# My IBS keeps getting worse everyday



## winniedapoop (Nov 3, 2011)

Hi everyone,First of all, I want to thank whoever created this IBS support group, I find it very helpful and actually visiting this website makes me feel like I'm not alone!!! I was impressed by the many stories I've read and some even brought tears to my eyes... Do I know what you guys are going through!! IBS is probably the most disgusting and miserable sickness I know...Let me tell you my story... First the mental/ psycological side of my IBS, since that plays such important role...I've always been very anxious/nervous kid, needless to say I had and have very low self-esteem. I was raised in a very conservative Christian home where perfection was a demand. No affection from my parents at all, especially my dad. He was always very demanding and authoritary, wouldn't even congratulate me for my good grades in school, never said positive words to cheer me up when I was feeling down nor cumplimented my artistic talent to show he was proud of his daughter, nor did he say I was beautiful EVER... So you can imagine the effect that the lack of affection has on a kid...it completely messed up my self-esteem. He might have been a good father as far as providing for the family and I know I had so much more abundance than my sisters ever had... But what I really needed was my dad's approval by showing his feelings...my 3 sisters had each other growing up while I was born many years later, which made me feel lonely. I was always very solitary at school, would only get 1 or 2 real close friends with common likes and interests. Never liked big crowds. Also, I had quite a few disappointments in old friendships (people who were really close friends at school who suddenly started ignoring me, got new friends and forgot the good old ones, other who simply used me as a 'substitute friend' and made fun of me coz I was always the 'good girl' , people who would give me their 'judging look' and stare back at me, etc etc). That might be why I feel so disappointed with people to the point of avoiding new friendships coz I always think they won't last long. And I've been right most the times... I think it's also related with my social anixety when I'm surronded by many people. My head starts getting 'spacey' and I just want to rash and leave public places...Now the physical side of my IBS... As a kid I would go to the restroom a lot, although it never bothered me much, except for a few times when I was at class and had to go... No big deal though (Maybe because I was exercising more often too). By the time I was a teenager, my only concern would be the rambling noises coming from my stomach. I would eat normally to avoid those noises, problem solved. The silence of a classroom wouldn't bother me one bit, as I always prepared for class (eating and doing my poops in the morning, lol) so I could actually focus on the tests and classes. Thank God I went through the High School phase and that the IBS didn't start really bothering me until my 19 years old... Basically life changes was what made my IBS worse (depression as I was away from family and friends, changed country, wouldn't leave the house except for going to school, had no friends there...). I remember I was in an Art class, where I was surrounded by guys (I was the only girl) and suddenly in the quiet room my guts started going crazy with loud noises, out of nowhere. I got SO embarrassed, my God. I had this urge to use the restroom and left the room in a hurry. It was sooo bad that I ended up having to leave class and said the teacher I would get the notes from a classmate or something, but I just could not be there as I was feeling horrible. I got back home crying desperately saying I couldn't go on anymore, that I had to leave and go back to my country... They gave me a cammomile tea to calm down my guts but nothing could change the fact that I was sick and that it was affectig my life in ALL levels, even school! So when I got back to my country, did all the exams required and the doctors said everything was OK with my guts so it should probably be IBS... It keeps getting worse with the depression and anxiety as I grow older. The fear took over me to a point where I'm afraid of leaving the house to hang out, I try to avoid social contact and even avoid going to school because of the quiet classrooms.  