# Miserable, scared and new



## Lioness818 (Sep 7, 2015)

Hi there...
I'm new and have been reading here and other places online. I do not have any sort of diagnosis from a medical doctor about my chronic diarrhea...I see the doc this week. I've been having issues for about two years and they are getting progressively worse. In April of this year , I had a bout so bad, I developed an anal abscess. Of course, it is now a fistula. That surgery is scheduled later this month. But, I know that I need to get a handle on the D so I don't keep having butt surgery.

In my readings, I came across IBS-D info and it all seems to fit. I see my doctor Friday. Mind you, I've mentioned the D before but no one wants to deal with it. I take Immodium daily to control the damage being caused to my body. I've been lactose intolerant for about 20 years and have verified food allergies and food sensitivities.

I found you all yesterday as I'm in middle of an "attack." . The pain, nausea and fatigue left me exhausted and in tears. I'm still sick and called off work. In looking at the low FODMAP diet, I can clearly see why I might be so ill. In the days leading up to the attack, I've literally eaten everything on the list of foods to avoid! This is the worst I've felt in all the time I've had symptoms.

Has this sort of diet worked for anyone here? Are you families supportive of the drastic changes in lifestyle and eating? That's what I'm worried about, but I can't continue like this. Can anyone help me with how to feel better in the midst of this acute attack? Are progressive symptoms common in IBS-D?
Thank you.


----------



## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

I am on the scd diet, which is far more drastic than low fodmaps. I heard that coconut oil can help with abcesses/fistulas but I have no first hand experience.


----------



## myhappytummyblog (Sep 9, 2015)

Wow your attack sounds awful! I'm lactose intolerant so I primarily eat a plant based diet. However, with eating plants comes a lot of fiber and that seems to get the bowels moving. So I'm not sure if that would work best for you. Foods/drinks that really agitated my GI tract include caffeine, alcohol and anything dairy. Once I cut those out I have been feeling much better. I don't know much about the low FODMAP diet, it seems to have the science behind it. If you try it and it works, let me know! Regarding if family is supportive of drastic diet changes: my family didn't know what to do in the beginning. At first they all thought I was just stressed from college and were in denial about my condition. After a while, once they saw how I got sick after eating certain foods, they have all been more accommodating with making sure dairy is not in the meals. Good luck! Hope you feel better soon!


----------



## Lorelei56 (Apr 7, 2014)

http://fedup.com.au/factsheets/blog

Here is an extensive list of food intolerances. I am sensitive (as in the big D) to salicylates and sulfites. I'm eating nothing but rice and chicken now and it seems to be healing my damaged (by bismuth salicylate, of all things) gut. Read some of the sheets and see if they apply to you. Unfortunately, a lot of fruits and veggies have high salicylates, which are poison to me.


----------



## shelivin (Aug 8, 2013)

hi me too Lorelei56 i cant eat fruit or veg or salad items, dairy in most forms is a killer so i avoid also anything sugar free, or fizzy drinks, caffine basically would be easier to list what dosnt set my ibs-d off! thing is i find it almost imposible to cut everything out so i do eat things that i know will affect me sometimes as i get so fed up of just eating a bland diet and having no life! i am a female married with a 17yr old son so i try to cook meals for us as a family, its so difficult! im blessed to have a supportive husband and son but it affects every aspect of my/ our life. HATE ibs-d!!!


----------



## dlind70 (Aug 7, 2015)

look into drinking almond water for D. The tannins can help bind you up. I can be more specific if needed.


----------



## mortonmanor (Sep 25, 2015)

I'm new here, too. I'm not working now and I'm afraid to get a job because of my symptoms. I'm thinking about the FODMAP diet and hoping it will make a big difference! I'm trying to imagine life without onions and garlic but in the long run, it seems like a small price to pay, right? I wish you the best of luck and it seems like there is a world of support here.


----------



## Lioness818 (Sep 7, 2015)

Thank you all for your replies. Overall, I'm being more careful about what I eat. No grease, no bread, watching the Fodmaps stuff but not being overly strict (I pushed it with artichoke and totally regretted it) I've had a couple of flare ups and have concluded I just cannot do legumes of any sort or even in bite size amounts. And Mexican food is pretty much out. Alcohol is hit or miss with red wine calming the tummy but exacerbating the D.

I had my fistula surgery yesterday and I'm doing well...minimal discomfort. Doctor has begun testing (stool samples for c-diff, giardia, etc....and a look around while they had me under yesterday for Crohns). So far, all tests are normal. Waiting for whatever they did yesterday. Edited to add: blood tests showed my Vitamin D is extremely low...don't know if that's an absorption issue...add one to the possible Crohns column maybe? Prescribed 8 weeks of vitamin d2 at 50,000 mg/week.

Earlier this month, doc also put me on sulfasalazine which seems to slow things down a bit although I still need Imodium. I'm scheduled to be off work two weeks, but if my recovery continues to go well, I'll go back next Monday after my follow up appt. We will see how adding work stress back in affects me. I've been on vacation for two weeks already so maybe I'll need to be even more careful with what I eat after I return to work to offset the stress.

It's a process, I guess. Thank you all for letting me share mine.


----------



## dlind70 (Aug 7, 2015)

Yes do not drink fat free milk since its horrible for fat soluble vitamins. For Vit D you need Calcium in balance. Butter/cream/ghee is ideal for calcium (either that or get a taste for organic beet tops). Eat real butter when you eat veggies or legumes. Lentils for example, I eat them only with gobs of butter for taste and to buffer the natural veggie oil (fresh from the farmers raw and or Kerrygold Irish Brand).


