I Need Help With IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome

[Orangutan]

ThaiPauly,

I have chronic colitis and been taking Mesalamine for years, it has managed the deep stabbing pains related to the condition, and heals so there is no bleeding.

I noticed that when I ate wheat bread, cereal, pasta, etc. I felt lousy, then I stopped eating it and WHAT A CHANGE. I also do drink milk, a little cheese is OK.

good look,

-O

I just reread my post. I intended to write "I also do not drink milk".

-O

[duceahearts]

bananas, I had IBS for years then I read something about bananas, started eating a couple a day and now I'm fine, when i'm in Toyland I eat a bunch of those little ones each day.

[balo]

I just buy it from the pharmacy . How many 400mg Norxacin should I take ?

Twice a day ?

[tourleadersi]

Orangutan and Thaipauly.

I suffer from the big one, Crohn's disease and have had it for about 5 or 6 years now. Ended up in Bumrungrad for 10 days, and was in a terrible mess. The problem with Crohns is that the immune system goes haywire and you are not only made to feel ill from the disease, but you are completely vulnerable to any other kinds of infections.

I have been on Mesalasine for 6 years now, and have had to resort to using steriods about 7 or 8 times in the last 6 years. When I relapse I can slide into it or go down quickly. The warning signs for me with a slow slide are excessive fatigue, loss of apetite and then finally D&V. The steriods turn things around in a matter of hours but unfortunatley have terrible side effects including crushing headaches and very serious moodswings. My brother suffers from the same illness (apparently a genetic flaw) and has ended up in ICU a number of times with horrendous weightloss. There is no cure, and from what I have been led to believe is that there are 3 stages, IBS, Colitis and then Crohns. If you can get control of your situation now, then there is a really good chance it will not develop further.

Thaipauly, stopping smoking will definately help. I only managed to quit a few weeks back (get Champix, it works a treat) and the effects are positive. I have never paid much attention to my diet, but need to start doing that now. There is only one thing I can say about the terrible pains you will have in your stomach. Basically it is trapped gas, stretching your intestine which is causing the ulcers to tear or stretch. The fact is, if you fart, it will help ease the pressure and the pain usually subsides straight away.

Thaipauly, if you find that you cant get on top of the illness and the pain, diarrea and fevers continue then it might be worth asking the doctor about a dose of steriods for a while. I usually take 30mg of Prednisalone for a couple of weeks, and then reduce the dose as quickly as possible. The doctor should be able to advise you better on this. One thing, when I was diagnosed in Bumrungrad the Gastro was so excited he called around and got some of his students to come in and have a look whilst doing the colonoscopy (fortunately I was under at the time!) When he came to talk to me later he said that this was the first case he had seen since qualifying in the US some 15 years previously. Basically the truth is that this is not an Asian problem, so doctors are ofter lacking in expertise in the matter.

I am interested to know where you guys are getting your mesalasine from, as I am having trouble sourcing it in Thailand (ie no luck whatsoever). Thaipauly, it will take a couple of weeks for you to get used to the Mesalasine. For myself I suffered bad nosebleeds and kept falling over (dizzy) and then after about 3 weeks everything settled down. Talking about Probiotics, there has been great success with something called vsl3, it was tested over here on some sick Thai kids and they havent bothered to make it available to the country who's people tested it for them. I contacted the company and the closest place to get it is in the US. Gotta love that moral approach. Use websites in the UK and US to learn more about your condition. When I asked the doctors in the UK about what I could and couldnt eat, they said that everyone is different. For example, my brother will relapse if he eats licorice, I will not.

PM me if you want to talk more. Always interested to hear how others are coping. The silver lining? Any stress that enters your life will cause you to get ill, so you will pin point it and eliminate it. The doctors told me I would never drop dead from a stress related heart attack, as the relapse will kill me first!

[Sheryl]

yep had it for years now its gone wonderful gp in pattaya gave me a pack of Norxacin two a day with food for10 days kills all the bugs in the system and then you need the milk with the good bugs and sorted.

