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I think I've reached my breaking point

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 1/25/2007 12:57 PM (GMT -8)
I'm just so so sick of this. I hate feeling so sick all the time. If I'm feeling bad it's so hard for me to take care of my kids, sometimes I have to just lay there cause I feel weak after going and going. And it's hard to even keep up with my house chores when I am feeling so lousy.
I've been to the gastro 2 months ago and still have nothing to control it. That's a long story, I went in for an ultrasound and they found something on my liver, then still test after test they have no idea what it is on my liver. So I'm trying to get that out of the way before I go in for the colonos. I have one last test, an MRI, and then hopefully I will be done with that, as long as it's not anything malignant. It's hard to get it all done cause my mom has to travel 2 hours to take care of my kids and then my husband has to take off work to get me there.
I don't know what to eat to make it feel better either. I thought I  had a good meal yesterday, soup for lunch, and baked chicken and rice for dinner. Well that wasn't good cause I was up till 4 last night feeling nausous. Then I wake up, have to go, and then eat lunch, and have to go, and I know it's just going to continue like this all day and night. So I call to complain to my hubby and all he says is 'hey I'll call you back'.

For a long time I've just kind of dealt with it. Eat whatever I wanted to and just took whatever came. But I am so done doing that. And at the same time I  hate to think that to help myself with eating right I will probably have to cook 2 meals everyday, one for me and one for the rest of the family, more work for me.

Sorry for the vent, maybe I'm just feeling sorry for myself, but I had to get that out.

Blessings

Posted 1/25/2007 2:02 PM (GMT -8)
Why does everyone else have to eat something different from you? I take it your food has to be fairly bland? That's nothing that can't be fixed by a separate sauce that they can pour over their meat and veggies that you leave off yours. Set out on the table hot sauce or soy sauce, and garlic, in addition to salt and pepper, and let your husband and older children spice their food up as they want. Steam or boil veggies and coordinate them to taste good with whatever sauce you have (there are several recipes I have made with a meat sauce that was really good on plain veggies). Flesh out meals with broth-based soups that you can tolerate, like french onion or egg drop soup. Try cooking rice in stock (rather than plain water) for a Rice-a-Roni chicken- or beef-flavored rice without the buttery/greasiness of the packaged kind. If you can tolerate milk, it and meat stock can make some sauces that even you can probably enjoy. You shouldn't have to totally give up spices for yourself, just so long as they're not spicy/hot and you don't use too much garlic in anything.

Ask at your local hospital if they have any sort of support groups for the chronically ill. The last time I went to my doctor's office, I noticed a whole big list of group meetings happening there at the hospital, from learning to cook for diabetics to support groups for sick people and for the families of sick people.
Posted 1/25/2007 2:22 PM (GMT -8)
I guess it wouldn't be too bad for everyone to eat what I eat. Both my kids are under 4 so I never fix anything too spicy. But they do like fried chicken strips, french fries, pizza, and those easy to fix sides like mac and cheese and rice a roni, tacos, and all the latin food I make. And I know how grumpy my hubby would be if he had to lay off the greasy stuff on account of me. LoL I think I may have to just make my chicken or whatever ahead of time and put it in the fridge, and then just heat it up at meal time. I like the idea of making rice with broth, that should make it taste yummy. I especially like veggie broth.
Guess what was requested for dinner tonight by my 3 yr old...PIZZA! I guess I'll be having rice w/a little salt and some saltines. yummy!
thanks Keriamon for your reply!!
Blessings
Posted 1/25/2007 6:17 PM (GMT -8)
I know it is hard to change people's ideas of what to eat so it will probably be a slow process but it doesn't sound like they are eating very healthy food. So for their health you might have to do some very creative cooking. Since I only cook for myself I fix chicken in advance on my Geo Foreman grill and so it is available with minimum effort by me everynight. I can use different seasonings without it bothering me. It is not the spicy stuff but the fried stuff that is worse for me and lets face it worst for our overall health. I think Pizza is actually considered healthier and I love it but only have it occassionally. You can do oven baked chicken and maybe they would like that. With a little planning if they won't eat what you eat mostly it isn't too hard to make something easy for you to eat. Just hard to sit there and watch them eat all that stuff you like but then look how healthy you will be.
Posted 1/25/2007 8:10 PM (GMT -8)

Kimmie, it will get better.  It's okay to have these slumps, we all do.  Let yourself wallow in it for a bit, then let us cheer you up.  I'm all about comic relief with my diarrhea issues; I swear, when I'm having a "garden hose" day, I'll bring the party to me.  Netflix and Gatorade would go bankrupt without me!  Oh my goodness. 

