# Active Duty Military In Need Of Suggestions!



## seabee23 (Nov 6, 2014)

I am 23 years old and I have had IBS-D since high school. I am currently on active duty in the military and my symptoms had been relatively under control to the point where I thought that maybe I didn't have IBS afterall. Well the last year of my life has been a major reality check with how active my IBS has been.

A bit of background information on me, I had Kawasaki disease when I was 9 years old, it is a heart disease and as far as I am aware it has no effect at all on the digestive systems. I have been seeing a military GI for the past 6 months, who basically says I have IBS now deal with it. I was given a colonoscopy and an endoscopy which discovered I had a polyp in my intestines and I have a hiatal hernia, which he said neither of these things would cause the symptoms I have been having, but he removed the polyp anyways (maybe 5 weeks ago). Thats where the GI basically left me hanging, I asked him what the next step was and he said wait to see if symptoms improve, but time is working against me I do not have the luxury of waiting around. Basically I will get a sudden urgency to go and often times liquid diarrhea, when I say urgency I mean I usually have a matter of minutes. This happens at random or so it seems sometimes it happens 5 days a week sometimes I will be fine for a week or so. This has been killing my career, I no longer have a social life, and I worry about future employment if these symptoms don't stop. I honestly believe it is effecting my marriage as well, she says she is supportive and understands but honestly, who wants to deal with being with somebody who backs out of date night at the last minute, because he is unsure if he can control his bowels? Who wants to be with someone who never leaves the house other than for work? I feel like IBS is not taken seriously yet it is the most debilitating ailment I can imagine. It is the most demasculated I have ever felt.

As of 2 days ago I have started a food journal which will hopefully point to some links I have been missing, I already know I cannot have anything dairy, oddly enough I seem to do well when I eat strictly fatty meat foods...odd I know, but even after doing that for too long I fall back into the cycle. I am wanting to start Fodmaps or SCD, thinking this weekend will be a good time to make the transition, I am unsure on which option between the two will work better for me though.

I am a father of 2 and a husband, I feel like my family relies on me to be able to provide for them, but lately I have been finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a military lifestyle. I don't always have the luxury of deciding what I am going to eat, I assure you the military doesn't offer a Fodmaps or even a low gluten option. I am going to be deployed within the next few months and I am extremely nervous about how I will be able to make it with these symptoms. I am looking for immediate results that will help me make it through this deployment. I dont care about long term side effects, I just need a solution as fast as possible. Any suggestions would be appreciated immensely!


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## IBS2 (Feb 7, 1999)

Several suggestions. First, if you think you have a food allergy and it may be adding to your problems, ask you doctor to refer you for testing. Second, have you tried using any of the anti diarrhea medications? If you have already tried immodium and it doesn't control your diarrhea ask you doctor for a prescription for Lotronex. I found it works really well, but you have to be careful with the potential side effects. If you do take Lotronex know what to watch for. More recently some have found improvement using Enteragam, a medical food. I also take probiotics (Align), which has helped, but I found it took several months to reach it full effect. One problem your going to find, which is no different from civilian physicians, is at times you have to push them to let you try something new. if in fact your having a real problem preforming your job you can ask you physician to put you on a profile that would take into consideration your condition. Problem here is if you're a lifer, in the end you may have a problem staying in the service if your IBS prevents you from doing you job. I also don't know what your MOS is or if you have a secondary MOS that might be more in line with your condition. Finally, you might consider asking for a psych eval. If you look on this site you'll find a number of people have done well using a number of different When I was in the service the only time I felt normal was when I was in Viet Nam and then only because everyone had diarrhea. Finally, you may want to ask you physician for a psych referral. A number of people have done well using hypnotherapy. Bottom line GI, if you have IBS your going to have to find the best way for YOU to control your symptoms. At this point there is no magic bullet to kill IBS, but there's still a lot you can do to control your condition. Good luck and if you have any questions let me know.


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## andreea (Dec 20, 2013)

also.think about this. you're deployng probably to a country less "civilized" so to speak, so you can basically go anywhere.you don't have to worry about having an episode and being trapped halfway between toilets andin the middle of a crowd of people.i find that the comfort of knowing where the toilet is very important and it relieves ibs symptoms, as there is a major psychological component.less stress, less ibs.and try using anti d medicines that are as natural as possible,since we tend to use them a lot.there's activated charcoal for bloating and gas and smecta (im not sure if it is also available in the us) that is also a sort of charcoal that absorbes the water from the stool without harming the intestine which i think loperamid or imodium do.This is what my physician advised me.


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## ClaireBee (Oct 3, 2014)

I feel for you, I know, I use to be in the military and there is little leeway there for health disorders. I would start immediately taking some probiotics. Align and Garden of Life Primal Defense are the most popular. VSL#3 is also good, but expensive. IBS does take a toll on marriage, but when I share my fears and worries about this disease with my husband, it really helps me as he is very supportive. I can't be the perfect wife and mother right now because of IBS, but he knows it's the condition and not me. If the roles were reversed, I would not blame my husband or expect him to carry all the financial burden himself. Be open and honest with your wife about your feelings and insecurities. Women love it when men communicate with them and show them their vulnerability, as it's the ultimate sign of trust (and love!).

