women conquering constipation - page six
The tale of...Priscilla
I wrote my story a few months ago, talking about my IBS-C and how awful it had been (read Priscilla's previous story here). I had even lost a considerable amount of weight with it and was constantly using laxatives and suppositories and anything else they could throw my way.
Following on from this my doctor prescribed me a brand of ant-depressants that he had heard had been successful with other patients. They were a member of the Prozac family. However, the outcome of taking this medication was that I could barely get out of bed because it killed my enthusiasm for life. The bubbly girl that I usually am despite often crying because of the pain of constipation and bloatedness was completely sapped of all life.
I was also awaiting an appointment with a hospital in London for Biofeedback and a transit study. However, the appointment was for late October which seemed like a lifetime away. I instead went to my local GP who is a very understanding man (I finally found one who is determined to help not brush me aside). Anyway he was concerned about my weight loss and decided to write to the hospital where I would be going for biofeedback training and the transit study.
This letter worked. I was put on the waiting list and I received a call from the hospital to tell me that they had an appointment early in September. I was required not to use laxatives or anything of the kind for six days before the transit study. I was about fit to burst because despite going to the toilet in bits I was not able to clear everything. Or at least that is what I thought.
The study was very positive because it showed that my bowel was emptying like it should be with the recommended amount, but the problem was that I had to go a lot to clear it out whereas other people would be able to do this in one go...and therefore I was having the problem with bloating and feeling constipated all the time!
Now it suddenly dawned on me that before IBS I never really paid much attention to the number of times I went to the toilet, and therefore it was only when I originally got IBS-D that this normal bodily function became such an important part of my life. For that I was treated with anti-depressants and when I came off them I was then faced with the constipation because again my body was doing something different.
Anyway the specialist nurse was so nice - she spoke to me about my eating habits, my exercise habits and also what treatments I had had in the past. It was very comprehensive, probably the most comprehensive consultation I have ever had. Then she told me about Biofeedback training. It is a process of retraining the muscles that we use to go to the toilet to do their job properly again.
Part of the way that she investigated to see how the muscles are working was to get me to lie down, and she inserted a balloon into my rectum. Once it was inflated she asked me to try to push it out. I was unable to do this and she stopped me and told me that I had fallen into bad habits due to all my problems with the IBS.
She made me put my hands on my waist and feel the muscles that I am supposed to use for going to the toilet. They are called the brace muscles and in order to use them properly we have to expand our waist and push from our waist! Now it might seem stupid that I wouldn't know this, but the nurse explained to me that because we learn to use these muscles instinctively as babies, when they don't work properly we are not aware of what muscles do what because we have never had to be aware of them before.
Following this test the nurse gave me some exercises that I have to do every day - sitting on the toilet 30 minutes after breakfast for 10 minutes and training the muscles using this pushing technique. It doesn't necessarily mean that you go to the toilet but it is about getting the bowel into a routine of emptying.
She told me that it will take anything up to six months to really get to see any positive changes, but in that time I will see her a further three times. On top of that she told me that she does not want me to use laxatives at all. If anything I am only allowed to use suppositories if it is an emergency.
It has been about three weeks since my appointment and I have seen some serious improvement already. I have even been away on holiday and I had eight days pain-free out of the total 10 which is a miracle for me. My body has already started to get into a routine of going first thing in the morning...and although it is not perfect it is a start which I am very positive about.
Also while I was on holiday I was able to completely relax and take time for myself so that helped my body as well. I was less afraid of food to eat and subsequently I was able to put on half a stone. It is not all light at the end of the tunnel because I still swell and get a lot of gas and bloating, but I am pretty sure that it is due to some foods that I am eating. Therefore I am going back to the dietician to continue the elimination diet.
One piece of news is the importance of testing intolerance to tap water. Originally when I went to see the dietician she told me to stop drinking anything but bottled water, and this included not drinking tea unless it was with bottled water and also not using tap water in cooking. I thought "What?" Anyway I went along with it thinking this has got to be crazy, but it was not nonsense.
In order to test the water I was required to drink water directly from the tap in large amounts over two days, but after 30 minutes of drinking the water I was in agony. This even included filtered water. I have now cut out tap water in everything. I don't drink tea at work and I bring water with me from home. Also I never use tap water in cooking, and I never have ice cubes in my drinks when I am out.
