(my apologies to mod5 and dave00007_7, I deleted this one by mistake, mod3)


www.IBS-Tips.co.uk (http://www.IBS-Tips.co.uk)

originaly posted 02-13-2001 03:00 PM by dave00007_7

Hi,

Early last year I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), after suffering from it for nearly 5 years. I had the usual symptoms: diarrhoea, constipation, stomach cramps/abdominal pain, excessive gas, and heartburn; plus other symptoms: groin pain, chronic fatigue, panic attacks.

After 6 months of research and experimentation, I managed to completely cure myself of IBS – I have no symptoms whatsoever! In fact, I feel better now than I have done for many years – focused, energetic, happy, relaxed, confident.

Previously, my life was controlled and dominated by IBS. Doctors and so-called “experts” were of no help. That’s when I decided it was up to me to beat IBS, because no one else could help!

After months of research - reading dozens of books and thousands of articles – I began to change my view of IBS from an irritable or dysfunctional bowel to a strained digestive system. And this lead me to eventually curing IBS.

I’ve begun to create a Website dedicated to IBS sufferers. It contains my own articles and tips that helped me to beat IBS.
http://www.IBS-Tips.co.uk

(Hope it’s ok to include the URL?)

I’d be interested in any feedback.

Regards,


Dave


[This message has been edited by moderator3 (edited 02-13-2001).]

Hi Dave,
I think your site is very good. I know it took a ALOT of time, reseach and effort to put together such a useful Web Site.

Feedback: There are several things I suggest you expand on the tips about intestinal bacteria, fiber and food. There were no Tips 13 & 14. In the USA we usually spell diarrhea not diarrhoea but I know it is correct to use an "o".I looked in a dictionary.I have seen it spelled many other wrong ways.

I am also a big believer in taking a water soluble fiber supplement like psyllium husk or methylcellulose. They are both safe and effective. Also, I think you should talk more about the foods that some people are allergic and/or intolerant to ---they cause reactions like diarrhea.
Thanks----Harry

Hi Harry,

Thanks for your comments.

--- “Also, I think you should talk more about the foods that some people are allergic and/or intolerant to ---they cause reactions like diarrhea. “ ---

True food allergies are uncommon. (Allergy meaning a systematic response from the immune system to a particular food.)

However, food intolerance is much more common with IBS sufferers (as you suggest). I haven’t elaborated on this subject for the reason below.

If you collated a list, for example, of all the different foods 100 IBS sufferers were intolerant to, then that list would probably include almost all fruits, vegetables, and protein sources (chicken, beef, lamb, fish, etc). As many sufferers know, different foods can affect IBS sufferers differently.

What’s important here, is, however, not to eliminate too many GOOD foods – foods that are high nutritional value – because they may cause mild and temporary symptoms. It’s far better to limit them rather than eliminate them altogether. Obviously, if they cause severe symptoms, then they need to be eliminated for a while. But to eliminate highly nutritional foods, such as broccoli and chicken, because of mild symptoms is, as, I believe, a big IBS myth.

I know of a IBS-book author that advises sufferers to ELIMINATE all foods that cause problems. This won’t cure IBS; at best it will provide temporary relief! Later in the book, the author admits that, even after eliminating seemingly every food that causes problems, occasionally she comes across foods that were once ok but now cause problems. This cycle could go on forever.

With a strained digestive system, many foods may seem to cause problems at various times. If a sufferer does eliminate many highly nutritional foods from their diet, then they are depriving their body and digestive system of essential vitamins, minerals and other important compounds.

The real problem is excessive amounts of a particular food; especially WHEAT and PROCESSED FOODS. While humans evolved over several millions years, our diets varied tremendously. We consumed a wide variety of ORGANIC fruits, vegetables, and other plants (nearly 200 different varieties), and a broad variety of ORGANIC and LEAN protein sources including beef, lamb, chicken and other poultry, eggs, fish and other sea foods.

