# Okay, worst symptom controlled...two more symptoms to go. Here is how I did it.



## Colt (May 5, 2011)

Okay after three years of trial and error, I have been able to manage emergencies...Imodium, psyllium and Cholesteramine have taken urgency out of the picture. Thank God!! I can even enjoy a coffee (instant only) and a beer now and again. Something that I could not do for four years.

Now I get to complain about the less horrific symptoms, but symptoms nonetheless.

The worst of these two is still the leakage. Anyone who has followed my posts know that I suffer from leakage after bowel movement. This is somewhat reduced with Imodium and maybe the psyllium, but is still a painful and uncomfortable symptom. Leakage is always worse after an afternoon BM. Bad days always begin with a burning stomach in the morning, that goes away when I eat.

The "less worse" is the bloating. I feel gassed up all the time and always feel like I need a BM.

For those of you wondering how I manage my symptoms. I use a multi pronged approach. At least one Imodium in the morning, and often a half prior to bed. I will take up to three per day if I am going to be away from the bathroom for extended periods. I take two or three capsules of psyllium per day and 1 pack of choleramine powder as well.

I believe this method has also helped me mentally as well. Not worrying about crapping myself keeps me from crapping myself. I also feed the demon. When I am hungry, my symptoms go into overdrive, so snacking helps.

What did NOT work for me? I have had no luck with multiple probitics. Antihistamines. No luck with Pepto. No luck with peppermint. I often find that some things work for a few weeks - just enough to get my hopes up - then my body adjusts and rejects. I have tried no grain and no dairy. I love yogurt but is does nothing for me. I have no "trigger foods". Roughage never agreed with me so I seldom eat it. I can however eat a Whopper and a pepperoni pizza with no adverse effect.

Feel free to ask me ANYTHING you want.....I have come a long way in the past three years. I used to have to get up four hours before work just so I could get out of the house. This disease almost cost me my career and if I did not have an incredible wife, she would have left too.....and I would not have blamed her.

So, I ask you fine folks.....any other thoughts on post BM leakage and/or bloating?


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Wow, sounds like you've been through alot.

Have you not considered the faecal transplant procedure?


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

IBS is BS said:


> Wow, sounds like you've been through alot.
> 
> Have you not considered the faecal transplant procedure?


I am fortunate that I am nowhere near as bad as many on here. I may have been at first, but now I am about 50% back to normal.

I have not considered the transplant yet, but it is on my list.

Have you been through it??


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

No i've not yet resorted to it.

I am currently trialling a probiotic (a very high dose for 3 days) to see what effect it can have. It is similar to the faecal transplant in terms of being a one-off high-dose, but it obviously does not have anywhere near the range and number of species of bacteria (and other, possibly vital, microorganisms).

I'm into day 2 today


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

IBS is BS said:


> No i've not yet resorted to it.
> 
> I am currently trialling a probiotic (a very high dose for 3 days) to see what effect it can have. It is similar to the faecal transplant in terms of being a one-off high-dose, but it obviously does not have anywhere near the range and number of species of bacteria (and other, possibly vital, microorganisms).
> 
> I'm into day 2 today


Best of luck, please keep us updated!


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

On the bloating.. many folks experience that with using imodium. Try taking a simethicone (anti-gas) product with the imodium and see if that helps.


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Colt said:


> Best of luck, please keep us updated!


Bowel movements are feeling great!

Like being back on psyllium husk... before the psyllium started giving me bloating.

Time will tell now that i've finished the course.


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

IBS is IBS.....congrats on your success!! can you please share with us the name/type of probiotic??

BQ, I have tried that and it does not seem to matter. My bloating/fullness/I GOTTA GO feeling precedes my use of Imodium.


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Colt said:


> IBS is IBS.....congrats on your success!! can you please share with us the name/type of probiotic??


Hey Colt.

Sorry, I completely forgot to check back in this thread! Someone PMed me asking the same question so it jogged my memory.

It's called Elixa probiotic. It's in a small purple box. I found it on ebay after hearing somebody talking about it at work. They were saying it helped their skin and when i found out they were talking about a probiotic, i figured it must be fairly powerful if they were noticing this effect (as this girl already has nice skin as far as I can see!).