I tested this theory when I was away on holiday. After two days of drinking drinks with ice cubes I suffered bloating, gas and pain. After I cut out the ice cubes this went away! Now I am not sure why the tap water does this, but the only conclusion that I can come to is that it might be trace chemicals in the water upsetting the balance. I spoke to my dietician and she said that one other girl she treated found tap water to be one of the triggers - therefore it might be rare but it does happen.
I am determined to find out what the other triggers are. I think dairy (in particular cheese) is an irritant and also wholemeal breads but I am yet to fully experiment. I have read two books recommended to me by people who read my original story on IBS Tales and e-mailed me, called Eating for IBS and The First Year - IBS. These books offer very good advice on diet and alternative therapies.
I am also thinking of doing acupuncture. I have discovered that it can now be done on the NHS. I can make one saving on this, because I have made huge investments into alternative therapies.
I am now more positive about everything. Yes I still am not right and I might never be, but with some investment and investigation and the support of my family and friends I am almost back to the totally bubbly girl that I was before I got IBS five years ago. IBS has cheated me of five years of my 20's and I want to make sure that I do not lose the next five to IBS.
I would also like to say a massive thank you to you for setting up IBS Tales because it has been a great lifeline for me. It has meant that people have shared their experiences with me and written to me from many different parts of the world offering advice, and it has been fantastic.
As someone wrote to me: "Please all those out there with IBS don't give up - never give up!" Find a good doctor and it doesn't matter if you have to go every week for months, it can pay off. Don't settle for being fobbed off by doctors either, especially in hospitals - if you think you are being treated badly by a doctor complain and see someone else, and if you have to go to a different hospital do it. I did this and it is the reason that I was given the option to have biofeedback training.
They are paid to help us who are sick and they have no right to treat us badly, and we have no reason to accept it either. It took me five years but I eventually found an understanding GP and subsequently found a good gastroenterologist through him as well. This story is a far cry from the original one that I wrote as desperate 25 year-old with IBS-C, but I wanted to share it with you and maybe I can help some others out there with this horrid affliction.
An update on Priscilla...
In the last two months my symptoms have been really up and down. I am still doing the exercises that they told me to do at therapy, but I have also found some things that have really helped, and they were all available at Holland and Barrett. I have tried them as a trial for a week, and after one week my symptoms turned around. I have now gone 12 days with no symptoms and no constipation. This is the longest stint now within the six years I have ever had.
Part of me is terrified that it will end, but I am just hoping that it doesn't. I am counting every day and that sounds weird, but like you will know I having suffered so long - you see every day as a triumph, and although my friends think that I am crazy they respect my constant count-up of days and actually laugh when I look so excited about it.
My boyfriend says that I have changed emotionally and in my attitude to everything - I can completely understand where he is coming from because I can be very distracted and unhappy when the IBS is bad. Now I am singing in the mornings and smiling loads at work even when work gets hectic. It is amazing that it can have such an effect on your mood but it does.
Anyway, today has been my twelfth day with no symptoms, and I mean no bloating, no pain, no gas, and no constipation, and I am doing it without any medical drugs. My regime is all herbal and natural. First thing in the morning I take two strawberry chewable acidophilus tablets before I eat breakfast (they are from Holland and Barrett). Along with that I take one peppermint capsule - they are from Boots because they do not repeat as much as others I have tried. I also take a multivitamin from Holland and Barrett. They are all free of any additives, and because I am on the elimination diet at the same time they are free from possible triggers such as lactose etc.
Then at night I take one Aloe Vera Colon Cleanse high strength tablet. It took seven days for all this stuff to kick in, and for that week I continued to use suppositories, but after the seventh day I had a breakthrough. I now suffer no constipation and I have no real symptoms of IBS, even in the run up to my period. I continue to do the exercises that I was told to do by the therapist at the hospital where I do my biofeedback training. I have also spoken to her and showed her what I take and she saw no problem with any of it because it is all natural.
Further to this I am also on the elimination diet to try and determine the foods that might trigger an attack. This has been a positive step for me also. I know that it might seem a little strange because I know everyone tries the herbal supplements, but I stumbled over these because I thought what harm could it do and I am having luck with it. I have also found that since I have been on the diet and also on the tablets even my acne has cleared up and I have been struggling with it for months. My dietician thinks that it could be a food allergy that has contributed to some of my problems and therefore the elimination diet is the best way to discover what it could be.
I am counting every day as a positive step and I just wanted to share my little bit of success with you as your website has been such a good help to me when I have been very ill. That is my update on my story.
E-mail Priscilla: priscillathealy[at]yahoo.co.uk