appointment with-the gastroenterologist 1st thing Mon a.m.

[flutterby]

I went through this when I was 19. I took anti-diarrheal medications every day for a couple of months and it stopped as suddenly as it came on. I wasn't diagnosis'd with IBS then (not for another 7 or 8 years) and knew nothing about food being an issue. I was just very stressed. I have flare ups now and sometimes I feel like my life is controlled by my bowels, but never anything like that episode. Now if I try an anti-diarrheal, I don't go for days (like it takes me too far in the other direction) so I use something much more mild like Maalox.

I hope you are able to get this under control soon. It's horrible and embarrassing and so limiting - besides that you're always feeling crummy.

 

[TerryJ2]

Thank you all.
I will try the fennel. Interesting. I certainly have enough tea strainers around.

 

[TerryJ2]

Thank you for the link. It's much more thorough than the magazine article I have but on the same track.
I am happy to see that there is a "pause" section, where I may be able to puree or chop raw veggies or fruits instead of totally cutting them out.

Someone here, earlier, posted about leaky gut. That's what my difficult child has.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Terry... about fruits? There's a few you need to always worry about...

Berries (strawberries, rasperries, blueberries, etc.) because they are full of tiny seeds, and the seeds are a problem. You CAN work them (esp. strawberries and raspberries, because they don't have a skin) through a very fine metal sieve, to push the pulp out and keep the seeds back. This works for over ice cream, or for making jam.

Apples... peel them. The main part of the apple is fine, but the peels are much tougher... and the peel is where most of the chemicals are anyway.

 

[DammitJanet]

Ya know, I was convinced when I was younger that you were officially old when you talked about your bowels. I swore I would never get to that point but here I am doing it much much younger than I ever dreamed I would be! LOL.

Before I even got so sick with the fibro and the degenerative disc's, I had horrible issues with my digestive system. I remember one time at work I got so sick that I thought I might have ruptured something inside me. I was in the bathroom for over half an hour and one of my coworkers came in to check on me and I was completely white, I was leaning against the wall, and I was sweating profusely. We had an ambulance bay attached to our building and they had them come get me and take me to the ER. Two of my coworkers brought my car to the hospital for me. They did all kinds of tests on me but the only thing they could find was that I was constipated. Huh? They sent me home with directions to do enema's and use miralax. This was long before I took medications to cause constipation. I had these episodes over and over for years.

 

[TerryJ2]

Janet, you made me laugh and groan at the same time. An ambulance?

Yes, I know all about fruits ... especially raspberries. I am wondering if I am allergic to raspberries, because yrs ago, I ended up in the ER with-HUGE poison ivy. The first time I'd ever had it and it was horrid. I had been picking raspberries in the woods in our yard, and gouged myself on the thorns. The poison ivy went straight into my bloodstream. Now, when I eat raspberries, I get headaches. Hmmm.

Yes, I read that I'm supposed to peel apples. I've been eating applesauce lately and that seems to be fine.