# IBS-C and Weight gain - Connection?



## aurora42245 (Apr 11, 2012)

Hi everyone!I am new to the site but am SO GLAD i found it! I have had a what I thought was a sensitive stomach my entire life. I have recently been diagnosed with IBS-C. I had gotten C-diff a few years back and things never seemed to go back to normal after that. The Doctors told me the C-Diff was gone and it could just take my body time to get back to normal. Years later I went on vacation to Wyoming and ended up getting food poisoning from potato salad. During that time I was also under tremendous stress from my personal life as well as work. I started to see a therapist to talk to them about my stresses. Once I got back home a few months passed and I noticed that I now could no longer go to the bathroom. One thing led to another and I ended up seeing a GI doctor. He at first only told me to use miralax and to ad fiber... Fiber made me much worse! I tried this for a few weeks and ended up with this horrible pain on my right side. I went back to the doctor and they took x-rays which showed I was still constipated. He told me to try prunes and keep up with the fiber and to maybe ad a stool softener. I did everything and NOTHING worked. I ended up talked to family and an aunt said to try an enema... little did I know enemas were going to be my now way of life. Long story short, I went back to the doctors and told him that I was now having to use enemas sometimes 4 at a time every day to get relief from the gas and the pain (which always ends up coming back). They ended up doing a colonoscapy and diagnosed me with IBS-C and a slow digestive system... I have now basically become obsessed with what I can and cannot eat. I feel like my life revolves around food and if it will make me feel sick. Friends and family are tired of hearing my worries... I feel horrible, its always on my mind. I still havent found anything that helps me go to the bathroom. Enemas have stopped working. I have tried lactulose, Amitiza and Bentyl, Magnesium citrate, milk of magnesia, prunes... Nothing has worked. The medicine for the colonoscapy barely worked.I have changed my diet conforming to my stomachs needs but that at times isnt even enough. No matter what I do I cannot seem to find relief. Is there anything anyone can recommend? My main reason for writing this post was because I was wondering if there was a link to the weight gain also. I have been barely hungry now.. and I seem to eat really more veggies then anything. I eat smaller portions as I feel full almost all the time. I understand that the constipation plays a big roll in the weight gain but I was just wondering if anyone else had the same issue? NONE of my clothes fit right... I was told to drink a ton of water to make sure the miralax works properly so I thought maybe am retaining liquid? Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated. =(Ashley


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## amberlink09 (Apr 5, 2011)

Hello,I'm sorry to hear you are having such a hard time! You can definitely gain weight because of constipation. My guess is that all the food builds up and you have water weight too. I have literally had a 7 pound weight difference going to the doctor from one day to the next. My stomach gets hugely bloated, to the point where I have to have 2 different clothing sizes, it's ridiculous.It's tough but you really just have to find what works for you. I found that part of my problem was that taking laxatives/miralax/whatever was just messing me up more. I also realized that stress and my period are big triggers for me, and food. So now I follow a paleo diet, I take 1000 mg of magnesium per day, and I try to have a glass of plum juice every day, that usually keeps me regular. For the past week though my usual pan hasn't been working for me, and I'm definitely in pain today. It's hard but you just have to keep tweaking until you find something that works and keep in mind that it will probably take a week or so before you see results, and no matter what there are still going to be bad days. Good luck!


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## paraAdrian (Nov 5, 2010)

yup of course you feel fat cause you are full of poop In the Inside plus that makes you feel distended and It gives you the sensation that you are fat . I know all of this cause I have the same stinking problem ,,,,,,,,,,,,,


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yup---me too. full of it...backed up stool.on the really bad, backed up days (like today) pants and waistbands are just too uncomfortable no matter how big and loose they are so then i wear my "fat clothes"--lol--jumpers, loose dresses.when your gastro said you have a slow digestive system--did he make any recommendations to help treat it more proactively? i had a sitz marker test and a defogram which diagnosed slow transit constipation and some outlet problems--a rectocele and vaginal prolapse. since nothing else worked for me, my gastro finally told me, as a last resort, to "take what i need to go". which for me is milk of magnesia and stimulant laxatives...they help but i still have my bad days.good luck to you. i do hope you or your gastro doc can figure out a treatment plan that works for you.


