Hello Ladies,
I'm not sure if I have IBS but have been reading a lot about it and have a lot of the symptoms. I have also been reading about a product called Digestive Advantage and wondering if anyone has tried it for their IBS symptoms with any success. If you do have IBS can you tell me some of the symptoms/episodes you have? I want to compare with mine before i see a doctor about them, thanks!

My dad has IBS and in his case almost anything he eats goes right through him so he has to make sure he's always near a restroom when he eats. He also get very gassy. I'm not sure what his other symptoms are and I'm not sure what medications he takes so I guess I'm not much help.

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"Let me watch my children grow to see what they become
Lord don't let that cold wind blow til I'm too old to die young'

I have IBS, my problems seem to alternate between food shooting right through me and constipation. Sometime I don't know which is worse. I have to be very careful about what I eat when I go to a public place and sometimes it doesn't even help if I am careful. I have pain in my abdomen sometimes and it can get uncomfortable. I remember when I first had these problems I had pain every day for such a long time. The pain tends to go away after a bowel movement or I feel some sense of relief.

Make sure you watch your diet and eat enough fiber and if think you have it go to the doctor because there is medicine that can help you out. Don't eat big meals try to eat little meals throughout the day so it is easier to digest. Don't drink pop, try to make yourself drink water as much as possible.

i had horrible IBS when i was in college. i actually had to transfer to a new college so i could live at home and commute. i couldn't imagine going out to a restaurant because i'd have to RUN to find a bathroom shortly after if not during eating! it was really depressing for me, because eating is the thing to do! friends would go to eat and then to a movie and i couldn't imagine ever being able to do that.

i had a lower GI, nothing showed up so they figured it was IBS. i remember getting a prescription that didn't help me...if you research enough on the internet, you'll find that many people suffering from IBS have been helped by taking a certain kind of caltrate (the vitamin you can buy at the store). i started taking it 15 years ago, just one a day and i can now eat! sure i get an episode every now and then, i'd say maybe once every 3 months or so, but it's amazing the difference!

people have also been known to outgrow IBS, so maybe that was my case too, but i still take the caltrate diligently. definitely talk to your doctor - maybe there are new prescriptions out now that can help. i understand how miserable you may feel!

I find that my symptoms come and go. I call it having flare ups. I have times when I can eat anywhere and not get sick and then BAM! out of the blue I can eat the same thing and be in the bathroom in minutes. It is so frustrating and it really changes how you live your life.

I hope that if you find you do have this, that you are able to find some help.

Darlene

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Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

Yep. IBS-C.

I have had bouts of it off and on for a while, and last year, in October, it started hitting hard.

I was on fiber supplements - they helped a bit (Fiber Sure - 2 tsp/2x day).

I was on Zelnorm (then it got recalled, but my doctor is pretty sure it will come back on the market with stricter guidelines - people with heart disease/trouble have a higher chance of heart attack/stroke than was previously told). This medicine worked WONDERFUL! (In fact, I still have some - my doctor is not encouraging me to take it, but told me that it was recalled because of people with exisiting heart conditions having a higher chance of stroke, etc. She did say that I could combine it with the Miralax if I felt the need to). Zelnorm is basically a super quick digestive enzyme.

Tried the Digestive Advantage. Didn't really work.

Now I am taking Miralax - been taking it since Tuesday - 1x/day. It is supposed to be a very low dose laxative of some sort, to help attempt to speed things along.

I also (when I remember) take acidopholis (sp?) which is a natural digestive enzyme.

My biggest problem, I think, is hereditary. My grandmother has the same constipation issues I have. But she relies on OTC laxatives. Which is a HUGE no-no when it comes to IBS.

However, I also have a problem with my food digesting too slowly, thus causing the constipation.

If the Miralax does not help, I may have to have a colonoscopy (I am only 31!!) and I am hoping that it does not come down to that. I have a feeling I can get it all under control with the help of prescriptions though (fingers crossed).

IBS is no fun. Especially IBS-C. Bloating, and the overall icky feeling, not to mention excessive stress is not my favorite thing.

Add me to the list.

If I have to go anywhere away from the house that's more than a quick trip, I take Imodium before I leave. I watch what I eat when we are out since sometimes the Imodium doesn't even work. I have a prescription called Bentyl that helps sometimes, too.

My doctor told me to cut out chocolate, nuts, caffeine, and fresh fruits and veggies and cheese for a week. Then slowly add one back to see what triggers it. I really didn't see a difference as far as WHAT triggered it.

My dad, brother and one sister all have the same problem. What's really weird is that some people from my old neighborhood that I lived in when I was younger all have the same problem as us. The one guy works under my hubby and I tell him all the time that it must have been our well water or something.

Hubby and I joke about it now since it inhibits our lives so much. We can't go to the movies after we eat in case I have to "go" . I also have a thing w/using public restrooms.......

