Does this sound like IBS?

[astrogirl]

Hi Shelley,

I hope you are well. I appreciate any insight to this problem. I wanted to make this short but thought it best to give as many details as possible...please forgive the length.

I had a sudden episode of intestinal problems that started a little over 2 weeks ago:

Intestinal problems started on Wednesday, May 21st. Tuesday night I ate some tomato/veggie soup. It was probably too old and I should have thrown it out. I woke up in the middle of the night with my stomach gurgling a lot and most of the discomfort was in my lower intestines (no pain at all). Wed. morning I had 3 bouts of diarrhea. (Just a note but I had also had eaten spinach salads the last couple of days, which I haven’t had in ages). I felt better after taking probiotics and kefir, which I have increased every day since this started. (I had already been taking before this all started). I have also been taking enzymes with every meal.

Wednesday I was dehydrated and very nauseous, slept a lot and ate almost nothing (crackers, water and broth). I was wiped out.

Thursday and Friday I felt a little better but was still nauseous and ate very little. During all this time I did not feel that this was a flu…I had no aches nor a fever. I figured it was food poisoning or parasites.

Saturday I was still queasy and went to the doctor. He said it was probably a virus or some kind of bug and I was dehydrated and needed to take in more fluids. My vital signs were all fine but he took no other tests.

During the next week I was pretty careful to eat in small amounts and had mostly bland vegetable soup that I made myself. When I was able to stomach it, I had egg whites for breakfast, which is what I usually do. I also has whole grain toast, a little bit of apple, cottage cheese now and then and very small amounts of chicken with my soup at night. A couple of times the food sat in my stomach, gurgling somewhat and I had that bloated feeling, like the food was fermenting.

Friday evening I ate some prepared tuna. Bad idea I guess because Saturday morning I had another bout of diarrhea again. The after effects were not as bad. I felt okay, only a little nauseous.

I have continued to eat carefully, taking more probiotics and enzymes than I normally do. That next week was a bit better, but I still get the bloatedness and extreme discomfort at times without the diarrhea. I went to the doctor again on Wednesday. She did not think it was parasites and said I would have more constant diarrhea, pain in the abdomen (which I do not have at all) and possibly blood in the stools. She thought I might have IBS. I am doing a stool blood sample and currently waiting on that.

Thursday and Friday nights I had dinner out and ate lamb shanks and salmon. Both bad ideas I guess. Had diarrhea from the lamb and today (Saturday) I am feeling bad today from the salmon.

I keep thinking I am getting better and try to eat normal again only to find I am wrong. So I have had some not so great things like coffee, even a bit of wine. What is wrong with me?? Is it IBS? If so, is it possible to heal completely? This all came on so suddenly. I do have a history of candida and have monitored my diet for years. I take enzymes daily and probiotics. I have done some cleanses over the years, never a liver flush because I am too scared.

Thank you for any help you can offer,
astrogirl

[shelley]

have you been taking any supplements that you didn't list? herbal teas? Juicing?

[astrogirl]

I am drinking some teas, like peppermint and ginger. Not juicing, though. What would be best for juicing? I started taking a sugarless vitamin fizzy drink to rehydrate and have been taking triphala for a few months.

[shelley]

oh well goodness! Stop taking the triphala!!!! It's a laxative!!! of course you'll have diarrhea if you take a laxative and no longer really need it! You have to adjust as your body gets better. Back off what you no longer need. So stop taking it at all and let me know if the diarrhea continues past 3 days. What we do here CURES you and gets you OFF the supplements that I recommend. Eventually!

[astrogirl]

Hi Shelley,
Thanks so much for your advice. Well, I started having pains in the gall bladder area and I think I may have stones or issues there. I need to have my doctor confirm it.

I already read up on stone dissolving and started doing that regiment with the ACV, NYF, malic acid and teas, ordered the GCG. I have a few short questions about doing all of this. First, I take migraine medication as needed and often wake up with a headache. Should I do the stone dissolvers while taking medication? Next, I am confused about taking good oils...should they be taken while trying to dissolve stones? If so, when and how much is best? I am also addicted to caffeine and always have coffee in the morning because it helps me go to the bathroom. I know I shouldn't while cleansing, but I am trying to take less and less (that is why I was taking triphala). Is it okay to have just a little? Finally, what is best to take in the middle of gallstone pain/attack?

