Impatient
#65315 - 04/27/04 02:35 PM
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stevan
Reged: 04/26/04
Posts: 19
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I have been on the diet for nearly two weeks and have not experienced a significant turnaround yet. My flareup has lasted two years until this point. Is such an extended time common? I'm getting frustrated, but am keeping at it.
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Re: Impatient
#65327 - 04/27/04 02:52 PM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Yes, 'fraid so! Please keep at it. Have you done a while on the "What to eat when you can't eat anything" diet? Have you started a soluble fibre supplement? The biggest single improvement I saw with my IBS was after I started taking a supplement (and that wasn't even a very good one!). Are you sure you've cut out the triggers? Loads of people try and keep their favourite (coffee, soda, whatever) but it doesn't work!
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Linz, Thank you so much for your reply. I am on "the diet," and have just added a fiber supplement (FiberCon), which may not be enough. I am sensitive to fiber (causes bloating), so I am trying to reintroduce it after several months of staying away. I know that Heather advises Arcaria (sp?). Did the initial "diet" take a month or more for you?
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Re: Impatient
#65352 - 04/27/04 04:02 PM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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By the initial diet, do you mean the "What to eat when you can't eat anything" diet? Cos you shouldn't stay on that for more than a week. It did take a while for me to see a real difference with the safe diet, but after 6 months, I'm off meds and pretty much stable!
Fyi, I find Acacia doesn't give me any bloating unlike my old supplement.
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hi, Stevan
#65360 - 04/27/04 04:16 PM
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jenX
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 3252
Loc: Richmond, VA
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i have an additional sugggestion for you as you add your fiber: drink lots of water!
i keep reading it and think to myself "sure, sure..." but then never manage to do it. i always suffer for a few days when i raise my acacia dose, which i did yesterday. i coincidentally made my goal for the week to drink more water. amazingly, i haven't had any troubles with the dose getting raised!
pardon me for asking, but are you C or D?
i was D and it took several weeks before i saw a great improvement, but i wasn't taking soluble fiber, nor had i given up coffee or sodas. then i got discourage and half-heartedly followed the plan for months, but really cheated whenever and however i wanted to. , again. when i finally buckled down and stopped cheating and started the acacia (the other brands didn't work or made me gassy), i had a great improvement in about a week, believe it or not. i haven't had an attack in so long i can't remember it! sometimes i get a little iffy and take my Equalactin, but i haven't had to bust out the big meds in a long time... months!
according to Heather and the other Cers out there, it takes longer for a C person to stabilize... (sorry! never thought having diarrhea would make me a "winner!" )
good luck. keep trying and keep posting your questions!
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JenX,
Thanks for your advise. I am basically a C who is now careeing wildly with D.
You mentioned Equalactin. What is that?
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JenX, I have read about Equalactin on the message board and have ordered it from my pharmacy. Is it new? Everyone seems to be raving about it for balance.
Do you use both Acacia (also on order from this site) and Equalactin at the same time?
Thanks so much for your comments.
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glad you asked!
i take acacia with each meal. i'm working towards 3 Tbsp a day, but i'm only at 1 1/2 tsps a dose right now. i have to go slowly...things get really uncomfortable when i raise it too fast!
the Equalactin is for emergencies... i carry some with me in my purse and leave some in my car. it's also soluble fiber, but it's a nice convenient chewable (and it tastes kinda neutral- like a smartie with no flavor!). if i were to use it at the same dose i take of the acacia (or especially my goal dose) i would be chewing all day and be totally broke! (i spend about $7 for 24 of them) however, as an emergency treatment, it's worth every penny. i take 2 when i feel cramps coming on and often it takes care of it! i also take two when i stop at a restaurant that has shaky IBS-safe potential. i don't eat bread, so if i'm somewhere that may not have something soluble-fibery i can put in my tummy at the start of a meal (most places do not) i take my equalactin. so far, with that plan, i haven't had any attacks in that sort of situation (i still eat IBS safe, of course! i'm not nuts!).
anyway, that's my Equalactin spiel. i'm so glad i tried the acacia and Equalactin- i credit both for my ongoing stability of several months with no attack! (*knock wood*) as always i offer up the "thank you" to Bevrs who led me to Equalactin, and Heather who introduced it to her!
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Jenx, Just wondering - what do you eat if you don't eat bread? I have trouble eating a variety of foods - it's like I eat the same things everyday. I still have problems and I don't know why. Some days I'm fine...but then like tonight I made pancakes with low-fat bisquick, soy milk, and egg whites, and I even put bananas in them - and I'm really paying for it. I don't know what's the problem?!?!
Anyways - main question is what you eat usually everyday - because I want to expand foods - but all I know to eat with chicken and fish is white rice and bread! ~Cara
-------------------- ~Cara~
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I just took my first dose of Equalactin and taking the acacia as well. Just started with IBS a few months back and I can't believe what a life change it has been. This web site is a godsend, and it's so wonderful to read and talk to people who understand!! Thank you!!!
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for the spiel. i had read about equalacting on the boards but since i hadn't had tummy trouble in about a week - i'd been lucky and nothing else! - i hadn't paid close attention....
now that my tummy's reminding me that yes - you have ibs-C and you'd better get to your fibre supplement NOW (lots of cramps / glas / bloating / PAIN! today) i'm going to give equalactin a try.
i'd imagine that it's available here in canada - eh?!
