# What do you theorize caused your IBS?



## terribletummy (Dec 30, 2010)

Sadly there are no answer about this illness. I honestly believe it was caused by either antibiotics i was taking(doxycycline) for my acne, just the stress that has piled on since I graduated high school(I just feel like I have less control in college and at my job), or maybe it's just genetics my mom or dad have it, but I've never asked.I also believe it has to do a little bit with the whole mind-gut connection because I do tend to be worse on days where that's all I'm thinking about.What's your input?


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

Cigarettes to inflammation of GI system to D and GERD. Once I began taking a supplement to control platelet behavior associated with cholesterol buildups it also controlled platelet behavior associated with GI inflammation. The GERD disappeared rather quickly over a 6 week period, the D took about a year to completely resolve. It has remained mostly no more than an inconvenience since the end of 1999.Mark


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## em_t (Jun 8, 2010)

I caught a stomach bug in July 2009 with severe vomiting and diarrhoea for 4 days, which started my IBS. Unlike most people with post infectious IBS I have chronic constipation. My stomach feels like it does not empty properly but I don't know if this is caused by the constipation or if its related. My GP doesn't believe me that a stomach bug can cause such problems to your digestive system and blames it on stress but if anything this was the least stressful time of my life - I'd just graduated from university and was on holidays, enjoying my last summer of freedom before training to become a teacher, so the stress thing doesn't really fit!


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

i have ibs-c and think that in my case it is caused--at least in part if not completely--by mitochondrial disease--in other words, my cells don't produce sufficient energy.last year i took part in a research study done by the unc about mitochondrial disease and ibs and the results of my dna test showed that i do have mitochondrial disease and have a genetic variant that is believed to cause ibs.


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## NateJ (Feb 22, 2011)

overitnow said:


> Cigarettes to inflammation of GI system to D and GERD. Once I began taking a supplement to control platelet behavior associated with cholesterol buildups it also controlled platelet behavior associated with GI inflammation. The GERD disappeared rather quickly over a 6 week period, the D took about a year to completely resolve. It has remained mostly no more than an inconvenience since the end of 1999.Mark


Mark, just curious. did you quit smoking? I have smoked for about 15 years give or take a few and it seams my symptoms are getting worse progressivley. My Dr. claims that IBS will never get worse though, but if I think back, mine is definitely worse now that it was 3,5,7,10 years ago.Nate


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

NateJ said:


> Mark, just curious. did you quit smoking? I have smoked for about 15 years give or take a few and it seams my symptoms are getting worse progressivley. My Dr. claims that IBS will never get worse though, but if I think back, mine is definitely worse now that it was 3,5,7,10 years ago.Nate


Yeah, although it did take a good five years between the first morning cigarette and run down the hall at work until I finally stopped. I always expected, from that part of me that expects that I can get away with anything because God loves me and I did well in Primary School, that once I quit all of this would simply go away. Sadly, that didn't happen. Reality is that you can do real, long term damage to yourself and there are no good fairies (or magic doctor pills) that will reverse this. I smoked for 30 years. The last 5 the IBS started, complimenting a long lasting case of deteriorating digestion. Going from mediating all of this with the flavonoid supplement to finding the link with colon inflammatory platelet responses points directly to inflammation, one of the outcomes of smoking. QED. If you are a long time smoker and your D is getting gradually worse, you sound exactly like I was. (At the end, 5 years after quitting, I thought the end was near and was kind of looking forward to that.) Stop smoking. It probably won't stop the IBS but otherwise, any thing your doctor gives you will be much like trying to put out a fire by throwing gasoline on it. (And maybe neither of us ends with a heart attack or cancer.)Good luck. It's a &%#@*.Mark


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## peaches41 (Nov 26, 2008)

terribletummy said:


> Sadly there are no answer about this illness. I honestly believe it was caused by either antibiotics i was taking(doxycycline) for my acne, just the stress that has piled on since I graduated high school(I just feel like I have less control in college and at my job), or maybe it's just genetics my mom or dad have it, but I've never asked.I also believe it has to do a little bit with the whole mind-gut connection because I do tend to be worse on days where that's all I'm thinking about.What's your input?