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Amy
Mom to Lauren, Eryn, Naysa
and announcing......
Gavin Michael Chase, 9 lbs 10 ozs
and 21 3/4 inches long on 10/13/09!

wow, thanks everyone for your responses, i have an appointment in may to have some tests done but it does sound like this is what i have going on. it happens at different times when i eat different things and i start feeling cramps in my stomach feel like im going to pass out almost they are so strong then i have the explosive diahrea (sorry if this is too graphic) and it goes on in intervals of about every ten minutes until i take two to four immodium then the next day i am in trouble from the immodium, ugh! i am forty and this started a little in high school but got so much worse after having gall bladder surgery about ten years ago. i will try to find that caltrate medicine and see if that helps and for 1boymom my son who was born without a rectum had to take the miralax for awhile, it is a very mild laxative like you said that helped him a lot. thanks again everyone!

I had a colonoscopy about 4 or 5 years ago when I was 23 (Wasn't aweful) and the doctor said it was IBS
Many times when I go out to eat , I end up having to go right home or if it hits me in public I go in the restrooms and it is not just once
I get Diarrhea and I go about 3 to 4 times until the food seems to be out of my system
Dairy meat and grease don't sit well with me, sometimes pop too
I chug generic pepto too much
and definately before I go out to eat
and the more I worry about it the more likely it will happen
My uncle was on an anti anxiety medicine for his and I guess it helps too
It definately affects my life
I am afraid of being out, definately cannot go out to eat then a movie
I have to go many places with my stomach growling to be safe
not fun at all
Suzanne

That's kind of been my experience too. ALthough stress really affects it. It's pretty good anymore.

Hi,

I am glad to see someone started a Thread on this Issue.

I had my Gallbladder out 11 yrs ago and thought My so called Bowel problem was Normal because of my surgery.

I have two questions?

Did anyone get this bowel problem due to there Gallbladder removal?

And Because of your Bowel problems has anyone become Vitamin Deficiency from it?

If so how did you correct your Vitamin Deficiency ?

I am beginning to think this is what has been causing all my Hair Loss problems over the last 7 yrs .

And I don't know how to build my Vit. Deficiency up fast again.

PaNanaMoo, my problem was not bad but it was noticeable in high school then when I had my gall bladder surgery (a nightmare, they almost killed me) it got so much worse. One day, about a year after I had surgery, i really pissed off a worker at walmart because the bathroom was closed for cleaning but there was no way i could wait and walked in anyway, she kept telling me it was closed for her to clean it and i argued with her for a minute or so then told her she would have a bigger mess to clean up on the floor if she didn't shut up and let me use the bathroom! i won that battle lol. anyway, my mother has it the same way and she had gall bladder surgery also so there must be some kind of link to this problem. i dont think i have vitamin defficieny but thats probably because i have to take prenatal vitamins because we are trying to get pregnant. have you tried just the over the counter prenatals? they have a lot of good stuff and may help.

I think that IBS is just a catch-all diagnosis for Doctors who can't really figure out what's going on . . . I just read an article about parasites and how their symptoms mimic symptoms of IBS If anyone is interested I could try to find the link. It was really interesting. In fact, DH is now going to ask his gastroenterologist to have his stool tested! He had gas, bloating, stomach pain, and severe bouts of vomiting/diarrhea. They did an ultrasound and a gastroscopy and found nothing.

Many people develop lactose intolerance in their 40's. At least that is what the doctor told my DH when they finally figured out what was causing his problems. What you describe sounds like what happens after he has any milk products.

Matter of Fact I was giving them Prenatal Vitamins some thought .

I was reading different bottles the other day trying to decided which ones should I try.alot of them on the But I am allergic to Iodine and that seems to be in anything that has the mininals in them.

I am like you also I am so so sick of having this problem and having to use this bathroom or that one and the darn things are always closed for cleaning or there broken down for repairs or having to wait in LINE because I DON'T have time to wait in line I got to go and GO NOW ..

Its terrible when you got to take extra cloths with you just incase of accidents also.

I wouldn't mind if I had to go one time a day but when it goes on and on and on you never know if your done to leave a bathroom safely or not.

So, many times i think i am done and leave and I am back in there over and over again and I feel so embarrassed that ppl may be seeing this.

Other day i was in the check out line and darn if it didn't hit me I was in the middle of checking out but even if you are done you cant go leaving your buggy with paid food in case someone would steal the buggy.

Sure can't win...

yes i know exactly what you mean about having to go NOW! and even having to go in the middle of doing something. sometimes im in the car and have to turn the ac on the lowest setting to keep myself cool enough long enough to make it to the bathroom, it seems to get worse when its hot or maybe im sweating because of it. i don't know. i have been looking online and found a website that might be helpful it's Soluble Fiber Supplements ~ How Soluble Fiber Helps Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). it is a website that is wanting to sell their products of course but it also has some helpful tips about fiber and other things that might help. thanks again to everyone for sharing their stories i don't feel so alone and helpless with this problem.

Thanks for the site and Info..

I know we are to eat fiber, fiber and so forth but i can't seem to eat anything any more ...

But, then one day I can eat something and it won't cause me any problems and the next time it will.

I can't pin point what is causing this all ..

I did start taken that the acidopholis (sp) a few wks ago after reading others are taken it ..

I don't know how its to work for sure..

So, Not sure if its helping or not.

I did try Imodium but then it causes me to have constipation.

Person sure can't win can they.