Some of my favorite links:
Mike (my husband)
Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy.Yesterday was a very revealing day. First, I realised that I am NOT imagining the correlation between ovulation and major constipation. It happened again this month, and at approximately the same time period - 2-3 days prior to ovulation my system just shut down. No movement. And, as I have done in previous months, I thought the first day was a fluke and figured all would right itself the following day. Didn't happen.
So, warm enema, followed by partial release, to be followed by another enema tomorrow to clean up properly in order to allow my system to revive itself.
I guess this will be a pattern until such time that my system can get through ovulation without reaction. More important, I now have a new info quest - how does hormonal change impact intestinal function? I wonder if anyone knows? The books I have don't address it. I would like to examine the physiology of the endocrine system and how it relates to digestive....Yet another revelation - one that has uncovered my resistance to full diagnosis as an IBS'er. I had a major tummy ache yesterday - not an unusual event in and of itself, except that I realised (as I was driving home in pain) that this is NOT NORMAL!
What is so special you ask? Here it is. I have been to the IBS web pages and have read a coupla books and both mention the tummy pain factor, yet I must have been myopic or in denial b/c I never associated my self with this. I thought I only had a few symptoms and that my IBS was not as bad as other people's. I thought that the tummy aches were normal - that everyone got them. Normal get tummy aches for a reason, like bad food, or a flu.
Guess what folks. I am probably in the middle of the scale of the IBS continuum. I get tummy aches out of nowhere, headaches too. I have an irritable boweland that includes aches, gas, constipation and other assorted stuff. It means management must be constant (even though I try to dodge that responsibility as often as possible!).These are important revelations, at least to me....
Now for something completely different - or maybe not.
We had a friend over for dinner last night - Sheila Shea - and we had a blast. Sheila is a hydrotherapist, among other things. She is a great conversationalist who can, and will, talk about anything, including doodies. Anyway we drank some wine and talked until pretty late. Also, we had a late dinner. I did not run or exercise or stretch at all yesterday. I had a tummy ache, remember, and really couldn't function. Drank lots of camomile tea before Sheila came over in an effort to calm my unhappy tummy.
Go to sleep, and am awoken in the wee hours with leg cramps! Calf cramps. Excruciating. My instinct tells me to apply pressure to try to release the spasm, which sort of works. I got up drank water and walked around for an hour or two. Lay back down (5 am?) put a pillow under my legs and dozed for a couple of hours.What's with that? I look it up on the internet. Causes of leg cramps are heat, dehydration and lack of stretching, among a few other things. Oh, also well developed calf muscles, such as from running...
The thing is, I stretch all of the time. I do yoga too. So, at risk of repeating myself. What's with that???!!!
Needless to say I wasn't good for much today. I walked around alot though. Massaged and stretched and applied arnica. Legs are still a little quirky, but considerably better. My husband pointed out that this has happened before, although not as severe. Yet another thing I have not recognised. Hmmmmm.Is there correlation with ovulation, e.g. hormonal fluctuation, and intestinal upset and leg cramps? I betcha there's some kind of connectivity here. An imbalance of some sort? Or lack of a particular mineral, vitamin? Or too much? Or another outlet for stress? YIKES.
I guess I have some more research to do.
Later.
posted by LST 9/30/2000 08:29:22 PM
27.9.00
For an IBS'er with the 'C' form, fiber is good, but even that isn't enough. One must also gently stimulate peristalsis without creating a dependency. So, laxatives are out, even the 'natural' ones. Enemas are helpful but also should not become a dependency issue. The only thing that seems to work, for me at least, is daily snacks of figs.There it is, fiber and figs on a daily basis.
Of course diet is the supreme commander; without diet management one might as well become a slave to drugs and laxatives forever.
That is today's tirade.
TTYL.
posted by LST 9/27/2000 07:58:52 PM
24.9.00
Fiber continued.
I spoke with my sister today and she informed me that she eats a 'high fiber' diet. I didn't ask for the particulars, but I know she eats stuff I can't tolerate, like wheat products, and probably some dairy (which is non-fiber). I miss ice cream.... oh well.
Anyway, I realize that many people with normal functioning intestines eat a high fiber diet - at least, one that is considered high relative to the standard American diet. IBS'ers on the other hand, must eat a REALLY high fiber diet b/c their intestines are so hyper sensitive. So, my sister may eat a high fiber diet, but to me it isn't ENOUGH. I am impelled to add as much fiber from as many diverse (and acceptable) sources as possible. I must also add a fiber supplement to my diet. And, b/c of that, I must consciously schedule this supplement - it's not like popping a pill (although one can take fiber in pill form, it is not as satisfying as taking fiber in 'bulk').Since my form of IBS is "C" (constipation is its typical manifestation), fiber helps to absorb water that my intestines don't allow stool to absorb on their own, thus bulking up the stool, decreasing transit time, and making elimination oh so much easier (not to mention, almost regular...). Moreover, this combination of actions also allows the intestine to become less cranky, thus less spasmodic, and in the long term more regulated (e.g. 'normal').
As I learn more about the etiology of IBS, I realize how completely interconnected are my physiology and emotions. Not to mention behavior patterns (OK, much behavior is learned from one's early environment, but we each start out with a particular physiology and personality that interact with environmental factors to create who we ARE and how we act - even if those two factors don't exactly jibe).
When I was twenty I stopped eating all red meats. Why? The meat was hard to digest, and I always felt awful after eating it. So I stopped. I had no clue that the problem was IBS. This was a coupla decades ago. Shortly thereafter I dramatically reduced my intake of sugar, and became very conscious about the kinds of foods I bought (processed foods) from the supermarket. In my mid twenties I realized that milk and ice cream were problems. I thought yogurt would be OK but that too had to go. I stabilized for a while. (I really miss ice cream though!)
I began to exercise more - running, cycling, working out, lots of walking (lived in NYC, so that was a no brainer). Exercise became like a drug - it moved my intestines like nothing else. But like a drug I had to do more and more. I could spend half a day exercising, which wasn't exactly conducive to much else. I was single then.Now, I am married (three years!), and very happy, and know the name for my problem, and am experimenting with foods, diet, supplements, exercise (a reasonable routine these days), and stress management. There's got to be a light at the end of this very long tunnel!
The quest is 'normal' elimination - eg regularity without substantial assistance from whatever variety of concoctions, routines, potions, etc.
I read recently that an IBS'er must allow one month for every year of IBS... before complete healing can occur (and there are those that say IBS cannot be healed. To them I say FIE! I will be healed!). I guess that means a few years for me. I figure I have had this since I can remember, which is since about the age of eight, possibly earlier.
Yikes!
posted by LST 9/24/2000 04:32:08 PM