Major abdominal surgery for ovarian cancer, surgery for a hernia repair, trauma following the death of my husband. It all dates from that. I had a wonderful digestive system before and perfectly normal bowels.If I could turn back time...............lol


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

Ms Peaches, have you looked at the Dr Snow protocol? I can see you have a number of factors at work; but the gradualness of onset can often mask the original cause. There are no surgeries without antibiotics and that can be enough to eventually set it off. CheeMiss has a pretty good handle on how it works and it seems to be working for her. You might drop her a line. (Sadly, I don't think it will help with the turning back of time thing.)Mark


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## journ3 (Feb 16, 2009)

Strong circumstantial evidence pointing to low level food poisoning one month before abrupt onset. I can pretty much pinpoint the exact date, give or take a day or two. I cannot prove definitively that it's IBS-PI as I was not obviously sick before IBS, but I had consistently excellent physical and mental health before that, no bad dietary or lifestyle habits, no recent, prolonged trauma, no abuse history, no known family history, on the older end of the age curve for typical first onset. The MDs kept asking me, "Are you sure you've never had this problem before?" Absolutely not. I was in my primary MDs office within days, the symptoms were so severe, and I had never been one to need to or want to run to the MD for every little thing. Little did I know at the time how many IBSers go for years before diagnosis, and that's why they were assuming. Although there's no question in my MDs' minds or mine that I have it, I don't fit many of the "typical" assumptions about IBS at all.


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## NateJ (Feb 22, 2011)

overitnow said:


> Yeah, although it did take a good five years between the first morning cigarette and run down the hall at work until I finally stopped. I always expected, from that part of me that expects that I can get away with anything because God loves me and I did well in Primary School, that once I quit all of this would simply go away. Sadly, that didn't happen. Reality is that you can do real, long term damage to yourself and there are no good fairies (or magic doctor pills) that will reverse this. I smoked for 30 years. The last 5 the IBS started, complimenting a long lasting case of deteriorating digestion. Going from mediating all of this with the flavonoid supplement to finding the link with colon inflammatory platelet responses points directly to inflammation, one of the outcomes of smoking. QED. If you are a long time smoker and your D is getting gradually worse, you sound exactly like I was. (At the end, 5 years after quitting, I thought the end was near and was kind of looking forward to that.) Stop smoking. It probably won't stop the IBS but otherwise, any thing your doctor gives you will be much like trying to put out a fire by throwing gasoline on it. (And maybe neither of us ends with a heart attack or cancer.)Good luck. It's a &%#@*.Mark


I appreciate the advise. I get frustrated with all of this and go from bouts of 'f' it i will just have to cope, to maybe i should just off myself,but I'm to much of a coward. My symptoms have been so bad since my gall bladder removal in Dec. that I cannot get one waking moment of relief.My wife is quitting right now and doing very well but i am still having 3-5 a day. I just need some solid advice from a professional! I don't think that's to much to ask. Some diagnosis or plan to get me better. But so far with no less that two different GI doctors, my primary who is a joke, and numerous trips to the ER since DC I cannot get any answers.


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

No gall bladder? Read Linda's Calcium thread, please.


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## Jesse Hoover (Feb 8, 2011)

NateJ said:


> I appreciate the advise. I get frustrated with all of this and go from bouts of 'f' it i will just have to cope, to maybe i should just off myself,but I'm to much of a coward. My symptoms have been so bad since my gall bladder removal in Dec. that I cannot get one waking moment of relief.My wife is quitting right now and doing very well but i am still having 3-5 a day. I just need some solid advice from a professional! I don't think that's to much to ask. Some diagnosis or plan to get me better. But so far with no less that two different GI doctors, my primary who is a joke, and numerous trips to the ER since DC I cannot get any answers.


Sorry to hear about your troubles







. Going back to your original questions, my IBS was definitely started by emotional stress, mostly frustration, anger, and depression. However, I was also eating badly at the time, because I had a hard time taking good care of myself; and on top of that, the Gastroenterologist I went to gave me flagyl, an anti-biotic. I had to look for answers because my docs couldn't do anything. I personally found Chinese herbal medicine + some acupuncture. I ended up going to school and making C.M. my profession after that! So I want to pass along the C.M. perspective.CM talks about the liver, spleen, stomach, kidneys, etc. This is confusing at first because CM is not referring to actual organ diseases. CM is referring to whole systems, but for convenience and traditional usage, they use organ names. Keep this in mind.The spleen and stomach have a relationship. In a healthy person, the stomach downbears partially digested food, while the spleen upbears nutrition from the food. This is called the "qi mechanism". If the spleen becomes weakened, it will fail to upbear and start to downbear. This usually results in diarrhea. Other common symptoms of spleen becoming weakened are: fatigue, sleepiness after eating, bloating after eating, loss of concentration, worry and overthinking, loss of muscle tone, and weakness. Since the spleen is closely related to the stomach, problems with the spleen often lead to problems with the stomach. Examples of these are, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and GERD. Many things trigger a weakened spleen and rebellious stomach, here are a few, and I'm sure you'll recognize the list: Emotional stress, Anti-biotic use, Various infections, Poor diet. Even removal of the Gallbladder will weaken the spleen. This is because bile is required for the breakdown of fats. When there is inadequate bile, the Spleen and Stomach have a difficult time processing fatty foods, especially animal products.The concept of the spleen and stomach is central to understanding IBS. It, combined with some other CM theory, ties a neat bow around a frustratingly complex array of IBS symptoms. Overitnow has a really great point about inflammation. In CM we simply call this "heat". Heat is often generated after IBS has formed, or as in the case of smokers, may be present before IBS has formed. Symptoms of heat include: Rank, smelly bowel movements, burning sensations upon moving bowels, worsened GERD or burning sensations in the stomach, increased appetite, feeling warmer than other people (do you wear short sleeves all the time?), etc. Heat often combines with another bi-product of a weakened spleen, called dampness. This produces Damp-Heat. A clear sign of damp-heat is increased cholesterol. This aspect of IBS seemed to be big for overitnow as he found a supplement that addresses cholesterol too, what supplement is that overitnow?Using CM well means figuring out which pathways your IBS has taken then treating those pathways with the right herbs. This works really well! Please take a look at my post from yesterday on a research study from China.Hang in there and Good luck with your health!


