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questions about ibs as a new guy to it

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 5/31/2015 11:42 AM (GMT -6)
Hello all. Last week i went to the doctor and he suggested i have ibs due to my constipation. I asked could i have a scan or some test run but he brushed it off and just said "its only ibs" and since i already had a colonoscopy(which turned out fine btw) i dont need more test. So he told me take 2 cups of miralax per day for 2 weeks and fiber powder to mix with water. Before i get to whats wrong with me now. Let me just give a rundown of my struggles with this.

In march, i was having such bad gas pains that i couldnt even walk. I took regular over the counter stuff for it, but then i started getting constipated and when i did pass stool, it was very thin. I went to the ER and they said it wasnt nothing to worry about and gave me laxatives. I still continued to have bad gas pains and constipation with thin stools that bothered me greatly. I had lower abdominal pain as well, though i also got pain down there. I made an appointment with a GI doctor who set me up for a colonoscopy in april and the 2 weeks i waited, i was very stressed and had the worse anxiety. I had the colonoscopy and they found nothing, much to my relieve, they just told me to eat better to fix the problem. Once my colon returned back to normal from being empty for the colon prep(which was horrible btw) my stools went back to normal for maybe 2 week, but then i became constipated again, UGH!! I was still passing somewhat narrow stools so i thought ok, maybe i could beat this if i stopped smoking(i am a smoker) and drunk more water. Neither helped as i became so constipated my stools were small like pelets. I had a Constant feeling as i have to pass stool, only to pass gas. Constant feeling of gas in my stomach. Abdominal pains that went from my chest to back. I used enemas and laxatives but that became annoying to deped on I went to the GI doctor last week but as mentioned at the start of this post, he just brushed it off and told me to take miralax twice a day with fiber.

So im taking this miralax as he directed, and yes i can pass stool, but i got the worse diarehaa from it to the point i was passing big balls of stools that was very soft and had me running to the restroom every 10 seconds. I lowered my dose and i feel better, im passing waterstool but firm stool has came out with it. Is there anybody who has been through this? I have another appointment coming june 13th and the 2 weeks in between will most likely been stressful

Not to mentioned, when i eat in the morning, if its junk food, i feel upper chest pains and pains close to the belly bottom. Idk what to think everybody :(
Posted 5/31/2015 12:15 PM (GMT -6)
So I used miralax for a while to help with slow motility and I found by trial and error what the right dose was for me. I encourage you to keep reducing your dose until you figure out what will keep things moving but also keep things solid. My final daily dose was 1/4 capful.

You mention that a DR suggested you improve your diet to help with the constipation, but it doesn't seem that you talked about that at all. Have you considered what you are eating and whether you are getting enough fiber and water? You should also know that there are two kinds of fiber - soluble and insoluble, and you need both to keep your bowels happy.

Raw veggies and fruit have a lot of insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is in things like oatmeal. I take psyllium caplets now - they are full of insoluble fiber and really help bulk up my stool. I no longer use miralax.
Posted 5/31/2015 3:45 PM (GMT -6)

kazbern said...
So I used miralax for a while to help with slow motility and I found by trial and error what the right dose was for me. I encourage you to keep reducing your dose until you figure out what will keep things moving but also keep things solid. My final daily dose was 1/4 capful.

You mention that a DR suggested you improve your diet to help with the constipation, but it doesn't seem that you talked about that at all. Have you considered what you are eating and whether you are getting enough fiber and water? You should also know that there are two kinds of fiber - soluble and insoluble, and you need both to keep your bowels happy.

Raw veggies and fruit have a lot of insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is in things like oatmeal. I take psyllium caplets now - they are full of insoluble fiber and really help bulk up my stool. I no longer use miralax.

Thanks, i did speak to him about foods and he told me prunes, carrots and a clear liquid diet if needed. Im kinda in worry i may have slow transit constipation. I have fiber powder and metamucil

I passed stool today and it came out green, when it broke up it was leafy, i did eat collagreens so im contributing it to that
Posted 5/31/2015 5:31 PM (GMT -6)
Green stool is also sometimes from fast transit - it isn't bad, just maybe uncomfortable.

Prunes are a great idea!
Posted 6/1/2015 9:58 AM (GMT -6)

kazbern said...
Green stool is also sometimes from fast transit - it isn't bad, just maybe uncomfortable.

Prunes are a great idea!

I had ate collard greens a few days ago, and im still having green stools thats leafy when i move them around with a stick(sorry to be gross) idk if maybe im having moblity issues which is why i havent gotten all of them out or what. Also im having bad back pain when trying to pass stool
Posted 6/5/2015 11:27 AM (GMT -6)
Generally what you eat today will show back up in the toilet about 3 days from now, that's the general standard but it's of course individual for each person (healthy or not basically it's a guideline of 3 days to completely evacuate what was ingested)...it does sound like your symptoms are IBS and since you had a scope ruling out inflammation (IBD; Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis) then for sure I'd agree that IBS is what's going on...the bad back pain often coincides with IBS as well.

You could try the low FODMAP no fructose diet and see if you notice any improvements (my dietitian put me on that diet) and after about 4-5 weeks of being on that diet you would start to reintroduce the food groups that the low FODMAP no fructose diet eliminated you from eating...keeping a food and bowel movement journal to monitor how you're doing while on the diet and also through the reintroduction phase of adding things back in each week, this way you can study your journal and more easily (hopefully) pinpoint if there is a specific FODMAP group that triggers your IBS issues, when you find which group(s) are bothersome you would simply keep them out of your diet for good...google for more in depth info in regards to low FODMAP no fructose diet.

With IBS, diet and emotional stress tend to be culprits but sometimes it can be either one or the other or both so you need to find out which category you fit into...regular daily exercise is important with having IBS as well as the right amount/kind of fiber daily too.

It's a lot of work but it's also a lot of work living with IBS.
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