# i can only imagine...



## unable2deal (Jul 12, 2012)

I can only imagine back when everything was normal. When I didn't have horrible stomache/lower abdominal pains so strong it felt like my insides were being mutalated. When my stools weren't constant unformed and at times bloody. Or slimy white strange film in them. So, painful my *$$h0l3 was falling out:0. When I didn't see different doctors, GI specialists, surgeons for blood tests, colonoscopys, endoscopys, cultures, polyp & hemrrhoid removal which were guarantee to not return(per idiot Dr.) feels like I've got 2 external and 1 internal. By the way try anything an everything before surgery...the after is beyond excruciating! This somewhat new symptom, fbo as its referred to is horrific! I can easily deal w/insides pain, going from extreme C 2 extreme D, the loud n painful noises my bowel makes but, reeking of dead animal, sewage, etc is causing me to have suicidal thoughts, anxiety/stress ridden, emotinally/mentally/physically spent. I'm on the verge of homelessness due to not being able to keep a job because of this. I wish I had a supportive family/friend. I don't. Its sickening how they delight in intentionally making comments to hurt me. Suprisingly, I've yet to suffer from any mental illness lol, shower regularly n inbtween w/safeguard, added fiber(worse D ever) ammodium max strength did nothing but cause more gut pains, eat healthy n reg exercise did nothing to ease any symptoms if anything they became worse! Adding mouth/underarm ordor. On plus side, lost unwanted lbs...causing so called friends to say "it must b drugs" knowing that I'm struggling w/health issues and have enough sense not to ever mess with nonsense. Life as i know it has become a nightmare...I'm just greatful to have found this sight up until this point honestly thought I was an anomoly left to b tortured alone...thanks to any1 who takes the time to read this an any1 who leaves advice/encouragement its greatly appreciated


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

I'm sorry I cannot make out what your symptoms are... can you just tell us what your worst symptoms are so we can guide you better....


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

it sounds like you may have chrons? or cholitis? were your tests for that negative? try not to eat prosessed foods and stop eating bread and flour.. clean food, organic if you can afford, your tummy is screaming that you are feeding it something that it absolutely do not like! I have read about people becoming depressed or having psycological problems from eating wheat and sugar, MAYBE that is you.. it does not hurt to try, eat eggs or fatty salads for breakfast instead of grains.., get full by eating more fats.. the tummy can stand fat better than grains in most people...i only know what works for me, but you problems sounds more severe than mine! But my tummy get horrible with grains and sugar, this is not what we are biological engineerd to eat.. its not natural and some of us get terrifiv tummies.. hope this help you a little... WHAT are your symptoms? And what do you normally eat???


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

http://www.themargareth.com/2012/07/ibs-irritable-bowl-syndrome.html


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## unable2deal (Jul 12, 2012)

Yes, all tests came back negative of anything serious. Almost 3yr ago I started to have severe constipation along with stomach/lower abdomen pains. When did have a somewhat regular bowel movement there was blood. Primary referred to GI added fiber to diet then all of a sudden severe diaerrhia still blood present in stool. Had colonoscopy n polyp removed. Symptoms still present...special diet...same except bloating and uncontainable gas. Had external/internal hemorrhoid surgery almost a year ago noticed bland diet helped calm n regulate slightly but, when diaerrhia is too severe it feels better not to eat at all even water heightens nausea...basically i get the concensus that since tests come back negative so i shud b fine as long as I'm taking fiber low fat diet and exercise...(nope) painkillers for pain...unnecessary...blood is from hemorrhoids


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## unable2deal (Jul 12, 2012)

Well, that's according to docs. As for mucous white film GI looked at me strangely and told me she never heard of that...like i imagined it;( i freakin wish all my health issues were imaginary! Life would b awesome


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

WHAT DOES YOUR DIET CONSIST OF?


