and indigestion when I was a teen. It usually occurred after spicy or greasy food, so I avoided them as much as possible. In my early 20's, after the birth of my first son, it got worse. So, I avoided the foods that bothered me and started a fitness routine and all was well. I would still suffer from constipation and bouts of diarrhea but it was manageable.
At the age of 26, while pregnant with my second son, things really went downhill. I had to have my gallbladder removed after the birth of my son. Things were OK for a while but I had more and more diarrhea which I could control with diet. This is when I first heard the term IBS from my doctor. I accepted it, watched my diet, did cleanses every now and then. I was fine for awhile.
Then the other symptoms started, itchy rashes, fatigue, pain in my joints, irritability, pain in my left colon, and constipation, which I could relieve by drinking coffee! I was sent for a barium enema and other tests. All was fine! I started yoga and my exercise routine, which I had not done for years, and once again watched my diet closely.
In my early 30's once again all the symptoms returned, plus a new one, light-headedness after eating. This stumped the doctor and he did more tests including checking my heart. Once again all was fine. I still would break out in itchy hives and suffer alternating diarrhea and constipation. Everything was manageable until this spring. My son and I had a bout with bronchitis and were put on antibiotics (BIG MISTAKE).
My body broke down. Non-stop explosive diarrhea after eating anything, and this lasted for weeks. Oh and my son had it as well. The doc did tests for c. difficile and other parasites, can you guess? All negative, of course! We slowly started to heal after about three months of diarrhea. I couldn't go anywhere if I had eaten something.
I cried and thought this was it because I lost so much weight, and you know what my doctor said? Well, at least that's good and I'm not overweight. I'm five foot four and weighed 135lbs and went to 120lbs in eight weeks. I was scared!
I started researching on the net and came across some sites about gluten intolerance. I had every symptom and so did my son. I restricted my gluten and dairy. Things started to firm up if you know what I mean. Anyways, I started to get better and started to eat things again. We went on vacation and I admit I ate badly. More bread than normal and even some dairy.
When we got home I ate some veggie links (never ate them before) and five minutes after eating them I had explosive diarrhea and my ears went red hot with an itchy rash all over. This was an allergic reaction, so I looked at the ingredients and sure enough everything was gluten this and that! Bingo! I had bad diarrhea for three days! So did my son.
OK, it's gluten, I'll go to the doc and get tested. Simple right? Yeah right! Two doctors smirked when I mentioned celiac disease and asked if I found it on the web. They handed me Dicetel for IBS and sent me on my way. I was furious! I threw out the meds and decided to do a strict gluten and dairy-free diet and guess what? I have never felt better in my whole life!
No aches, I have energy, and the best part is that I poo normally! It's soft and formed and only once a day. I have no constant dull pain or ache in my colon area. My son is doing better too. No diarrhea for him which I'm so happy about! I'm not saying everyone is gluten intolerant or dairy. I just want everyone to trust their gut (no pun) about their own health.
Doctors need to catch up with the food industry and the idea that what we consume is harming our bodies. Celiac is very common but doctors don't check for it. I'm Italian and in Italy it is the first thing they check for when a patient presents with diarrhea. It is very common if you're from European ancestry. Even though I haven't been medically proven to be lactose and gluten intolerant it works for me.
I also have started walking for 30 minutes a day and find that helps also. I have eliminated caffeine and cut back on fruit. I'm actually eating much better than I ever have and have many options for snacks, since there are a lot of gluten-free foods now. I don't know if the antibiotics triggered this or if after many years of subtle hints my body tried to tell me, it finally broke down and the antibiotics just pushed my body to its limits.
I think I have been intolerant all my life but I ignored the symptoms. Plus, most doctors are useless and narrow-minded! Even though I have been well for a while I still get nervous if we go out all day or I have something scheduled. I fear I'll have diarrhea again.
So, I totally understand how the mind is very powerful and can play a role with bowel problems. I also do rotation diets and don't eat the same foods everyday which also helps with food intolerances. I wish you all well and after 20 years of problems, I believe I have found my road to recovery and better health. Please feel free to contact me. Take care!