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

One fateful sunday night of food poisoning in 2006 via sushi is what started the IBS-D for me.


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## COrnishlass (Nov 15, 2009)

Edge of eating disorder in 1994 started mine which got acutely worse following stressful birth of son in 1999 - he is challenging and I am practically tied to the toilet! I can't go out to new places unless I know where the loos are etc etc BUT having said that - I am trying France in August - we are going for a week - if it means I have to stay in the resort (where the loos are) while the rest of the family travels around - so be it... At least I will have done it....


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## Jesse Hoover (Feb 8, 2011)

PD85 said:


> One fateful sunday night of food poisoning in 2006 via sushi is what started the IBS-D for me.


That sounds difficult. Talk about an overnight change!I'm curious, did you use a lot of wasabi with the sushi? I heard that wasabi kills bacteria, parasites, etc., which is why it is a traditional part of sushi. In Japan, it's not even an option, it comes within the roll or under the fish.


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## Jesse Hoover (Feb 8, 2011)

COrnishlass said:


> Edge of eating disorder in 1994 started mine which got acutely worse following stressful birth of son in 1999 - he is challenging and I am practically tied to the toilet! I can't go out to new places unless I know where the loos are etc etc BUT having said that - I am trying France in August - we are going for a week - if it means I have to stay in the resort (where the loos are) while the rest of the family travels around - so be it... At least I will have done it....


Hi, I thought this might be helpful to you. Painful Childbirth is another common cause of the spleen weakness that I talked about above. I admire your courage to get out there and travel. Why not try Chinese medicine? Is there anyone around you who might be professional?


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

Jesse Hoover said:


> That sounds difficult. Talk about an overnight change!I'm curious, did you use a lot of wasabi with the sushi? I heard that wasabi kills bacteria, parasites, etc., which is why it is a traditional part of sushi. In Japan, it's not even an option, it comes within the roll or under the fish.


I use wasabi but not more than say 1/2 a tablespoon over the course of the meal. I've eaten sushi with wasabi 50 times since then with no bad effects. Just that once!


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## midnight wolf (Feb 7, 2011)

I'm going to blame caffeine. Its the thing that irritates it most, and its the first thing i reacted to. About 4-5 years ago i drank one of those high caffeine energy drinks and got a huge stomach ache, its happened every time i drank caffeine after that. Then it started extending to foods such as wheat, gluten, eggs, dairy and pulses. i wasn't a huge caffeine drinker before that, only coke occasionally, i never liked tea or coffee. Its either that or stress as i was in college at the time. never know it may all go after i graduate from university!


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## MEF (May 29, 2010)

I believe mine was caused by something so dumb & preventable. I went on a nut craze (hah, that sounds...funny) and was eating high amounts of peanut butter, pistachios, and who knows what else. I was also eating donuts before school in the mornings. Well it all caught up to me and first caused constipation and then the d. and my stomach has never been normal since.


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## peaches41 (Nov 26, 2008)

All our stories are so different - that's why ibs is such a puzzling condition and meanwhile we battle on....


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## whiteelephant (Jul 27, 2010)

I think mine primarily started aged around 17-18, remember eating some chinese noodles by the coast and within minutes having horrific abdominal cramps, had never experienced anything like it! Shortly after I had knee surgery, and was on a lot of painkillers for a long time after. My IBS just seemed to get gradually worse from around then, to the point a month ago I was just permanently constipated and at the end of my tether! Though I've just had major thoracic surgery, and had two courses of anti-biotic's, one which seems to have worked magic as not a had any C issues since! (though is a very remote chance the thing I had removed was possibly affecting my bowels..) I have taken 4 sachets on movicol in a month, despite being on codeine based painkillers! I was taking it daily before admission. Dr kept saying the codeine would bung me up..erm nope!







