IBS despite primal, and I'm about to lose my mind! page 4

[meeme]

Did anybody post this link yet?
Reasons for your worsening stomach problems on a paleo/ low-carb/ ancestral/ gaps/ etc. diet | Melissa McEwen's on food anthropology, economics, and culture

Excellent article, Thank You!!

The comments are a good read as well.

[belle1954]

You definitely need a HIDA scan. I had no gallstones so ultrasound was negative, but HIDA scan showed my gallbladder functioning at 15%. That's basically not at all. Got it out 2 weeks ago. All better.

[MamaGrok]

I flush in my face (feel hot) when I'm reacting to a food..

So if no flush... can I cross this one off my list? I never get a flush or any kind of "traditional" allergic-style reaction to anything.

Also, have you had a colonoscopy? Is it possible you have an autoimmune GI disorder? How about a HIDA scan to see if your gall-bladder is emptying correctly after stimulation?

Dear heavens, no colonoscopy! But I think you're the second person to mention HIDA, so I'm looking into that. I think the gall bladder is definitely involved in some way. (Ironically, because after I went high fat after 15 years of low to no fat, and had no gall bladder issues those first three years, I thought I had gotten off lucky.)

Also, have you ever tried cutting out ALL pickled and fermented of any kind for a week or so and having lots of fun meats, vegetables, and a few fruits and healthy oils. Even maybe a sweet potato or two, but nothing fermented or pickled. Just a thought.

Yes, I've tried that. Thank you for all the kind thoughts, too!

I discovered that some of my big triggers were: fiber, eating too much at once, traveling + stress. ...

Have you ever tried a digestive enzyme with HCl Betaine? ...

I know you were wading through those cold rivers and spot icing a while ago, are you still doing that? When I was really bloated, I noticed that icing my abdomen helped to reduce the inflammation, so I'm wondering if this would give you any relief.

I think that the "BAB" of the leptin reset may be the answer to why this started. Yes, I'd been bloated for a long time prior, but no cramps/runs post-meals. But I feel stuck against lowering it - the BAB was the death knell to a decade of binge ED, and any time I try to reduce it, cravings come back. There's no doubt that the harm from binges is far greater than this somewhat mild IBS thing I've got going on, but I'd like to find a way to rid myself of both.

IBS clearly causes me stress, but not because I fret about it. Whatever is causing it also causes mental disturbances, including stress. One example is what happened last night, after a respite of a few months. After 30 minutes of drowsiness, I was wide awake, but my mind was spinning (unable to settle down on a single thought for more than 2 seconds), my right leg was twitching RLS-style, & the cramps set in. This exact pattern has happened several times. I might think it was the green tea I recently resumed drinking, but I don't see how caffeine would do all those things. Anyway, my point is that the root cause also causes me to be stressful about things that normally don't stress me, but I'm not stressed about the IBS itself per se. And so I'm sure the stress then contributes to the IBS.

Yes, I've tried dig enz & HCl to no effect.

I quit the CT at the beginning of the summer, but strongly feel it calling again. Could it be coincidence that my thyroid & digestive progress stalled all summer? At the same time, I didn't have digestive problems long before I started CT.

Do you cook with coconut oil? CO has antibacterial properties, which can be helpful, but it can also exacerbate IBS for some. A few months ago I tried to eat small amounts on its own, just a teaspoon, and I spent the following day barely able to sit up I was so dizzy, and running to the bathroom. I have no idea if it was some kind of die off or if it just went through me, but if you use it for cooking it may be having an effect.

I was going to suggest digestive enzymes as well, although I've never tried them as some things scare me due to how badly I react to them, but I've heard good things from others. Probiotics, prebiotics, all have an awful effect and I react badly to just about every thing that's supposed to be good for the guts. Do you take any supplements?

CO can be seriously detoxing! But I never had that issue with it. I've been using 2T/day for many years. If it is suddenly causing this problem, I'd want very much to know what had changed to cause that.

I did drop it for a while in the spring to see what would happen. I thought I saw a positive change, but when I increased it later to make up for decreased animal fat, I saw improvement instead of digression. ?!?

Did anybody post this link yet?
Reasons for your worsening stomach problems on a paleo/ low-carb/ ancestral/ gaps/ etc. diet | Melissa McEwen's on food anthropology, economics, and culture

She makes some great points that all should think about. None of them apply to me, thankfully, as I've already worked through all those issues. I do disagree that any substantial number of people went around dying of digestive illness on a regular basis before dietary changes started to cause them en masse.

People following a FODMAP diet quickly learn that it isn't something that can be learned quickly. And just because it's paleo-approved doesn't mean a person should eat buckets of it. I see this a lot with coconut products, which tend to be super-high fiber, and the oil which can definitely cause issues. Not saying this is the issue here, but from someone coming from a fairly SAD diet to eat cruciferous veg, coconut flour products, coconut oil and high FODMAP foods all washed down with larger amounts of fat than they're used to, it's often a recipe for bowel disaster.