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## aurora42245 (Apr 11, 2012)

HI,thanks for your posts. Im glad to know I'm not the only one... No one else in my family has this issue and I feel horrible talking to them over and over and over again about how I just dont feel well. I've been mixing things up but was worried to stop the Miralax because the Dr. told me it could make the constipation worse.... Kinda thinking I should try it... I got some flax seed oil because I was told that this could possibly help... Havent noticed much of a difference. I was also thinking today that maybe I should go see another GI for a second opinion. The one I have seems to brush off the issue with the food diary, less stress and miralax. He hasnt really tried to help... I feel foolish though because I've read soo many posts on here about people having the same issues as me. I just feel like there has to be SOMETHING! I cant find a food period that doesnt bother my stomach. Are there certain things that you eat that you find tend to be better for you?I get up everyday with the best of intentions to workout after work and by the time I get home I feel like a train has driven over me. The last thing I feel like doing with a full bloated stomach that hurts is jump up and down or go for a walk. I just want to curl up in a ball. YUCK! Do you have any exercises that you do that might help?Thanks,Ashley


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Ashley--oh yes i agree--it is hard to exercise when you feel so hugely bloated, backed up and tired as well. but exercise does help--at least, it does for me. it helps move things through the colon. when i'm not able to exercise, i get even more constipated.i'm retired now but when i was working i found it much easier to get up a little early and exercise then, before work. because yes, like you said, by the time i got home i was way too tired--yup--hit by a train...and i've learned to force myself to exercise--at least a little-- even when i'm feeling miserable because i know i'll feel worse if i don't. for me--walking helps. i used a treadmill until my knees got too bad (arthritis). now i use a stationary recumbent bike--easy on the back and knees--and also an elliptical machine. our basement is our gym--lol. or when the weather is nice, i walk outside. some people say swimming helps them. some yoga positions are said to help constipation.yes by all means see another gastro if you aren't getting any help from your current one. it really does help to have a good gastro who cares enough to listen to you, who realizes how debilitating chronic constipation can be and who is up-to-date on all the current tests and treatments---not always an easy job to find one, though...wishing you all the best....your dogs are absolutely adorable...


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## aurora42245 (Apr 11, 2012)

Hi Annie,Thanks for your post. I have days when I just get so upset with this. I feel like there isn't a food I can eat. I sent my gi a message about trying to fid out other possible solutions and he wants me to take 2 cap fulls of miralax 2x a day. I guess I'll give that a whirl and see how that goes. I was getting up at 5 am and using my elliptical but I have days when it takes everything I have to get out of bed. I dont sleep very well at night depending on my stomach. I try to talk the dogs for a walk after work each day but as I said before I have days when I just come home and curl up.Thanks for the complement on the dogs. They are my children for now


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## screeb (Jul 25, 2001)

The true cause of weight gain is delayed gastric emptying, such that you don't get the nutrients from your food and you eat more in an effort to suck up nutrients at the duodenum, which never gets food when it remains in the stomach. My blog is in technical terms but basically, you should do the exercise, but drink coffee first and use a cervical traction apparatus after.The traction is the weapon of choice in fighting delayed gastric emptying. You can try to find an old one or Google "Goodley poly-axial traction mobilizer system" and its patent, and build one according to the spec's. I struggle with this delayed gastric emptying causing hunger everyday, after each meal. According to the theory, the colon pain activates neck muscle spindle afferents so the neck gets sensitized to the traction. That's why 7/9 c-IBS patients are co-morbid for delayed gastric emptying,


