Some of my favorite links:
Mike (my husband)
Whoa! A whole week without blogging! And, coincidentally, a week of ovulation hell!
Here's the thing - No real elimination problems, but major irritability and crampiness (although no 'cramps' per se). What's with that?
My body is going through some weird stuff lately. Could it be the beginning of 'the change'? In order to explore this, and the IBS link, further, I am studying up on the female physiology - as stated previously I started with Northrup's book. Am now exploring web sites and libraries for more info. List is too long to put here, and I haven't culled the info yet - that will take a few weeks I think.Suffice it to say that this stuff is really interesting to me 'cause the timing is right.
Oh, and I learned something new about the psyllium fiber supplement - if you let it sit in the liquid mix of your choice (mine is a combo of aloe and apple cider juices) for up to an hour and THEN drink it, you will have less gas and bloat reaction.
Of course you will be drinking this slimy stuff the consistency of apple sauce....
Oh well.I am beginning to notice other IBS characteristics/patterns. These are probably unique to me but maybe not... Hmmmm, maybe it's time to explore the message boards some more.
Anyway, if I clean out with an enema every couple of weeks, my system works pretty well, and I have an 8-20 hour elimination cycle. If I don't clean out for several weeks, the 'build-up' of stuff slows down transit time, despite the use of fiber supplements. I don't necessarily get blocked up, but I notice that transit slows to 24-48 hours, depending on all sorts of things that I haven't categorised yet.
How can I measure this stuff? Beets are a good way - they color everything purple! So, if I ate beets one evening for dinner and eliminate purple the following morning, I'm on an efficient transit cycle. If I don't see purple for another day, or two, I am not eliminating as efficiently - and that tells me stuff is building up and slowing down movement. There are other signs, typical to IBS, such as gas build-up, sluggishness, etc.
posted by LST 11/24/2000 05:09:44 AM