Now, a typical Western diet may include only a few different NON-ORGANIC vegetable and fruits, and perhaps a few NON-ORGANIC and NON-LEAN different protein sources. Not to mentions the excessive amounts of processed foods containing sugar, food colouring, additives, wheat, preservatives, and other chemicals. I believe it’s not surprising therefore that we have a strange disorder called “irritable bowel syndrome” after poisoning our digestive systems with the all this.

Thus, I believe it’s best to focus on eliminating, for a while, all forms of processed foods, sugars (including sweets and chocolates), aggravating fluids (such as alcohol, coffee, tea, etc), drugs as much as possible, and then limit wheat (and other grains), milk and any other nutritional food that causes problems, as one of the first steps in improving the digestive system and beating IBS.

Regards,


Dave.

Does this honestly work??

Hi,

--- “Does this honestly work??”---

After extensive reading and thinking about IBS, I can sum up my thoughts about beating it in one sentence.

A strained digestive system (IBS), needs only fluid, nutrients and rest to recover and flourish.

Fluid: plenty of quality water (at least 8 glasses per day).

Nutrients: Plenty of vitamins, minerals and other compounds from highly-nutritious meals that stimulate the digestive system (DS) and put little strain on it.

Rest: The digestive system (DS) needs a break – breathing space – from foods, drugs and fluids that put heavy demand on it: such as processed foods (packaged, tined, junk and fast), including many of the toxins that go with these: preservatives, additives, colourings, etc, painkillers, anti-acids, etc, white flour, sugar, coffee, alcohol, and other aggravating fluids, wheat and other grains should be limited to small doses, so should milk. (Most of these are discussed at my sight www.ibs-tips.co.uk) (http://www.ibs-tips.co.uk))

You can also give a strained DS an helping hand with various supplements (multimineral, multivitamin, enzyme, HCL, herbal antibiotics and acidophilus, fibre, etc) until it improves.

IBS is a very complicated jigsaw puzzle. There are so many possible pieces: bacteria overgrowth/imbalance, toxic bowel, parasites, reduced stomach acid, pancreatic insufficiency, reduced or toxic bile output or increased viscosity, nutrient and vitamin deficiency, food intolerance, leaky gut syndrome, impaired hormone production, gall stones, etc.

The intestines and digestive organs have remarkable self-healings properties under the right conditions. I believe these conditions are plenty of water, plenty of nutrients and plenty of rest.

Does this honestly work? Well, drug companies and biased physicians would have you believe otherwise. But, after curing myself of IBS – even after being told it couldn’t be cured – I am convinced this is the direction that sufferers should moving in.

Recently, I suggested a few tips to a friend-of-a-friend who had been suffering from IBS for more than 15 years. The medical establishment had nothing to offer him with their narrow view of IBS so he was quite desperate.

What I suggested was a few simple things to improve digestion of food. Within a week, abdominal bloating and diarrhoea had improved. Within a few weeks, all primary IBS symptoms (diarrhoea, constipation, bloating), and secondary symptoms (lower back pain, heartburn, acid stomach) had dramatically improved.

If the recent feedback from my Website is anything to go by, then I believe it does work. Hope this is helpful.

Regards


Dave.

What about for people whose IBS is connected with autoimmune disorders??

What about Schuster's (Johns Hopkins) research that has proven the interplay among the nerves, hormones, & electrical activity that link the brain and the bowel. In IBS people this activity is different.

I think alot of your advice is good & will certainly help, but I don't feel you can make generalizations/guarantees that will cure all & hold true for all. Ann

Hi Ann,

Some interesting points.

--- “What about for people whose IBS is connected with autoimmune disorders??” ---

For the sake of other readers and ourselves let’s clarify what an ‘autoimmune disorder’ is and the difference between this and an allergy.

Autoimmune disorder: An inappropriate or excessive response from the immune system to its own body tissues (cells). Examples of autoimmune disorders are: systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Goodpasture's syndrome, Grave's disease, Sjogren's syndrome, etc.

Allergy: a systematic response from the immune system to a particular food. The immune system reacts to a food such as gluten (in wheat).

