# Treatment for IBS-doubts and other possibilities



## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Good afternoon

I started having intestinal pain and bloating around 5 months from now. After tests and tests done I was ruled out for U. Collitis(colonoscopy done and compeletely normal) and Crohn's(calprotectin values compeletely normal too).

According to my GI specialist that is following me he says that it is IBS, although my GP that is following me from the beginning since this started says that most likely I have dysbiosis and not IBS(caused by some pathogen whehter it was parasitic or bacterial together with stress and probably a not so optimal food diet).

My treatment for the past three weeks has been done in 3 directions:

-Dietary changes recommended by a nutricionist(I can expand on this later if needed, but basically cutting sugar intake and restriciting carbohydrates and at the same time taking vitamin boost doses of food and protein- This will be further changed as she didn't want me to be turned inside out with a one step change that would be too different from what I normally ate);

-Taking daily probiotic with 25billion CFUs that contains L. acidophilus(2 strains) and B. infantis and B. animails;

-Taking a very new medication(max 1-2 yrs in the market of my country) called Normatal(Phloroglucinol(80 mg) + Simeticone (133 mg)) that works very well for IBS and IBS related symptoms. The basic principle is that the medication works by restoring the normal motility of the intestine.

When consulted the GI specialist about this, I was feeling much better(not 100% but Much Better after just two weeks of doing all the above mentioned in a combined fashion) and he says that all tree things probably helped. The plan is to keep up with this for at least 3 months total(that is the duration of what I should take Normatal).

On top of this by my own indication I'm also taking S. Boullardii 250mg(Ultra levur) three times per day and will ramp up to four starting tomorrow(only started this a few days ago), since I know that this also helps in restoring intestinal flora and can be synergetic with the probiotic I'm taking as mentioned above.

Lately except for yesterday, which I went three times in a row to the WC(and only the last one was diarrhea), all the other times I am going once-twice and in terms of pain it's usually on low end of the spectrum(and it's sporadic, mostly I just feel sometimes a little "full" on my right side and not really any pain whether I'm on the WC or not). On top of this, the only thing I feel are lots of intestinal noises.

What do you think and did anyone did a treatment similar to this and with which results? And what about the quantities of probiotic? Should it be higher or it's ok as it is?

Finally do you think it's IBS or dysbiosis? I'm still very much hopeful that this will be reverted to my original state (or very very close to it) even though it may take some months to be fully healed and some permanent dietary changes will be in order.

Please everyone share your comments

Thanks


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Hi again

It turns out that my symptoms have not improved and took a turn for the worst. In 2 weeks I'll be doing a capsule enteroscopy to see if there's something that may have eluded us so far. GP says if exam comes back normal and the situation remains then he'll prescribe 1/4 of anti depressant dose to undepress the nervous system that controls intestinal functions. Well let's see how it goes and I'll update this.


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Just to add to this topic I did a blood test analysis and found out I had insufficient levels of D vitiamin around (19ng/ml. target value should be at least over 30). I'm currently undergoing supplementation. Don't know if this can be relevant or not to the IBS problem but maybe there's some sort of connection. In a few months we'll see if there's any difference with my levels being raised.


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

Thank you for continually updating this thread! It's so nice to see that someone is being thorough and posting their experiments in a clear manner. Your post is how people around the world can be helped!

I definitely think that low Vitamin D levels can have an effect on IBS. Vitamin D has a lot of activity with immune function, and your immune system could be dysfunctional in some way, causing the IBS.

Unless you have some affliction to the sun, would you consider also adding 30mins of sun exposure every day? This can really boost your Vitamin D levels up.

Also, did you ever try to the 1/4 dose of antidepressants? And do you know which med they wanted you to take?


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Hi PD85

For the past maybe 2-3 years I ended up going less to the beach so probably my levels are lower than they should be because of that.

What I'm doing from now onwards on top of the supplementation is during the normal week after lunch, I will be going for a stroll (unless the weather is really bad) so that I can receive the sun's UV rays at it's maximum output and help me raise my D vitamin levels. I'm of fair skin so D vitamin production in like 20-30 mins per day should be much more than what I need for the daily requirements. Hopefully in no time my levels will be on the 40-50 ng/ml levels.

Regarding the Immune system slight disfunction, my nutricionist when I first met her also talked about that and said that it could be some sort of immune system deregulation(she's a nutricionist but she also has Indian medicine education).