it's sad how I'm letting my life pass me by and I'm only 23! Thank God I have an amazig husband who's very supportive and he has some IBS too, so he kinda understands. I don't know what my life would be without his love and support, honestly living with IBS so severe like me, it's not living; only existing. I feel like a zombie. I don't even take off my pijama all day, I spend a few days without showering as I've been so deeply depressed. Been crying on a daily basis lately. Tried already to explain people what IBS is and how it really affects people's lives and it's not a paranoy like they think... But people don't seem to care. Even doctors seem to underestimate this sickness. I wish there was more investigation towards finding the cause and cure for IBS. At least we're able to relieve the symptoms and that's already a progress. I have IBS-D type, alternating with constipation very few times, not more than 2 days though. As far as medication, I've been on Spasmomen and Buscopan (a European brand only I guess) for the cramping and noises, already tried charcoal capsules and Imonogas with no success, Imodium I try not to use it, only on extreme embarrassing situations and even then I take another one UL-50 that does not stop diarrhea, it only restores the intestinal flora, although it takes too long to have effect. One time I also tried Kyodophilus digestive enzymes as I was told that maybe the problem was that I had not enough enzymes to help digestion, felt slightly better but after a while it stopped working, I would still have watery stools.. The other day my friend who is a nurse to be, told me I may even have a good digestion, but my guts just don't work properly when moving the food along. So I saw advertisement for Align probiotic supplement and I decided to give it a try. Still on my 2nd week, so I can't tell much. Been having the initial side effects (constipation and gas) so let's hope i will settle by the end of next month, as the package says to wait up to 1 month to see results. I haven't seen much positive changes so far to be honest. Seems like even being strict with my diet doesn't help much - I get the diarrhea anyways, be with triggered by food problems or stress/anxiety. What bothers me the most is how unpredictable IBS can be. I feel powerless to change my life for better, anything seems to be working... The mornings are always the most painful time of my day. I always wake up with this feeling that my gut/ bladder are being smashed or something... Even with the Align, I still wake up with those cramps, gas and immediately after eating breakfadt I have the urge to poop. Even at night, I constanly wake up (like 3 or 4 x) with my bladder full but when I go pee, most of the times only a few drops, as if my bladder can never fully empty... I also feel thirsty specially at night, wake up with my mouth completely dry and if I don't drink water or satisfy the urge to pee, The consequeces next morning will be more cramping and gas! And as far as food, I swear I did everything to change, I even stopped cooking as much or sometimes I'll starve just to avoid the pain, as every food seems to hurt my guts. I think I have a decent diet, I won't say it's perfect, but sheesh I've always been told to eat vegetables and fruit... Well I would if I didn't have diarrhea!! I ate a cabbage soup a few nights ago (not too much) and still I spent most part of the next day in the bathroom. I just tried to include some fiber in my diet, thought it was healthy... Oh and I also did some food intolerance tests before and the results were that I have 'moderate' intolerance to milk, eggs and pork. Not sure of the rest, as it's based on trial and error. I've tried to make a list of foods I can eat and the ones I should avoid. I can't eat grapes, kiwis, green apples, plums, cherries, orange (while I have diarrhea, although I love natural orange juice!), I avoid any type of cabbage, onions, beans, or sausages. I can't drink coffee, milk or alcohol (I'm fine with that coz I hate the alcohol taste!). I avoid eating dairy products and too much sugar on pastries and desserts (as I've heard it makes diarrhea worse and also trying to prevent diabetes, since I have 4 people in my family with it). I know I cook with animal fat (margerine) and probably should start cooking everything with olive oil or vegetable oil, but the tast is not as strong. I don't put too much sauce on the dishes I cook, but the smallest amount of spicy sauce can upset my guts (I hate eating food with no flavour though). AH and I never eat at McDonald's or those fast food restaurants as it always upsets me too, it's freakin' good though ( I have McDonalds like 2 times every 6 months, perhaps? I got used to deprive myself from that, as the result is always tragic next day, LOL. It's not worth the pleasure of a meal comparing to your suffering next day. It requires a lot Of discipline AND bad experiences too  Oh I also get acid reflux a lot, especially from garlic powder and other saucy foods, but then I just chew a pill for it and I'm fine. Anyway, if Align doesn't work for me after 1 month I'll just try something else until I find what works best. Any suggestions for other good medication for diarrhea/stomach/guts rumbling and anxiety/ depression? (natural products preferrable please, as I am not from the US so I can't get prescriptions  I was considering Ignacia 30x as I've read it's really powerful for mental issues, although I want somethung that works in both mental and physical levels. Any help is appreciated. Thanks a lot for hearing me! I feel better now after this horrible day.


