[Juliana]

Yup. Ugh. It makes me very nauseous too.

[nicole84]

Hmm maybe i'll try cranberry juice! Metamucil doesn't help me go, neither has these natural laxatives. Sometimes I go a week without any bowel movement... so annoying

[InACorner]

anyone just have water??? Its no longer a bowel movement.....its just water at times....weird huh....but most of the time i am both ...either i cant go or i am consistantly going...it is quite annoying...and painful ...yes nicole i would try cranberry juice..its the ONLY thing that got me to go no matter how much fiber i took in (i used fibersure)

[morning_view]

Just thought I'd post some stuff here, cos this is a problem of mine that I've been suffering with since I was 10 - only I had NO idea what it was and I was too scared to ask my doctor about it until I was 18 and got switched to a female doctor

In the last two years I've done a lot to try and sort myself out - still doing a bit lame at times (I have phases like Juliana, lol), but I've found some stuff that might help some of you:

Juliana mentioned the IBS diet - there's some awesome infomation and products on www.helpforibs.com

This is a UK site, but it might help you locate what you need so you can find it elsewhere:
www.hollandandbarrett.com

This place sells a wide variety of specific foods and supplements that help for specially tailored diets such as dairy free, gluten free, caffine free etc (a lot of which apply to IBS sufferers) also does a lot of organic produce - again, this is UK based:
www.goodnessdirect.co.uk

Hope those help out a little bit for anyone who's suffering - I'm still figuring it all out myself, but I found a great deal of helpful stuff on there.
xx

[morning_view]

oooh, addition!

I've found and interesting alternative to coca-cola that's IBS friendly!
It's caffine free, contains no artificial colours and all that blah, has no added sugar. It's Organic Cola, made with organic fruit and organic fruit and nut extracts... and that's about it! Tastes like coke aswell, which is pretty weird, but pretty cool.

Just thought I'd mention it for you all!!

x

i dont know if anyone heard of forever living products based in az usa, they own a company which produces aloevera juice in the purest form. it is disgusting but you can mix it with any fruit juice, one glass a day and you will be free of ibs in a week or two i assure you. i used to be an agent and 2 of ny friends took it and no longer suffer. it is pretty foul though, just hold your nose and swallow. amazing stuff.

hope this helps, have to find an agent in your area, or on google or health shopw sell aloe juice but not pure and not as good.

good luck, jinnyann xoxoxoxo

[Juliana]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
InACorner said:
anyone just have water??? Its no longer a bowel movement.....its just water at times....weird huh....

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I get that too Inny. Blech. I think when my body wants to have an attack it doesn't matter if there's anything in my system, so I'll get an attack of just water or bile.

[Juliana]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
morning_view said:
oooh, addition!

I've found and interesting alternative to coca-cola that's IBS friendly!
It's caffine free, contains no artificial colours and all that blah, has no added sugar. It's Organic Cola, made with organic fruit and organic fruit and nut extracts... and that's about it! Tastes like coke aswell, which is pretty weird, but pretty cool.

Just thought I'd mention it for you all!!

x

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Thanks morning view. I'm going to check the healthfood store and see if they have that. I have a weakness for Diet Coke... and I know how bad it is for me. I would love to find something that tastes like it but won't make me sick. The Organic Cola sounds great! I hope I can find some!

[morning_view]

The company that makes it is Whole Earth - they do a lot of other stuff too

Glad to be of help! x

I have IBS. And it is much worse during my period. It also goes hand in hand with my anxiety. It is a vicious cycle... doesn't matter which strikes first... one always triggers the other, and it just goes back and forth. I have IBS attacks all the time. I never watch what I eat. When I was first diagnosed with it, I stuck to a strict diet. It helped so much. I eventually got bored with it and missed a whole bunch of foods, so I strayed off... I have very bad impulse control and I don't think of consequences... I tend to do things that I know will 'ruin' myself... For example, I drank coffee this morning, ate, then had the runs 3x, and am eating pepperoni pizza as I type this. I eat like sh** all the time, but only weigh 110 lbs because most of it just comes right out. I also have an extremely small appetite, and get full after eating very small amounts of food. My doctor said I am dehydrated and to drink water, but so far I haven't had any. I drink soda and gatorade. I wish I could get some self-control. I wish.

[January]

I have IBS and Ulcerative Colitis. Whatever you do, don't drink Diet Coke or diet anything unless it is made with Splenda or Sweet&Low. The blue stuff is a laxative. So is sorbitol. Read the labels on mints, gum, etc, also. Sorbitol is often an added ingredient. It's even in most toothpaste.

If I can be of any further help, please send a pm to me.

Jan

[morning_view]

This is a weird question - but has anyone tried colonic irrogation/hydrotherapy? Apparently it's meant to help for people with IBS and can help milder states of anxiety, depression and all those other fun things like headaches and insomnia

just wondered if anyone had any views on it

[InACorner]

I just found a medicine

Digestive Advantage
Once Daily Irritable Bowel Syndrome

you take one tablet a day (two if its a really bad case) and there are 32 tablet in a box....you take it once a day and its sugar free chewable tablets and it takes like 7 days to work ....so we will see how it works ...hmmmm

[Juliana]

Thanks for the tip January. My friend has Crohn's Disease. She ate some sugar-free candies one day that were sweetened with maltitol. She got very ill. It turns out maltitol can cause diarrhea in people who don't have bowel problems, so it's really bad if you do have issues to begin with. I'll add those sweeteners you mentioned to my list of no-no's along with maltitol. Thanks again!

[January]

Morning View,

I have read about it, but I haven't tried it.

Jan

[January]

I hope all of you go to a gastroenterologist. If he/she doesn't help you, get a second opinion. Probiotics really help, but you need a complete regimin of medicines to control IBS.

Hugs,

Jan

[InACorner]

nope no gastroenterologist for me ....i just deal with it

by the way is it safe to swig mylanta all the time...my bowels are always acting up all the time...so i have a big bottle i just drink from ....is that safe?

[Juliana]

You should ask a doc about that. I don't take that stuff because it gives me diarrhea. I do take Imodium quite often, though. The gastroenterologist I used to see never gave me anything that worked better than Imodium for my attacks. He also wasn't particularly helpful in the diet department. He just seemed interesting in ruling out anything serious and once he confirmed the IBS diagnosis, he had no advice for me other than trying to cut down on stress and take Imodium when I need it. I found the Eating for IBS program and probiotics through my own research.

I made up a little poem about how miserable my IBS is making me feel today. It's always bad when I get my period.

My unwelcome companion IBS
Doesn't play well
With hormones and stress.

[January]

Mylanta has a stool softener in it. It makes diarrhea worse. Gastro docs are great. I'd be dead without mine.

Jan