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> Symptoms still present


So symptoms still present right now are: Gas, Constipation & Pain (and they are the worst of it)?Have you tried using stool softeners regularly? * With Constipation it kinda should be treated everyday to prevent back ups and impactions.*Have you tried any probiotics? If so which ones?Up your water intake for sure. If you are having nausea... try using Ginger Capsules or Ginger tea or Ale etc. Ginger works real well on nausea.Osmotic laxatives may help...Have you seen this?http://www.webmd.com/ibs/treating-constipation


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## unable2deal (Jul 12, 2012)

No, constipation was at the beginning. Its all diaerrhia now. & luckily its been bout mo. Since seen blood in it. No probiotics w/exception of activia as a snack or with toast 4 breakfast. I've tried warm ginger ale it only makes bloating worse. As for my diet its usually dry wheat toast activia or fruit snack on crackers cucumbers carrots etc n dinner is usually baked or boiled w/veggies n apple on side. I drink water coffee gatorade all day


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

So you have diarrhea then mostly.. ok... Have you tried using Calcium Carbonate supplements??? See the 1st page of the "Linda's Calcium" thread pinned to the top of the Diarrhea Forum for info about how, what and when to take the Calcium Carbonate.Also there is always imodium.... have you triedThe amount of probiotics in Activia isn't really enough for us IBS'ers. Try using a good one like Align, Florastor, Culturelle or Sustenex. It may take a bit of time for the probiotic to make any difference.. so be patient with it. If after a few months you see no improvement... try another Probiotic with different bacterial strains because sometimes one strain will not help.. but another type will.Ginger ale.. as with any carboanted beverage.. you should really stir the bubbles out of it first.. you will see less bloating that way.It sounds like you rdiet is sorely lacking protein.... so I suggest you eat some lean proteins. Prepare them by baking or broiling, boiling or grilling. I would stay away from fried foods. Apples could be tough to digest.. try applesauce instead.By the way.. bright red blood isn't a problem.. more likely just from inflamed hemmies.ONce a diagnosis is reached most Docs are not all that helpful as treatments are largely individual as every patient is different. So you must do trial and error to see which treatments help you. Most people find a combination of treatments working in concert helps best.Go to the forums that apply to you.. read and educate yourself on the various treatments and post any questions you may have.


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

"toast 4 breakfast. I've tried warm ginger ale it only makes bloating worse. As for my diet its usually dry wheat toast activia or fruit snack on crackers cucumbers carrots etc n dinner is usually baked or boiled w/veggies n apple on side. I drink water coffee gatorade all day"My dear friend, please take me seriously when I say this, I am a strong believer that MOST people have gut issues to what they eat, one way or another... What i can understand from you that this diet is NOT healthy, please dont take affence, you drink ginger ale and gatorade with lots of sugar, rule nr. 1: stop eating sugar! or drinking sugar!sugar boost candida and throw guts out of balance! along with many other harmful effects. Sugar in the ginger ale may explain why it makes you worse.. wheat toast is the last thing you should eat, wheat conforms to pure sugar in your gut and have the same effect as sugar.. Coffee(coffeine) is a lacative, and you dont need that! try drinking only water for a couple of months! cleanse your system Stop eating grains! grains conform to sugar also.. Stop eating all forms of sugar. No candy. no honey or syrup.I know it is a challenge not eating grains or sugar! But to you want to be well? or have this forever? When you quit sugar and grain you will notice after some time - you loose weight as well.. If you can cut down on other carbs that is also good. like: all starch products from corn potatoes. You dont have to stop eating fruit, but cut dowm, fruit has the same sugar content as soda, so fruit is candy once in a while.. Only drink water for some time... What is there to react to in water if you think about it ??? nothing..What you should eat:Eggs, all kinds of meat, all types of salads, nuts, berries: like strawberry, raspberry and so on, seeds, some fibers, whole fat milk products (with no added sugars),real butter(never margarine, it promotes inflammation!!can show you the science that prooves margarin made by humans cause inflammation- butter from a cow is natural), olive oil, vegetables (organic is best) coconut oil!! coconut oil soothes the tummy (contains fats that also exist in breast milk-good for the immune system in your gut) extra virgin coconut oil is the best... This diet has cured me.. and it makes sense, it is worth trying not saying its the cure for everybody, but it is MUCH healthier than wheat toast! Want to help you and hope you take me seriously! hugs.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Maja We do take you seriously. I know changing your diet help you tremendously.. and I am glad that you feel so much better. But I am afraid that a diet change simply will not work for everyone. We are all different. For some people it isn't what they ate.. but rather the act of eating itself. Yes everyone should eat a healthy diet as much as they can.... but understand that for some folks.. even if they ate the same exact things you do... they would still have symptoms. This is part of what make IBS so frustrating.But I do Wish you much continued success.