Still having the odd cramp and bouts of gassiness but overall muchly improved. I don't quite understand why but I'm not complaining!


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## onemoedee (Feb 28, 2011)

i could blame on stress , but for me personally i think its genetics (although it hasnt been proven) i am my mothers child , i have exactly all the same signs and she is 62 now and still dealing with it daily , something for me to look forward to i guess


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## Jesse Hoover (Feb 8, 2011)

peaches41 said:


> All our stories are so different - that's why ibs is such a puzzling condition and meanwhile we battle on....


It's been great to hear everyone's stories, but I can't agree with you Peaches. All of these stories fit under a few common models.Look, no one in the world knows the precise mechanism that causes IBS, but Chinese Medicine still understands how to work with it. This is a lot like knowing how to drive a car without needing to know mechanically how the car works. Chinese Medicine understands how to drive the car called IBS, and you can benefit from this fact. Regular doctors are at a loss because they neither know how to drive the IBS car, nor how it works mechanically. What would happen if your GI doctor had to start prescribing herbs and giving acupuncture? He has very little or no education in these things. He knows almost nothing about them. He wouldn't be able to do it! As a result, drugs is all we see. On the other hand, Chinese Medicine is available in every hospital in China. This is a very different situation. There are real, educated, professional, Chinese doctors curing IBS right now. People find this hard to believe because they have no experience with it. If their doctor told them to take Chinese Medicine they'd probably give it a try, but we're a long ways from that situation, since doctors aren't educated in Chinese Medicine either. What people have to realize is that CM is as actually more sophisticated than regular medicine. In China, when a regular doc can't help a patient, that patient is always sent to CM for further help.There aren't many good CM doctors in the US. Maybe this is part of the problem. Still, I hope that people will start to ask questions. Especially ask questions of someone other than your regular doctor, because she doesn't know much if anything about it! Studying Chinese Medicine takes longer than going to medical school! Of course your regular doc can't answer in a professional way!These stories are great, and I hope they keep coming. Tying them together in cohesive patterns is what should come next!


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## Jesse Hoover (Feb 8, 2011)

whiteelephant said:


> I have taken 4 sachets on movicol in a month, despite being on codeine based painkillers! I was taking it daily before admission. Dr kept saying the codeine would bung me up..erm nope!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi, I thought you might find it interesting and helpful. Codeine, which is an opiate, will cause constipation. People forget that the original medical use of opium, when it was a legal medical drug, wasn't for pain but to treat diarrhea. At that time, there were very few treatments for diarrhea and many people died of it. With that said, over time, Codeine will cause diarrhea by slowly damaging spleen qi. I've seen this in many people with chronic pain who take opiates daily. Anti-biotics also damage spleen qi and cause diarrhea, which you mentioned you've been taking recently. Bouts of diarrhea in a person who has a history of constipation may simply look like normal stools (but they're not really healthy stools, just two overlapping conditions).SO, whiteelephant, you might be walking a fine line right now. If the Codeine starts to plug you up, get off of it quickly! I understand anti-biotics are necessary for surgery, but start taking some probiotics now. Natural ones are the best, like real (not vinegar) pickles and sauerkraut. Other good choices are kombucha and miso. Stay away from yogurt, despite the activia commercials. My experience is that it may cause further complications in IBS sufferers. Of course, I always recommend Chinese herbs, and there are some good one's to take after surgery.Glad to hear that your surgery went well!







Good luck!


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## whiteelephant (Jul 27, 2010)

Jesse Hoover said:


> Hi, I thought you might find it interesting and helpful. Codeine, which is an opiate, will cause constipation. People forget that the original medical use of opium, when it was a legal medical drug, wasn't for pain but to treat diarrhea. At that time, there were very few treatments for diarrhea and many people died of it. With that said, over time, Codeine will cause diarrhea by slowly damaging spleen qi. I've seen this in many people with chronic pain who take opiates daily. Anti-biotics also damage spleen qi and cause diarrhea, which you mentioned you've been taking recently. Bouts of diarrhea in a person who has a history of constipation may simply look like normal stools (but they're not really healthy stools, just two overlapping conditions).SO, whiteelephant, you might be walking a fine line right now. If the Codeine starts to plug you up, get off of it quickly! I understand anti-biotics are necessary for surgery, but start taking some probiotics now. Natural ones are the best, like real (not vinegar) pickles and sauerkraut. Other good choices are kombucha and miso. Stay away from yogurt, despite the activia commercials. My experience is that it may cause further complications in IBS sufferers. Of course, I always recommend Chinese herbs, and there are some good one's to take after surgery.Glad to hear that your surgery went well!
> 
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Sorry only just saw your reply! Surgery didn't quite go to plan but overall successful.. Am off all the painkillers now (dr switched me to ibruprofen, which really upset things), though your info was interesting. I've never been in the D camp so was surprising when it did happen! Fortunately the constipation isn't really an issue, instead have been getting awful attacks of wind and IBS-A instead. Can't ever win