----------



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

I would get your anxiety and depression treated... and not only with medications.. but actual therapy from a Mental Health Professional. That should help you tremendously and even perhaps calm your symptoms. There is no reason to suffer with anxiety & depression... BOTH are treatable hon.. so get some treatment.If your husband has health insurance there is no reason why you can't be covered under that policy and get the help and treatment you need. If there is no insurance... there ARE clinics available. Look in your phone book.You must try different treatments and see what works best for you. We are all different... what helps one of us.. won't necessarily help the rest of us. So we all must find what works for us and our symptoms through trial & error.But get your mental health issues treated as soon as possible.


----------



## winniedapoop (Nov 3, 2011)

Hey BQ thanks so much for your reply. Yeah you're right... My depression/ anxiety is been building up throughout the years. My sister recommended a great psychologist and my cousin said she knows a very reputable doctor who has many satisfied clients and he charges 85 euros for the 1st appointment and 80 euros for the next ones. I'll give him a try. Oh and we don't use any health insurance here (me and my husband), we have the Public Health System that pays most of healthcare although the waiting times are ridiculous sometimes and it's better to just go to a gastro right away (a private doctor) and pay more but get my issues fixed right away since it's so urgent! Although if none of these doctors work, I'll just go ahead and order meds online.


----------



## nwtampaguy42 (Nov 1, 2011)

Believe me i know what you are going thru. I have had ibs for 10 years but the last 2 have been the worst for me. The anxiety i get is from being worried about what is wrong with my stomach and i always think the worst case senario like cancer etc etc. i was put on Librax 5 days ago also known as Chlordiaxepoxide/Clidinium caps its two drugs in one and take it 2x a day. 8am and 8pm on a empty stomach. Its supposed to help with anxiety and stop stomach spasms. Well it does work for my anxiety as my sweaty hands have gone away along with my sweaty feet and i am doing things that i lost interest in doing before this medication. It also keeps my tummy quiet. I used to have tons of noises in my stomach after eating and now i dont hear or feel anything. alot of people swear by this stuff see here. http://www.ibstales.com/librax.htm however i have had some bad D the last 2 days but it may be because i drank orange juice and ginger ale. I am going to stop that and see what happens. I tried align and it didnt do anything for me. I have tryed many of over the counter things and none seem to work for me other then immodium but i dont want to end up taking 8 of them a day like some people do. Hope this may help you and good luck.


----------



## winniedapoop (Nov 3, 2011)

Hey guys, just got back from taking my mom to work and I feel completely exhausted, physically and mentally. My dad was feeling sick so he asked to take her to work.. It was a last minute thing, and I didn't want to refuse helping but man I got so nervous just thinking about driving all the way and get stuck in traffic! I always do. But what really worried me is that I haven't gone the last 2 days and I ate a LOT of 'not so healthy food', so today I was expecting to have diarrhea. Yep my stool was pretty loose not watery though. Then I remembered I still had 2 imodium pills and charcoal caps, so I took one of each just in case. Traffic got me so stressed out, and the long waitings in the Hospital stress me a lot too! I felt all the BM and had to pass some stinky gas,lol even had to apologize mom for it XD. Anyway, the stress also made me want to pee BAD, I just couldn't focus on the road, my only focus was to speed up to get home ASAP! My driving was so bad this morning that I almost cause a car wreck  I got to a point where everything that requires to leave the house makes me anxious. I've cancelled a meeting for the 2nd time last week coz the anxiety of leaving the house got me diarrhea so I couldn't get out anyway so I messaged the client (Doing a freelance project for him) saying I couldn't meet him that day coz I've been sick last 3 years and it's getting worse and I said I'd explain it better on Skype! I even dream of going back to school and get my degree, but I'm afraid my IBS won't get better next year and that I'll have to study/work from home and therefor cancel my dreams... This is ruining my life at ALL levels and it worries me to think that there's no definite cure for it and that I'll have to carry this with me until my last days...  There are 4 major things that trigger my anxiety the most: quiet rooms, long waitings, lots of people arround me, and the symptoms themselves!


----------



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Get treatment for your anxiety... I doubt you will be able to manage your symptoms well without some treatment with Mental Health professional.


----------



## winniedapoop (Nov 3, 2011)

BQ said:


> Get treatment for your anxiety... I doubt you will be able to manage your symptoms well without some treatment with Mental Health professional.