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

yeah, but have you tried eating like this? HOW do you know it will not help?!I get so frustrated by answers like this, if I find 100 people that got well by this, would you try? retoric question. this is not the cure for everyone! i know! there are allergies, illensses and a lot of other things.there is a famous swedish doctor who promote this diet, she herself got well from IBS, and most of her patients (not all, but almost) got better or well.. I am not taking this out of thin ear, there is something to it.. the "modern" diet with mostly grains and carbohydrates is not what we are design to eat from nature.. If someone told me this adwise a few years ago i would have replied the same way..but is not to good to be true, its worth trying (for a couple of months)Anyway, ment as kind adwise..


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

I can give you a list of references to people getting well by this, ALOT of people, but why should i work so hard to help you when you are not open minded? one can only say that is does not work after trying it - like you say. everyone is different. BUR some are the same.....anyway, you do what you want.have a nice day


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Most everyone tries changing their diet at some point. And your diet is not unique, it is pretty much what a lot of people have tried over the years this board has been here. Sounds a lot like the low FODMAP diet that has been proposed and helps a fair number of people.Diet all by itself doesn't help everyone with IBS. It depends on what triggers you.If you are triggered by gas volume a diet change can make a huge difference in your symptoms. Less gas, less symptoms, easy as that.But I was triggered by the "I ate" signal. Doesn't matter if 6 hours later the food wouldn't make gas, I ate something, anything. The gastrocolic reflex after every meal would take over and I'd be in severe pain and probably in the bathroom with diarrhea.Sugar, no sugar, fat, no fat, protein only, fat only, sugar only, every possible combination of food, same result. Pain and diarrhea, every single meal, every single time. So I ate what was healthy and what would nourish me even if it was painful as all heck.So diet change didn't help me. That doesn't mean I assume diet won't help a lot of people. Obviously diet does make a difference for a lot of people, especially a low gas producing diet in people who can't tolerate normal gas volumes.It would be so lovely if there was one simple, single answer for all of us. There isn't. However, do share what worked for you and encourage the people on the FODMAP threads (as it sounds like you ended up doing a lot of the same things). I really wish that diet, and that diet alone with no supplements, no medications, no mind-body work would manage everyone's symptoms pefectly. But a lot of people either need more than diet alone (and many people need to do diet, and supplements and medications to get good control, not one of them alone, but all of them together) or are triggered by things you can't control by diet alone.I could have chosen not to eat anything ever again, but that isn't a good long term strategy.







It did control symptoms pretty darn well, at least for as long as I could fast (and I get bad symptoms from fasting for too long and eventually the pain from the IBS was less annoying than vomiting up bile, but that is just me and my preferences).Saying other people may need something else doesn't in any way say your diet doesn't work, and it COULD help other people. Just don't assume that only your management strategy works and everyone is a fool if they won't do what you did. A lot of us have tried similar diets, this is not a brand new idea, sometimes it works, but for some people it doesn't, and like I said some pole need that kind of a diet AND other things before they really feel better.Heck, I've suggested lower starch diets for years, I just didn't write a book about it.







Even promoted that idea even when it does nothing at all for me. And I did find other treatments that worked very well for me, so it really isn't either this diet or nothing else is worth trying. There are lots of treatments, you have to find out what works for you. I'm happy you found what works for you. Can you be happy I found something different that worked for me?


