Irritable Bowel Syndrome

mummytomoo&roo

Hmmm, i'm yet another 'had so many tests they don't know what it is so they have labelled it IBS' but unfortunately i've yet to find anything that helps.

Over the past 10 years have tried all the tablets, the herbal teas, aloe juice and acidophilous tabs, yoga classes, dieticians, allergy tests, chinese herbs, colonics blah, blah, blah, but everyone differs so what might help one probably won't help another.

I do know if I have any dairy products i'm rushing to the loo within 5 mins and bread makes me bloat like a balloon, but as for a 'cure' i'm yet to find one that works for me.

CarolnMalky

Evening, I take anitspasmodic cant remember the proper name, and fybogel, find they help, and of course imodium, my tummy is sore just now so Im upping my fluid intake to see if that helps.

dbs

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

As I have made clear placebo, hypnotherapy and CBT are also known to work well. It is quite clear with IBS that brainwashing/therapy will alter the course of this condition.

Anyone who wants to try Aloe Vera may care to use Holland and Barret who supply at £8.99 not the £18 charged by FLP. I'm quite certain that if Aloe Vera containeds an ingredient that treated IBS efficiently the Pharmacuetical Industry would have analysed it and Patented an effective drug based on that constituent. I also think that with the money FLP make they could fund the research to support the claims their representatives make. The fact that they don't should tell the savvy customer something.

This is why I dont take Aloe Vera

Taken from https://www.helpforibs.com

Aloe Vera and IBS
"Can aloe vera help my IBS symptoms? Is it safe?"

Because aloe is well-known as a gentle external treatment for minor burns and skin irritations, it's easy to assume that it would be safe for use internally as well. This is not necessarily true. Even though aloe vera is a plant, and thus "natural", it is still classified by the FDA as a Class 1 harsh stimulant laxative. There are substances called anthroquinones and anthrones in aloe, which produce a laxative effect by increasing colonic peristalsis and intestinal water content, by opening chloride channels of the colonic membrane to cause a net reduction of liquid absorption by the colon.

In plain English, this means that aloe causes faster and stronger contractions of the colon - something that people with IBS are already overly prone to, and which can cause violent abdominal cramps, painful spasms, and diarrhea.

The safety of aloe is another concern. All anthranoid laxatives (not just aloe, but senna and cascara sagrada as well) can cause melanosis coli, cathartic colon, and possibly increase the risk of colonic cancer. (In fact, genotoxicity studies show that aloe-containing laxatives pose cancer risks to humans even when used as directed.)

Melanosis coli, normally a benign condition, is characterized by black pigmentation of the colonic wall, and is almost always attributable to anthranoid laxatives such as aloe, cascara, or senna. Melanosis coli usually develops 9 months after initiating the use of anthranoid laxatives, and typically disappears just as quickly after the drug is discontinued. In severe cases, however, it may reduce bowel function and make constipation worse. In advanced cases of melanosis coli, the inside lining of the colon becomes pitch black instead of the normal light pink.

Cathartic colon is the anatomic and physiologic change in the colon that occurs with chronic use of stimulant laxatives such as aloe (chronic use is defined as more than 3 times per week for at least 1 year). Signs and symptoms of cathartic colon include chronic constipation, bloating, a feeling of fullness, abdominal pain, and incomplete fecal evacuation. Radiologic studies of a patient with cathartic colon will show: an atonic colon (the colon lacks the normal muscle tone) and a redundant colon (the laxative use has stretched out the colon to twice the normal length, and the bowel has developed redundant coils of bowel tubing that loop back and forth in the abdominal cavity).

As if this isn't bad enough, chronic use of aloe can also lead to serious medical consequences such as fluid and electrolyte imbalance, steatorrhea, gastroenteropathy, osteomalacia, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. When aloe is discontinued, radiographic and functional changes in the colon may only partially return to normal because of permanent drug-induced neuromuscular damage to the colon.

What's really scary about aloe is that it's a very common ingredient in all sorts of liquid vitamins, energy boost drinks, and other health supplements, and these product labels won't note that aloe is a laxative. Aloe is even specifically marketed to people with IBS as a "digestive aid", or "soothing to the bowel", with an emphasis on the fact that it's an all-natural plant ingredient, which again just hides the fact that it is without a doubt a harsh stimulant laxative.

At this point, products derived from aloe gel and intended for internal use have not been proven effective against any disease or disorder, but the dangers seem clear. I would err on the side of caution and avoid aloe altogether, as it seems to me that its well-established risks far outweigh any potential (and as yet unproven) benefits.

My thanks to Kim Northrop for this topic and terrific info sources!

- Heather


Just had a colonoscopy for IBS checks and had a polyp removed( from which cancer could grow on as stated by my consultant) which is being sent away for histology.