Thanks so Norxacin kills all the bugs ?

I like the idea of "cleaning" my body and start all over with a new diet.

Balo

Nothing you have said suggests you have a bacterial infection. Unless a stool culture confirms one, uit would be unwise to self medicate with antibiotics as they will play havoc with your intestinal flors.

Best advice is:

- probiotics

- diet: trial and error is the key, what works for one person may not work for another. One way of doing this is to give your bowel as rest for 24 hours during which you consume only "clear" liquids e.g. water, apple juice, cocnut juice and then slowly resume eating introducing one food at a time to see what seems to work and to identify those foods that trigger the problem

-stress management. Stress is a big factor in IBS

Lastly if you drink, that may be a big part of the problem.

[ThaiPauly]

Orangutan and Thaipauly.

I suffer from the big one, Crohn's disease and have had it for about 5 or 6 years now. Ended up in Bumrungrad for 10 days, and was in a terrible mess. The problem with Crohns is that the immune system goes haywire and you are not only made to feel ill from the disease, but you are completely vulnerable to any other kinds of infections.

I have been on Mesalasine for 6 years now, and have had to resort to using steriods about 7 or 8 times in the last 6 years. When I relapse I can slide into it or go down quickly. The warning signs for me with a slow slide are excessive fatigue, loss of apetite and then finally D&V. The steriods turn things around in a matter of hours but unfortunatley have terrible side effects including crushing headaches and very serious moodswings. My brother suffers from the same illness (apparently a genetic flaw) and has ended up in ICU a number of times with horrendous weightloss. There is no cure, and from what I have been led to believe is that there are 3 stages, IBS, Colitis and then Crohns. If you can get control of your situation now, then there is a really good chance it will not develop further.

Thaipauly, stopping smoking will definately help. I only managed to quit a few weeks back (get Champix, it works a treat) and the effects are positive. I have never paid much attention to my diet, but need to start doing that now. There is only one thing I can say about the terrible pains you will have in your stomach. Basically it is trapped gas, stretching your intestine which is causing the ulcers to tear or stretch. The fact is, if you fart, it will help ease the pressure and the pain usually subsides straight away.

Thaipauly, if you find that you cant get on top of the illness and the pain, diarrea and fevers continue then it might be worth asking the doctor about a dose of steriods for a while. I usually take 30mg of Prednisalone for a couple of weeks, and then reduce the dose as quickly as possible. The doctor should be able to advise you better on this. One thing, when I was diagnosed in Bumrungrad the Gastro was so excited he called around and got some of his students to come in and have a look whilst doing the colonoscopy (fortunately I was under at the time!) When he came to talk to me later he said that this was the first case he had seen since qualifying in the US some 15 years previously. Basically the truth is that this is not an Asian problem, so doctors are ofter lacking in expertise in the matter.

I am interested to know where you guys are getting your mesalasine from, as I am having trouble sourcing it in Thailand (ie no luck whatsoever). Thaipauly, it will take a couple of weeks for you to get used to the Mesalasine. For myself I suffered bad nosebleeds and kept falling over (dizzy) and then after about 3 weeks everything settled down. Talking about Probiotics, there has been great success with something called vsl3, it was tested over here on some sick Thai kids and they havent bothered to make it available to the country who's people tested it for them. I contacted the company and the closest place to get it is in the US. Gotta love that moral approach. Use websites in the UK and US to learn more about your condition. When I asked the doctors in the UK about what I could and couldnt eat, they said that everyone is different. For example, my brother will relapse if he eats licorice, I will not.

PM me if you want to talk more. Always interested to hear how others are coping. The silver lining? Any stress that enters your life will cause you to get ill, so you will pin point it and eliminate it. The doctors told me I would never drop dead from a stress related heart attack, as the relapse will kill me first!

Tourleaderski,

thank you for taking the time and touble to post.

