Help for IBS andDiarrhea LONG REPLY Some info Graphic!

[Guest guest]

> The BIGGEST HELP for IBS and diarrhea is to STOP consuming ALL Dairy,

> Bread, Sugar

> They are the MAJOR causes of those problems, especially DAIRY.

> Jan Jenson

> The WELLth Coach

<message was snipped for length purposes>

 

Jan,

With all due respect, this is not the major cause of these type problems.

According to the NIH, symptoms of IBS CANNOT be traced to a single organic

cause.

 

If anyone would like to read more information about IBS, please take a look

here.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ibs/ Or do a search about

IBS, and see what you find.

 

Now, don't get me wrong, I do not DOUBT that those things can aggravate IBS,

and cause the symptoms to be worse, but they are not necessarily the actual

CAUSE of IBS.

 

The reason I say that is this: I have dealt with IBS my entire life. I

mean since birth. I could not even tolerate my mother's breast milk. (Now

how many kids can't tolerate their own mother's breast milk??) I was tried

on formulas, cows milk, goats milk, and the only thing I could even

partially keep down was soy formula. <yuck!> And even then, I suffered

either from constipation or diarrhea. As I was growing up, it seemed I

always had some type of 'stomach virus' or flu, or whatever type of virus

that was supposedly going around at the time. My stomach and my colon hurt

so terribly bad, that I would lie in the floor, with my head between my

knees screaming from the pain.

 

My mother took me to every doctor she could find. The doctors answers

ranged from 'stomach virus' to 'she's faking it'. Seriously. It took 15

years to finally be diagnosed with IBS. Only, back then they called it

" spastic colon " .

 

I was placed on diets. I was told to avoid dairy....anything that contained

whey. I did this, and still had problems. I was told to remove sugar,

caffeine, breads, you name it. I went through all the food eliminations. I

still had problems. Even after consuming nothing but water for 1 week,

while being given nourishment via IV in the hospital, I still had the

problems.

 

Years later, they found my gall bladder was not working properly. After

having it removed, most of my actual 'stomach' pain disappeared, but I still

had the problem with my colon.

 

Through the years, my problems have only grown. I am currently taking some

pretty heavy duty medications, simply to function in life. It's not

something that I wish to do, it's something I MUST do. And the medications

still do not control the symptoms or the pain all the time. Matter of fact,

I'd say that over 1/2 of my time I spend in bed or in the restroom because

of the diarrhea and the pain.

 

It can be very debilitating. There are many times I cannot even go the

grocery store to shop, because I literally couldn't make it from the house

to the store without having to go to the restroom. That's a very big

problem. Try explaining to someone why you need help with the grocery

shopping, when you are only 34 years old.

 

I do have good times, I'll go for months with my bowels functioning

'normally'. Then I will go through many more months, where I practically

become a hermit. Of course, my IBS is one of the more severe cases that my

GI doc has ever seen. During a colonoscopy, my colon went into severe

spasms. This is not very common, as you are asleep, very relaxed, and you

have no food in the colon for it to have the need to contract. My colon

contracted so badly, that the doctor had to wait for my colon to settle

down, as he could not move the scope in either direction. <Sorry for being

so graphic>

 

Please don't think that I am attacking your post, or you personally. That

is not what I am trying to do here. I am just trying to give another point

of view. As I said before, it is very possible that those foods can

aggravate the problem, but they are not necessarily the cause of IBS.

 

Just my 3 or 4 cents!

Candy

 

 

 

 

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Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.11.9/116 - Release 9/30/2005

[Guest guest]

Dear Candy,

 

Thanks for that lively glimpse into living with IBS.

It sounds horrible. I am struck by the fact that

you could not even tolerate breastmilk as a baby. Too late now to experiment

with that,

but I would love to know if your mother's diet

made a difference.

We'll never know...

 

For the sake of future readers, would foods have you found most beneficial?

 

Ien in the Kootenays

****************************

" To treat life as less than a miracle

is to give up on it. "

~Wendell Berry

Rainforest Miracles:

http://wildhealing.net

****************************

 

 

[Guest guest]

> Dear Candy,

> Thanks for that lively glimpse into living with IBS.

