# Relief after 40 yrs of IBS-D



## sophie57 (Apr 5, 2013)

I have had problems with IBS-D for about 40 yrs. I have tried everything, but nothing ever helped long term or enough to give me any confidence. Urgency was my biggest problem along with fear of not making it to the bathroom in time. Life was lived fearing just about everything I did, I would worry about going to a function as soon as I found out about it. I dreaded it. I never knew when I would need a bathroom and need it now, I worked myself up and inevitably made my problem worse. To make a long story short I am not having those problems anymore. What has helped me so much and changed my life is the combination of lotronex and flexeril. I was taking a small dose of lotronex which helped, but did nothing for the urgency or if I ate the wrong thing. I by chance was given flexeril for a hip problem and low and behold it worked for the IBS-D. I am the best I have even been. I feel like I have been given my life back. I no longer have urgency or diarrhea. I have to be careful as I tend towards constipation. I can eat out and not have to rush to the bathroom almost before the meal is over. I don't get anxious each time I get into a car. Since I have a lot of anxiety that has built up over the last 40 yrs because of the "what ifs" I am still working on building my confidence. It has been a true blessing for me as now I can go to functions and actually enjoy being there and not worrying about how my bowels act.


----------



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

What are your doses of Flexeril and Lotronex per day?


----------



## jbn140 (Mar 26, 2013)

I'd be interested in hearing some more about the Flexeril too - what dosage, and what were the meds supposed to do for your hip issue? Pain-swelling?


----------



## sophie57 (Apr 5, 2013)

I take 5mg Flexeril or actually it is the generic of Flexeril - cyclobenzaprine. It is a muscle relaxor. I take .25 mg of Lotronex. I quarter the 1mg tablet. I take both of these at night. I do feel that the Flexeril makes me more tired so I am going to experiment with taking it a bit earlier in the evening so I am not as tired in the morning. You may have to play around with the dosages to make it work for you, but these low doses work well for me. If you have any other questions please let me know,. I have been doing this for about 4 months with fantastic results. I have a life again. It is amazing.


----------



## oceanblue141 (Apr 14, 2012)

Hi Sophie should you be taking the pills life long? Have you ever tried to get off the pills and notice your symptoms?


----------



## psychgirl823 (Jun 3, 2013)

How did you cope with IBS for 40 years? I have had it bad for 7 months and sometimes I don't know if I will make it through the day. It makes me so upset and depressed. Any ideas on how to cope would be much appreciated.


----------



## arraywhite (Jun 26, 2013)

Are those two OTC or prescription?


----------



## ibscripple (May 7, 2013)

arraywhite said:


> Are those two OTC or prescription?


Those are script meds in the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclobenzaprine

Lotronex is usually only prescribed to women.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alosetron


----------



## Bet Sobon (Jul 2, 2013)

Hi Sophie, ME TOO!!! 40 years of this $#!t!!! Literally. I never went the meds route. Early on I was prescribed on and it made me too dopey. I have Flexaril from a car accident and I don't think I could take that every day.

I've just recently went gluten/grain/FODMAP free and that has eliminated 99% of my IBS symptoms. I also take HCL and probiotics and a bunch of suppments. And Zoloft. I feel better than I have in a long time.

psychgirl, I think most of us get it real bad in our late teens/early 20s. Then it tends to wane. But it comes back when you are older. Probably because of menopause or whatever. There is a lot more info now than there was 40 years ago. Back then it was called spastic colitis and it was thought to be mostly a mental/emotional disorder. Now we know better. You can beat it. It took me 40 years, but I finally did it.


----------