I have not come across a single doctor that has mentioned a possible link between IBS and autoimmune disorders! The primary tool used by physicians to diagnose autoimmunity is antibody testing. Again, I’m not aware of any MD or gastroenterologist that normally uses this test when diagnosing IBS. Furthermore, autoimmune-disorder symptoms are unlikely to meet the Rome Criteria when diagnosing IBS.

Schuster (IBS specialist): “In diagnosing IBS, a physician should first rule out other diseases that share similar symptoms, such as ulcerative colitis, colon cancer, diverticulosis, parasites, and dysentery and other infectious illnesses”. No mention of autoimmunity!

Therefore, I believe at best, there is only a very week link between autoimmunity and IBS.

--- “What about Schuster's (Johns Hopkins) research that has proven the interplay among the nerves, hormones, & electrical activity that link the brain and the bowel. In IBS people this activity is different.” ---

You are misrepresenting Schuster's research. Schuster's suggests that spastic contractions may cause abdominal pain in some IBS sufferers. Period! What causes spastic contractions? One likely cause is fermentation of partially digested carbohydrates in the small intestine. The byproducts of which are gas and toxins, and the toxins may cause the bowel to go into spasm.

The “brain and gut connection” is unproven and I believe unlikely to cause IBS.

I don’t mean to generalize or to suggest guaranteed cures. But life is too short to be controlled and dominated by IBS, especially when most sufferers can do something about it. If I had listened the medical establishment when I was diagnosed, I would still be suffering from IBS now. I believe at best you can cure it, and at worst eliminate most symptoms.

I sincerely believe that after being diagnosed with IBS, sufferers should eliminate anything from their diet that may further strain their digestive system, and introduce highly nutritious foods that stimulate and improve it.

Dave

Dave,



What you said...



-I have not come across a single doctor that has mentioned a possible link between IBS and autoimmune disorders!-



You're right about that! In all my research and personal experience, I've never heard of it either. Also, I'm guilty of generalizing too. The connection I've found is with people that have Lupus, I don't know about the other autoimmune diseases. Again, I had never read or heard of this connection until recently either. There are just too many people with Lupus who also have developed IBS for it to be a coincidence. I'm not saying all people with IBS should be tested for Lupus, but Drs. should ask Lupus patients about IBS symptoms. The point I was trying to make was that there are other possible causes for IBS, besides just your theory of food allergies.



You also said.....



-You are misrepresenting Schuster's research. Schuster's suggests that spastic contractions may cause abdominal pain in some IBS sufferers. Period! What causes spastic contractions?-



I am not misrepresenting Schuster!!! In the study that I read, researchers using a brain imaging technique called positron emission tomography (PET) found that brain activity differed between IBS and non-IBS subjects when their guts were stimulated. "Normally, the ACC(anterior cingulate cortex) lights up, and this happens to be the part of the brain where opioid transmitters are released," Dr Schuster explains, "So people without IBS have intrinsic narcotics and don't perceive GI pain the way people with IBS do." The information I read claims that "the origin of the disorder lies in the interplay among the nerves, hormones and different electrical activity that link the bowel and the brain". It goes on to say that "IBS patients have extra-sensitive pain sensors and that these unusually sensitive and reactive nerves appear to be what cuases the muscle contractions that underlie IBS". It claims that food only triggers the IBS symptoms, it is not the cause. This research is what has led some Drs. to prescribe antidepressants, which they believe might work on calming neurotransmitters and having an analgesic effect on them.



You said....



-I don't mean to generalize or to suggest guaranteed cures. But life is too short to be controlled and dominated by IBS, especially when most sufferers can do something about it. If I had listened the medical

establishment when I was diagnosed, I would still be suffering from IBS now. -



I don't have any great love for or faith in the medical profession either!!



I think your idea is a good one and may work for some people, but in my experience, different things work for different people. Don't rule out every thing else that might work better for other people....Keep your mind open. Often a combination of things work best. Each person should keep trying different things (including yours), till they find something that works for them! Harry's water soluable fiber isn't the cure either, but it sure helps make life easier for a lot of us. Ann

[This message has been edited by Ann S (edited 02-16-2001).]