It may feel as though you've reached your breaking point, but you're a strong lady.  Whatever this is cannot be strong enough to break you.  You have to really reach into yourself to find your strength, like all of us have to do sometimes, but it's there!

Posted 1/25/2007 11:49 PM (GMT -8)
**** "garden hose day" to freakin funny! I guess I need to get some gatorade, maybe that's why I fell so weak afterwards. Today I layed on the couch while the kids destroyed the area all around me. My 22 month old was covered in stickers applied by my 3 yr old. And they even helped pick up toys.
My family doesn't really eat terribly all the time. I make sure they get in their fresh or frozen veggies, alot of fish, my kids could share an entire bag of spinach salad and have none left over. But there are times when they like to eat fried crap, and I make it for them. Not often at all since I cannot do the fried thing. Mostly oven fried. But even the things that I think I can eat, will set off the garden hose.
I fell better after venting though. It's just that no one else gets it. It's not just I get the cramps and have to go, it's a whole life thing. I have to change up my entire life to control this, and it's not fair and it sucks. :-p
-kim
Posted 1/26/2007 7:49 AM (GMT -8)
You're lucky; your kids are young enough you can still shape how they eat. If pizza suddenly disappears from your house now, it's less of an adjustment for them. When they ask for it, just tell them that pizza is like cookies, and it's not good for you if you eat it too much; it's a "sometimes food" for speacial occasions. Something you might find interesting to read are some of the french "diet" books. Some of the ones I've read and like are "The Fat Fallacy" by Will Clower, "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mirelle Guliano, and the "Slim & Chic" series by Anne Barone. All of these books stress the importance of eating home cooked meals and getting your kids to like good foods at a young age. They say to do this in order to lose weight (or keep your kids from gaining), but it works for anyone, and may work especially well for you. Even if you can't tolerate the level of fat that the French consume, you can at least get benefit from their aversion to processed foods, and especially to added chemicals ("The Fat Fallacy" has a big wake-up call on additives in particular). That can only be a benefit to your sensitive digestive tract, and it will set your kids up to be much healthier adults naturally; they won't have to struggle to correct their poor eating habits when they get older.

The other thing you can do about pizza is make your own. A quickie way to make pizzas that even your 4 year old can help with is to get some canned biscuits (or course, making your own dough is superior, but this is for when you feel too bad to do that)--avoid the buttery kind--and work the buscuit dough around a little to soften and warm it up, then put it on a cookie sheet and mash it out into a pizza crust. Then smear a little pizza sauce on top, and add whatever else the kids want--probably just mozzerella cheese and pepperonis--and maybe add a dash of garlic powder. Each kid get his own pizza, and you can even make you one with ingredients that you can tolerate, like chicken (pre-cooked or from a can), spinach, artichokes, onions, ham and pineapple, etc. It's usually the cheese that makes pizza greasy, although I've never noticed that shredded cheese like you use yourself makes for a greasy pizza. Also frozen and commercial pizzas use cheap meat which has a lot of fat, and thus a lot of grease. If you can tolerate a bit of lean hamburger, cook that up first, drain off any grease (even pat if dry with a few paper towels) and then top with that. Of course the chicken is lean. Pepperoni isn't, but then there's not usually a lot of it, especially if you use the thin slices that Hormel makes. But you can probably convince your kids, in making these mini pizzas, to make do with the same, healthier ingredients that you chose to use for your own pizza. If your husband complains that he misses certain greasy or spicy things, you might want to set it up where he and the kids go out for a meal every Friday night or sometime on the weekend and they get to have man-time together and get to eat whatever they want that mama can't have, and you can go light some candles, pour some Mr. Bubble into a tub of hot water and turn on a CD of new-age music and have some peaceful "mom time".

Anmd just remember, if you don't buy it, they can't eat it. One, never take kids grocery shopping with you. Two, stop buying fried stuff. Three, when they ask for fried stuff you can honestly tell them "We don't have any fried fish sticks. Would you like some fresh fish and potato wedges for dinner instead?" They're young enough they'll quickly forget that they ever used to have frozen fried meat things at home.
Posted 1/26/2007 10:24 PM (GMT -8)
Kimmie,

Im so sorry that you are having such a hard time. Im nowhere near as bad as you though I often go from diharrea to constipation with pain and wooziness. I can go years or months with nothing and then have it almost daily. I hate it. I too am so tired of it. i just want to be normal again. I had an attack tonight for the first time I didn't panic, at least not yet anyway. I live a very stressful and complicated life, unfortunately most of this stress cannot be removed. Im 30 and live at home with my parents. My mother fought and won breast cancer last year. My father has had heart stints, an appendix removal and been diagnosed with Intercissal Pulmonary Disease which requires a heart and lung transplant just recently. I am head over heels in love with my bestfriend and he with me, but as we all know, there are always hills to climb.

