Re: IBS Survivor- A MESSAGE FOR ALL-avoid my mistakes!

In Reply to: IBS Survivor- A MESSAGE FOR ALL-avoid my mistakes! posted by Anna M. on August 18, 2000 at 12:23:22:

: Hi Guys:
: My last year was a nightmare. I was suffering from IBS, the C type. Before I was under a lot of stress and was using herbal laxatives with senna for years. Herbal laxatives with senna cause damage to the colon, but of course, you can NOT read this on a label. My colon got so damaged that it soon could have been removed. So please - anyone- do never use laxatives with senna. Use Metamucil, it works (sometimes after a few months so be patient) and it is completely safe.
: But going back to IBS. It was a nightmare. I could hardly sit, and the abdominal pain was driving me crazy. I couldn't sleep from the abdominal pain and some kind of tension near my rectum. Colonoscopy confirmed the IBS. My gastrologists (I tried 5 of them) were giving me all kinds of medicine, nothing helped. Finally, they gave me IMAPRIMINE; it did not help either.
: Finally, they told me to go to the psychiatric center. The psychiatrist told me that IBS is often stress-related and it has to be treated with the RIGHT COMBINATION of antidepressants and other medicine, and only a psychiatrist can choose the right combination for a particular patient- the family doctors and gastrologists are not specialists in this field. Also, it has to be a good psychiatrist, who wants to work with a patient, not only to charge a fee.
: Anyway, he gave me a combination of small dosages of IMAPRIMINE, PROZAC and RESPIRIDOLE. It worked in my case. I am on this stuff for 4 months now and only 10 percent of the pain is left. I want to live again. Before I saw him, I had lost any hope for recovery. This man saved my life. My message to you is very clear: Yes, in light cases of IBS the change in diet and the common treatment help, but in most serious cases - Just look for a good psychiatrist. Good luck - Anna

Hi Anna:
Thanks for the update. If I'm constipated,(which is rare, it's usually diarrhea) I've been using senokot. I looked at the label and sure enough, it's senna. Thanks for the heads up! My colon thanks you!
Angie E