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## Jesse Hoover (Feb 8, 2011)

whiteelephant said:


> Sorry only just saw your reply! Surgery didn't quite go to plan but overall successful.. Am off all the painkillers now (dr switched me to ibruprofen, which really upset things), though your info was interesting. I've never been in the D camp so was surprising when it did happen! Fortunately the constipation isn't really an issue, instead have been getting awful attacks of wind and IBS-A instead. Can't ever win


Hi WhiteElephant!I'm glad to hear that you're off painkillers.







Is your "wind" smelly or not? There is a big difference in terms of what this means for your underlying bowel health. Also, does it usually come at certain times? Common times are: 1.In the morning 2.After eating (paticularly heavy foods) 3.When you feel emotionally stressed (angry, depressed, frustrated, etc.). You're actually in a better place than you may think. IBS-A is always easier to treat than IBS-C. The intestines have such a difficult time moving bound stool, that treatment is always harder







and complications are always more common. So there is a silver lining here, which i think you've already realized. IBS-D can take up to a year to treat, but IBS-A often improves in a matter of weeks with the right treatment. IBS-A is what is called a "disharmony" condition, which means that your bowels, your emotional states, and your underlying constitution are in a state of disharmony and not working well together. Fortunately, disharmony is relatively easy to treat because it describes an imbalance in the relation of things rather than a physical problem. After all, an imbalance can be balanced with just the right stimulus, nothing more is needed!You are a good candidate for trying "Tong Xie Yao Fang", which I've recommended often. It's safe to try. If you buy from a reputable company like "Plum Flower" you're getting the cream of the crop. Here is a link: Tong Xie Yao FangIf your wind is particularly rank in odor (trust me I've been there), this formula isn't enough and you may need to add another. Post me a reply or send a message and I'm happy to offer what I can.Glad to hear from you and best of health!JesseP.S.- if you do the herbs, buy a few bottles so that you don't run out. The herbal pills are very small and look like BB's. A 200 count bottle should be finished in one week, if not, you're taking too low of a dosage!


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## notaloneanymore (Mar 29, 2011)

I just wanted to jump in and say what I think caused my IBS. I had exploratory surgery many years ago and turned out it was appendix. I had all the usual symptoms of appendicitis including blood work-up but the surgeon decided to open my lower abdomin from belly button to pelvic. Okay it was appendix as the ER doc had suspected but then it was too late to go back. The surgeon already did his deed. I then developed a surgical hernia in that same lower abdomin which the same surgeon said the hole was "huge" and would need a large mesh to fix it. I have been told that leisions and scar tissue now might be causing much of the problem. I also had my gallbladder out which caused another set of problems since I still get nauseous and D sometimes. I might like to mention too that I will find out if diverticulosis is adding to any of this. URGH! Never a dull moment anymore since I've been stressed from IBS and depressed from the stress from IBS. Currently on prilosec and librax. Metamucil for C when D is not there. The meds help me most of the time.







I live in a small rural town and did not have much choice in surgeons. I do now and will NEVER go back to the original one. Thank goodness for choices.


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## Susannah (Mar 29, 2011)

A flu-like infection, plus taking a bunch of tainted/moldy probiotics, which amounted to poisoning myself. Then a doctor put me on PeptoBismal for a week, which gave me constipation. While taking the bad probiotics-- which by the way, didn't look like they'd had moisture intrusion or contamination unless you looked really closely, like I finally did.


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## Jesse Hoover (Feb 8, 2011)

notaloneanymore said:


> I just wanted to jump in and say what I think caused my IBS. I had exploratory surgery many years ago and turned out it was appendix. I had all the usual symptoms of appendicitis including blood work-up but the surgeon decided to open my lower abdomin from belly button to pelvic. Okay it was appendix as the ER doc had suspected but then it was too late to go back. The surgeon already did his deed. I then developed a surgical hernia in that same lower abdomin which the same surgeon said the hole was "huge" and would need a large mesh to fix it. I have been told that leisions and scar tissue now might be causing much of the problem. I also had my gallbladder out which caused another set of problems since I still get nauseous and D sometimes. I might like to mention too that I will find out if diverticulosis is adding to any of this. URGH! Never a dull moment anymore since I've been stressed from IBS and depressed from the stress from IBS. Currently on prilosec and librax. Metamucil for C when D is not there. The meds help me most of the time.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My heart goes out to you. These surgery mishaps sound really difficult. How does this make you feel? You mentioned depressed, but angry seems likely as well! Now a days, Gallbladders are being taken out like Tonsils once were. Who ever started the idea that you don't need a Gallbladder? This is something surgeons can recommend and try out, because it's a relatively safe procedure. However, inadequate bile storage will definitely cramp your ability to digest fats, leading to weight gain, fatigue, diarrhea, and a plethora of other symptoms. Notaloneanymore, if you haven't already, you should take a look at changing your diet. Every cell in our body is protected by a layer of fat (lipids), so you shouldn't cut fats completely, but your lack of gallbladder means that you should reduce them. Ditto for oily or fried foods. One way to ease your digestion of fats is to always combine them with fat cutting condiments (such as vinegar, "fish and chips" anyone?) or spices that temporarily stimulate and "awaken" your digestive capacity, such as pepper, cinnamon, chile pepper, curry, etc. Too much spice is a whole other issue, but there is a happy medium here.Again, I feel for you. Finding a good therapist, whom you can trust, may do wonders for the stressful aspects of your IBS. More people in big cities make this choice, but I know from experience that it can be truly helpful when you find someone who is non-judgemental and a good listener, someone who reflects you back so that you can see your situation more objectively. Your name suggests that your "not alone any more". I hope so and wish you the best of health.Jesse


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## notaloneanymore (Mar 29, 2011)

Jesse Hoover said:


> My heart goes out to you. These surgery mishaps sound really difficult. How does this make you feel? You mentioned depressed, but angry seems likely as well! Now a days, Gallbladders are being taken out like Tonsils once were. Who ever started the idea that you don't need a Gallbladder? This is something surgeons can recommend and try out, because it's a relatively safe procedure. However, inadequate bile storage will definitely cramp your ability to digest fats, leading to weight gain, fatigue, diarrhea, and a plethora of other symptoms. Notaloneanymore, if you haven't already, you should take a look at changing your diet. Every cell in our body is protected by a layer of fat (lipids), so you shouldn't cut fats completely, but your lack of gallbladder means that you should reduce them. Ditto for oily or fried foods. One way to ease your digestion of fats is to always combine them with fat cutting condiments (such as vinegar, "fish and chips" anyone?) or spices that temporarily stimulate and "awaken" your digestive capacity, such as pepper, cinnamon, chile pepper, curry, etc. Too much spice is a whole other issue, but there is a happy medium here.Again, I feel for you. Finding a good therapist, whom you can trust, may do wonders for the stressful aspects of your IBS. More people in big cities make this choice, but I know from experience that it can be truly helpful when you find someone who is non-judgemental and a good listener, someone who reflects you back so that you can see your situation more objectively. Your name suggests that your "not alone any more". I hope so and wish you the best of health.Jesse


Thank you Jesse for the info and reply. You've pretty much hit the nail on the head. I have been talking more openly about seeing someone such as a therapist. You have great insight







I will try the combos you suggested. According to my doc the gallbladder was functioning very low with no stones but I can't remember the % plus the pain was horrendous.I know I need more than just an internest and GI doctor so my next step will be counseling. Thank you again. I have read so many great things on this site and the people are even greater


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## Cb-ibsa (Feb 24, 2009)

I don't ever remember not havin problems. When I was younger I used to always try and have a peppermint candy cane by my bed in hopes it would help. It wasn't until this last couple years it has gotten bad. Recently I was on a good streak for about 4 or 5 months. But stomach pain has started getting worse and worse as of lately. Here goes another bout with it.


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## rasputin (Feb 12, 2011)

my stomach has always been a bit sensitive but there were a few points where it got worse although i can't say there was a direct cause.avoiding wheat seems to help. i recent had a round of antibiotics due to an accident. i was perfect for nearly a month. now i'm having mild problems again. at the moment i suspect some sort of bacteria caused wheat intolerance.


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## SetMeFree (Mar 23, 2011)

Moving to another town and unsolved sexual problems.


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## MakeItGoAway (Apr 10, 2011)

I've always had a sensitive stomach, but I can narrow down the initial cause of my IBS-D to birth control pills or food poisoning. Now it's aggravated by food and stress.


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## Tita929 (Feb 21, 2013)

All of my IBS problems started one month after starting medication for an under active thyroid. My Endocrinologist said there is no connection but I'm not convinced. I believe my thyroid gave me IBS if that makes any sence.