I want so badly to be normal again. I know I need to eat yogurt everyday, take something, exercise etc. It is just so hard to find the motiviation. Sometimes, I wish you guys could jsut reach out and bop me on the head. I want so badly to be there for my parents and be able to start my own family. Im petrified that I will never be able to do that. I am determined to beat this. I just don't know how. I know most of you reading this are probably rolling your eyes. I have to say overall my condition pales in comparison to the daily/hourly struggles and hospital visits many of you go thru every day. I think most likely mine has a lot to do with stress and emotions. I can often predict an attack hours before it hits and before symptoms develop. Gee, you think that is psycological or what?

Im going to the GI for the first time in a few weeks. I am pertrified of colonoscopies etc...heck I can't even spell it. LOL Im hoping the gi will be able to help if this is more of an emotional based problem. I think Im going to talk to my mom about maybe meeting with the counselor my parents are going to as well. I have so much I don't understsand and dont know what to do about. How do you act around your dad when you know he is terminally ill but still healthy at the moment.

Also, i read that you can't take levsid and immodium at the same time. is that true?

Im praying for you all. I think maybe the attack is over. Heres hoping for some sleep.
Posted 1/27/2007 10:27 AM (GMT -8)

Hi scared,

I hope you were able to get some sleep last night.

You are going through some tough times, no wonder your IBS is acting up.  I think it is a great idea for you to see a counselor.  It helps so much to talk things through.  I'm sure you've read on this site already about anti-anxiety and anti-depressants for controlling IBS symptoms.  Maybe this is something you can discuss with your doc.  Especially since you can predict an attack - you'll be able to stop it before it happens.

I must say that living with your parents at 30 isn't that big a deal.  There are so many perks.  You can save more money for the future and you can spend every day with the people you love.  Your father is especially unwell, just think about all the time you get to spend with him.  Those are the memories that count and that is what life is all about.

about Immodium and Levsid - I haven't heard that these can't be combined.  Levsid is an anti-spasmodic (like Bentyl), correct?  Immodim stops the D.  You know what you can do?  You can go to www.drugdigest.com and click on "Check Interactions".  If you choose the 2 meds, usually they go by their generic names, it will tell you if there are any interactions between them.  Pretty handy site.  I just looked up Dicyclomine (Bentyl) and Loperamide (Immodium) and didn't see any interactions.  However, you should still talk to your doc about combining the 2.  If you'd rather not wait the few weeks until your appointment, you can probably ask your local pharmacist.

I hope you're feeling better today!

 

BTW - You spelled colonoscopies right.  tongue

Posted 2/23/2007 7:02 PM (GMT -8)
Thank you for your help Lil. How are you feeling? I have really found that drugdigest site very helpful!!! Do you know how reliable of a source it is? Up until now I have always double checked with the local 24hr pharmacy and i haven't found the site to be wrong yet. I am doing ok. Im trying really hard not to have anxiety when attacks do hit. I find that helps make the pain a lot less. I just have to keep telling myself that what I am going thru pales in comparison to what so many others go thru every day. It is still hard though.

Im having an attack tonight. I have a ruptured ear drum due to a sinus infection so I have been taking antibiotics and decongestants. Im sure that is what is causing this attack. At least I hope so. My intestines are making a lot of noise. Gas? Are you ever in the chat room? I would love to talk with you more. I hpe you are doing well.