So maybe this vitamin D connection maybe has some valid merit even though according to my GP there are only two things that are proven by medical science: For babies that don't get any sun exposure or for rickets. But this doens't mean there isn't a connection and that it is a cause for this. (as we all know in medical science you need to have studies with placebo groups and non placebo groups and there has to be a statistical difference of the results to being able to say that it is a science fact). But if its due of this then I think it'll be a matter of time to recover. Let's see.

Regarding the capsule exam I'll only be doing it this next week,

Regarding the antidepressant the name is Tofranil 25mg. Active composition is imipramine.

Supposedly there are studies with this antidepressant being used in which there have been good results according to GP.

But he's a little reluctant in giving this to me since he doesn't want me to see everything in pink color









Hope this can help







I'll keep this updated.


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

Yea that sounds good. Imipramine is a TCA which increases sun sensitivity so definitely be careful with sun exposure if you start that medicine! I have not used a TCA before but most people have good early results because of the anticholinergic activity.

Keep us updated!


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Hi

It´s been some time now and I'm going to provide with an update.

So capsule enteroscopy was done and the exam came back normal. Only thing detected was a congestion of the mucosa of the duodenal bulb. GI specialist says the exam was normal and nothing bad was found.

In relation to symptoms, my diet was revised by my nutriotionist around 1 month ago to better suit my needs and to address my lingering symptoms.

At this moment, all my previous symptoms are practically gone. I'll list them below:

Diarrhoea-Gone for some time now(probably 2-3 months more);

Eye pain-Gone;

Tendon and Joint pain-Gone;

Abdominal pain and lower right side Bloating-This is still present even though it's very much manageable(on a scale of 1-10 in terms of pain and discomfort I would say it is a 1, maximum 2). But I would say this is currently my main symptom;

On top of the above the only thing I notice is that my bowel movements are still not perfect and still variate from day to day(usually I do one, maximum two bowel movements per day) in terms of consistency. For example, one day it comes out perfect in terms of shape and consistency and the next day it is not so good and either it costs me more to have the bowel movement(push a bit) and/or is more loose. But no diarrhoea.

At the same time I still sense that probably I'm still a bit oversensitive and I feel a bit more the things than I should.

In terms of medication for some time now I'm not taking anything. Next week I'll finish my D vitamin supplementation prescribed by my doctor.

I will have a new consultation with my nutritionist this week to see what needs to be done in order to effectively reverse what's missing.

If everything continues this path of recovery I'll probably just come back to give my final post and wish everyone the best.(that's what I'm hoping anyway  )


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

beatingIBS said:


> Hi
> 
> It´s been some time now and I'm going to provide with an update.
> 
> ...


Wow that is great news! Great job pursuing your health problems quickly.

Whenever you have time would you care to share what diet changes you made, and which foods you eliminated that caused the most issues for you?


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Ok regarding my diet. I'm putting what was recommended to me at this moment(please take into consideration that this was designed specifically to me taking into consideration my own medical condition). It doesn't include my previous steps. I won't include specific brands since this is dependable of the country someone is living in.

First thing in the morning as I wake up- Eat 1 spoon of natural honey plus one drop of tea tree oil plus one drop of distilled lemon oil

Breakfast: Drink 1 liter of tea(funnel or chamomile) and eat one slice of bread with peanut butter + 1 natural yogurt with bifidus + 1 coffee spoon with raspberry + 4 spoons of rice puff

Mid morning break: Fruit with 10-15 oats plus gello

Lunch-

Soup- It should be made with the following ingredients:

- 1 piece of garlic;

- 1 to 3 vegetables: carrots; eggplant; pumpkin; broccoli; green beans and cabbage;

-1 sweet potato;

- 3 spoons of wheat;

-1 spoon of beer yeast;

-6 spoons of either azuki or mung beans;

- 1 spoon of olive virgin oil;

When the soup is ready to be eaten add one spoon of hemp oil

Main course(Lunch/Dinner)

120 g of white meat(chicken, rabbit; turkey) or any kind of fish or 1 whole egg

+ 8 soup spoons of rice

+ 4 spoons of vegetables(beans;grains;etc...)

+200 gr of boiled vegetables

Mid afternoon snack

1 boiled banana + 2 boiled apples + 1 spoon of maca + 1 spoon of matcha + 1 spoon of almond flower + 1 spoon of psillium

Late afternoon snack

Holle baby mix

Dinner

Main course(see above)

Soup. Eat a bowl of miso soup

Before sleeping:

20 drops of echinacea

1 vitamin A pill(becase I was very depleted of vitamin A I'm now compensating this)

Any doubts please tell


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## JT123 (Jun 22, 2018)

This is great news you were able to cure IBS through diet and possibly the vitamin D supplementation. I also have below target level D in the past and likely need to get it checked again as maybe there is a correlation there.