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## jessie10 (Mar 1, 2013)

I went to cuba last year, i had diarrhea in the morning the third day in, and then every morning after that for my time being there. I thought it was jsut because i drank the night before.
I started noticing i got bloated when i ate. and that pizza and ice cream gave me horrible gas. Then exam time hit/ broke up with a boyfriend/ started going out and drinking a few times a week. Thats when the diarrhea part of my ibs started. 
I have just started taking whey protein powder and it seems to be helping me like crazy, i really suggest you guys to look into it and give it a try


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## peregrine (Jan 13, 2013)

terribletummy said:


> Sadly there are no answer about this illness. I honestly believe it was caused by either antibiotics i was taking(doxycycline) for my acne, just the stress that has piled on since I graduated high school(I just feel like I have less control in college and at my job), or maybe it's just genetics my mom or dad have it, but I've never asked.I also believe it has to do a little bit with the whole mind-gut connection because I do tend to be worse on days where that's all I'm thinking about.What's your input?


I too took antibiotics for 15 years (tetracycline) for acne. I had no symptoms of IBS while young so maybe you are onto something here. I am also a very high stress person so again maybe the two combined is key? One of my parents does have it though and I she did not take antibiotics for any extended period but is very high stress personality, so???


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

Jesse Hoover said:


> Hi, I thought you might find it interesting and helpful. Codeine, which is an opiate, will cause constipation. People forget that the original medical use of opium, when it was a legal medical drug, wasn't for pain but to treat diarrhea. At that time, there were very few treatments for diarrhea and many people died of it. With that said, over time, Codeine will cause diarrhea by slowly damaging spleen qi. I've seen this in many people with chronic pain who take opiates daily. Anti-biotics also damage spleen qi and cause diarrhea, which you mentioned you've been taking recently. Bouts of diarrhea in a person who has a history of constipation may simply look like normal stools (but they're not really healthy stools, just two overlapping conditions).SO, whiteelephant, you might be walking a fine line right now. If the Codeine starts to plug you up, get off of it quickly! I understand anti-biotics are necessary for surgery, but start taking some probiotics now. Natural ones are the best, like real (not vinegar) pickles and sauerkraut. Other good choices are kombucha and miso. Stay away from yogurt, despite the activia commercials. My experience is that it may cause further complications in IBS sufferers. Of course, I always recommend Chinese herbs, and there are some good one's to take after surgery.Glad to hear that your surgery went well!
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Ive been taking Codeine for 3 years every day and previously took it for about a year every day about 20 years ago and its caused absolutely no damage whatsoever to me.

I take 8 a day and my specialist,who is a Professor of Gastro and worldwide IBS expert says this is not uncommon for those of us with IBS D.

Im sure there are some people who are affected negatively by Codeine but certainly not all.


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## Guenon (Mar 4, 2013)

1.hereditary. My family has always had bad digestive performance. Really sensative.

2.alcohol. To much partying and getting drunk over a period of time will fire it off. Funny thing is, it makes the pleasure of getting drunk useless as it interfers with the buzz somehow...........talk about making you sober lol!! Usually I have to wait 3-6 months before the system calms down after the point of no return. Even a month off of drinking doesn't help.

Usually yogurt is a excellent digestive kick, but even if can't overcome the alcohol factor if to much partying...


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## JonnyFinale (Mar 11, 2013)

Two weeks before my symptoms arrived I threw up after smoking too much (first time in four years, never doing it again). I feel like maybe that threw off my stomach balance.


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## Stardock (Nov 8, 2012)

peregrine said:


> I too took antibiotics for 15 years (tetracycline) for acne. I had no symptoms of IBS while young so maybe you are onto something here. I am also a very high stress person so again maybe the two combined is key? One of my parents does have it though and I she did not take antibiotics for any extended period but is very high stress personality, so???


I took Minocycline for a year for my acne as well. But that was 4 years ago and I only had IBS for a year. So I don't think antibiotics directly cause IBS, but since there's millions of gut flora in our stomach and antibiotics kills them, it's possible that they increase the likelihood of developing IBS in the future.


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## Diane Z (Feb 16, 2013)

Mine came from a 6 day trip to Mexico in 2007. I was diagnosed with Salmonella poisoning and it just spiraled out of control. I am now not able to work outside of the home. I recently saw a specialist and had a colonoscopy and endoscopy. He said its definitly Post Infectious IBS from the salmonella. What makes it even worse is I also have Barrett's Esophogus which I just found out about a few days ago. I throw up something terrible with the IBS and that sure isnt' helping the IBS


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## Brianmay1975 (Apr 3, 2010)

I strongly suspect I had a genetic predisposition. Ever since I was a child, I remember having GI problems from time to time (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation). My father and my paternal grandmother both have constipation issues and have had them for years. I also developed a case of silent acid reflux around one year before the onset of IBS, so my guess is that I have a natural tendency to poor GI motility, both in the upper and lower GI tract...