I thank you again for your help. This website is a teasure of knowledge. I have a friend who is going to have her gallbladder taken out. There is no convincing her to trying other methods first. She is too afraid of the other options. I would be more scared of losing my gallbladder!!

astrogirl

[astrogirl]

Okay, I found the answer for gallbladder pain/attack....1 tsp epsom salts. And gallbladderattack.com also said flaxseed tea.

[shelley]

Oh dear, have you told her the possible consequences of removing one's gallbladder? Some people get diarrhea ALL the TIME!

The stone dissolvers will not interfere with your medications. In fact, sometimes they'll make them work better. You should be taking good oils all the time just for your health, but for liver cleansing it's particularly effective to take some with juice first thing in the morning so that you shift the stones down and out of you. You can start taking them THAT way after you've taken stone dissolvers for a week or more and gotten things started, loosened up.

Just about all migraine medications boomerang after awhile and start causing migraines rather than curing them. Have you been cycling thru different meds? Do you drink some caffeine first to see if the headache is just a caffeine withdrawal?

The best relief for a gallbladder attack is GCG, once you have it. Otherwise peppermint/ginger tea and avoiding fats for awhile is a help, and continuing stone dissolvers. If you think your gallbladder is compromise you should be drinking a LOT of ginger tea, as it takes down swelling.

[astrogirl]

Thanks so much Shelley! I'm going to talk to my friend again and hopefully she'll listen. She knows about stone dissolvers but her doctor said the stones could get stuck and that is what she is afraid of. She is not too up on natural methods and is ready to go under the knife. She had a hysterectomy last year because of fibroids, cysts and endometriosis.

I'll try the extra ginger tea now and oils later on like you said. I am waiting for GCG to come in the mail. As for my migraines, I have had them for 15 to 20 years and they were improving through diet and such until I started going through peri-menopause. Hormones are really affecting them and I go for weeklong stretches where I wake up every morning with a massive migraine. Only imitrex really works and I hate taking that! I just found out I have been taking too many doses per month so I need to find something else.

Blessings to you!

[shelley]

Oh your poor friend. She's probably had liver/gallbladder issues for Years and that, plus genetics etc. probably influenced her endometriosis. Sigh.

If the headaches are hormonal than you might want to take the RDA of Manganese for a week. When migraines are hormonal and vascular, they're usually due to weak liver function, which we know you have currently. That means the liver doesn't manage either iron or manganese well and so hormones get extra wonky, PMS, etc. And it means you have to be very careful when supplementing iron. Chances are you're low, but being too high will bring on a migraine too, so only supplement sensible amounts when you take it, and take manganese afterwards.

Just take manganese for 5 days, and take it again when you expect PMS. If it alleviates the PMS symptoms at all then you know that's what's going on. If it doesn't, let me know and we'll try the next headache remedy.

As for the next prescription method, ask your doctor about Maxalt. It's the only hormonal migraine cure I've found that actually works and doesn't kill you while it's working.

[astrogirl]

Cool....I will try the maganese. Hey, I used to take Maxalt a long time ago. It didn't work as well as Imitrex but its worth a try again if less dangerous.
Thanks!

[astrogirl]

I talked to my friend last night. Her doctor told her that trying to dissolve stones only works about 50% of the time. Also, sometimes the undissolved stones can move about and get stuck (in the intestines I guess?) and cause a lot of problems.

If true, how to prevent that from happening?

[shelley]

Please keep reading the FAQ, it's all there. You dissolve as many of the stones as possible, and then you do a major flush. You have to eat hot cereal the next day, do an enema preferably, and let the fiber push the stones out. Some people like to take a little magnesium before they flush to relax the bile ducts and ensure safe passage of stones. None of the hundreds of people that I've helped have ever had a stuck stone. Some have even released stones simply by following my slow liver cleanse protocol, eating some fats, and doing yoga stretches! That's how easy it is.