Seems like IBS, but Not!

similar "stomach" issues started happening to me after my daughter was born. After a year of chalking them up to just c-section gas and delivery recovery I finally got tested for gluten intolerance. I found out I am gluten and soy intolerant. This is after being diagnosed with IBS at one time, anxiety/depression at another, anorexia, etc. Entero Labs in dallas is a great place to get testing done. I would suspect food allergies of some kind.

My doctor put me on something called Ultra C. It has worked great for me. I have IC (Interstitial Cystitis) or at least the doctor eliminated everything else and diagnosed me with this.

Try GR-8 Dophilus... I have the same problems as you and this helps with the good bacteria in your stomach. : )

http://www.nowfoods.com/index.php?action=itemdetail&i...

I have some issues although the symptoms are slightly different. Definitely go to the GI...I had a colonoscopy and upper GI, so far things look good, except for some inflammation in the upper GI. Now, she put me on an antibiotic to make sure my bacteria levels are balanced...amazingly, my symptoms have gone away....I would have never guessed. I am also looking to do food intolerance testing....MAKE sure the lab is reliable...can they reproduce the results consistently? I am going to use Immuno Labs.....you can call Lisa for a provider to order the screening: 1-800-231-9197 x 6251. They guarantee their results for digestive issues...if eliminating the foods they state you are intolerant to does not improve the symptoms, they refund all the money it costs. My insurance will pay for it too. Without knowing what it is it is hard to know what to do....I think IBS is a catch all and that is what my issues was leading to until this antibiotic....we will see.

Hello D.,

Here are a few suggestions. You may want to print it and decide what you'd like to try. I have friends with Chron's and UC (Ulcerative Colitis)

Eliminate milk (specially lactose, you might be OK w/ yogurt and cheese)

Avoid caffeine (although Coke might be OK... regular coffee might also be upsetting your stomach/bowels)

Also, try not go too long without food. In other words, try and keep a meal schedule (I know that with kids that's almost impossible...)

avoid breads with sesame seeds
skip the popcorn

Start keeping a food diary along w/ symptoms/issues you may have for the next couple of weeks and bring it with you to your appointment.

If he orders blood work, have him check your vitamin D levels too.

You may also consider going to a chiropractor. if there is too much pressure in the area of the spine where the nerves that control your bowels, that might mess you up too

WARNING:
-----this might be 'too much detail' for some people--
When you eat early enough in the morning so you have a chance to go to the restroom before leaving. And if you're not sure, then wear a maxi-pad (placed more to the rear than the front) to help in case of any timing issues getting to the batroom (long overnight THIN maxies work well).

Read about gluten intolerance/celiac sprue, ulcerative colitis and chron's disease.

You could try taking enzymes to help the digestion process.
Here is a link for information about NOW enzymes so you can read about it:
http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail&item_id=3112

Last, but not least, check your stress levels. Drink chamomile tea, get some lavender oil, etc.

By the way you may want to see if the meds they gave you has lactose. just call the pharmacist (the doctors don't always know... even the GI sometimes doesn't know either! so whenever you get a prescription, ASK if it has lactose. They use lactose to bind the main components. even some of the IBS/chron's and UC meds have it! which I think it's moronic! anyways, that's info for another message. (smile)

I forgot to mention to also take pro-biotics.

I hope it's not IBS nor chron's nor ulcerative colitis. Get well soon! ~C.~

D.,

The goat's milk was a great start and you should keep it up, but probably the main issue is wheat, mainly wheat gluten. A free (and pain-free) way of testing to see if you're sensitive is simply stop eating wheat, for at least 30days. Also, take a good probiotic to help restore the normal flora in your intestinal tract. It seems the good bacteria are most likely being over-run by the bad. This is usually a good place to start. If you have any further questions you can email me personally at: ____@____.com this helps and God Bless.

Celiac Sprue is usually triggered by a traumatic event such as having a baby. Check it out - easy to control once you know and believe, but if you have it you need to feed your child that way too because it is hereditary.

R.

It is probally hormonal. Try this:
Cut out all sugar and grains from your diet. You can have corn and corn products. You should get immediate relief. good luck

Try eating 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed with your yougurt or any other food. It cleared my problem right up within a day or so. I have had colitis for over 35 years and this has helped so much.

Stop the coffee!

Nutrtion plays a huge role on our health. please call me or email me at ____@____.com or ###-###-####. I could share some ideas with you.