----------



## Lioness818 (Sep 7, 2015)

Unfortunately, I am lactose intolerant and legumes are like dynamite in my stomach. Calcium supplements are also out due to other medical issues. I'm willing to try the beet tops, though! I'll have to see how these prescription vitamin D things do. Will get blood recheck in a couple of months. Have been reading that low vitamin D worsens IBS symptoms so I'm motivated to fix the low D levels.


----------



## dlind70 (Aug 7, 2015)

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=45

that is a good list for calcium foods. Remember you need fat soluble food for vit D to absorb well. Other foods not mentioned that have natural Vit D include fresh lettuce, cooked mushrooms, dates, canned sardines and raw brown eggs. Your ring finger's heath (4th finger) is related to Calcium/Vit D. Push on it and if its sore then you know you need to absorb more at this time.

Also, you can get Vit D by putting your food out in the sun before you eat it. Put it out in the sun for 10 mins even (in saran wrap to avoid bugs) and You get plenty of Vit D this way.


----------



## acureisoutthere (Jun 28, 2014)

I tried the FODMAP diet and it did help me. It helps some people, and others it does not. So, it is definitely worth a try. You have to be really strict in your elimination of problem foods. After that, you could try elimination diets to find out which are your trigger foods.

You should really try to learn as much as you can about the human microbiome. It is these 100 trillion 'friends' that live in and on our body. We are only 10 % human, and we are actually 90% bacteria. That's right, bacteria cells outnumber human cells by 10 to 1.

The largest amount of this microbiome resides in our large intestine. When it gets disturbed, or out of balance, it often causes disease symptoms. They are connecting the human microbiome to a large number of disease states. It is fascinating medical research. Already it has been called the greatest medical discovery of this century.

Why learn about the human microbiome ? When you learn enough, you are going to understand that your microbiome is out of balance. Antibiotics wreck havoc on the microbiome. In other words; they don't just kill off the bad bacteria, they also kill off our good, helpful bacteria. Trouble is, we need these good, helpful bacteria to lead normal, healthy lives. Youtube, Tedtalks, and Google will all lead to good info. I try to find information that is from medical researchers, and not from those trying to sell a product.

How close are you to New York ? There is a clinical trial for IBS using a microbiome transplant, that you could look into. clinicaltrials.gov

Microbiome transplants are giving very high cure rates for treatment of C. Diff. It sounds 'yucky' when you first read about it. But when you life is a mess, and this is reversing symptoms for other people with IBS, well it starts to sounds a little better.

The PowerofPoop website and the Fecal Transplant Foundation websites also have very good information.


----------



## acureisoutthere (Jun 28, 2014)

Here is an interesting article that will begin to help you understand the human microbiome.

Very informative.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3156250/


----------



## acureisoutthere (Jun 28, 2014)

Hi Lioness818,

Here is another article that explains why the human microbiome is so important. It will help you to understand.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315778/


----------



## ibsengineer (Oct 20, 2015)

Hey everyone,

I have been on a Low FODMAP diet now for over a year...and it mostly works for me. I am able to maintain close to a healthy weight with minimal pain. IBS is tricky, what works for some does not work for others. For me, the Low FODMAP diet was just a starting point (as it probably will be for you too). The most important thing about any IBS diet is your strategy with adding back foods...do it SLOWLY, or else you can't truly be sure what is a trigger for you. Good luck!


----------



## anon123 (Oct 17, 2015)

I've found 'Heathers Tummy Fibre' helped me out loads!

its just a teaspoon mixed with liquid twice a day.

Also following her 'ibs rules' of eating soluble fibre (rice, potatoes, pasta, mushrooms, fresh white bread, etc) on an empty stomach then eating insoluble fibre(cucumber, broccoli, cabbage, leeks, etc) and avoiding red meat, egg yolks, fried food, coconut,oils, butter fats, alcohol, solid chocolate, artificial sweetners as much as possible, go low fat but not fat free and use small amounts of heart healthy oils (olive, canola, safflower, flax)

I really hope this helps!


----------



## Bitsmart (Oct 18, 2015)

I do have some advise that should help. To stop the diarrhea you will have to temporarily go on a restricted diet. Lean meat, cooked vegetables, a little white rice. Do not eat any fruit or sugars for a few days. Sugars are inflammatory. Add a source of soluble fibre to this meal. I eat black beans. You could use sugar free Metamucil. It is usually used for constipation but it turns into a gel and will mop up some fluid and is soothing to the gut. Do not use spices or salad dressing.

One of your triggers is probably disodium inosinate and other variations of disodium such as disodium phosphate, disodium guanylate, and calcium disodium EDTA. You will find this in some salad dressings such as hidden valley ranch dressing and a lot of spice mixes. Disodium phosphate is used in Oh Henry bars for instance. I suspect that this chemical variation of sodium is causing the osmotic diarrhea. Part of the problem is not the food you eat. It is the additives. I also stay away from all sulphites. I link this to the severe spasms.

I have had IBS - D for over 4 years. I lost 11 pounds in less than 3 months including a 6 1/2 loss in 2 weeks because I was in the most severe phase where a meal triggers a bowel evacuation. I have had the best control of my condition over the last 7 months after identifying disodium as a main catalyst.

This will help you.


----------