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

Kathleen: thats the thing with IBS, its a lot of different illnesses thrown together, but people suffer from som many different things and react to very different things, I get that people have tried this before, with different sucsess, but that should not stop me from promoting what helped me!, not expecting to "cure the world" But if I could just help ONE person, I would be super happy! What did you find out helped for you kathleen? I am very happy for you if you found it. dont take me wrong. I am very open minded! To whatever that works!My whole family is living by this diet now. My sister has the same tummy issues as me and she have lactose intolerance as well, she also gets help from this diet, my mother and brother live by it because of diabetes, and to loose weight...


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I am glad it works for you, and glad it helps some people a lot, I wish it was so easy for all of us.Just be careful expanding from "this worked for me". Some people can get pretty attached to the thing that worked for them and sometimes people do need to be reminded that they don't have the one cure to save them all. It is good to share what worked for you here.My story is in the link in my signature (bottom of each post).The cure word can be a bit loaded around here as well. There is no cure, but there are some great treatments (I see a diet you stay on for the rest of your life as a treatment, not a cure, but people do see things differently).


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

This diet, is not a "diet" but a healthy lifestyle, that is the way i see it. And its my cure. Eating like this is what we as human are ment for, like a lion eat meat, a horse eats hay, wheat and sugar were never ment for us (cause obesenes, diabetes, some cancer types, inflammation - usa comsumes the most carbohydrates per person and they are the most obese, but someone is more carbohydrat durable and react to other things) the today diet is not "normal" - the low carb diets is the future and are becomming bigger and bigger in scandinavia... So I dont see this as a treatment, but as going "back to nature" A doctor have never helped me one bit with this, and have to figure it out for myself, it took many years. Reading ALOT of books, studies, blogs, forums like this.. I have never claimed to cure everybody with this, state that in every post!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

For me if you go off the diet and the symptoms return it is a management strategy or treatment, but people use treatment and cure in different ways.That the diet can also be used for other health reasons to me can be more reasons to eat that way, but doesn't make it any more of an IBS cure, in my book. I get that is what you call it for yourself.Like I said "cure" is kind of a loaded term, and a lot of quacks, scam artists, and other less than honest people like to use that word a lot. That is why it can get a reaction around here. Sorry if you walked into that without knowing that ahead of time.IBSers can be pretty desperate so we do sometimes get targeted by those selling fake "cures", which is sad.Like I said, share what works for you, but be aware of how you promote your way of doing things. Leave room for other people to have different issues and reasons why they may not immediately do things your way. For what it is worth, I have to eat a moderately high carb diet. If I do not I can NOT exercise. No exercise for the rest of my life is just not acceptable for me (may be for other people), and a few veggies with a meal loaded with protein isn't going to meet my needs. I do my carbs in the healthiest way possible, but I can't eat a lot of the diets some people promote as the only healthy way to eat.And yes, the pendulum has swung to where a lot of people are in the "low carb living" frame of mind. I just don't know if that is where things will stay for all time. It certainly is popular with a lot of people. Just I've seen to many things like this go back and forth to be certain that we have the final answer.


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## MajaSol (Jul 11, 2012)

didnt know the word cure was negative loaded, to me it is super positive, but then english is not my first language. i also state that it is MY cure, that treats ME, and that is TRUE, so have never lied... I can not twist the truth to something else.. In my culture we say thing the way they are.. I am not selling anything anyway, on a anonymus forum.. just the pure want of helping other that sufferes like I did, i feel like this blog is more of a support group, not ment for direct helping others.. my CURE







for Me, not treatment, a life-style. do you call a man that eat like a bodybuilder a treatment? a person that eat a surtain way to stay heathy a treatment?, i call that a life-style







call it what you want to call it.. Ok, i will quit to care,







people do what they want anyway!Fodmap and similar diets are not the same as LCHF scandinavian diet.. small adjustmenst can make the difference, you never know, that is the thing.


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