Hello everyone,I'm new here and starting up the program for the last time to finish it. I have started many times but never finished it. I'm tired of physical symptoms and so I am here to end the suffering. I already cured myself of one nasty anxiety, the worry about being near a bathroom. This is something I have been dealing with since I was a small child. I am now 36 years old and I have been completely free of IBS for nearly 2 years! Here is what I did...

This was all a diet modification, I just simply learned that I have a slightly picky stomach and colon and a lot of nervousness.. Well I'm working on the nervousness, but I still got rid of it completely while still being overly nervous and sticken with panic symptoms.

1) no more sodas or milk, nadda, nil, NONE at all. Just water of any kind and the occasional orange juice (high pulp). (this made me lose 30lbs getting rid of me heartburn and snoring)
2) ate an apple and orange at least once a day (usually two apples a day)
3) eat multiple times a day, no large meals or huge helpings of food. Just kinda eat after ya get up (something small), then a few hours later, and so forth. I think I eat like 5 to 7 times a day. Sometimes nothing more than an apple.

thats it, and let me tell you, I was as bad as you could get! I mean, a HUGE change in my total living, I no longer have to worry about a nearby bathroom, no more nasty bloating and gas, no more doctors and drugs! I mean, I worred about where I drove, I was always thinking of a nearby bathroom. I would literally change my driving route to bring me near a store that had a bathroom. It was awefull, but normal for me, I just kinda lived with it. It was only after I realized that I quit having trouble like that anymore that I realized it was gone forever. I can actually feel a normal "movement" comming on way before I actually have to go and it no longer hurts, I am having a full "normal" erm.. movement without the explosive gassy awefull usual occurance. This,for me,was new and painfull at first hehehe.. 34 years of liquid movements did not leave me very prepared.. ouch!

Just milk or all dairy? Are you sensitive to wheat?

I am pretty sure that I'm sensitive to everything. ~8) yea, I guess I am staying away from all dairy. I am not allergic though, and I did stop milk by itself a long time ago as I am lactose intolerant, but it did not change my IBS. I think the bigest change was made when I dropped all sodas and getting rid of my heartburn, lost the weight and started drinking water.

hi,how did u get rid of the heartburn...my dr said i have gallbladder problems,,,,but i get chest pains and im not sure if its heartburn

Hello 8) .. Heartburn was terrible for me, I've had it for about 8 years. Pretty much since I had my hand surgery (I put on about 30lbs). I just could not lose the weight. So after using Nexium/protonix (both work very well for me) I got rid of the heartburn, but could not stop using the medicine. I eventually fell into the panic cycle and became afraid of getting caffene 8( . So I stopped drinking any sugary drinks, and ended up just drinking water. Well this alone let me drop 30lbs easily, so off the cola's, no caffene, dairy or chocolate/candy and losing the weight, all of a sudden did not have fluid movements. I thought there was something wrong with me hehe, I could not go to the bathroom 3 times a day, this to me was something wrong ~8D .. Too funny, turns out, a week later I was totally normal. This change and feeling ONE HECK OF A LOT better, I just swore them off for good and tried nt using the medicine, sure enough, no heartburn! Oh, btw, heatburn can feel like chest pain, it can also cause asthma symptoms and a voly of other things. I have some nice pictures of the burned tissue at the bottom of my throat, but it's all good now. There is the rare moment when I wanna eat Indian food, so I plan ahead and take a nexium for the exra insurance of not waking up in the middle of the night choking on bile and having my heart nearly stop after holding my breath for 5 mins in my sleep.. MAN were those awefull times 8( ..

I, too, have IBS and this is the plan I follow to conquer it:

1. Changed from drinking cold water to HOT water. Hot water is tremendous for the digestion tract. Also increased water intake from 6 glasses to 8-10 glasses.

2. Eat 3 servings of fruit daily. This include blueberries in cereal for breakfast, fruit after lunch, fruit after dinner.

3. Speaking of cereal, I only eat high fiber/low sugar cereal -- Kashi Go Lean, Total Bran Flakes, Plain Cheerios, Spoon Size Shredded Wheat.

4. Avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate).

5. Take a Citrucel Caplet every night before going to bed. This is total fiber and non-addictive, non-habit forming.

GOOD LUCK !!

There's some good info about IBS here:
http://www.jigsawhealth.com/articles/irritable_bowel_syndrome.html
Part of the article says:
Avoid drinking ice-cold water with meals. Ice-cold water slows down your digestion and lowers the amount of stomach acid (HCl), which is greatly needed to digest your food.

I read your information and I to have to watch what I eat. I found out the hard way that this is hereditary in my family and the Doctor told me that the cure (meds) would kill me so I started searching the internet and found lots of info out there but the old saying about an apple a day is true. I still have at least one attack per year but now that I found this anxiety program I am hoping once I learn to deal with my stress the rest will take care of itself. The colon Dr. told me that grapenuts nuggets was good since it high in fiber. I just need to get my stress under control and stop the constant eating to relieve my anxiety.

Hi I am bew here.. its so nice to find somene to talk to about this thing... just wondering how u guys know what food your allergic of? Coz now I am really scared to eat anything not knowing what the reaction it will give me

I'm going to give these suggestions a try. I find I have problems if I drink too much hot tea later in the day. I also notice that I have IBS symptoms with cheese and meat cominations - mac and cheese with a burger is always a recipe for disaster with me. I'm also interested in whether any of this helps my heartburn.

What a blessing this site is going to be. I have had the tapes for some time but just decided that I really need to go through them. I have IBS that I do take Levbid for but I really need to get control of my diet too. I look forward to speaking more with you all and I hope that I can be even a fraction of the help you all have already been to me.

Ok everybody, which came first...the chicken or the egg? In our case, the IBS or the stress/anxiety? Does the IBS cause panic/anxiety attacks? Does the constant worry of "Where is the nearest bathroom?" cause panic/anxiety attacks? Or does the disease of IBS cause feelings of worry, stress and anxiety along with nausea, constipation and diahrrea? Do we vomit because we are actually sick or because we're worried or nervous? I'm constantly going in circles with the doctors saying "Go right!" wait... "No, go left!"

Good question Baba... I've always internalized my stress and I've had stomach problems for a while so it's hard to say... my stomach is sensitive and stress only makes it worse. When I stress it makes me feel worse, when I feel worse it makes me stress... definitely a circle that I hope to break!

quote:

Originally posted by NancyHeart40:
There's some good info about IBS here:
http://www.jigsawhealth.com/articles/irritable_bowel_syndrome.html
Part of the article says:
Avoid drinking ice-cold water with meals. Ice-cold water slows down your digestion and lowers the amount of stomach acid (HCl), which is greatly needed to digest your food.

Ice cold water? I do that all of the time. Any time I drink water it is filled to the top with ice. I have lost quite a bit of weight killing the consumption of soda and by eating 3 meals a day (I was eating 1 and my body thought it was starving and stored what I ate). I have plateaued, I will try this now too though, and see if it helps.
Thanks!
BTW, I still have quite a bit of weight to drop, but I'm not over 300 lbs and don't wear a woman's 30/32 anymore!

quote:

Originally posted by Baba:
Ok everybody, which came first...the chicken or the egg? In our case, the IBS or the stress/anxiety? Does the IBS cause panic/anxiety attacks? Does the constant worry of "Where is the nearest bathroom?" cause panic/anxiety attacks? Or does the disease of IBS cause feelings of worry, stress and anxiety along with nausea, constipation and diahrrea? Do we vomit because we are actually sick or because we're worried or nervous? I'm constantly going in circles with the doctors saying "Go right!" wait... "No, go left!"

This is the very thing I've been wondering for years. I had a very traumatic accident 5 years ago that provoked anxiety that I'm still trying to deal with, but I still don't know whether the anxiety causes the symptoms or vice-versa. If you have any thoughts, I'd appreciate it. I can actually make myself get diarrhea and gas just by thinking about the fact that there might not be a bathroom around. It's completely psycho and I am getting better, but it still baffles me.