All true, and none an issue here. (I have even eliminated FODMAPs.) I was on a traditional foods diet with plenty of natural fats for nearly five years before this started. Thank you again for chiming in; I appreciate it!

[MamaGrok]

So, uh, any concerns about the "radioactive tracer" injected into the veins & the "gamma camera" used to photograph your abdomen repeatedly over the next hour?

When I did the ultrasound, they told me not to eat any fat in the 18 hours before the procedure. But when I got there, they said that wasn't necessary, that I should have just been NPO for 12hrs. Any possibility that kept any gall swelling/etc. from showing up on the ultrasound?

[Enilegna/hearts]

When I did the ultrasound, they told me not to eat any fat in the 18 hours before the procedure. But when I got there, they said that wasn't necessary, that I should have just been NPO for 12hrs. Any possibility that kept any gall swelling/etc. from showing up on the ultrasound?

Huh..... When I did my MRI They only told me to fast. And I ate pork the day before. If here's something in there it'll show no matter what/how long you've/haven't eaten. Or at least I think so. Also if you think there's something not working with the gallbladder. Do you think that if you didn't eat fat prior to the scan there won't be any analysis on fat malabsorption?

[Enilegna/hearts]

You definitely need a HIDA scan. I had no gallstones so ultrasound was negative, but HIDA scan showed my gallbladder functioning at 15%. That's basically not at all. Got it out 2 weeks ago. All better.

I don't want t hijack any thread, , but did you have to change your diet after getting your gallbladder removed? Like limiting the fats for a while. I'm getting some second opinions on the scan results but there's a big possibility that mine's going out too.

[BratKat]

Shooting off in a totally different direction: My husband was diagnosed with IBS some years ago. That frustrated me because I felt like it was a non-diagnosis. He had GI symptoms--bloating, nasty cramping, diarrhea, but in an intermittent non-pattern-- but it seemed like that they were sticking the IBS label on him because they did't really know what was wrong with him. Eventually, we solved the mystery. His gut wasn't the real problem, his back was. He had had a seemingly minor back injury MONTHS before the GI symptoms started and xrays later showed a kink in his spine that was putting pressure on the nerves serving the GI tract. Stress/tension seemed to aggravate it. A lot of sitting aggravated it. When he got his back problem straightened out (chiropractor), the GI problems evaporated..... Just a thought. Sometimes it's not what it looks like.

[belle1954]

I don't want t hijack any thread, , but did you have to change your diet after getting your gallbladder removed? Like limiting the fats for a while. I'm getting some second opinions on the scan results but there's a big possibility that mine's going out too.

There were no restrictions. the doctor said eat whatever i wanted but if I ate something that made me sick or hurt, etc. that i should wait for a few weeks and try it again. I didn't have huge problems before. only 1 gall bladder attack but my big problem was back pain. that was daily and very annoying.

[otzi]

Hey, MamaGrok - Long time no see. Sorry to hear about your troubles, but like your CW, you must be happy with that!

I only got two things for you...one would be to get a full set of labs, either doctor ordered or on your own through one of the mail-order places (out-of-pocket $). I really believe that just about anything can be cured with the right labs and someone that can read them. Since my wife started doing this, she's self-diagnosed many of the same problems you have and forced the doctors to see what the real problems were. She had UTI's since last fall, numerous rounds of abx failed to cure it. Turns out she had a kidney tumor--not cancerous--and we just got back from Seattle with one kidney lighter than the other. The docs were happy with abx, but when we found microscopic blood in the urine and some other kidney function labs that were off, they did a CAt scan and found the tumour.

Same kinda deal with her bone/joint pain and tendonitis. Numerous rounds of steroid shots and arthritis drugs. We found her Vit D level was 7ng/ml, supposed to be around 50. Got her D up and all is well. You gotta be your own doctor these days.

My other idea for you. If you think it is purely a gut flora issue, you can simply your guts for a short time and add back in to see where problems lay. Eat nothing but white rice or white potatoes for 7-10 days. No added fat or flavor, eat all you can because this is very calorie poor. See how you do on this simple diet. If you have gut flora issues, you should notice all your problems go away in 2-3 days of this diet. After 7-10 days--or as long as you can stand it--add in some plain fish, chicken, and broth from whatever. Eat like this another week, then start adding in your regular foods until symptoms reappear.

This trick made my wife, a life-long sufferer of IBS and GERD into a believer. As soon as she added in spicy foods or sugar, she'd get distressed instestines. She also found apple cider vinegar and honey (1TBS each) in a little warm water every night helpful as well.

Good luck!

[L8F]

There is always a trial of Rifaximin, a GI antibiotic that stays local in the gut, and helps many with IBS. Not much out there to read about, but worked well for me...Common in functional medicine/paleo GI docs etc. I had zero side effects from it, and gas and bloating went away. Easy to take, three times daily for two weeks was my course, you might need a bit longer.

Tried to post link, but google rifaximin ibs NEJM and get the New England Journal article...