E-mail Charlene: cherbarrett[at]shaw.ca
The tale of...Linda
Almost a year and half ago I was diagnosed with IBS-D. The pain, frustration, and humiliation was awful, until one day I decided to fight back and find a way to feel better. I had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and other tests done, and even tried Zelnorm when my doctor thought I had IBS-C.
I also went to a really good nutritionist in Georgetown, DC who seemed to help me a little bit, but the IBS-D was still making me miserable. She recommended a very good fiber supplement (Optifiber) that I still use daily. When I first started the fiber supplement I used half a scoop daily for about a week, and then started using a full scoop later on - also, it helps if the water you use to mix it with is really cold.
It helped that I also reduced my intake of fatty meat and dairy products. I switched to soy milk, and instead of eating ground beef, I would eat ground turkey. Also, I switched to any cereal that had mostly rice flakes instead of wheat flakes. Later on, I realized that the reduction of dairy in my diet helped drastically.
I try to avoid cream cheese and minimized the amount of really greasy food that I ate. I requested a sample of Digestive Advantage IBS about five months ago. Let me tell you it worked! I mean, don't get me wrong, I still have episodes where I feel sick, but those chewable tablets help a lot. At first they did give me a little bit of excess gas, but once my body got used to it it went away very quickly. You can find it in the same aisle where the fiber supplements are kept at your nearest drugstore. I hope this information helps. Feel free to contact me.
E-mail Linda: LindaDuong24[at]gmail.com
The tale of...Cher
I have suffered with IBS for about 20 years off and on. Diarrhea all the time. Since giving birth in 1999 it has gotten worse. I have tried different things that never seemed to work. I even tried calcium for a while. I was taking one in the morning and one at night. I didn't take it right after my meals. I found it was not helping.
Then I got really desperate and decided to try again. I started taking one right after each meal and it worked! I couldn't believe it. I actually got constipated so much that I had to cut the dose down to half after breakfast and half after lunch and then one after supper. This has really worked for me. I haven't had a stomach ache since I started taking the calcium. I had stomach aches every day!
I haven't had diarrhea but one time. I think I had too much wine the night before. I still get scared to go out with people but so far so good. I have been taking calcium for two months now. This is just my story, I hope it helps.
The tale of...Shai
First of all, I want to say that I think this is a great site, and it seems like there is a lot of support going on around here. I'm 21 years old and I was recently diagnosed with IBS. I really think that it started when I was a pre-teen and just got progressively worse.
For a long time, I tried to tell myself that it was somehow normal to have diarrhea five days out of the week, and that it was normal to have it five seconds after eating a meal. To a person with a big fear of public restrooms, that was a biiiig problem when eating out. Luckily, I've never had an accident, but I've had some close calls. After one particularly bad evening when I was in the bathroom five times in less than an hour, I realized that enough was enough and decided to talk to my doctor.
I am blessed with a wonderful doctor. In addition to IBS, I have migraines, which are another thing where doctors tell people 'It's all in your head'. I've never had this problem with my doctor. He always runs thorough tests, listens with an understanding ear, and is eager to find something that works. I was embarrassed, but told him about my symptoms, which he believed to be classic IBS, but he ran tests to make sure.
The tests were normal, so he diagnosed me with IBS. He prescribed Bentyl and told me to take a fiber capsule every morning or eat a cereal that was high in fiber. I decided to alter my diet by limiting milk (just makes things worse) and not eating too much. I take the Bentyl between two and four times a day, depending on how bad things are that day. For the most part, it works.
I guess I wrote this to tell others not to give up hope. To those of you who have bad doctors, know that there are good ones out there who really care and will do what they can to take care of you, you just have to find the right one. Hopefully, the right one can find you something to control your symptoms, or will at least put forth a good amount of effort. I know that one day, there will be a cure for all of this and we won't have to deal with it anymore. Feel free to e-mail me if you need a sympathetic person to talk to!
E-mail Shai: tinkerbell30384[at]yahoo.com