I think it might be available in stores in the UK, but I checked on ebay first anyway.

After I got it i found their website http://www.elixa-probiotic.com/ It's actually quite informative and has some more scientific links and references in it if you are interested in all that.

It's the same price on their site as on ebay but it's useful for some extra details compared to the ebay listing. The ebay listing is more like a sales pitch which might look a bit less believable, but the site seems professional and explains what's different about it versus other supplements.

One thing to note:

It says most people should just use it as a one-off but I really think that this skin improvement might have a bit more mileage in it... so to speak. I'm going to get a second one and then report back here with results about how long the effect lasts and how good is the effect etc..

My bowels are great though! I ate some dairy and no problems whatsoever (lactose usually gives me 'd').

I'd like to hear more people's opinions on it though to see if it is something that works in general IBS....

The best way I can describe it is that it's like when I used to be on a good psyllium husk regimen with no bloating and regular 'clean' bowel movements.


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

IBS is BS said:


> Hey Colt.
> 
> Sorry, I completely forgot to check back in this thread! Someone PMed me asking the same question so it jogged my memory.
> 
> ...


Really appreciate the info. Also really appreciate you following up. So many people on these forums suddenly disappear and I always wonder if they found something that worked and simply quit posting.

Thanks, I look forward to your follow up and if positive, I will order this too......whats another $50? I have spent thousands already!


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Yep you're right! And this was actually one of the cheaper purchases i've made in this journey, to be honest.

I paid £15, which is around $25 i believe.

Faecal transplant is around £3k (!!) so I'm glad to have saved that money.


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

IBS is BS said:


> Yep you're right! And this was actually one of the cheaper purchases i've made in this journey, to be honest.
> 
> I paid £15, which is around $25 i believe.
> 
> Faecal transplant is around £3k (!!) so I'm glad to have saved that money.


If I knew I would be cured, I would sell my house, spend my life savings and go into deep, deep debt......but I think we are all tired of trying things that don't work. We are starting to see so many snake-oil salesman "catering" to this issue.


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Well in that case, if Elixa doesn't give you the results it gave me, you could give FMT a try.

http://thepowerofpoop.com/epatients/where-to-get-fecal-transplant/

That's a list of places they do FMT (i see you are from Canada). I've received the 2nd box of Elixa today and I'll report back in a few days.


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## mr120 (Sep 1, 2013)

I can't take pills, so contacted Elixa, who have said they will happily send tubes of hermetically sealed powder instead, which is nice.

I have done two home FMT - neither of those helped me.. so going to be trying this 'Elixa', Like 'IBS is BS' said - It's one of the cheapest I will have tried - so no big issue if it doesn't work.. apart from disappointment :S.

And yeah, keep us posted


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

I didn't know they did a powder version. Did they mention any difference with it?


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

I am looking forward to the updates from both you guys!!

I am sure there is a Canadian version, but if not I will go the USA. I drive down south to buy Imodium, so I am there all the time anyway.

Thanks again!!


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Driving to another country to get meds! Dedication!

I just checked their site and it says shipping is free and worldwide according to their site (incase that saves you the hassle!). I did see it on ebay international so that figures...

I'll report back in 3-4 days after this second round.


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## mr120 (Sep 1, 2013)

The guy I spoke to said the only difference would be possible nausea for a few minutes, due to the bacteria getting in contact with the upper GI tract, which it wouldn't if in capsule form.


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

IBS is BS said:


> Driving to another country to get meds! Dedication!
> 
> I just checked their site and it says shipping is free and worldwide according to their site (incase that saves you the hassle!). I did see it on ebay international so that figures...
> 
> I'll report back in 3-4 days after this second round.


Not dedication, financial survival. In Canada, Imodium is over one dollar per pill.....in the US, I can get 48 for $4.00. So I stock up and save about $700 a year in med expenses.

Again, looking forward to your reports!


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## mr120 (Sep 1, 2013)

Hey IBS is BS,

How did the second box go?

Eagerly awaiting your response


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

Awaiting update!!