Don't want to get in the middle of this, however, I do want to point out that a "gluten allergy" or Celiac Disease which you consider an allergy has direct links to several autoimmune disorders such as Graves Disease. I've done lots of reasearch on this. I found out late last year I have Celiac Disease. It has been directly linked to the Graves Disease I had 10 years ago.
So there is a link between allergies and autoimmune disorders...
Angie E

Angie, You also have IBS, right? Or is that not a factor since you've eliminated the gluten cause of the Celiac's?



All this previous discussion aside, Angie, have you had any other tests for connective tissue disorders or other autoimmune diseases? Ann

[This message has been edited by Ann S (edited 02-18-2001).]

Hi Ann!
No I haven't been tested for any other autoimmune disorders - having had two diseases is plenty.. My diarrhea problem is pretty non-existent now that I'm gluten free. I've noticed that if I eat gluten, 3 days later I have a severe cold. At one point, I was literally TRYING to get a cold (kissing my sick two year old nephew, etc) because I didn't want to play in a softball tournament. I couldn't get sick to save my life! I stayed outside, my kids and husband were sick and I didn't even sneeze. Didn't even get the flu. But I discovered, if I eat any gluten whatsoever, I will get what's going around. I did play in the softball game and was voted most valuable player, so it all turned out well, and I made a few discoveries. I feel so much better not eating gluten, that I actually don't crave it much. Just occasionally. But I haven't had any other symptoms of other autoimmune disorders. Rhumatoid arthritis runs in my family, but I have no symptoms of that. I have an achy hip from childbirth, but if I walk it goes away. I was always sick when I had Graves...now I find out that if I had discovered the Celiac when I was 15, I probably woudn't have ended up with Graves Disease and Endometriosis! Go figure!

Have you been receiving treatment for your autoimmune disorder? How are you feeling?

Oh, yeah, I didn't answer your question...I do have IBS, especially when I'm nervous or experiencing a new job, or new situations. But at least now, it's not chronic.

Ann,
Couldn’t respond over the weekend ‘cause I was looking after the ‘little one’ (4-year-old daughter).

--- “[Schuster]…found that brain activity differed between IBS and non-IBS subjects when their guts were stimulated. …So people without IBS have intrinsic narcotics and don't perceive GI pain the way people with IBS do.” ---

Last year, while trying to beat IBS, I modified my diet and within two weeks most symptoms disappeared. However, I remember vividly that I felt a strange tenderness around the abdomen. It’s difficult to explain other than to say it felt like the bowels and perhaps stomach were over-sensitive or hypersensitive.

At this stage I could turn IBS on-and-off like a time-delayed switch. To turn IBS on, I had only to eat meals consisting of wheat, sugar and processed foods. Within days, the bloating, diarrhoea and constipation returned. If I continued this diet the severity of the symptoms increased. And drugs made the symptoms worse. To reduce the symptoms, I switched my diet to small, highly nutritious meals, drank plenty of water and followed the other tips on my Website.

The bowel/stomach tenderness or hypersensitivity persisted for a while. The only to get rid of it was to follow all the info on my site – small nutritious meals, drinking plenty of water, chewing properly, elimination of sugar, wheat, milk, processed foods, drugs, coffee, tea, alcohol, fizzy, etc, and use of various supplements.

It took approximately 6-8 weeks to totally eliminate the hypersensitivity. When it was eliminated I tried to turn the IBS on again. But I couldn’t do it! Even after eating total crap for several weeks! The only symptom I noticed while trying to turn the IBS on was a mild tenderness of the abdomen. So I believe that if I had continued this crap diet for another 4 or 5 weeks then eventually I would have developed IBS again. Now I can eat wheat, processed and other foods with no problems! However, I generally eat a very healthy diet.

I’m sure if I underwent the brain imaging technique you mentioned, when I had IBS, my brain activity after gut stimulation would of been similar to existing sufferers. However, I’m convinced if I were to undergo it now, my brain activity would be the same as non-sufferers!