It's interesting the diet includes bread and honey which are normally high FODMAP foods. Everyone has different reactions though so it's obvious these don't upset your gut if the symptoms have disappeared. Also, do you consistently eat the same foods? I've read it's good to rotate foods every 4 days so you don't eat the same thing over and over which I'm bad at doing.


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

I'd just like to add that I'm not cured(but I feel I'm very close). I am however very much improved. With the diet I've shown above the goal is basically restoring the gut flora with the pre and probiotic food so that I can rebalance everything(the miso soup is a very important part in this).

The other parts of the diet if someone has doubts, please ask and I'll explain to the best of my abillity what's the goal.

At the same time following my whole body approach, I'll probably consult with an psycologist to see he can help.

Probably doing one or two sessions of hypnotherapy(but regarding this I'm not sure,,,First I'll talk to him and then we'll see what will be the course of action...) and/or at least trying to give me tools to manage stress and emotions in a much better way since from what I know IBS is also/can be related to gut-brain axis and emotions and stress can influence the gut and the other way around(even though related to this final part I'm a bit skeptical).

So just to make a summary at this moment I'm doing:

-Diet above shown;

-Tai chi(for several months);

-Meditation(I'll try to do this once a day and see if there's an effect or not);

Planning to do:

-Consult a psycologist in order to manage stress/emotions better and/or doing hypnotherapy(depending on what he'll tell me it's best);

As usual I'll keep this forum posted on the journey and hopefully it won't be long before I don't have any symptoms


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Dear all

Just want to update my status.

So my IBS has been somewhat gradually becoming better over time. in terms of diet I am now not restricting myself to too much now. However still trying to follow the advices given to me.

Only side effect that I have is that based on some supplements I took, I have somewhat damaged my liver but it'll reverse itself in time(I'm taking some medication to help me get better-Legalon)

From my experience until now, IBS needs a whole body approach and not only a gut directed approach.

The intestine has a a nervous enteric system(the so called second brain) and is the place where most of the serotonin of the body is produced.

This "second brain" interacts with the brain. So if this interaction gets deregulated it can/will induce IBS overtime if this deregulation is not stopped.

I'm still practicing taichi/qi gong(albeit not as often as I should) either at home or in the center and I believe this has brought me a much more relaxed state.

Hopefully IBS will become progressively better until it disappears completely.

I'll still come to the forums as I believe being able to share my story and seeing others has helped me tremendously.

Thanks all.


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## mb83 (Feb 18, 2014)

Keep in mind that IBS isn't a real diagnosis. It's just a bucket that doctors have dumped us in because they consider our symptoms to be generic and nondescript and don't want to spend the time finding the actual causes. Instead they throw us in the IBS bucket, dump in some pills and diet advice and look forward to all the copays and tests we'll be paying them for in the coming years.

I was diagnosed five years ago, have tried every recommended pill and diet and whatnot, and my "IBS" seems to be continuing to worsen. If it weren't for Imodium, I probably wouldn't be be able to work. Having an especially sh** day today, hence my pessimistic attitude.


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Actually that is not entirely true. IBS is a real diagnosis. Again if you ask doctors why it happens there are many theories but not one concrete evidence.

IBS is caused by deregulation of the enteric nervous system. The reason behind IBS it's what's unclear. That's why in my post above I mentioned *true IBS*

However from my personal experience anyways, I think IBS is something systemic and as such needs a systemic approach(whole mind-body approach).

If you only tackle the gut issues you'll get some relief but probably not as much as if you also tackle the mind as well. Since I had my diagnosis I came to realize that the mind is very powerful and can influence your body. The other way around is also true and your body can influence your mind as well(for example if you have intestinal pain you may start having more anxiety...)

Well that's my 2 cents anyway. I'm not a doctor so I can't say for sure that this is the case, but that's just what I've come to realize in the recent time.


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## beatingIBS (Jul 22, 2018)

Dear Forums

Just wanted to say that after all this time I am much improved. All of the above things helped in their own unique ways. I can confidently say that like the doctors say this is something that you'll have for life but that we can have in remission if we follow all the good practices(at least for me).

I'll be still lurking the forums from time to time(but very infrequently) to try and help and give my 2 cents to people who ask.

I hope my journey can help similar people in similar situations.

See you


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