Sally

I have similar issues and was told I have IBS. The meds don't work for me either. I'm having to go and get a colonoscopy done to be sure it's not something else that mimicks IBS....inflammatory bowel disease or colon problems per my doctor.

Hope this helps.

IBS can manifest itself in many ways. My husband and a friend of mine both have it and they have totally different reactions. My husband's is brought on by an lactose intollerance. My friends is brought on by stress. My friend takes a stool softener every night and that has alleviated her problems. My husband finds that drinking mineral water that it solves his problem. There are many waters that have a natural mineral content. My husband says Crazy Water #4 completely solved his problem because of the bicarbonate count. You can find that at Whole Foods & Central Market.

Good luck.

Have you thought about Food Allergies? Some foods that mildly affect you can start out like IBS. Try keeping a log of your eating if the cramps are worse when eating one food, try avoiding it and see if you feel better.

I work with a Nutritional Supplement Company and have using it for 9 years, my daughter now 16 and husband are all on it and never had to see a Doctor other than welness check up. It is natural and safe, pregnant women take it as their prenatal vitamin. We have a product called FibRestore that has helped people with issues like yours. I will be happy to give you more details.

A.
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My hubby had same issue and he started us Primadolphilus (sp?) everyday about 30 minutes before meals and it works GREAT! You can get at any naturual food/vitamin store! When you say the word out loud it sound like Acidophilus. I buy the kind from the fridge, not the counter kind! I has live cultures which help tremendously! i even give to my kids becuase it's great for their little digestive tracts as well! It's safe during pregnancy! I took it myself!

Sounds like you might have a gall bladder issue---a simple sonigram can find that out. You may have pain in your shoulder area also (I had had this for years and the cramping and bouts of nausea and never knew they were signs)--another sign of gall bladder---I had issues for years and had no idea was having signs of gall bladder until it got so bad---there is no age for the attacks to start---my friend's 15 year old daughter had to have her gall bladder taken out---I had to at 48---

I was diagnosed with IBS and given the generic advice about avoiding caffeine and spicy food. Personally, I seem to have trouble with uncultured dairy but do OK with yogurt and a little cheese. If I could behave better about my sugar addiction and avoid all, I would be even better. (I think I'm dealing with yeast in my system which supposedly love sugars. Lots of gas and discomfort after milk and sweets...fuel for the yeast.)

A while back I did the Maker's Diet for 40 days to cleanse my system and take Acidopholus (Nature's Way refrigerated stuff w/ live cultures). Adding good bacteria to your system with cultured veggies, yogurt and supplement is a good idea.

I agree with the other ladies that you should check into Celiac's disease, etc. In the meantime, add good bacteria to your body, hydrate, and eat your food as unprocessed as possible-- veggies to add good fiber to your diet. Avoid iceberg as it causes gas issues for many and make sure your broccoli is cooked... or avoid for now. You can do some research online or library about how to prepare veggies for max. nutrition. The prep info also helps minimize gas issues.

About 6 months after cleaning up my eating, I also did a colon cleanse. It sounds counterintuitive to purposely take something that makes you eliminate several times a day, but that took care of the last of my cramping and gas issues. I don't remember what I took, but I did lots of research first because I didn't want to make things worse or more urgent. It was surprisingly comfortable. (I know...eew.) Didn't hurt, didn't have diahrrea, and very quickly stopped having gas and cramping. Before the colon cleanse I would get stopped up and have very uncomfortable action in my intestines. Once that was over I would have to take an emergency restroom break to get the queasiness to stop for a while. If you decide to do this, do it last after being checked out by doctor and after you've gotten some relief from everything else...just to be safe.

My advice, get checked out to make sure there are no ulcers or anything serious. Food diary to find out what is triggering this. Add sugars (even in your fruits) to the watch list. Add good bacteria and fiber to your diet. Be sure to hydrate-especially if you add fiber veggies to your diet. Also add some light exercise like walking to the park with your son. Try to have breakfast a little earlier. This may give you the urge to go before you leave (gastrocolic reflex?-colon contracts after a meal and may give you urge to go)

If you get a doctor who says it has nothing to do with what you eat, get a 2nd opinion. I don't believe doctors study much nutrition unless they specialize. It hit me one day when I connected my inability to take birth control pills and the importance of good food. If the itsy bitsy pill can send me to the emergency room with a black out migraine and vomiting, then it make sense to watch the pound of food I eat.

