^^^Who has IBS?...Would you plizz answer my question?

Question

PLIZZ TAKE A MINUTE TO HELP ME OUT HERE.All i wanna know is how u deal with IBS. I mean im only 19 and ive had it for a year. Dont you find it soo hard to go to school, work...or just social events. -----And the most important thiing i wanna know. tell me plizz...
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----DOESN'T IT bother your relationships alot? i mean are you able to go out with your boyfriend..and even have fun without worrying about it. Do you think that it will effect on your marriage?? lets say if you are afraid..because you will feel so unconfortable to your husband with this condition. And that guys won't accept you because of that. Please tell me the truth. I dont wanna be thinking that its something that its THAT HORRIBLE and will never let me live a normal life. Even though i have no idea how long its gonna last. Please be honest and help me understand whats going on with my mind..! thanks a lot for ur answers

Answer 1

Hi Liza. I am sorry to hear about your condition. I have lived with IBS-like problems since I was 12 years old (I am now 53). I have a lot of information to share with you, so I hope this response will not be too long for you to follow.

It is very important that you understand that IBS is NOT a diagnosis. IBS is the label doctors give to patients with bowel problems when the doctor cannot figure out the cause of the problems.

Most medical doctors are only interested in treating 'real diseases' (e.g. cancer, gallbladder problems, inflammatory bowel diseases, etc.). Frankly, they are very disinterested in and frustrated by patients that have IBS types of problems.

There can be many REAL causes of your symptoms that medical doctors just do not look for. I will attempt to give you a representative list of potential causes of your symptoms.

1) Food allergies or intolerances. These are common and the only way to properly diagnose them is through an elimination diet. Elimination diets are difficult to do and medical doctors have NO training in this important diagnostic procedure.

2) Celiac disease [CD] (this turns out to be a major cause of my symptoms and I had to figure out the diagnosis on my own; and unfortunately, after 40 years of damage to my gut, this is turning out to be a very challenging problem to fix - fortunately, if you have CD, treating it early can be very effective).

CD is an autoimmune disease that damages the lining of the small intestine and leads to nutrient malabsorption, diarrhea, and all kinds of 'unusual' symptoms. It is caused by an allergic reaction to the proteins in wheat, rye and barley called glutens and gliadins. The only treatment is avoidance of these proteins. This is a very common problem (1 person in 100), but in the U.S. it is rarely diagnosed - probably because this is a nutritional problem and medical doctors are still not trained in nutrition.

3) Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). This is a what it says, excessive growth of bacteria in the small intestine. Use of acid inhibiting drugs (e.g. Prilosec, Nexium, Pepcid, etc.) causes this condition. Antibiotics can also cause it.

4) Intesitinal Dysbiosis. This is an imbalance in the types of micro-organisms living in the intestines. Use of antibiotics can kill off the 'good guys' and result in the take over of the gut by the 'bad guys'.

5) Leaky Gut Syndrome - this is what it says. Partially digested food particles, toxins, and even bacteria, leak through the gut into the blood stream causinjg all kinds of dysfunctions and symptoms. This condition often seen in conjunction with CD, Dysbiosis, and SIBO. It can be caused by use of NSAIDs (Motrin, Advil, Aleve, Aspirin, etc.), chemicals, heavy metals, and/or antibiotics.

Are you still with me? I strongly encourage you to find a good Naturopathic Physician, Certified Clinical Nutritionist (CCN), Chiropractor that specializes in nutrition, or that rare medical doctor that is trained in either "environmental medicine" or "functional medicine".

You will need to educate yourself on a lot of the things I have discussed here. I can recommend a couple of excellent books.

A) "Digestive Wellness" by Elizabeth Lipski, M.S., C.C.N. (she also has written a short book on the leaky gut called "Leaky Gut Syndrome".)

B) "No More Heartburn" by Sherry Rogers, M.D. - don't let the title fool you, this book is all about many of the issues I described above.

These books are available at Amazon.com.

Lastly, to find a doctor trained in functional medicine go to the website for the Institute of Functional Medicine - just do a web search of that name.

Best wishes and good luck.

Answer 2

A period is a very individual thing. For some people it lasts three or four days. For other people, it can last a week. Some girls have very regular periods, generally starting nearly the same day every month. Some girls have very irregular periods and can even skip a month sometimes. After you have had your period a few years, you get used to its patterns and generally you can kind of tell when it's about to start. You might feel more emotional than usual (I do) and you get all the fun bloating and sensitive breasts and mood swings and junk food cravings. Some girls get that worse than others. If you're very lucky, you will have short, predictable periods w/ little or no cramping and not too bad PMS. I doubt that's the norm, though. Welcome to the suckiest thing about being a woman. :)

Answer 3

I've been an IBS sufferer for years. And alot of the medications out there really do little to help you. And yes, at times it does hinder your abilities to do things. But there is something I've done that's helped me out alot. It's not the cure-all, or the magic pill, but it does relieve some of the symptoms and allow me a little more mobility and freedom.

Please don't laugh, I'm really being straight with you, ok?

I purchased Aloe Vera gel tablets and take them twice per day. Also, I have purchased suppliments called "GI-Pro" and "GI-Zyme", and they have helped me alot. They have dramatically reduced the number of flare-ups that you get per day, and it's really allowed me to go about my life without worrying.

Both of these suppliments can be obtained either online, or at a local vitamin or suppliment store like GNC, Vitamin World, Puritans Pride, etc.

I hope you will try this, it might give you some relief until better meds come out.

Best wishes.

Answer 4

I have suffered from IBS for 13 years now (I'm 42). IBS is the term physicians use when they really don't "know" what is going on, I finally figured out. I've been to many specialists, and have received no help from them at all. I finally, however, have figured out how to heal my own condition. But, IBS is an individual issue, because, as I said, physicians usually really don't know "what" is going on... this means there are any number of causes.

For me the issue is candida (yeast - "bad" bacteria) overgrowth. I have found a very simple solution, but it will take a while for total healing to occur, because this is a "natural" alternative to antibiotics. But I offer this to you if you want to try it... I have discovered that lemon juice (the real stuff, not the powedered lemonade "drink" mixes) is the answer for me. Introducing strictly alkaline foods in my diet has been the key, and lemon juice is the best alkaline food there is. I make lemonade with 1 cup lemon juice concentrate and 2 quarts water, and add Splenda to it to sweeten it. NO sugar. Sugar is off limits for IBS sufferers, especially high fructose corn syrup (which is in *every* packaged good there is I think!). It will set off perstalsis dysfunction, which is the "spasming" we experience. Splenda is safe, as it is not real sugar. The lemon juice is killing off the "bad" bacteria overgrowth for me, and I am slowly but surely healing. I have not been able to eat very many foods for years, and I have, within the last few months, been able to add back in several more healthy foods I have been unable to digest for years. :) As well, I eat 1/2 cup of plain, non-fat yogurt with 1/4 cup water mixed in to make a nice "shake" every a.m., and another before bed (this resupplies the gut with "good" bacteria). If you really need to sweeten it, remember to use Splenda. ;) Don't get the fruit-added yogurt, that has high fructose corn syrup in it. (This includes the new Dannon Activa brand... it may have "good bacteria" in it that has been proven to improve gut health, but if there is sugar added, especially high fructose corn syrup, it will do an IBS sufferer much damage.)

Don't know if this will be useful for you, but I share in case you're interested. ;)

Answer 5

don't worry.my husband has IBS.it does't seem important sometimes he has stress and feels urgency to WC .