BP digestion & appetite

This is a question mostly for those of you with IBS or related bowel "issues"... or digestion issues.... all of which may be preexisting conditions or brought on by certain medications. (So I've made a separate thread for this.)

In general, I rarely feel hunger. Like, I can literally go all day without feeling hungry. I've more or less always been like this, but I think Lamictal has totally killed whatever appetite I had left. So, I basically eat because I'm supposed to eat, not because I actually feel hungry. Then because I have IBS-D, food goes right through me... so there's that too... hence weight loss.

I have Bentyl I can take to stop the spasming in my intestines, but like... I'm supposed to take that with food, and well... I'm not hungry! It's also a pain in the *** to bring Bentyl with me everywhere... but since starting Lamictal, I can't even remember the last time my stomach growled

And yep, thyroid is totally fine. Not a metabolism issue.

Does anyone else experience this? Have certain medications made it worse? I feel like Lamictal screwed me over!

Up until recently I've always been the type to consistently feel hungry, hence my being overweight. I'm not sure if it's meds or not, but without really trying I've lost approximately 10 pounds in the last 2 months. It may not seem like much, but it's a huge deal for me. I do have IBS as well.

Do you have IBS-D or IBS-C? Or a combination of both?

Also, I wonder if the decrease in appetite is from the Adderall you're taking... Is Adderall a new addition for you?

IBS-C I believe. Adderall is the first med I was put on, been taking it since February/March when I first started seeing my pdoc. I've got a lot of issues with staying focused, especially when I'm in class.

Ah, okay... so you've been on the Adderall for a while. Not sure what's causing the weight loss then, but it's good you're able to lose weight

I wonder if IBS-D and IBS-C have the opposite effects on appetite?

I just know I'm DEFINITELY not hungry after I take a crap. Food is the last thing on my mind!

I suffer with fluctuating IBS-D and IBS-C. The C is what causes me the most pain. I can feel it all over my body, it feels like I have poison in my veins. Nothing helps the pain or stops the fluctuation. If I take something for constipation, I will end up with diarrheah, and vise versus. My IBS started before I took any meds. It's only been the last year or so where I've concluded that my mental health issues and anxiety play a role in my IBS. I believe my IBS is independant of my MI but it aggravates it. I keep thinking I have a food allergy but cannot identify the cause. It's very frustrating.

My appetite can be all over the place. Sometimes I'm hungry for no reason. Sometimes I don't feel hungry for no reason. Sometimes I'm in too much pain to eat, and other times I avoid eating just because it MIGHT cause pain.

I'm sorry you suffer with this too. It is horrible. I get horrible gas and it smells. Last time I was IP, a guy in the hospital made fun of my gas. Sometimes I can laugh at myself, but I was scared of the guy, thought he was out to get me. Only made the gas worse.

My heart goes out to anyone suffering IBS. It's a curse.

I usually just get thirsty

Hm. Have you tried any medications for IBS? I really like Bentyl, but I'm too lazy to take it. I think it's only meant for IBS-D, though. It stops the spasming that causes the diarrhea. So if you took it while constipated, you'll basically never ever s*** again.

I wonder if your appetite changes with your IBS. It would be interesting to find out.

BUT, it's interesting you brought up anxiety. My old GP said that some patients actually experience diarrhea as a result of anxiety. (We were talking about my anxiety levels and I mentioned I have IBS.)

I actually have some foods/things that trigger my IBS. One of them is blue dye. Blue dye makes me s*** right away. Corn does that too.

I don't get the gas and bloating, mostly because everything gets "expelled" very quickly, if that makes sense.

I have issues at times due to IBS .

Generally GI upset is a common problem people with a MI have to deal with.

What helps me? I eat very very very little Carbs a month.. It bogs me down mentally, increases my fibro pain and causes flare ups in IBS.

Its often hard to figure our what types of food is causing the problems.. It often boils down to eating super bland diet with nothing that has artifical anything and then introduce one food at a time and see what is okay and what makes you have to know how far away the bathroom is..

I had a flare this weekend ( while camping no less! )

I take Hycosomine when needed , I no longer need it daily. Its very helpful in relieving the intestinal cramping.

I've taken Donnatol for the IBS. It would help a little with spasms but did nothing for my constipation. I've had diarrheah for weeks since stopping 2 meds. I should get a refil on the belladonna/Donnatol

I've tried the elimination diet and found no answers. I was sure I found that a certain food was the problem, only to test the theory later on multiple occasions to find I was wrong. I think it might be a combination of foods. I do better when I avoid carbs too. Carbs give me general tummy distress.

I eat a lot of carbs in general, so I'm sure cutting down my carbs will help.

I haven't tried the super bland diet thing. I've thought about it, though. I guess it's a tough commitment.

I just know that whatever I ate in the past 2 days have caused my IBS-D to flare up. I'm kind of getting desperate to know what the cause is, so I'm liking the super bland diet idea more and more. I might give it a go this weekend, so thanks for the suggestion and reminder.

Glad to hear you no longer have to take Hycosomine everyday

For constipation, have you tried something like Miralax? I had to take it once. It's pretty good. What it does is, it draws water into your colon to "soften things" so that things can pass less painfully. I believe it's technically a "laxative", but it doesn't actually make you go to the bathroom. I can attest to that. Just drink plenty of water.

My old doctor said she would give it to her son everyday, and that it was safe to take long term. You could give that a go. It also reduces gas and bloating once things get "moving".

Now if you take too much, it'll cause diarrhea, but if you take like 1/4 or 1/2 of the suggested dose, it'll work wonders. You'll just have to figure it out by trial and error like I did.

My son has a bowel disease and was using Mirilax daily. I used it for awhile but didn't notice much difference. I can drink magnesium citrate and that works but long term use of things like that can cause you to lose control of your bowels so it's scary. But after 4 days of not going, I drink a magnesium citrate. My body doesn't like a lot of fiber and those fiber additives make me sick. my sons bowel disease is not food related and I'm beginning to think the underlying cause of my bowel issues is not food related either. But some foods feel better to eat if I'm flairing, or I don't eat at all to avoid pain. My attacks last days and even weeks.

Hm. Have you gotten any blood tests done for this? I had blood tests done to rule out thyroid issues, Chron's, and celiac disease. Once everything was ruled out, I was given the IBS diagnosis.

Might be worth a try if you think it's not food related. It's quick and dirty. (No, not literally dirty. lol. I'm not that punny.)

I've been through all the testing, even a colonoscopy. My mother had bowel problems all her life, then got colon cancer, had half her colon removed and has been symptom free ever since. About 15 years. I've had IBS since my early teens and when it got much worse about 8 years ago, I got increasingly worried because of my sons illness and moms history. They checked everything. They say it's anxiety. I didn't used to think that possible because it happens even when I don't think I'm anxious. But I've learned that anxiety can manifest as illness and that might be the case for me. I think it's a number of things. Eating right, getting more activity, controlling my anxiety and MI might be a good combo to stick with but I always fail and do something I'm not suppose to.

Well, at least you know it's probably nothing too serious? I hope it doesn't end up being colon cancer or anything like that. That would be awful.

Do you currently take anything for your anxiety? Could you maybe take something like buspar for a month and see what that does for you? Or maybe something more potent, like Xanax? (Not that you want to go the benzo route, but... it might be an easy way to rule out anxiety if you're desperate to know.)

I've eaten like total crap and eaten incredibly healthy (i.e., all organic, low carb, high protein, low cals). Did nothing for my IBS either way, so I'm back to eating crap