A friend-of-a-friend I mentioned in an earlier post, has now eliminated diarrhoea, constipation and bloating. His only symptom, is, coincidentally, “a strange sensitive feeling around his stomach.”

I suspect increased bowel sensitivity may be a normal protective function of the digestive system. If food is not being broken down properly, the bowel cannot continue to function normally – it cannot adequately absorb nutrients from undigested or partially digested food, and may treat the food as a possible toxin. I believe the bowels’ normal behaviour to a toxin is a controlled spasm to eliminate it as quickly as possible.

--- “[Schuster] …claims that food only triggers the IBS symptoms, it is not the cause.” ---

I agree that food (and certain fluids) can trigger IBS symptoms. But I don’t agree that food – or to be more accurate, poor diet, overuse of drugs, excessive consumption of certain foods and fluids, etc - cannot cause IBS!

I believe before IBS sufferers developed irritable bowel syndrome, their digestive systems (DS) were delicately balanced. Persistent stress to their DS from dehydration, drugs, excessive or even moderate amounts of processed foods, wheat, milk, coffee, tea, alcohol, sugar, etc, caused partial digestion of numerous foods.

The bowel’s function is to absorb nutrients. It cannot adequately absorb nutrients from partially digested foods. Indeed, it will try on many occasions but won’t succeed because the foods have not been broken down properly. As a result of its many unsuccessful attempts, the immune system may tag (thanks Mike NoLomotil) the foods as possible toxins. As mentioned, the bowel’s response to suspected toxins is a controlled spasm to eliminate.

So, I believe one possible cause of bowel hypersensitivity is persistent exposure to intolerant foods. Another possible cause is persistent exposure to toxins created by fermentation of undigested carbohydrates.

Anyhow, bowel hypersensitivity is just one event in a long chain of events that lead to IBS.

Basically, Schuster’s research suggests increased bowel sensitivity is at the heart of IBS. But what about small intestinal bacteria overgrowth and colon bacteria imbalance? And what about parasites? They are all very common.

There are a number of natural mechanisms that control intestinal bacteria overgrowth, friendly/unfriendly colon bacteria imbalance and intestinal parasites. Two of the most important mechanisms are stomach acid and enzymes. With a strained digestive system (my view of IBS), both these mechanisms are impaired, Therefore it’s not surprising that parasites and especially bacteria overgrowth are common among IBS sufferers.

Ann, it seems you have focused your understanding of IBS on the work of a single scientist. There’s a much bigger picture. Now I will argue my point for diet modification and the use of supplements to beat IBS.

The Women’s Nutritional Advisory Service(UK) have successfully treated thousands and thousands of women suffering from IBS. They use diet modification and supplements. (Search for WNAS in any popular search engine for more info.)

Dr David Dahlman and colleagues have very successfully treated many, many IBS patients via diet modification and supplements. He sells an IBS-article online. (Search for Dr Dahlman in any popular search engine for more info.)

I know of another doctor that has successfully treated many patients with water and probotics.

I’m aware of others that have tremendous success via a nutritional approach to IBS.

-“Fermentation May Be At Root Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

LONDON, ENGLAND -- Oct. 9, 1998 -- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common reasons that people go to see a gastroenterologist. People with this disorder experience intermittent bouts of abdominal pain, usually accompanied by diarrhoea or constipation. About half of patients with IBS report that certain foods make their symptoms worse. Why this might be so is unknown, but one theory is that these foods contain substances easily fermented by the bacteria normally found in the colon. “- (Use the above title in a popular search engine to find out more).

More recently, Dr. Mark Pimentel, who is assistant director of the gastrointestinal motility program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, California, conducted a study based on the use of antibiotics to treat bacteria overgrowth in the small intestine. They found that 90% of patients benefited from the treatment of antibiotics. Some patients claimed complete remission!!

The only way to beat irritable bowel syndrome is through diet modification and the use of supplements! Period! Drugs may provide temporary relief.

Dave. (www.ibs-tips.co.uk)