women conquering diarrhea - page four
The tale of...Jacquie
I fortunately have a success story. It is so wonderful to be free of all that pain and bloating. I, like others on this site, suffered constantly from age 17 to 27. Sometimes day in and day out for weeks straight, sometimes it would come for a day and then not be back for a month. I know too well how it feels to have to get to the bathroom and go through those cold sweats. Pepto-bismol and Rolaids were my best friends.
I nearly had surgery on my appendix because the doctors thought it was about to burst, the doctors even had me call my mom. Luckily the pain subsided a few hours later and I was sent home. I hadn't been diagnosed with IBS yet, so started worrying about my appendix. The stress! That made it worse and brought on my worst bout of IBS.
I coached gymnastics at the time, and at work I would often have to lay on the mat with my legs up, and coach from that position through clenched teeth. Such a nightmare. That's when a doctor diagnosed me with IBS and recommended Metamucil, fruits and vegetables and plenty of water.
I couldn't stomach the Metamucil drink so tried the wafers which I thought tasted pretty good, like graham crackers, but they didn't get rid of my stomach problems. The water and fruits had been in my diet, so there went that. I began a diet similar to slim fast, I won't name it, but it consisted of a soy drink high in protein and vitamins.
I would eat a protein bar, fruit or vegetable for snacks between meals, and one full meal, usually; chicken, baked potato, vegetables and dessert (most of the time it was vanilla ice cream). I also upped my water to 10 to 12 glasses a day (since it flushes out fat, and the goal was to lose weight).
In less than a month, all of my symptoms were gone!! I continued this diet for a little over two years. I lost a ton of weight, which I've gained back, but I'm now 32 and haven't suffered from IBS for five years! I know what you're going through. I don't know if this will help anyone else, but I hope you do find relief from your suffering.
The tale of...Mina
Hi there. I was diagnosed with IBS about two years ago when I was about 20. But the truth is I've had symptoms of IBS for years before that. My worst symptom is diarrhea. I'm lucky that I haven't really had any awfully embarrassing incidents.
I'm usually very lucky and manage to find a bathroom fast enough. But that's usually less luck and more planning on my part. I've managed to learn the art of scoping out all the bathrooms within a few minutes of stepping in to any situation.
Heh...aisle seats, sit close to bathrooms at restaurants, and never get trapped in a booth. It gets pretty stressful at times trying to always find an escape route. But I've gotten used to it. As far as getting better, I've made a number of changes to my diet. I've eliminated milk and mostly any dairy, fried foods, sugar for the most part, pop, alcohol, potato chips, spicy food, rice, pasta and bread. Most recently I'm eliminating flour. And I've actually just added soy milk and bran to my morning routine. I thought I'd give it a try.
But my best friend for the last couple of years has been Imodium tablets! I don't ever leave home without them. I've got packs in my car, my purse, my jacket. I just have to make sure I don't overdo it! If I ever become immune to the wonder drug I am gonna be a real mess!
I guess the hardest thing about IBS for me is being afraid to go out, all the planning that goes into everything I do. Leaving the house is always really scary. Not knowing when I might suddenly need a bathroom. I think part of the problem is as soon as I am on my way out I start second-guessing myself and get all tense. THAT in turn brings on the diarrhea. I just know that I don't wanna spend the rest of my life like this. I'm 22, I wanna get married, have kids!
Anyways good luck to all the sufferers out there. There is hope, we all just have to keep giving our feedback and sharing what is working for us! And I am SOOOO glad to see so many great boards and IBS help sites online! I'm not the only sufferer! :)
E-mail Mina: starz_vs_9[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Marion
Flaxseed - who knew? I had IBS for several years. After about six months of a horrendously restrictive diet (ultra low-fat vegan with no raw veggies or fruit except banana) and a lot of Metamucil, I managed to get it sort of under control. But if I deviated from the diet, the chronic diarrhea would come back.
Someone I met casually told me that she had cured her IBS by taking a tablespoon of freshly ground flaxseed with a glass of water or juice every morning. I thought it was another crackpot cure, but eventually, when I had yet another flare-up, I decided to try it. She had told me that pre-ground flaxseed didn't work because flaxseed starts to oxidize as soon as you grind it and that whole flaxseeds are no good either, because they cannot be digested properly.
Fine. I got out the coffee grinder (which obviously, never got used!) and tried it. Guess what - after years of IBS, in about two weeks it just went away. That was about 10 months ago. I can now eat anything I want (except dairy as I'm still lactose intolerant) and get this - I can even drink caffeinated coffee.
I cannot believe that I now have perfectly normal, regular bowel movements. I've told other people about this and so far, no one has told me it didn't work for them. If you try it and it works for you - please spread it around!
The tale of...Belle
I was recently diagnosed with IBS. I'm 20 years old and throughout high school never had a single problem with my digestive system. Then about two years ago I began experiencing some very strange symptoms. Firstly my heart would start to beat faster, then I'd begin sweating and have these awful cramps in my stomach and my legs would begin tingling, and I would need to use the bathroom right then and there with no warning at all.
I went to the doctors almost every month for a year - at one point all I could eat without throwing up was oven chips, which I had to live on for about eight weeks and they soon lost their appeal! It finally came to a head about six months ago when I was asleep one night and I woke up with the most excruciating pain in my stomach that I have ever experienced - I couldn't even move and felt like I was dying.
I spent about 45 minutes on the toilet sobbing, just wishing someone would tell me what was wrong with me. I went to the doctor the next day and after some tests he confirmed that I had IBS - I felt so relieved and now that I knew what was wrong I could do something about it.
It's still hard living with it now but it's a lot better than it used to be. Learning what my triggers are was a big help - I can't eat cheese, yoghurt, white bread or pasta, and definitely no spicy foods whatsoever! I also found that lack of sleep was a big contributing factor, so I make sure I get at least nine hours sleep a night.
My saviour had been Kaolin and Morphine - as soon as I take it the pain just disappears and I can get on with whatever I'm doing! The doctor prescribed me some tablets and they're like a stronger version of Imodium and they have been very helpful too.
I still get sad now and again that I can't do the things other 20 year-olds do like travelling or clubbing but I'm blessed with a wonderful and understanding fiancé and family and I realise that my IBS is nowhere near as bad as some people get it. I hope that one day I'll be completely cured and it won't be something that I have to think about.