> It sounds horrible. I am struck by the fact that

> you could not even tolerate breastmilk as a baby. Too late now to

> experiment with that,

> but I would love to know if your mother's diet made a difference.

> We'll never know...

> For the sake of future readers, would foods have you found most

> beneficial?

> Ien in the Kootenays

 

Ien,

Lively glimpse? hehehe, I guess that's a good way to put a spin on it! It

is horrible, but if my story helps ANYONE, I will be happy.

 

I honestly don't know if her diet would have made a difference. I know she

breastfed both of my sisters, with no problems. She ate a regular

" southern " diet, if that helps you any.

 

Although, I must say, my mother, one of my sisters, and my dad all have

trouble with their digestive systems. My mother has had problems with

peptic ulcers, IBS and diverticulitis. My sister has had several sets of

precancerous polyps removed from her colon, and my dad had over 18 inches of

his colon to die, and an abcess in his small intestines to rupture. <yuck!>

 

My mother realized she had problems when all of a sudden, she couldn't eat

anything without getting terribly nauseated and vomiting. They treated her

ulcers, and she's never had another problem with those. She too, has IBS,

but she has more trouble with the diverticulitis now. She rarely

complains....the medications she takes must work pretty well for her.

 

My sister's polyps were found somewhat by accident. She began having

trouble moving her bowels regularly, and when taking an occasional laxative

failed to help, she went to the doc. That's when they found the

precancerous polyps. She's had them removed several times, and was doing a

follow up colonoscopy every 4 to 6 months, until she went for an entire year

without polyps. She's been several years now, without any new growths. So,

she's doing just fine.

 

My dad never once had a problem with his digestive system. My dad is a

tough ol guy.....seen him nearly sever his hand, and just taped it up with

duct tape, and kept working. My oldest sister was staying with him when he

got really sick. My dad called the ambulance himself, and told my sister to

follow him to the hospital. He thought it was some kind of 'bug' and

thought he would be able to come home after treatment in the ER. My sister

called me, as she knew something was terribly wrong, since dad WANTED to go

to the doctor. He doesn't go unless he thinks he's dying. Since he'd

never had any type of problem, they tried to dismiss it, said he had

'colitis', and wanted to send him home on antibiotics. I insisted that they

admit him to the hospital and run tests. The next morning, the GI doc did a

CAT scan and found the necrosis of the colon, and said that if he'd gone

home, he would have been dead within 24 to 48 hours. It was that bad.

They removed that part of his colon the same day. Within 6 weeks, he was

readmitted to the hospital for the abcess. He'd barely started to recover

from the first surgery when they had to do the 2nd one. The doc still has

not found a 'reason' for the necrosis nor the abcess. But he's had no more

trouble since. He goes every 6 months for colonoscopies and Small Bowel

contrast X-Rays, just in case.

 

Sorry to ramble on....I am sure that's WAAAAAY more information than anyone

wanted about me and my family! LOL But as I said, if it helps one person,

then I am glad to share any information I can. OH, and as far as foods that

HELP.... Yogurt and Buttermilk seem to help when I have the diarrhea to

flare up. They help to add back the good bacteria into your gut. Also,

taking probiotics help. But I honestly cannot say that I have found

anything that makes my system go haywire.....it just does it without reason.

It's just crazy.

 

Ok....shutting up now! LOL

Candy

 

 

 

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Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.11.9/116 - Release 9/30/2005

[Guest guest]

Phew, what a family!

Your Dad sounds like some special guy.

 

Candy, you say there is little relation between what you eat, with the

exception of yogurt, and how you feel?

What, in the way of supplements, herbs

or oils have you tried?

It must be so irritating for people who have

spent years searching to have other people

recommend things they have long ago done,

in vein.

That's why i ask.

 

Ien in the Kootenays

****************************

" Intelligence is like legs.

Too many and you trip yourself up "

~Terry Pratchett

****************************

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I wrote in vein.

I meant in vain. How dumb.