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Colt said:


> Awaiting update!!


Worked BIG TIME! For me personally atleast.

My skin is so much better aswell.... and starting Elixa is the only thing i've changed recently.

There's alot of info on their website actually. It's more scientific studies/journals which I didn't see before:

www.elixa-probiotic.com Perhaps someone with a bit more scientific knowledge can learn something from them and elaborate.

I'd like to hear back from other people who try it. And I have a couple questions: Did it also improve your skin? Did it improve hair quality? (my hair looks and feels more shiny even after shampooing it harshly and i get almost zero hair coming out in the shower ever now. Before I would get 5 or so strands every shower. Now it's zero!)


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

IBS is BS said:


> Worked BIG TIME! For me personally atleast.
> 
> My skin is so much better aswell.... and starting Elixa is the only thing i've changed recently.
> 
> ...


Congrats!!!! I will put this on my list of things to try when I get back from summer vacation. Really appreciate the update. So many people find something and then never tell the rest of us!!


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Hey Colt,

Did you get round to trying it?

I've started to introduce some fibre into my diet now and I did it in conjuction with Elixa. Things are working extremely smoothly (and cleanly) in the mens' room now 

I even had some milk and all good.

I'm going to start to push the boundaries of my limited diet, haha!


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

IBS is BS said:


> Hey Colt,
> 
> Did you get round to trying it?
> 
> ...


I have not yet tried it. Will in the fall, in case it makes things worse. So happy that you have found relief and I really appreciate the update!!


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## kaydee82 (Aug 16, 2014)

So happy you've both had some great success! Since we're talking about probiotics, I tried VSL#3, which has some great scientific studies behind it. On it for about 1 week, then stopped as I started the SCD diet, and the VSL3 has bifidus, which is not allowed. SCD diet hasn't work for me yet at almost week 4, so I may go back to VSL3. Anyone have experience with this?


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

kaydee82 said:


> So happy you've both had some great success! Since we're talking about probiotics, I tried VSL#3, which has some great scientific studies behind it. On it for about 1 week, then stopped as I started the SCD diet, and the VSL3 has bifidus, which is not allowed. SCD diet hasn't work for me yet at almost week 4, so I may go back to VSL3. Anyone have experience with this?


Thanks. Can't help you there....I have never had any luck with any probiotic. I don't think I tried VL3 though. Maybe one of the other great members here will chime in. All I can say is just don't give up.


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

kaydee82 said:


> So happy you've both had some great success! Since we're talking about probiotics, I tried VSL#3, which has some great scientific studies behind it. On it for about 1 week, then stopped as I started the SCD diet, and the VSL3 has bifidus, which is not allowed. SCD diet hasn't work for me yet at almost week 4, so I may go back to VSL3. Anyone have experience with this?


I tried it in HUGE amounts.

Up to 10 packets in one day. That was (supposedly) 4.5 trillion bacteria. It didn't do anything for me. Nothing bad, nothing good. Nada.

SCD Diet: For a long time the only solution for me was having my only carb/sugar source be from white rice. Plain white and unflavoured.

Now that Elixa has helped me to such an extent I'm even tempted to do a faecal transplant! I don't need it now but I want it even more because it seems that such a lot of things were affected by my dysbiosis. My mind is so much clearer now. None of that foggy headache in the morning and that general feeling of having a bunched up head without room to think!

If I could find someone with super super clear skin, super good digestion and no allergies or mental conditions then I would be interested to try FMT. The taboo factor is zero for me.


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## IBS is BS (Jul 2, 2012)

Hey guys,

Just wanted to drop in to say things are still going great.

I'm basically cured! I'm actually quite amazed how fast I have become accustomed to being able to eat normally again...!









I thought once I was cured I'd be thankful every minute of every day haha. Funny how quickly we 'acclimatise' to our new-found health









But seriously.... it is good to just be able to forget about it all and me being acclimatised to it is a good sign actually. When you get no recurring symptoms at all, it makes you quickly forget the past


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## Colt (May 5, 2011)

Thanks for the update and congrats on your success. Happy Holidays to you!!


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