Hang in there. It will get better. And remember, those people in the military who are judging you are just a bunch of jerks, worried about their own tails getting chopped off so they're swinging at yours. Find some supportive friends OUTSIDE of the military. That's what I did while I was serving and they helped me immensely. They helped to confirm my beliefs that my superiors were a bunch of pricks : ) Also I was able to share things with them that I couldn't with enlisted friends for fear of being reprimanded or it affecting my career. I'll be praying for you.

Claire


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## seabee23 (Nov 6, 2014)

Thank you for all of the suggestions!

IBS2- I can relate to you saying the only place you felt normal was Vietnam because everyone had Diarrhea, when I was in Afghanistan it seemed to be the norm and on convoys it was not considered taboo to use a bucket when the need arose. My job is Seabee, we are combat engineers so we are typically deployed to underdeveloped contingency zones, where facilities are limited and the hours are long. I love my job but I was recently able to land orders following this deployment to go recruiting for 3 years. The zone I will be recruiting will put me right next to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where I hear they have some of the best GI's in the world. The last time I had a psych eval I was told I have PTSD, (which I feel like they say every Afghan vet has) I never bought into it honestly, but I have been finding a lot of research that connects stress related psych problems with digestive issues, so I think I will follow up on that front and see if there is a possible connection there. Are you aware if IBS is a career ending diagnosis, I asked the military doctor I saw to please not put it in my record, he smiled and agreed, I didn't want to ask him if it was because I didn't want to put him in that position.

Andreea- I usually get issued Loperamid, but I will look into some more natural approaches. You are right that we typically go to third world countries and often times this does ease my mind for if a worse case scenario regarding IBS arises, I can probably get away with it. My main concern is for the 15+ hour plane ride, I know that if you worry it typically makes it worse, so I will probably just take a large amount of anti D medication the night before the flight, and the morning of just to block me up for a day or 2. Once in country I will try to establish a routine where I know where all the facilities are which usually gives me peace of mind.

Clairebee- Is there any real difference between those different probiotics? Thank you for the note about marriage, I think you are right and I am probably putting more undue stress on me than is required. I am just used to being the sole provider and I have never been good at sharing feelings, this post is actually a big step for me. If the roles were reversed I would not mind in the slightest and would honestly just be concerned for her, thank you for that and thank you for the prayers! You are correct that my higher chain of command is a bunch of pricks who really just dont understand it. I had one Chief above me who was really understanding and told me that he had a similar condition, he allowed me to PT on my own so I wouldn't get in trouble if I fell out of a run to go to the head. Of course after about a month of this great arrangement he ended up getting orders to a different command. I think I may just have to be upfront with my platoon leader and level with him, I've had a successful career thus far, and I feel like I earned the right to as many bathroom breaks as I need. Its terrible its even a topic for debate.

I ordered a Calcium Supplement with Vitamin D (which I understand will help stress, anxiety, and depression) I will look into some probiotics and some alternative anti D medications. Hopefully all of these supplements will compensate when I do not get to choose my diet. I am wondering if anyone knows the effects of PT with IBS, I always seem to have to go urgently following a good run, which is unfortunate since I enjoy running. Is this is my head, or is there a link to physical activity and IBS?


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## IBS2 (Feb 7, 1999)

First, if your going on a plane for 15 hours, I'm sure the plane has a bathroom. One suggestion is to remember you can use anti diarrhea medication to prevent diarrhea as well as stop it. In other words you can take it before you get on the plane. Other side of that coin is when the effect wears off you may have some rebound diarrhea. One thing you can do is to try and find a dosage of imodium that stops the diarrhea, but doesn't constipate you for days. You may want to purchase the liquid form of imodium and start with a small dose, that is to say you don't have to take the full recommended dose for it to be effective. It's a trial and error method, but I guarantee you'll find a dosage that works for you. Many people take imodium on a daily basis for control. As for the PTSD, be glad you have access to help and I wouldn't rule out hypnosis. When we returned from VietNam they just called us "Nuts". On the probiotics, remember they don't work like imodium, it takes a while for the gut to adjust. One thing you have going for you is you don't have to pay for medications, so see if you can get your doc to prescribe Lotronex. It worked well for me, but was too expensive to continue to use it. I keep some available for vacations and times of stress when it does the trick. I'd also ask the doc for a prescripton for Enteragam, which is a medical food, but some people have done well with it. Bottom line is you can get to a point where you can have significant control. The benefit you have is access to medical care without the financial burden, so take advantage of it.


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## 2015 (Jan 29, 2015)

Hope you are well. If you have not already, look into SIBO. For many (incl myself) this is the/a cause of IBS. Dr Siebecker shares her work on SIBO on siboinfo.com 
All the best!


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## mennonitemom (Mar 30, 2015)

Try this: Saccharomyces Boulardii from what I've been reading people are having great success with that and something called Seacure. I have IBS-D too......and have been doing a ton of research.


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