# My "Hello"



## flitwit (Oct 3, 2013)

Hello all. I've been reading through this forum for quite some time... I really appreciate all of the detailed posts, debates, success stories, and failures. It really helps.

I have been sufferring a bad case of IBS for about 3-4 years now. I was on a drug called Accutane, which has caused many people GI distress (IBS, Crohn's, Colitis, etc.etc.etc.). My situation is a little different... the doctors and pharmacists had been careless and dosed it in such a way that it caused rare and painful side effects. For one, I cannot stand up for more than 5 minutes without being in terrible back pain. At times I manage for 30 minutes, but by the end of it, I'm done, and the pain will last the entire day and somtimes into the next. The pain is there when I'm sitting and laying down, and if I lay down too long, it'll be just as bad. Sleep is never sound, I have to constantly shift position because of the pain, and pain meds are ineffective, not to mention they make me incredibly ill... but onto the IBS, which was another delightful side effect...

So, I've been sufferring with IBS for about 4 years now. It's difficult to say whether it's C or D, because the bland diet I've been on for those years have cause it to be more C predominant... whereas, I couldn't turn it off when I had been trying normal foods. So, for the past 4 years, I've been eating the same meal every single day (not healthy at all, I know, but ANYTHING else and I couldn't turn it off). Breakfast = Chex cereal with soy milk, lunch = Basmati rice with Tilapia, and 4-5 baby carrots (over-steamed until mushy), dinner = same as lunch. It's been depressing to say the least. I've tried other foods, but it's a really difficult situation for me. Anything else I've tried has caused problems, and with the pain in my back, I'm not able to indulge the sickness. Imagine an IBS attack while someone wearing cleats is jumping up and down on your back. I've lost half of my body weight. I'm 6 feet tall, I used to weigh 183lbs. I now weigh something like 90lbs. I lost the majority within about 4 months after it all started.

About a month ago, my body must have given up, because I had a terrible attack (D), after a week, it calmed down, and I thought it was over, but then I couldn't go for 2 weeks, it was painful... though I was eating the same meals every day for those 2 weeks. When I finally was able to go, it wasn't much, but it was relief. 2 more weeks pass, and I had the same attack as the first. This time, the last time I went, it was nothing but mucus and blood. Dark red, and quite a bit of it. It shook me up, but after that, it was like turning off a faucet... nothing more. So, that scared me enough to reevalute how I'm handling this illness. This ended about a week ago.

At this point I'm incredibly weak, and I'd given up... with the severe crippling pain in my body, the weakness, the pain in my gut, all of the other problems, I'm ready for life to end... and I figure, my life is about over, there's really no reason not to try the remedies that I've been so afraid to try. So last week I ordered every supplement I've read success stories on. I researched probiotics, enzymes, vitamins, etc... and I started taking a risk with different foods. It's too early to tell, and I don't want to get my hopes up, but I have a feeling it's helping, however slightly.

I wanted to get the best I could get... the probitiocs I purchased were really expensive, but it contains exactly the strains I wanted, and it's pure... no additives. I can customize the dosage as well, being that it's a powder. If anyone is curious GutPro.

I started about 5 days ago with a childs dose. A drop according to their guide.

Simultaneously, I started digestive enzymes. I started with Source Naturals Digestive Enzymes, because from what I could tell, these were mild. And I tried Rainbow Light's Advanced Enzyme System with 2 meals so far.

I started risking different foods as well! I had poached (or boiled more like) organic chicken breast and a white potato yesterday! As bland as it was, what an amazing thing to have a change. I miss food so much. To be honest, my daily fish tasted better than my bland chicken, but it was just the change that I enjoyed so much. I also had green beans with my rice another day. Amazing that I didn't suffer as much as I should have. I tried plain unbuttered polenta as well, and a teeny bit of quinoa (I don't think my digestion can handle this).

I can't really tell which is helping, and I don't know how to explain how I feel it's helping, but I feel a bit better. I was able to use the restroom after 5 days, and it was semi-normal... then again after 2 days. Again, it's way too early to say, but I'm really really hoping that it'll last.