I am very sorry that you have Chrone's ....I put it to my doctor that I had it but he was adamant that I did not, he said the endoscopy I had three months ago showed it to be clear, but this problem has flared up since I had the endoscopy and we have agreed that if I cannot take control of the problem he will do another to check again. He is still sticking with Ulcerative Colitis

He already has me on steroids, but is now reducing the doseage as the syptoms are easing, nevertheless I am sitting here on my second bottle of soda water and belching madly, to try and lift the weight on my chest and being able to try and breathe deeply, my thoat feels "full up" belching and as you say "farting" helps (sorry to be so crude).

I got Mesalasine from my Doctor here in Chiang Mai, pm me if you need more info, but I do trust him, I hate the hospital but he is a good doctor and everything he has prescribed to me is spot on for my symptoms. I would not go there for 3 years on principle because they messed up in another area of my health, but I wished now that I had not been such a prig, I may have been healthier as a result

It is gonna be a long year, I really don't know what else I can do to avoid it getting worse, I have lost 7 klos in 2 months, but that may be a great deal in part to me giving up alcohol. I tried Champix but the nightmares were terrible so I stopped taking them (seperate thread in the stop smoking forum)...but I am smoking even more since I got sick ths time and am at a loss to understand why...about 30% more since I have been on steroids.....I want to start Champix again, despite the nightmares, but on top of all the other drugs I take for my liver, diebetis and heart I worry about drug overload.

Once again thank you for the post, I am sure we will keep in touch

TP

[balo]

Balo

Nothing you have said suggests you have a bacterial infection. Unless a stool culture confirms one, uit would be unwise to self medicate with antibiotics as they will play havoc with your intestinal flors.

Best advice is:

- probiotics

- diet: trial and error is the key, what works for one person may not work for another. One way of doing this is to give your bowel as rest for 24 hours during which you consume only "clear" liquids e.g. water, apple juice, cocnut juice and then slowly resume eating introducing one food at a time to see what seems to work and to identify those foods that trigger the problem

-stress management. Stress is a big factor in IBS

Lastly if you drink, that may be a big part of the problem.

Thanks Sheryl.

Well I already tried different things ,and the last week I feel better than before.

I now only eat rice , steamed vegetables , bananas, and drink only water , no big problems so far.

I had a beer last night but I try to avoid alcohol most of the time.

Will try probiotics next week.

[tourleadersi]

Orangutan and Thaipauly.

I suffer from the big one, Crohn's disease and have had it for about 5 or 6 years now. Ended up in Bumrungrad for 10 days, and was in a terrible mess. The problem with Crohns is that the immune system goes haywire and you are not only made to feel ill from the disease, but you are completely vulnerable to any other kinds of infections.

I have been on Mesalasine for 6 years now, and have had to resort to using steriods about 7 or 8 times in the last 6 years. When I relapse I can slide into it or go down quickly. The warning signs for me with a slow slide are excessive fatigue, loss of apetite and then finally D&V. The steriods turn things around in a matter of hours but unfortunatley have terrible side effects including crushing headaches and very serious moodswings. My brother suffers from the same illness (apparently a genetic flaw) and has ended up in ICU a number of times with horrendous weightloss. There is no cure, and from what I have been led to believe is that there are 3 stages, IBS, Colitis and then Crohns. If you can get control of your situation now, then there is a really good chance it will not develop further.

Thaipauly, stopping smoking will definately help. I only managed to quit a few weeks back (get Champix, it works a treat) and the effects are positive. I have never paid much attention to my diet, but need to start doing that now. There is only one thing I can say about the terrible pains you will have in your stomach. Basically it is trapped gas, stretching your intestine which is causing the ulcers to tear or stretch. The fact is, if you fart, it will help ease the pressure and the pain usually subsides straight away.

