Digestive Disorders Community

Kadarilla, IBS doesn't have a definitive cause as of yet, but something is definitely going on with the millions of people who suffer with it. They're slowly trying to figure it out, but the darned symptoms overlap with so many conditions that it can be hard - and take one heck of a long time - to try to find out what each individual 'has.'

What have you tried that has 'somewhat' helped? Have you considered probiotics? If you can find the right brand, in many cases they can help to take the edge off. What about trying exclusion diets? As trite as it might sound, if the immune system kicks in due to the intake of foods that your system can't handle, it can cause very real problems.

What about other symptoms? Do you have fatigue? Rashes? Brain 'fog?' Sometimes some of the other symptoms someone has can help to narrow things down even when those symptoms don't seem to be related directly to digestion.

CalGal37,
Thank you for the quick reply. I have not tried probiotics,but I will. I have not tried exclusion diets it seems alot of work for very little or no reward. I've done exclusion diets as a child all for not. Maybe they have come a long way from the 70's. Wouldn't know where to start.I have been VERY aware of my food intake and once I feel I got it all figured out, something blows the theory.

No other symptons like the above.However, I do have some urination issues that I am cocidering possible bladder and prostate issues. But, they seem to be unrelated if you concider the symptoms. Some wouldn't cause the other.

I will try probiotics hopfully that will help. I will keep you updated. Any more thoughts....I'm all ears.

There are some great probiotic brands on the market. Some of the ones I've run across include Culturelle, PB8, and Digestive Advantage-IBS (not only for IBS, though).

I know exclusion diets can seem difficult or a lose-lose situation, but if you're at 'bottom' and are sick of nothing working, it's worth a try. Each will take a couple of weeks out of your life, but that's a small price to pay if it works - at least that's the way I view it.

Two 'biggies' in the food intolerance group are dairy and gluten (wheat, rye and barley). For either diet, you'd have to take out EVERYTHING that contains the 'offending' items for at least 2-3 weeks. Then at the end, add back and see if symptoms pop-up again. With many people, they find that suddenly they feel worse than they did before when they add the offending food back. They didn't realize they were down so low in the first place.

And it does mean you have to take everything out - there's no such thing as 'just having a little.' With food sensitivities your body reacts - in some cases - with the production of antibodies. So it's like a virus - you could get exposed to one particle (virus or gluten) and the result is a full-scale auto-immune response. It's not dose-dependent. And those antibodies hang around for LONG periods of time making people miserable.

Any diarrhea or constipation? Dairy more typically will tend to cause constipation (if it's an antibody response) and gluten will cause diarrhea (if it's an antibody response). Not always, but the major pattern is 'there' in most people. Dairy also seems to result in 'looser' tissues, while gluten causes 'tighter' tissues of the body.

I stress the 'antibody' issue, because there are also food intolerances that result in release of histamine and that produces other issues than the ones I've spoken about.

The introduction of genetically engineered food into the US food stream in 1994 has compromised our intestinal health. GE foods drive the body, especially the bowel, into an inflammatory state.* In Europe, GE foods are either banned or required to be labeled. It will take time to re-establish your intestinal health, but you can begin to help your symptoms by avoiding all GE foods: corn, corn oil, corn syrup, soy and soy products, canola oil, cottonseed oil, sugar beet sugar (use only pure cane sugar), Hawaiian papaya, and use only milk products without Rbst hormone, which is GE. Avoid all artificial sweeteners, many are GE. * Note: these GE foods have never existed before. Our bodies have not adjusted to them. They are a combination of genetic material from different organisms, produced in a laboratory, that would NEVER combine in nature to produce progeny: example - bacterial and plant DNA. When our bodies encounter these foods with an alien combination of DNA, they react as they would to a foreign invader. Your doctor is NOT informed about this. For more information, look up the Rowett Institute and what happened to Dr.Arpad Pusztai when he tried to raise the alarm about GE potatoes...his results have since then been accepted in Europe, but in the US, Monsanto (mega corp that holds many of the GE patents) has suppressed labeling. By the way, I'm not a wacko nutrition person. I have a degree in biology, have taken genetics, and I understand what is happening on the genetic level to our food, and it's not a good situation. To fully protect yourself, eat only organic ... or read labels assiduously.

Kadarilla,

I have found this website very helpful! I take a prebiotic (which helps feed the probiotic) from this website below. It's Organic Acacia Powder. Doesn't have a bad taste and does not thicken like Metamucil.

http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/heathercooks/heather_cooks.asp

Eating soluble fiber first then eating insoluble fiber really helps! Dig into this website it's helpful and informative. She gives great recipe ideas too. I was diagnosed with IBS too. I'm taking a really great probiotic. You can go to this informative website as well. Also, drinking Peppermint and Fennel Tea after a meal helps with the bloating. Eat smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals.

http://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics.html

I hope this helps you!

If I said your post is exactly what I went through, you probably wouldn't believe me, but it's true. I also had all the same tests, and NOONE was smart enough to figure out that I'm Lactose
intollerant!. Please stay away from all dairy for at least 10 ten days and I bet you will start to feel so much better. It's not hard to do, and you can take Latose pills for those times when you just have to have pizza. The only other thing I can think of is you're gluten intollerant, but try the dairy first. I tried the gluten free diet first, and that requires a lot more changes. Good luck, and I hope this works for you.

I am a 56-year old female and have had IBS with diarrhea all my life. Sometimes it hits even before I've finished eating. The horrible cramping lasts long after a trip to the restroom. I've discovered that I can't eat anything spicy or deep-fried. Also any artificial sweeteners, I use only cane sugar. And stress is a major factor, no matter what I've eaten. Sometimes I haven't eaten anything for hours, but if I'm stressed, I'm making an emergency trip to the bathroom.

I agree with cutting certain foods out of your diet and then reintroducing them one at a time in a few weeks. That's the only way you're going to determine what you can tolerate. Hope this helps.

To kadarilla and roche728,
Have you had the biopsy for celiac disease? It is advisable not to remove gluten from your diet until you have had the biopsy.
Kind regards,
CMB

if the tests show nothing sinister it does sound like IBS. yes the symptoms are wishy washy but stress is a factor. this is the first part of the answer to your cure. I know there is little in the literature to show any link between diet and control of symptoms but some form of allergy testing maybe useful to preclude obvious food offenders - it is difficult to stay off dairy and wheat etc....but if you stopped it for three months it my help. Drink more water and increase exercise.There is also some evidence with control of symptoms and probiotics, but it sounds like it's in the early stages. If you get relief, great. I think it's about getting which combination of controls which suits your symptoms best. unfortunately there is no magic bullet cure but, if you kept a food diary it might help identifying which foods are most problematic. finally I think a sympathetic general partitioner help- it's ok you are not going mad and its not all in your head.

Good luck

I've got a lot of great advice and I'm going to try the one's I think works for me the best and go from there. I think the diet soda may be the first step. I was about the same time when all this started. If not, then I'll try something else. I NEVER thought the diet soda could be the the cause. I'll keep you all posted.

Thanx

I just wanted all of you to know that the diet soda seems to be the problem. I cut out all diet soda and in about 2weeks. I was feeling alot better. Very little pain if any. The pain was so bad I was taking lortabs. Now very manageable. Thanx for all the help.It's not 100% but about 95% gone. thanx again!!!!!!!!