# Recently Diagnosed with IBS



## georgew (Dec 3, 2014)

Hello everyone. I was recently diagnosed with IBS and have alternating D and C versions. I have had it my whole life but in recent years due to the stress of being a new home owner and my new son it seems my condition has gotten much worse. Everyday is a challenge for me and I wake up everyday to spasms in my lower GI and feeling sick. I will take a warm bath and that will sometimes sooth the symptoms. It takes a lot out of me just to get to work. Sometimes the symptoms will disappear, sometimes they will persist and sometimes they will get worse. I was also hospitalized 3 times this year due to being unable to stop throwing up.

When I was 19 I had an upper endoscopy that came back with nothing. This year I had a colonoscopy which that too came back with nothing. So I started seeing a nutritionist who helped me find out my problem foods. It seems I am not allergic to gluten but very sensitive. I also cannot eat lettuce and other insoluble foods. I think it was pizza and salad that put me in the hospital twice along with a cold. The other time was an IBS reaction to the antibiotics I was on for a recent shoulder surgery. I certainly do feel better having adjusted my diet but my problems are still there and I wake up with it every morning.

My doctor has prescribed a couple pills but the only thing that seemed to help was percocet to fight the pain. I only got that after one of my hospital visits as well. I have a follow up appointment next week where I am going to try to discuss alternative prescriptions as what I have does not seem to do anything. My main symptoms being spasming and cramping does anyone have a success story with the same conditions and what worked for them? I know everyone is different in this case but as with most people with this condition I just want to feel better and am ready to do whatever it takes.

This is a great time in my life being a new home owner and my son being born and my IBS is making it an absolute living hell. How can I make my quality of life better? How can I diminish my symptoms? HELP!!!


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## Butch (Nov 16, 2014)

have you had any stool tests? Do you know if you have issues with gut bacteria being imbalanced?

I would recommend trying digestive support pills - digestive enzymes and also Betaine HCL with Pepsin -- to see if those help.

I have been dealing with IBS-D for a year and am very aggressively trying to change it. I have had some luck with a recent diet change and also digestive support supplements. I am writing about it here: https://bodyhealyourself.wordpress.com.

My boyfriend, who is generally healthy, has suffered from constipation for years. He's been using fiber and stool softeners to deal with it, but it's not very effective. I started him on the Betaine HCL with Pepsin and within a couple of days he had immediate improvement. He takes them with every meal and now is completely regular. He's thrilled. Betaine HCL addresses low stomach acid. Many of us have it apparently, and it's more common as you age. If your stomach PH isn't acidic enough, it causes all kinds of digestive problems. These pills help you address that. If your stomach acid is fine, you will know because the pills will give you mild heartburn on your first dose. So it's pretty foolproof.

It sounds like you have a number of health issues going on at once, but this is definitely worth trying and it's relatively low cost/low risk. Please be aware that if you try the Betaine HCL there is a very specific protocol you need to follow on how to ramp up the right dose, and also when to take it during the meal. I think I have these details on my blog. The reason I point this out is because the directions on the bottle don't always specify and then people have a bad reaction because they are taking it at the wrong time.

I hope these ideas are helpful to you.


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