Thaipauly, if you find that you cant get on top of the illness and the pain, diarrea and fevers continue then it might be worth asking the doctor about a dose of steriods for a while. I usually take 30mg of Prednisalone for a couple of weeks, and then reduce the dose as quickly as possible. The doctor should be able to advise you better on this. One thing, when I was diagnosed in Bumrungrad the Gastro was so excited he called around and got some of his students to come in and have a look whilst doing the colonoscopy (fortunately I was under at the time!) When he came to talk to me later he said that this was the first case he had seen since qualifying in the US some 15 years previously. Basically the truth is that this is not an Asian problem, so doctors are ofter lacking in expertise in the matter.

I am interested to know where you guys are getting your mesalasine from, as I am having trouble sourcing it in Thailand (ie no luck whatsoever). Thaipauly, it will take a couple of weeks for you to get used to the Mesalasine. For myself I suffered bad nosebleeds and kept falling over (dizzy) and then after about 3 weeks everything settled down. Talking about Probiotics, there has been great success with something called vsl3, it was tested over here on some sick Thai kids and they havent bothered to make it available to the country who's people tested it for them. I contacted the company and the closest place to get it is in the US. Gotta love that moral approach. Use websites in the UK and US to learn more about your condition. When I asked the doctors in the UK about what I could and couldnt eat, they said that everyone is different. For example, my brother will relapse if he eats licorice, I will not.

PM me if you want to talk more. Always interested to hear how others are coping. The silver lining? Any stress that enters your life will cause you to get ill, so you will pin point it and eliminate it. The doctors told me I would never drop dead from a stress related heart attack, as the relapse will kill me first!

Tourleaderski,

thank you for taking the time and touble to post.

I am very sorry that you have Chrone's ....I put it to my doctor that I had it but he was adamant that I did not, he said the endoscopy I had three months ago showed it to be clear, but this problem has flared up since I had the endoscopy and we have agreed that if I cannot take control of the problem he will do another to check again. He is still sticking with Ulcerative Colitis

He already has me on steroids, but is now reducing the doseage as the syptoms are easing, nevertheless I am sitting here on my second bottle of soda water and belching madly, to try and lift the weight on my chest and being able to try and breathe deeply, my thoat feels "full up" belching and as you say "farting" helps (sorry to be so crude).

I got Mesalasine from my Doctor here in Chiang Mai, pm me if you need more info, but I do trust him, I hate the hospital but he is a good doctor and everything he has prescribed to me is spot on for my symptoms. I would not go there for 3 years on principle because they messed up in another area of my health, but I wished now that I had not been such a prig, I may have been healthier as a result

It is gonna be a long year, I really don't know what else I can do to avoid it getting worse, I have lost 7 klos in 2 months, but that may be a great deal in part to me giving up alcohol. I tried Champix but the nightmares were terrible so I stopped taking them (seperate thread in the stop smoking forum)...but I am smoking even more since I got sick ths time and am at a loss to understand why...about 30% more since I have been on steroids.....I want to start Champix again, despite the nightmares, but on top of all the other drugs I take for my liver, diebetis and heart I worry about drug overload.

Once again thank you for the post, I am sure we will keep in touch

TP

Hi there Thai Pauly

So sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this one, I have had some circumstances to deal with that have required my full attention. I have still managed to stay off the smokes and have to admit that I do feel great as a result. Another thing you have to avoid are ibruprofen pain medication. Aspirin and Paracetamol are fine. I would definately like to know how to get the Mesalasine, and how much you have to pay for it as my stash is beginning to run a little low.

I hope by now you are feeling a little better and that things are under control. The steriods are weird mate, I get crushing headaches, and couldnt stop eating. I also went into 'musk' and fancied any woman who was near me. even the soi dogs got scared there for a while! Most bizarre.

When I was in Bumrungrad I was dropping a lot of weight per day. I was in there for 10 days and came out about 15 kilos lighter. The doctors were completely perplexed as they cut out all food for the first week and all I had was a tiny cup of chicken broth once a day. Still I kept going to the throne room every 20 minutes. Anyway, let me know how you are doing.

[Orangutan]

tourleadersi.

Mesalamine is sold here in Thailand under two different names. All doctors specializing in gastroenterology will know the two brand.

-O