IBS
#4716 - 03/31/03 08:12 PM
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Kate
Reged: 03/31/03
Posts: 2
Loc: MN, USA
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I am 21 years old and was diagnosed with IBS when I had my appendix removed at 17. The surgeon noticed that my intestines were red and told me to see my doctor. I went through a few tests that determined nothing life-threatening was wrong with me. My doctor said I had IBS and didn't have a lot of information for me except to relax because it was due to stress and anxiety. I didn't doubt that because I was already being treated for depression, and I'm a theatre major and occasionally over sensitive, but I had symptoms even when I was relaxed and content, so there's something else going on then just being stressed out, this can't be psycosomatic. My symptoms are horrible in the mornings but get better as the day goes on. I have never been able to stick to an eating and exercise routine for too long because I'm a college student with a college cafeteria as my only source of food and a busy class and work schedule. It gets really bad sometimes and can really knock me off my feet to the point where I miss classes, and I've never been able to tell my professors that I missed class because I was busy in the bathroom. This is really cutting into my life. I don't want to make decisions based on my bowels. If my friends are going to get pizza, I want to go too. I want to go on a road trip and not have to stop every half hour. I love spicy food, even though it hurts me. I want to go camping... I've never been frustrated about this until lately. I was hoping some one had quick, easy, cheap tips for dealing with IBS, like recipes that can be made with limited kitchen access, what to do to make cramps go away, I guess I'm looking for some sort of easy, magical cure for something that can only be treated by constant monitoring and healthy (and why does "healthy" usually mean "expensive"?) decisions. I am open to any advice since I have never received any, most people I've talked to have not been too enthusiastic to talk about the ways of the intestines.
Well, what was supposed to be an opportunity to blow off a little steam and ask a question or two, has now become one giant paragraph... Thank you for reading, Kate
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Hi Kate, and welcome to the board! One of our moderators, TessLouise, is a college student, and she is chock full of fabulous quick, easy, and cheap eating ideas for IBS. Check the recipe exchange board for lots of her posts.
One thing you said jumped out at me - that your intestines appeared red to your surgeon. Any sign of inflammation like that would normally rule out IBS, so I'd make sure that you've had the diagnostic tests necessary for inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, and also that you've been checked for celiac. Do a board search under "Rome criteria" for the past 1 month or so and you should find posts with diagnostic tests necessary for IBS. You may well have been misdiagnosed.
If you do "just" have IBS, one of the easiest, cheapest ways to really control symptoms is a soluble fiber supplement. There's info at web page. Also, buying herbs like peppermint or fennel in bulk to brew as teas with a little dorm tea kettle is cheap and easy, and really very soothing. Helps prevent and stop symptoms - drink as many cups each day as you like, or cool the tea and pour it in an empty water bottle to drink from in class. Chewing Altoids can help too.
And you can also make a lot of easy food choices (at restaurants, campus dining, and cooking) that will help keep symptoms at bay too. The guidelines are at web page
This should get you started. Ask any other questions you have!
Best,
Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Re: IBS
#4725 - 03/31/03 08:53 PM
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jrs
Reged: 03/31/03
Posts: 317
Loc: Aberystwyth, Wales
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I figure this is a good point to introduce myself as well, since I had many similar issues. I'm 25, but have had IBS since I was 21. At the time I missed oodles of classes, and eventually had to give up on being able to do graduate school because my grades had dropped so much. Luckily I managed to find a job just before the economy went into its current downturn, and since have slowly been able to figure out what do to do to manage the symptoms.
The whole process has been at times quite depressing, and I completely know what you mean by wanting just to have a normal life, going out with friends, having pizza, etc., but not being able to because of the fear (or reality) of the symptoms you experience. I guess all I can suggest is to confide in your closest friends about your problem -- you don't really have to go into detail, often I just tell people that I'm really sensitive to high-fat foods, and usually they accept it.
I love spicy foods too -- it's a drag isn't it? I still every once and a while will try something like that with the hopes that I'll be OK. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 
Although I know this varies from person to person, I personally found a daily serving of rice to be the best thing I could do, in addition to cutting out high-fat and spicy foods. Like I said though, it's really up to you to figure out what works for you, which can be frustrating at first. You just have to keep the faith that things are going to get better once you have things more figured out; it took a couple of years to get to the point I'm at now -- I still have trouble traveling and going to unfamiliar places (get paranoid about not being able to find a toliet just in case), but otherwise I've been able to carve out a nice, albeit somewhat restricted, life.
Anyway, I don't want to monopolize the post. I'm sure there are several others who have great advice on this board for you, just by going through some of the previous posts.
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Re:
#4729 - 03/31/03 10:00 PM
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Kate
Reged: 03/31/03
Posts: 2
Loc: MN, USA
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Thank you for the information, I'll have to call my doctor and see what tests I took and what exactly the surgeon said about it. It was a long time ago, and I was still recovering when I took the tests, but I think I remember the surgeon saying that my bowels looked red or irritated, something like that. I had the same symptoms before that and have had them since, and there have been no physical changes as far as I can tell. But thanks for the heads up and I will check that tomorrow.
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Re:
#4732 - 03/31/03 10:25 PM
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hi!
i'm 21, too. i'm in cosmetology school right now, although i was in college for 2 years before this year.
some good non-kitchen staples to make that are good for ibs-ers:
rice - you can make minute rice in the microwave, and uncle bens makes flavored ones when you get bored with plain, many of those are microwavable, too.
pasta - there's this great thing called a HOT POT, and i made ramen or other noodles in one of those almost every day in college. you can add all kinds of things with pasta, too. pasta roni can be good when plain is boring, too, but you have to be careful cuz sometimes it calls for adding butter and/or milk, which can be triggers. but you can substitute soy milk if you want and it comes out just fine.
if i think of more, i'll let you know. but hopefully these might be helpful, and pretty easy, and rice and pasta are really full of soluable fiber, so they're a good choice any day.
beth
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Re: IBS
#4790 - 04/01/03 01:13 PM
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pinky
Reged: 03/23/03
Posts: 16
Loc: Indiana
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Kate,
Have you tried taking soluble fiber supplements? I feel that I owe my sanity to my daily glasses of Citrucel (2 or 3). I know some commercials make it look like a disgusting gloppy drink that is for old people, but the orange flavor isn't half bad. It has made me feel so much better that I consider it liquid gold. You may never be able to eat pizza or everything you want without any problems, but in the long run, the soy substiutions are healthier. Think of what clean arteries you'll have by the time you're old like me, if you start when you're so young. Buy Heather's books if you can afford them (I remember being broke in college) or if not right now, you can click on the small pictures of the books at the top of this message board and find a lot of good information to help get you headed in the right direction. I know it can be depressing, but if you take the soluble fiber and work out a diet for yourself based on Heather's facts in the books, you will be able to go on that road trip without stopping every half hour.
It may seem like a pain to give up things you love, but consider the amount of time spent worrying about ibs attacks, etc. Making the changes is well worth it because it frees you from a cycle of worry and pain.
pinky
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