Does anyone here have IBS

Post Reply New Topic

I suffer from IBS and have done since I was a very small child. Although I know no different (apart from when its not playing up, its a complete and utter relief) I find this to be a very embarrassing condition to have and, at the best of times, inconvenient. I tried a homeopathic remedy called merc sol during my teens as it was very bad then (this helped for a while) and I always took at least one day off school a week, it was that problematic. At the moment it is causing me a little bit of grief as I'm stressed about my life as it appears to be directionless. Having IBS really isn't helping matters at the moment. With me its mainly stress related and I cannot eat hot curries, oranges or broccoli or too much meat of any kind (apart from fish, I can eat as much of this as I like) as these seem to be triggers for it. Sometimes white bread makes it flare up terribly whereas other times it soothes it (?). If I have pizza it has to be thin crust not deep pan (these are my favourite) as these make me ill. Its also been more reactive since I developed a rare blood disorder called Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) last year, basically my immune system attacked and burst loads of little blood vessels (capillaries) all over my body under my skin, in my kidneys and a little in my bowels. Its now gone but I have had all sorts of problems since then, the main problems being skin complaints (which I can deal with) and IBS.

Does anyone else suffer from IBS and how do you deal with it?

I've got a very bad digestive system, too - what I've found helps is, rather paradoxically, not to take things like pepto and imodium when it acts up (unless you absolutely have to) for me that sort of starts a cycle where I'm either in the bathroom all the time or never in there at all . . .

Also, not eating a lot of dairy and preservatives helps for me . . . and mine improved a lot when I quit eating meat - but I don't know if that is something that a lot of people experience or not . . .

It seems like IBS and Chrons and all those 'fun' diseases are more common in people with ASDs - I know both Temple Grandin and Donna Williams mention them and I'm thinking some other people who's books I read mention having bad digestive systems . . .

I have a similar problem with cream cheese - the kind that comes in the tubs I'm fine with but the original kind - the kind in the blocks makes me SOOOOO sick - I noticed this last week when I ran out of the kind in the tubs and went by a stop and rob on my way to work and all they had was the blocks - well, I was sick for both days I ate it - but I thought maybe it was just me and my wierd digestive system . . .
So I ran out again this week and did the same thing and was terribly sick the morning I ate it - so I just threw it out and bought extra in the tub for this week . . .
The only thing I can come up with is that maybe it has more fat in it or, like you said, is made with different chemicals . . .

I had chronic indigestion for years as a kid, then started experiementing with my diet to find what worked for me and what didn't. Now I have what I guess some would see as a pretty strict diet of moslty raw veg, meat, fruit, herbs etc, with no wheat, milk, cheese, oats, beans in large quantities or general processed stuff, and I'm doing much better now; no digestive complaints at all.

I don't really find it incovenient either, as I hardly ever eat out, and I cook all my own food from raw ingredients. I got a nasty reminder a while ago though of why it's important for me to avoid certain things; a frend dragged me into pizzahut and we shared a pizza there, then I started feeling really ill and apparently went fairly green about an hour later, and stayed that way for about 5 hours. It was still a fairly nice day out, but feeling like there was gravel in my intestines kind of took some of the fun out of it.

I have some digestive issues but I don't know much about IBS, however.They always get triggered by any type of dairy.I also heard of the link of AS/Autism and IBS/Crohn's and other digestive systems

i'm suffering from something like that right now everytime i try and do anything, even if it's just simple stuff like watching tv or the computer, i get awful abdominal pain and have to run to the toilet

i've had it all my life, i've never bothered asking doctors about it as they just fob you off i just have to live with it, lie down in a dark room and do nothing

Not at this moment in time but the odds are against me.

Aspergers syndrome+working in nursing

both factors that can contribute to if you are vulnerable to IBS

But put it this way if my bowls can poo the vindaloo i had earlier on with no incident then i assume there doing ok

Have you ever tried taking fiber supplements? You can buy the powder and take it as a milkshake everyday. My friend said that this helps enourmously, although it takes a couple of weeks to kick in.

I too have a history of gut problems and could tell you of times I couldn't venture out anywhere without knowing beforehand where all the facilities were. Other times, everything would be fine and then suddenly, without warning, there would be a flare-up and it was like -find the facilities NOW, or else

I see quite a bit of mention of this on this board and it indicates a higher than average pattern amongst us auties.

What I did about it was to eliminate all pork and processed luncheon meats from my diet as well as anything that has a lot of chemicals / preservatives in it as well as milk and most dairy products. I also don't eat fast food out of any of the big chain outfits or get too much into anything that is fried.

No canned foods other than fish either. Salmon, tuna, and sardines all get my two thumbs up in the healthy eating department but sardines stink like Hell and bother my co-workers, so they are kept for al fresco lunches only Diet-wise, I follow the diabetic plan and keep physically active.

By the looks of things I must have found and done away with watever was behind all that. Those modifications alone seem to have straightened things out to the point I enjoy beer with impunity.

No two people are the same but what I mentioned above are very common blacklist items for people who have any food intolerances.

I have had IBS for as long as I can remember, I believe it is mainly due to nervousness.
I have gone to the hospital in the past where they did a laparoscopy thinking the pain was due to reproductive problems. I have also had my appendix taken out (it was infected, but I think IBS was affecting me too) at age 23.
While I was in hospital recently, the food there must have agreed with me as I had virtually no problems.
Thanks for the list of foods to avoid, I have never really thought about it before, I thought nothing I did would make a difference.

What exactly are the symptoms of IBS.. j/w so I can help.

I have had a slow digestive system and trouble with this sort of thing a lot because of my diet.. but I find eating around 5 prunes a night helps.

I know what you mean about the knotted feeling... I got it at work once and once at my desk at home.. it leaves one doubled over in absolute agony.. mine might have been due to laxitives and a stomach bug though..

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have a theory as to why there seems to be a higher than average incidence of bowel conditions in the AS population: I think it comes from all the stress and anxiety we live with from trying to fit and cope in that sea of NT's who can't or won't understand us for what we are all about. Let's look at the equasion if we may:

Anxiety + stress + frazzled nerves = stomach upsets.

I don't consider myself a medical expert but I think any doctor would agree with what I'm saying here. I'm sure many of you also would if you are familiar with your own patterns. That fight-or-flight response includes a digestive system that will rid itself of what it's supposed to be doing and go into high gear. If we are prolonging that kind of living and thinking, a lot of us could be inflicting ourselves such conditions as IBS or colitis.

If we could all address the underlying issues and act on them, then for many of us the solution may not be that complicated, and the proportion of bowel conditions in the AS population might not be that different than that of NT's.

Finding and tweaking a diet plan that works favorably was one thing, but now with my living in AS-awareness, I've taken to managing my lifestyle accordingly.

If any more of you out there have found a way (or can) to correct that annoying condition without much medical intervention, then I encourage you to share your successes.

Yup, I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome too. It's a real pain in the ass. All I can say is just keep on walking, don't give up, you know it's true.