However, most of the time I was healthy in regards to the lower GI tract. It all started during the summer of 2005, when I came down with stomach flu that wasn't properly treated by the doctor I had at the time. My bowel was never the same again, but there was no significant impairment either. During the next years, I suffered from stomach flu once a year and my health gradually deteriorated after each case of gastroenteritis. It all went downhill from here. I got the classic symptoms in 2008, after another bout of stomach flu, and got diagnosed thereafter with a mild case. However, the real hell started in 2010, when I got a bad case of gastroenteritis while on a trip to Strasbourg. I don't know why it was so bad, but I've never been that sick in my whole life. My GI has been messed up ever since, although now I'm into some kind of remission, bar the occasional flares... So I regard these three years as turning points in my IBS history, when things got from bad to worse.

The main factors have therefore been a genetic predisposition and a series of stomach flu cases, to which I add a third one: stress & anxiety. In 2005, 2008 and 2010 as well, just before getting sick I had gone through very stressful and painful events in my life... I bet this contributed a lot to the onset of IBS...


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## Dianaearnshaw (Feb 22, 2013)

Hi, I treat gut problems.

This illness did not have a name when I started nursing in the 70s - because it was rare. Even then it was called "spastic colon" or some other equally ridiculous term. The factors involved in the explosion of gut disease cases are many, but in many individuals, it is a combination of these factors occurring in a short sequence.

I have been following a very experienced doctor on this subject and many are now following her advice. Her name is Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride and she has trained many therapists around the world. (Look for a GAPS therapist).

She calls the symptoms of these illnesses, 'gut dysbiosis'. This literally means difficult life in the gut. Once this is accepted, treatment becomes logical - get rid of the bad microbes, allow the gut to heal, replace the good microbes and then, most importantly, a good nutritious diet should become a way of life and the status quo is maintained. The problem comes when the triggers are all different, as is shown in your comments above. It is a long process.

I know this is not a path for everyone but it does work for many.

Do contact me if you want any more information or research links.

Diana


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## pepperidge (Mar 26, 2013)

Very bad food poisoning from a dodgy linguini in Thailand. That night, I was jolted out of sleep by severe cramps and spent the rest of the night in agony with diarrhea and vomiting simultaneously. Even after completely emptying my system, I had unrelenting dry heaves at the top end and involuntary straining at the bottom end. I was so exhausted and in such pain that I eventually passed out. My traumatised colon has never been the same again - diarrhea, constipation, bloating, cramps, loud borborygmi and mucus in my stool - it all began with that terrible bout of food poisoning.


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## rellybelly17 (Jun 10, 2011)

A parasitic infection. Sadly, the damage is done and even after the little d bags were gone (with prescription meds) my doc says my IBS will probably never go away :/ I had the little buggers for as long as 15 years!


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## Jeanne Davis (Apr 1, 2013)

A GI upset contracted in a nice restaurant in Ottawa, Canada, back in April 2004. But in retrospect I see that I was reacting adversely to very fatty meals at least 2 years before that, so maybe it's more genetic. Then it got worse after a family member committed suicide, but I don't know if that was really a factor. So hard to tell, really.


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## postmortem (Nov 11, 2006)

It started with food poisoning when I was 14. Couldn't get to a bathroom for a while and had to hold it in so by the time I got to the bathroom my colon was pretty much in shock. I couldn't empty fully and have been like that since.


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## Gary62 (Mar 30, 2013)

I don't know really what caused it with me. I went through some bad times with stress so maybe that. I also had a bad bout of the cryptosporidium bug that floored my digestive system for a while too.


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## IBSafterMesh (Dec 31, 2016)

notaloneanymore said:


> I just wanted to jump in and say what I think caused my IBS. I had exploratory surgery many years ago and turned out it was appendix. I had all the usual symptoms of appendicitis including blood work-up but the surgeon decided to open my lower abdomin from belly button to pelvic. Okay it was appendix as the ER doc had suspected but then it was too late to go back. The surgeon already did his deed. I then developed a surgical hernia in that same lower abdomin which the same surgeon said the hole was "huge" and would need a large mesh to fix it. I have been told that leisions and scar tissue now might be causing much of the problem. I also had my gallbladder out which caused another set of problems since I still get nauseous and D sometimes. I might like to mention too that I will find out if diverticulosis is adding to any of this. URGH! Never a dull moment anymore since I've been stressed from IBS and depressed from the stress from IBS. Currently on prilosec and librax. Metamucil for C when D is not there. The meds help me most of the time.
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My IBS started after Inguinal Hernia repair (Mesh).


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