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

good luck with the miralax--fingers crossed it works well for you. my gastro started me out on it too. it does help a lot of people. and it's safe to use.screeb mentioned coffee--that definitely helps me. a nice strong cup of black coffee first thing in the morning helps get things going.i understand about the sleep. i have chronic insomnia anyway and being bloated and in pain never helps with that. when it's bad i find i can get some relief by sleeping on my left side with a smallish flat pillow tucked under my side--i sort of rest my bloated belly on it, for support--somewhat like those pillows they have for pregnant women. the nurses always say i look eighteen weeks p.g.---lol..and oh yes i do so understand about needing to curl up. some days we just need to do that. when it's bad i lay down with my trusty microwaveable heating pad on my tummy (not too hot though) i try to relax--slow deep breathing-- and massage my belly through the heating pad with my fingers. or i lay on my left side with the heating pad under the belly. it's helps relieve the pain plus it's comforting.good luck...hang in there.. hope the miralax works well for you.


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## TheOutlookChild (Sep 2, 2011)

Have you had your thyroid checked? An underactive thyroid will cause constipation and weight gain.


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## justinian (Oct 18, 2011)

When this mess first came into my life I was a 32 waist and with in one month I was a 40.


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## aurora42245 (Apr 11, 2012)

Ya they checked my thyroid







it was fine. I messaged my gi and he told me to increase the miralax to 2 caps 2x a day... Did that on Saturday... Boy did I regret that!!! It made me soo bloated and gassy and didn't help wth the bathroom issue... I'm going to try not taking it and just keep the stool softeners and see if that works. I feel like the miralax just makes me all gassy. Anyone else have that issue?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yes unfortunately it did the same thing to me---lots of gas. it felt like there was all this liquidy stool just rolling around inside of me that wouldn't come out--like a washing machine stuck on rinse--lol. i need more more of a push to get stool out and miralax--regardless of dosage--just didn't provide that push.good luck with the stool softeners--fingers crossed they work for you.


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## aurora42245 (Apr 11, 2012)

Thank you! So far so good. Do u or anyone have right side pain like on ur hip/ crease of ur leg? The dr.s tested me and said it was swollen lymph nodes. The pain gets worse depending on how I feel. Wondering if anyone else has it and if they found anything to help with the constant pain? I use a heating pad and asprin bit it doesn't really touch it. It's more of an inside pain.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

i have mostly left sided pain--the left part of the colon. have had it for many years as part of the constipation problem. and yes i also have swollen lymph nodes in the left side as well---in the crease of my leg, just as you described. i've had them for years but thankfully they are not as painful as they were at first. when i first had them checked, my primary care doc said this was probably due to my constipation/ibs pain. she said they swell when they are fighting an infection and she thought they were swollen because of my chronic, continual constipation. and yes, you do want to have a doc thoroughly check those lymph nodes out--sounds like you already have..as far as treatment of the pain...well,fortunately the pain in mine was tolerable. and it did wane after a while. but i've read the following (below) on treating painful lymph nodes---i think the warm compresses might help because it's moist heat. some heating pads provide only dry heat although there are ones that supply moist heat as well--the microwavwable ones or the ones that come with a thin sponge-thingie that you moisten. or you can moisten a small towel or washcloth and use the heating pad with that.Treating Painful Lymph Nodes in the Groin While the cause of painful lymph nodes in the groin are being treated, it may take some time before the lymph nodes return to normal size and the pain is gone. The following can help relieve the pain: 1.Over the counter pain relievers2.Warm compresses3.Prescription anti-inflammatory4.Message therapy When treatment of the cause of the tender or painful lymph nodes is successful, the lymph node will return to its former size and no longer be painful. http://www.thelymphnodes.com/painful-lymph-nodes-in-groin.phpyou could also try a different type of OTC anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen or aleve. or a prescription NSAID. sometimes when one NSAID doesn't work, another one will. they all act a bit differently.good luck. i do hope you can find something to relieve the pain.


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