IC/IBS Question

[JennyC]

Hi Everyone-

I wasn't sure where to post this so apologies if I've chosen the wrong spot. My husband was diagnosed with IC 3 years ago and with diet/prelief was able to get it to a manageable point after a year. He started flaring again about 6 months ago and over the past week has been in his worst flare since it first started. To add insult to injury, he also has been having terrible IBS - mostly with painful gas.

We think much of this was that he started eating problematic food more often than he should have because he was feeling better and either the amount or perhaps certain foods triggered him over time. The problem this time is that his IBS is in full force and there's not much at all to eat. He has dairy and wheat intolerance (he was tolerating spelt a bit for awhile but no longer) and cannot have whole grains or hard food because it triggers his ileocecal valve plus insoluable fiber is terrible for his ibs.

ok - just a couple of questions: he's still in flare but now he's eating just chicken, potatoes and chicken & rice soup I make for him. Any other suggestions? He does well with Poland Spring water but that's about it.

Finally - he was taking Digestive Advantage - a probiotic for IBS - and is worried that some of the ingredients might be problematic. Microcrystalline cellulose, Ganeden BC-30, and Lysine are the main ingredients and he's now taking it without the capsule shell to reduce the possibility that it isn't good for him. I've tried to research these ingredients but haven't gotten too far. I see that Microcrystalline cellulose is in Elviron so that should be ok. Have any of you had experience with these ingredients or a probiotic for IBS that wasn't good for IC?

Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate the board and the support you offer everyone. Wishing you well in the new year....

Jenny

[yvette]

Is your husband IBS-C or IBS-D, or IBS-A?

He can try drinking fennel tea for the gas (I don't like the taste but it does work). He can try STRONG peppermint tea to cut the spasms, or peppemint capsules. If he has diarrhea, I would definitely reccommend the use of OTC drugs like Immodium Advanced and Ultra strength Gas-X gel caps. The immodium has also helped with my IC as it calms down the bladder muscles as well as my gut muscles. It just made my life on the outside of my house more tolerable. I have also used Narcotics to control the crazy pain that comes sometimes with IBS.

Personally I found I was getting worse with some probiotics so I just stopped them until I could get a grip. My Stress levels were off the chart and was dealing with this for 3+ years. My diet consisted of a LOT of bananas (I don't have a problem with bananas with my IC) potatoes, boiled carrots, rice and decaf tea.

I'm sorry you husband is feeling so rotten, it can get better. It just is really tough riding it out and waiting for results ad not knowing when they'll come. I've definitely been there! Hang in there!!! :)

[JennyC]

Thanks for the speedy response, Yvette... :)

He has IBS-D but is suffering mostly from the gas pains/stomach ache and spasms lately. I'll see if I can get him to try the fennel tea....

I think it's the chicken and egg scenario going on here - did the ibs cause the ic flare or did the ic flare kick in the ibs? He started the probiotic a couple of months ago after he had a really bad ibs attack. That seemed to throw his system off completely but the probiotic seemed to be really helping. He wants to keep taking the probiotic because that might help both but we just don't know if it's an ic issue. He stopped taking the pro-biotic for a week and his ibs symptoms seemed to get worse so he's kind of stuck. Were you able to pinpoint what about the probiotic was bad for your ic? Are you able to tolerate it now?

The food limitations are tough with one but both is particularly challenging. Thanks for the suggestions and support. Knowing that it'll end is reaffirming but not knowing when isn't fun for anyone.

Best wishes!!!!

[yvette]

My IC wasn't so sensitive to the probiotics but the IBS-d was just out of control and super-sensitive. I could smell food cooking and I could get an attack. Or i could smell anything awwful, like cigarette smoke, strong perfume or trash or a smelly public bathroom and that would set me off for another attack.

By all means, if he's feeling somewhat better With the Probiotic vs without, then I think he would stick with it....that just wasn't the case with me personally.

My IBS cleared finally on it's own, after many months of bland diets of rice, bananas, boiled carrots and black decaf tea or water. And I took Immodium as a preventive measure before every meal and even if out on a social outing or work just so that I could function and get out and be able to eat, drink with *unsafe* options (b/c the stress of just THINKING about the situation could trigger an attack)

Check out Heather Van Vorous' site www.helpforibs.com She's got ideas, cheat sheets for diet you can download and explanations about the mind-gut relationship. And she's got all the products you might want to try, including safe fiber therapy to get IBS under control....people LOVE the Acacia fiber and pretty safe for IC people. :)