I started a z pack last night? how long does the diharrea last? the whole time you are taking the pills?
Posted 2/23/2007 7:32 PM (GMT -8)

Hey scared,
I'm doing pretty well, thank you.  I'm sorry to hear you aren't doing so good.  I bet that ruptured ear drum is really doing a number on you... Your equilibrium is probably off, isn't it?  And the antibiotics... I hope you are taking probiotics too.  Remember not to take the probiotics with the antibiotics - it will defeat the purpose of the probiotic.  You might want to wait a couple hours after you take the antibiotic to take the probiotic.   As for the D... that can last even after you stop taking the antibiotic.  Your system will not go back to "normal" until you get the good bacteria back in there.  I have read that it is good to continue taking the probiotics for a few weeks after you stop taking the antibiotics.  In my case that wouldn't be a problem because I take 2 probiotics daily no matter what.  Good bacteria can never hurt.  :-)
That drugdigest site is great, isn't it?  I have to be honest though, I do not know how reliable it is.  I did, however, read the disclaimer.  It says the info is provided by liscensed pharmascits.  I would think that is pretty reliable.  BUT, you should still check with your doc or pharmacist just in case (like how you're already doing). Here are a couple exerts for you, in case you have any questions:

Our web site is designed to offer only general health information related to drugs and drug therapies, and not personal health advice.
Information obtained on or through DrugDigest is by no means a substitute for consultation with your personal physician, pharmacist, or healthcare provider.

The information furnished by DrugDigest's licensed pharmacists, and by the licensed independent pharmacist contractors we hire, is intended to supplement and improve your interactions with your healthcare providers, not as a substitute for those interactions. While you may call upon DrugDigest as an educational resource, never make healthcare decisions based on this information alone.

If you have any questions about our policy, contact us at  DrugDigest-ConsumerCare@Express-scripts.com.

I must admit, I am hardly ever in chat.  I am mostly on HW during the day while at work... When I get a free few minutes I will open it up.  I hardly ever have enough time to hold a conversation in chat.  Way back when, Des (the other mod) and I tried to hold chats.  Because people are scattered all over the world it was difficult to find a day and time that worked.  When we did have a chat the most people we had chatting at 1 time was 3.  I think maybe once we had 4 people for a total of 5 minutes.  I'm sorry, scared.  You can try posting here on the board when you want to chat.  You can say something like "I'll be in chat for the next __ minutes if anyone wants to join me."  It's a long shot but it can work.

Good luck with your sinus infection... I hope you can get it under control soon.  Feel better!


Posted 2/23/2007 8:36 PM (GMT -8)
thanks for the advice. where can i get probiotics? do they come with side efects? i understand bout the chat room. my ear does hurt, very painful actually and now liuid diahrrea too!!!!!!!!!! i actually havent had much dizziness just pain. i did have some trouble drivibg the other day. how are u doing?
Posted 2/23/2007 9:34 PM (GMT -8)
Any drug store, health food store or good vitamin website have them. they may cause a little more gas in the beginning but that will disapear. I buy the IBS Digestive Advantage and it works well. Can ge that anywhere
Posted 2/23/2007 11:45 PM (GMT -8)
Like Canyon mentioned... you can get probiotics just about anywhere. But, you will find the better ones at vitamin and nutrition stores. Basically, the more $$$ it costs, the better the probiotic. I'm pretty sure Acidophilus is the cheapest, and you can get it anywhere. For me Acidophilus gives me too much gas... But I'm pretty sure Canyon and Keri love it. It all depends on you. You can try several different types until you find one that agrees with you. Do remember though that any probiotic can (and probably will) give you gas at first. I knew Acidophilus wasn't for me when I was bent over with gas cramps so bad they caused me to have D. I then switched to Kyo-Dophilus, Digestive Advantage, and Culturelle. None of those gave me nearly as much gas as Acidophilus.
Aside from the gas, you shouldn't experience any other side effects. It's great because probiotics help with yeast as well. For women they are less likely to get yeast infections AND they have helped me tremendously with canker sores (not to be confused with cold sores, a.k.a. Herpes). I used to get 1 canker sore every couple weeks, now I get 1 every few months (usually when I eat something too acidic).
Hope you're feeling better and the D subsided. You definitely should take probiotics... they will help you with the D if you take them consistently.
Posted 2/27/2007 4:26 PM (GMT -8)
Mommykimmie,  Hello I really do understand your pain!!  I am in the same situation..  I don't know if you have ever read my posts..  I am 42 I have 2 kids one 8 and one 3 and I am housebound because of IBS.. I have had 6 surgeries trying to get better and to the bottom of my pain..  I am now going to Cleveland Clinic for more tests..  My mom has to travel from Florida next week to help me with my kids.. I do understand about the husband thing.. I hate to ask him to take of work to take me to the doctor... IT SUCKS!!!   I used to be normal and go anywhere... I am in pain everyday of my life... I feel bad for my kids and husband.. I get really down on myself sometimes...  If you ever want to chat just email me... Sully03@windstream.net..  Take care...

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