Ana
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er...
#65792 - 04/28/04 06:16 PM
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jenX
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 3252
Loc: Richmond, VA
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i hope so. i have seen posts with subject lines about finding it in Canada. try to do a search... (sorry, i don't read them 'cause as addicted to the boards as i am even i can't read every post! )
i don't know how stuff like that works... can you order from places like drugstore.com? i just assumed it was an American company, but are their problems with getting stuff like that delivered across the border? (hey, maybe i'll sneak you some! ) i'm so clueless about Customs! (though as someone pointed out earlier, it would be easier to smuggle that than the acacia, which is a white powder!)
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Hi, Cara.
#65796 - 04/28/04 06:34 PM
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jenX
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 3252
Loc: Richmond, VA
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i eat a lot of different stuff. people are probably sick of hearing about my morning fruit smoothie, but boy do i love it! (but i couldn't tolerate it 'til i got stable!)
i avoid anything with gluten. that's a lot! but still i always have food (though i admit i'm nervous about a trip i'm taking next week... no idea what i'm going to eat for breakfast at a restaurant. egg white omelettes, i suppose).
let's see. for example, today i had my smoothie for breakfast. a mid-morning snack was rice crackers (gluten free, taste free) and a Silk yogurt (soy). lunch was some chicken and rice noodles. dinner was rice and black beans. i had sorbet for dessert.
how i started was by printing out this list: Quote:
Soluble Fiber Foods ~ the Basis of the IBS Diet
As a general rule, the grain and cereal foods at the top of this list make the safest, easiest, and most versatile soluble fiber foundations for your meals and snacks.[1]
Rice Pasta and noodles Oatmeal Barley Fresh white breads such as French or sourdough (NOT whole wheat or whole grain)* Rice cereals Flour tortillas Soy Quinoa Corn meal Potatoes Carrots Yams Sweet potatoes Turnips Rutabagas Parsnips Beets Squash and pumpkins Mushrooms Chestnuts Avocados (though they do have some fat) Bananas Applesauce Mangoes Papayas (also digestive aids that relieve gas and indigestion)
and using it to go through recipe books and magazines like Southern Living (the ones notorious for good recipes!). you'd be surprised at how many recipes are easily adapted to be IBS friendly. if you have favorites, go to the Recipe board and post the recipe. Kree and the others will tell you what to do to make it IBS friendly. they're wizards with that! for example, if you love meatloaf, make turkey meatloaf. there are tons of different pasta meals, rice meals.
i've got to post this recipe tomorrow. it's chicken and pears and sweet potatoes (if it sounds weird, i assure you it doesn't taste weird!).
lots of asian foods and middle eastern foods are good. just watch for dairy and oils. i eat a lot of sushi (YUM!).
as for your pancake dilemna, i'm not sure what's in the mix, but if you're not used to soy that can cause some problems. it's a bean, and just like other beans it can give you the bloaties and gas. you get used to it, though, but you may have to take it slow adding it to your life!
meanwhile, it could be soy or the problems you had from dinner could have been from lunch or something you ate yesterday. or it could be hormonal. or it could be the ice cold drink you had with it. or you ate too much. or... well, you get the idea.
Bevrs always suggests a food journal, and she's right! i wish i had done that when i was first getting IBS and again when i was a newbie to the diet. it would have made things easier! write down everything you can think of in it with times and descriptions of your mood... anything that may help. after you get a week or two in there, you may notice some patterns (gas after soy, diarrhea the day after something else...).
there's plenty to eat once you figure out your specific triggers. definitely go visit Kree. she'll hook ya up! and if you don't have Eating For IBS, you should get it. it's got a lot of great recipes. i've also found success with the Weight Watchers recipe books. you have to adapt for dairy and other triggers, but it's already low fat, so at least you've got a head start. their recipes ROCK. i don't think i've ever had a bad one. (you can just go into a WW store and buy them even if you're not a memeber)
good luck. keep posting and asking questions. hope you start feeling better soon. and if you figure out what it was about the pancakes, will you let me know?? i'm curious!
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As far as I can tell, you cannot get it in Canada I looked all over and it doesn't appear to be carried. You should be able to order it online, and because it's fairly cheap the duty shouldn't be an issue. I know for sure you can get it from amazon, here's a link if you want to check it out: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000052WUO/qid=1083203608/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xglna/102-3977025-0523360?v=glance&s=hpc&n=507846
Take care, Kelly
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Jen,
I appreciate your advice. Thanks again.
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thanks Kelly! i hadn't gone hunting for it yet but i know that there are lots of medications that you can't get here that you can get in the us....
maybe it would be good if you brought some into Canada for all of us Jen! Ana
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sure...
#66185 - 04/30/04 05:41 AM
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jenX
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 3252
Loc: Richmond, VA
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i'll be the IBS peddler!
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Re: Impatient
#66189 - 04/30/04 06:00 AM
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Shirl
Reged: 02/19/04
Posts: 558
Loc: North Carolina
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Steven, PLEASE do not give up. It may take sometime to get regualated. Do everything Heather recmommends. Diet, yoga u name it. are u on any meds?
-------------------- if God brought you to it. He will bring you through it.
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Anna, I could not find equalactin in Canada and I am enroute to NC. I got my husband to send me some from the US. approach Wal Mart and see if they can get it for you.
-------------------- if God brought you to it. He will bring you through it.
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