My only issue, and I'll probably make a seperate thread on this, is that the enzymes appear to cause me severe drowsiness / lethargy. I'm not really sure what's going on, but it seems to be enhanced soon after I take the enzymes. I've also been feeling a minor burning in my throat and chest... again, I assume this is due to the enzymes.

I also have a bottle of S. Boulardii in the fridge, and a bottle of L-Glutamine being delivered, which I plan to include in my plan soon, and I've started a daily Journal of what I'm eating and how I feel that day. I feel that I have slow transit digestion, so it's not easy to pinpoint what will cause problems, but hopefully over time I'll see a pattern.

My life's been absolutely brutalized by this drug and what's happened to me. I'm 33 years old now. At the time, I was just at the very end of earning my degree in mechanical engineering from a top school, which I'd spent 6 years straight, working every single minute of every day for. I can no longer work, so I've moved in with my sister who has helped me tremendously. I won't get my life back, but I can improve what's left of it.

Thank you for reading this. It's nearly a book, but I had and still have so much to say, and have not shared this before... it's almost theraputic. I look forward to learning from you all, and hopefully sharing what has helped me.

And I apoligize for any dyslexia in the post... like I said, this digestive enzyme is making me so lethargic, my head isn't very clear at the moment.


----------



## Mary S (Jun 25, 2013)

I am so sorry for what is happening to you and at such a young age. I hope things improve for you. God bless you. Keep us posted on your prgress.

Mary


----------



## Shade711 (Oct 4, 2013)

When did the symptoms start? After using Accutane? Or did you have it before then? Did you have gastroenteritis prior?


----------



## flitwit (Oct 3, 2013)

Mary S said:


> I am so sorry for what is happening to you and at such a young age. I hope things improve for you. God bless you. Keep us posted on your prgress.
> 
> Mary


Thank you. Kindness goes a very long way.



Shade711 said:


> When did the symptoms start? After using Accutane? Or did you have it before then? Did you have gastroenteritis prior?


The symptoms occurred near the end of my Accutane treatment. I had been taking it for about 6 months. At the end of the 6 months, when I was finishing up my last prescription I began having GI problems, but I'd thought it was just something I ate. I was fine before then. Eating hamburgers, Greek, Mexican, etc. on a daily basis. Then a few days later that back pain started... and I thought it was just my bed. I went and purchased a new mattress which didn't help. At my next doctor's appointment I asked if I was able to restart the medication if the acne (this is an acne medication) returned. The derm told me that I'd have to wait at least 6 months before starting again, because with this medication stopping then restarting would create severe side effects. I don't recall the name of the problem it causes with the spine, but he said that if that were to happen I'd wish I'd never heard of the drug, because pain medications won't help, and there's no curing it. That's when I started worrying. After about a week, very quickly it escalated to full blown pain, and it felt like I'd lost control of my bowels. It came so quickly, I went to the ER, but of course their response was to give me anti-diarrhoeal solution, which did nothing. I went home, and it became worse and worse, I went to a different ER the next day because of the pain. They took X-Rays and a CT Scan, and saw nothing. They gave me an IV with morphine. That made things worse. The pain didn't go away, but now I was extremely weak, tired from not having slept for days, and now extremely dizzy and jittery. Panic attacks ensued.

I've had a colonoscopy, endoscopy but apparently they found nothing. I was scheduled to have an MRI, but feeling so ill, weak, and unsteady, I couldn't drink their solution. And again, a rush of panic attacks came until I passed out.

I've just now made another appointment (this is now maybe 2 years since I've been to the doctor). I don't have insurance, but through the city, so my appointment isn't until March 2014. Hopefully these probiotics keep me sane until then. I believe I'm having an allergic reaction to either probiotic or enzymes however. I will likely make a thread regarding that.

Thank you again for reading.


----------



## Shade711 (Oct 4, 2013)

Cursory glances online suggest chrone's disease may be caused by Accutane, so I hope they're looking for that as well.


----------



## flitwit (Oct 3, 2013)

Shade711 said:


> Cursory glances online suggest chrone's disease may be caused by Accutane, so I hope they're looking for that as well.


I believe so. The doctors who performed the colonoscopy and endoscopy were very kind, but the system is a mess. I'm in Los Angeles, so it's very crowded, very busy.

And yes, Crohn's is a problem for many on this drug. It's caused much worse however.


----------

