# IBS has destroyed me..Life advice?



## LEA2795 (Mar 7, 2018)

I have been struggling with IBS-D for 3 years. I literally woke up with it one day, and it's never stopped. My case is and isn't severe. I do not have diarrhea everyday; in fact, usually I will have 1 bowel movement a day..it's just loose and feels unsatisfying afterwards. I do get bad stomach cramps everyday. Always after I eat, and always at night. Extreme cramping/bloating is an everyday struggle, and if I don't medicate myself, it could easily turn into diarrhea. The only reason I don't have diarrhea as much is because if I feel it coming on, I will take a stomach relaxer (Bentyl) or an over the counter anti diarrhea.

I have tried so much! I have spent over a thousand dollars with doctors..I've had a colonoscopy, a blood test, a food allergy test (not allergic to any foods). I have seen a chiropractor, 2 different homeopathic functional specialists, and a gastro intestinal doctor. All with no avail. The gastro doc did put me on Xifaxan, which did nothing. And all the functional medicines/probiotics did not help either. As far as diets, they never go well...I honestly need help deciding what to eat. I did go on a gluten & dairy free diet for 1 month, but no improvement whatsoever.

I have never been sick..I was always healthy up until this..I honestly only caught 1 cold a year, and that was the only thing.

I have read books that say if you only eat a handful of food items for 1 year..you can be healed. As in chicken broth, water, and vegetable juicing..but LITERALLY nothing else. How can a person live that way..does it work??

I am a complete mess...yes I am extremely depressed, but it's all because of this issue. It has affected every part of my life. I feel like I can't be in relationships, my career situation has been put on hold, I tried to go back to college and failed, I have a hard time keeping up with house work, my family relationships are strained..just to list a few! I got on here because I'm so desperate for help..I feel like I'm just watching my life slip from my hands and it only ever gets worse..

Please help!


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

LEA2795 said:


> I have been struggling with IBS-D for 3 years. I literally woke up with it one day, and it's never stopped. My case is and isn't severe. I do not have diarrhea everyday; in fact, usually I will have 1 bowel movement a day..it's just loose and feels unsatisfying afterwards. I do get bad stomach cramps everyday. Always after I eat, and always at night. Extreme cramping/bloating is an everyday struggle, and if I don't medicate myself, it could easily turn into diarrhea. The only reason I don't have diarrhea as much is because if I feel it coming on, I will take a stomach relaxer (Bentyl) or an over the counter anti diarrhea.
> 
> I have tried so much! I have spent over a thousand dollars with doctors..I've had a colonoscopy, a blood test, a food allergy test (not allergic to any foods). I have seen a chiropractor, 2 different homeopathic functional specialists, and a gastro intestinal doctor. All with no avail. The gastro doc did put me on Xifaxan, which did nothing. And all the functional medicines/probiotics did not help either. As far as diets, they never go well...I honestly need help deciding what to eat. I did go on a gluten & dairy free diet for 1 month, but no improvement whatsoever.
> 
> ...


I am so sorry you are going through this. I am in the same boat, except I have IBS-C. I can't go to the bathroom unless I load up on laxatives. It's a soul draining problem, and I'm actually jealous of people with IBS-D in a way.

Hang in there and don't give up. Just out of curiosity, have you tried peppermint capsules? I have a friend at work who has IBS-D and she says that IBGard has really helped her.


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## friendly046 (Feb 19, 2018)

HI: Sorry to hear about your condition and not finding any real relief. I started out in 2006, and didn't get worse until about 2012. Had eight colonoscopy's which only made it worse after drinking 8 gallons of Prep. (antifreeze) Drano. I have had explosive Diarrhea, Acute constipation and all the rest of side affects. Keep going to Doctors only accomplishes one thing, a zero bank account. MD don't treat anything without a Drug. The rest either don't know how to treat it or have so many patients they don't spend enough time with anyone patient to know where they stand, and 90% of them don't listen to what you have to say during your 15 min exam room chat. Insurance Company tell them how long they can spend with each patient, so it a hit and run mission at best. With all that said, the best method I can tell you is do it yourself. Do your own research, listen to what other people have to say and learn as much as possible to treat your own unique condition. I have leaned Carbs will cause Constipation, so I quite all carbs and went onto a liquid diet. So no more constipation. Diarrhea was caused by certain trigger foods, some fruits and certain Veg. like kale. So now I live on a Veg. diet some raw some lightly cooked. Put everything in a blender and pour it into a bowl. Do this until you can control all your side affects. Than start introducing new foods into your diet. Added some cooked chicken to your blended food mix. But watch your BM, if it slows down to much and you start having constipation, back off. Try other meats or fish. You will have to gage your intake based on you and you only at the time you eat it. No one can tell you the exact amounts your body can tolerate. Listen to your body, it will talk to you and tell you what it likes and dislikes. This is not a short trip in the park, until you get onto your feet. You have to be willing to sacrifice what you eat if you want to get well and overcome your condition. It will take time out of your busy day to prepare your meals, you won't be able to pop them out of a frozen box into the microwave and have lunch 5 min later. But the decision is yours, There will be food you will probable won't ever be able to eat again without having a flair up. I wish you the best, stick with a plan and you will be okay, if you want it to happen, its up to you.


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