I have an appointment with a Psychologist next Monday (Nov 28th) and we'll start with "Cognitive behavioral therapy" for IBS patients, so let's see how it will help my anxiety and depression issues... I'm also taking ALIGN, and I've been tracking the progress for the past 4 weeks and this last week I've only had "GREAT DAYS"! I can tell that yes, Align has helped me some, it has relieved the urgency to go in the mornings, and I don't have too much bloating or gas so often anymore, although it hasn't kept my bowel movements regular nor quiet, nor has it allowed me to start eating foods that I usually couldn't... I started drinking peppermint/ camomile tea and it helps warm up my body and relax too.Sometimes though it feels like there's a monster inside my belly, it rumbles WAY too loud when I'm hungry, immediately after I eat and if I lay down after a meal! Especially if I lay down or even if I fall asleep 30 minutes/ 1 hour after a meal, I wake up with the feeling that I need to use the restroom again! I wish I could just go all at once (in the mornings) and enjoy my day with no worries! (Hey I guess that's IBS for ya....)For this reason, I never do anything in the mornings, except when I really need to (like going to the Hospital for an appointment or to do blood tests or something), but aside from that, I just don't leave the house in the mornings... only after lunch and after I made sure I went a couple times, enough to hold me for the rest of the day, so I don't have to use public restrooms, those just make me nervous! I still have to avoid trigger foods and I literally can't make any mistakes, especially if I need to go somewhere the next day... Yesterday I had 2 bowls of soup with cabbage, bc I haven't eaten any fiber lately and I thought it would be good for me... I even asked my mom not to put any beans in it, which upsets me the most... I didn't have quite the amount the gas that I had before, but my stool was pretty loose and I went 2x today... Sometimes I even feel like starvin' coz that's the only way I won't spend 3x in the restroom next day!I have one question though: what's the criteria do consider the stool diarrhea? is it the consistency or the number of times you go in one day? coz all this time I've thought I've had diarrhea and mine is loose most the times but not quite watery, it's more like peanut butter (LMAO sorry if it's TMI), but whenever I eat bananas and white rice I have such a hard time going! It happens the opposite sometimes! Any ideas on how I can get it more consistent? Any foods and medications (natural ones preferable) that I can take to calm down the gut noises?? It really gets me embarrassed in quiet rooms, and I'm thinking of going back to study next year, it's gonna be a BIG change in my life so I hope it doesn't affect my nerves again! I really need to get better until September of next year!! Anyone please let me know if you're going through the same and how you manage it?? Thanks everyone in advance!


----------



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Here's hoping the CBT really helps you! Now about the grumbling noises... etc.... Have you tried any digestive enzymes WIth your meals?? And also try using an anti-gas product WITH your meals.


----------



## winniedapoop (Nov 3, 2011)

BQ said:


> Here's hoping the CBT really helps you! Now about the grumbling noises... etc.... Have you tried any digestive enzymes WIth your meals?? And also try using an anti-gas product WITH your meals.


Yes I've already tried digestive enzymes (Kyodophilus) with my meals but they only worked for a few days, they made me not go so often, just once a day instead 3 or 4x a day... I tried them to see if it would allow to digest intolerant foods better... I was pretty happy with the results but after a while they stop working... I know from previous tests that I have "moderate" intolerance to milk, pork and eggs, but I can't find them so I'm not sure.. I don't drink coffee or milk AT ALL and it's VERY rare to eat yogurt or butter. What really triggers the symptoms more than any diary product, is the milk itself. So I just drink teas and natural juices, no sodas with artificial stuff or anything. I've also taken charcoal pills as I said in one of the previous posts... they helped reduce the gas some, but if I get subconsciously nervous (even if I'm really not), I get gassy anyways even with my stomach empty! I've also tried Spasmomen for the noises, 1 didn't work so I tried 2, it relaxes my guts sometimes, but definitely not when I eat certain foods... the noises are still there though...I've read somewhere in the forum about a product called Ignacia 30x or something to calm the guts and I was thinking of buying it, but do I need prescription for it, being a natural product?


----------



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Try *different* digestive enzymes and probiotics if one doesn't work for you. Each product may be different!


> Ignacia 30x


Never heard of it... try googling it.


----------



## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

Give rice milk and soy cheeses a try. Other than an occasional carton of ice cream, I no longer have milk in my diet. It is a real easy one to eliminate.Mark


----------



## kerrywit (May 27, 2011)

I am a dietitian specialising in IBS and I would definitely recommend that you follow a low FODMAP diet to ease your symptoms. Depression and anxiety and fatigue are often overlooked symptoms of FODMAP malabsorption. See my website for more strategies to reduce symptoms. Kerry, Dietitian


----------

