# Looking for cure ideas for IBS-D



## MrAnxiety (Mar 22, 2018)

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this forum, so I am just going to tell my story. My digestive issues really started to become an issue when I was finishing up college in 2014. It started off as the occasional strong urge to have a bowel movement in ways that I wasn't used to, especially in the morning. At first I didn't think anything of it, but over time it became more and more common. I found myself arriving at work and having to use the bathroom shortly thereafter, sometimes for 20-30 minutes. As someone who grew up typically having quick bowel movements I thought it was strange, but still didn't consider that anything might be wrong. From there, it began to get worse. I began experiencing anxiety if I wasn't able to use the bathroom before going to work. I would feel trapped during meetings, and any other situation where I couldn't reach a bathroom at a moments notice.

Next, I started getting nervous any time I was in the car. The drive to work in the morning especially became stressful for me, and I would often spend an hour or more in the bathroom prior to leaving for work, and even then I would sweat out each trip, even though it was less than 20 minutes. It was not unusual for me to have to stop at a restaurant or gas station to use the bathroom again on my way there. Around 2015 I began experiencing panic attacks. I never really knew what they were until that point, but I quickly found that I would experience a shot of adrenaline, tunnel vision, sweating, increased heart rate, and a strong need to leave wherever I was. I was having one or two panic attacks a day, and my mental health was suffering as a result. I hated leaving for work, I hated meetings, I hated driving anywhere. I was newly married and quickly losing my self-confidence. I had several digestive accidents on my way to work as well, and this only increased my anxiety.

Around this time I went to the doctor and he prescribed Paxil. I started off at 10 mg daily, but didn't notice any benefit, so he upped my dosage to 15 mg (I think). It definitely helped to limit my anxiety, which was a huge step forward, but my digestive issues did not change. Additionally, no matter how hard I tried to pin point any trigger foods I was unable to find any consistency. I discovered that coffee basically makes me sick for the remainder of the day, so I avoid that, and I have to avoid raw vegetables as well. I had a colonoscopy in 2015, and the doctors said everything looked normal. I gained weight from the Paxil, and decided it wasn't helping enough to be worth how it made me feel, so I went off of it last summer. Since then, I have lost 40 pounds and am in much better shape, yet my digestive/anxiety issues continue.

I currently take 2 imodium, a probiotic, psyllium husk, gas relief medication, and magnesium every night. My bowel movements look more normal, but still occur between 3-5 times most days, and more when I am anxious. I often feel bloated and gassy, and often to the point that I feel sick. I still experience serious anxiety whenever I have commitments, and often just want to stay at home. I want to do something with my life but this has made it very difficult to do much of anything, and I am worn out from it. I want to be challenged, and to be able to handle stress and leadership roles, but don't see how I could possibly handle that right now. I am open to different recommendations, and might try the low FODMAP diet soon to see if that would help. If I could get this thing cured I almost feel like I could take on anything haha. Thanks for reading and best of luck to you all!


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## friendly046 (Feb 19, 2018)

Hi: Magnesium works as a laxative, if you want to stop Diarrhea you may want to stop taking it. Two Imodium a day is a good size dose, if your going to take this for a long period of time. All drugs have side affects... You obviously have trigger foods in your diet that is causing and or making your condition worse. I have no idea what your eating habits are, but if you want to find out you can go on a elimination diet. Star off with a few items, watch how it reacts on your system, than add or delete accordingly until your system is happy with what you end up with. It could be several things, or only a few or just one. Dairy products may affect the condition as well. When you start having these types of aliments you have to start adjusting your intake of food on a daily bases on all meals. Often these conditions come on suddenly with little warning.. as your body and stress level changes as you get older many people systems respond differently. Most of us go through changes every ten years. When a child go's through puberty between age 10-13, that is when they will experience inherited diseases. My daughters son was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 11. Never had a single problem and a very active child until he reached that age. Others will develop problems in there late 40's, and at age 60. I have seen men who were exposed to work place hazards when they were in there mid 20's, and when they retired at age 62, soundly came down with a disease that was traced back 40 years. I had small problems and reactions when I was in my 20's with IBS, but it would always go away soon after. Than when I turned 62, I started to have long term upsets, that lasted much longer, until it became a daily event. If caught in time and the right diet is followed, many times these illness can be tolerated by just staying off from whatever sends you into a flair up. See if this will help... it may take awhile to find your problem. Hope it all works out for you in time.


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