I used to take Aloe vera but stopped after reading this article about its possible risks its just not worth the gamble in my opinion.

Girl_least_likely_to

There's some really good advice in this thread. I suffered from IBS for 7 or 8 years until I got pregnant, this seemed to work for me as I no longer have any IBS symptoms, obviously this won't help everyone though . The only thing I can add to what's been mentioned previously is that I went for a food sensitivity test. It was done at Holland & Barrett and I honestly can't remember how much it cost as it was years ago. It spelt out exactly what I shouldn't have been eating. As bad luck would have it it was most of my favourite foods but after a period of avoiding these particular foods things got a bit better. It far from cured me but it helped. Keeping a food diary would be the MSE way rather than paying for a test but it can cut out a lot of trial and error and will point out foods that are not obvious.

wigginsmum

I paid for a York Laboratories test once - it told me I should avoid wheat, oats, barley, rye, potatoes, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, aubergines, legumes, rice, eggs, milk, cheese, yoghurt, nuts, poultry, fish, shellfish, citrus fruit ... I gave up in the end - I couldn't live like that.

melancholly

wigginsmum wrote:

Mine was medically diagnosed from a colonoscopy. What that really means is 'We've stuck this camera up you and we have absolutely no idea why you can poo through the eye of a needle 15-20 times a day, and we've ruled out anything obvious, so we'll call it Irritable Bowel Syndrome.'

:rotfl: :rotfl:
i'm glad to hear someone else has had a colonoscopy!! i woke up during mine and begged for more sedation.. nightmare!

i found that kinesiology 'fixed' me over a period of 9 months. as well as various supplements, it was essentially a treatment of avoiding certain foods (a lot to start with) then while all the 'bad' stuff was avoided, my digestive system got back on top of things. i can now eat almost everything (in small doses!) - the worst problem for me was dairy, so the small fortune i spend on probiotic yoghurts in the past was actually helping make me ill! wigginsmum - for my first month the foods i had to avoid were all the ones you list and then some......not a fun start, but as it was only temporary it was ok.

i would recommend cutting out almost all the things in the diet that are rich and just eating plain foods for a couple of weeks, then introducing things and seeing what happens, just like Girl least likely to says. there is a theory that you crave things that are bad for you - which makes sense for me as i love bread and cheescake (not together!) and they can still trigger problems. at least now i know when i will be unwell, and sometimes the promise of cheesecake is enough for me to eat it knowing the result!!

i always used to be a 'medical science' person, and thought most of alternative therapies were due to a placebo effect - but i really didn't want kinesiology to help, but it did anyway!

i know other people with IBS swear by getting stomach massage - which i think makes sense as for me, the crippling pain was always in the same place - where one of the sphincter muscles was in spasm.

wigginsmum

melancholly wrote:

i would recommend cutting out almost all the things in the diet that are rich and just eating plain foods for a couple of weeks

I floated through my colonoscopy because I was off playing with the fairies; I only winced when they pushed the camera round corners.

I saw a nutritionist some years ago who put me on a diet exactly like that - he told me to do 3 weeks of wild fish, organic chicken and steamed vegetables. I hated it but my stomach loved it. Given that I spent 3.30am - 6.00am this morning crying and rocking in the bathroom with the agony while the cats peered at me wide-eyed, going back on it seems mighty sensible right now. I'm never eating Chinese again.

finc

Linda32 wrote:

At the moment I use Buscopan IBS bought from Tesco's its expensive, about £4.50 for 18 tablets. But it works and its about the only thing that does as far as I'm concerned.

But the pack states it must be for medically diagnosed Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

As it happens I came on this board to see if I can buy them cheaper.

I agree with the aloe vera juice. It worked really well for me and I tried just about everything else on offer without success.

Saying that, when you get that bubbling feeling in your abdomen peppermint capsules work a treat. Even though I no longer seem to get the IBS symptoms I still take peppermint capsules instead of immodium etc when required :whistle:

For some reason the capsules seemed to be more effective than pappermint oil tablets but I've no idea why

Ted_Hutchinson

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif] A Systematic Review of Alternative Therapies in the Irritable Bowel Syndrome[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]No therapy could be considered well supported by existing literature, but the Chinese herbal medicine and psychological therapy currently offer the best evidence. It didn't however include Kinesiology which is an alternative treatment some have used.[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

Linda32

I've tried peppermint tablets, but I've since found out that milk causes a big problem, so following the dietiticans guidelines I've cut out milk in all foods and all forms for the last two years. With this in mind alot of tablets contain lactose, which is the sugar in milk, like fructose in fruit. So most tablets are out for me.

I'm getting abit better though, as I had a cream tea on holiday, but that was whilst still taking buscopan.