OK I'll stop now that I'm rambling off topic. The other Moms have some good thoughts for you to filter through. Just wanted to help since I've been in your shoes- before and after my 6 year old DD.

Hi, D..

I get this sometimes...had to figure out which foods trigger it for me. I can't do milk or very rich foods and I can't do any stressful driving (like being on 30 at 8 AM!) because my stomach goes beserk. Sometimes it's just hormonal, too.

I would chart what you are eating and doing each day and when the attacks come on. It won't hurt to have it for the GI doc and you may see a correlation in activities or food prior to each attack.

Good luck!

Please try to stay as natural as possible. Medications are not effective for digestive issues.

First, I would keep a food diary and track what you've eaten previous to these issues.

Second, I would take digestive enzymes with meals. You can find these at Whole Foods. I like the Bluebonnet brand, but there are many to choose from.

Third, I would add cultured foods to the diet. Kefir is yummy and can be found at Whole Foods and sometimes Sprouts. Natural yogurt without all the sugar and chemicals is also a good food. You can ask about cultured foods at Whole Foods and they'll point you to them. Add these gradually because they can overwhelm if overdone.

Fourth---not really fourth in importance, though. Take your body weight in pounds, divide it in half, drink that number of ounces of water each day. If you weight 100 pounds, you should drink 50 ounces. This aids digestion, elimination, sleep, detoxification, and brain function.

Try to avoid anything you could eat in a drive through. Eat at least 2-3 fresh fruits each day----look beyond bananas and apples. Berries are an especially good choice.

These things should make a positive change for you. If they do not resolve your issues, then you should find a nutritionist who focuses on natural eating.

Hope this helps! Best wishes for a new little one.

I know this is strange, but the same thing happens to me when I have coffee in the morning. It is even worse when I have coffee on an empty stomach, this is coffee including creamer and sugar. If I have eaten well first and then coffee or it is later in the day, it is much more mild. Not sure why it happens, just know to be careful of it.

Have them check your gallbladder. And try to stay away from fried foods and a lot of acidic things

You might be gluten intolerant (Celiac). There is a test or you can try removing gluten from your diet for a week to see it your symptoms go away. Good Luck.

take aloe juice or gel in the AM and regular acidophilus/probiotics (I like Bio K drinks - you can just drink 1/4 to 1/2 a day) daily and make sure you have good fiber intake. . . works wonders for me.

There is also nice linecalled Digestive Advantage you can get a Walgreens etc that has a great Gas formula and they have an IBS formula as well. . . definitely worth a try.

For many years, I have been dealing with IBS, and none of the meds prescribed to me have ever helped. A couple of years ago, when I was completely at a loss as to where to turn next, I found this website: http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/

I would highly recommend it!!! Please check it out. If you do have IBS, the suggestions on the site may be very helpful. They have helped me tremendously! God bless.

D.,

For accurate testing regarding major food allergens, see www.enterolab.com. They do stool testing. Much more reliavle than blood or skin scratch. They test for gluten, dairy, soy, corn, eggs, yeast and a few others. these are the major culprits. An elimination diet very often doesn't easily reveal a hidden food intolerance.

Good luck.
J.

Hi D.!

You brought back memories from several years ago - I knew where ALL the bathrooms were everywhere - haha - NOT FUN! I had a very similar issue when my son was around 8 mos old. After many many tests and a colonoscopy, they did find ulcers in my colon (they called it possible colitis). Several months later I had some different pains in my abdominal area and went back for more tests (1st did some with GI, then I had to start doing tests with my OBGYN). That ended up being adhesions - I guess the scar tissue from my c-section may had caused adhesions on my insides (my colon was stuck to some other organs etc)...so when things would move through the colon, it would hurt! So, maybe when you go see your GI, you can get more info. Having babies sure does a job on our bodies :o). Hope all the best for you in finding your problem...God Bless!

D.,

These ladies have great ideas. It may be other foods. I myself have food allergies. However, my mother gets adhesions every time she has abdominal surgery. Did you have a C-section? These pieces of scar tissue can attach to your abdominal wall and your intestines pulling them and working like rubber bands. They and cause abdominal pain when you have a BM and can eventually cause a blockage. Docs won't do much until there is a blockage, but I've heard that deep tissue massage focused on your abdomen can break them up. If this isn't the case, I'd look further into the food problems. Celiacs/gluten intolerance is a big possibility too.