Advice? Nothing has helped my LC or IC

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 1:34 am

Rachael
are you eating any protein? ie animal protein?

Rachaelknatcal · Post by **Rachaelknatcal** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 5:14 pm

Tex,
I have been eating corn and potatoes recently and I am feeling better. I got the Corn chex like you suggested and it hasn't caused any problems so far. I also sent out my entero lab tests yesterday so I won't be wondering in the dark much longer.
I was wondering if anyone here has taken dicyclomine? I found a post back from 2010 explaining how it can cause constipation because it slows everything down, but I was curious if it can cause any other problems? I used to take it all the time at work and it helped me a lot, it made some of the pain go away and I used it again today and it helped...and I have gotten used to the side effects of feeling loopy. I'm just trying to find out if this is actually harming me or making my situation worse and I'm unaware of it, because it seems to help a lot.

Rachaelknatcal · Post by **Rachaelknatcal** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 6:31 pm

Gabes-Apg wrote:Rachael
are you eating any protein? ie animal protein?

I tried to eat ham the other day and that gave me a really bad stomachache. Beef seems to be ok...I just don't really have any ideas what to eat with it because I can't have a cheeseburger, or pasta, or steak sauce haha

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 7:58 pm

Ham may not be the best choice as it is high in nitrates/sulphites which makes it high histamine

plain beef, lamb, chicken or turkey are better options (cook yourself)

I broil my meats in home made bone broth, this gives them flavour and keeps them moist.

Post by **tex** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:34 pm

Rachael,

That's good news that Corn Chex seems to be OK for you, and even better news that your EnteroLab results should be available in a couple of weeks or so.

The problem with Bentyl (dicyclomine) is that it's an anticholinergic. About a year-and-a-half ago a research study was published that showed that anticholinergics are associated with an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. That also includes some of the older antihistamines such as Benadryl. Here are links to a couple of threads where that topic was discussed:

It's always something, antihistamines!

Anticholinergics and Dementia

Tex

Rachaelknatcal · Post by **Rachaelknatcal** » Mon Sep 12, 2016 8:32 pm

So I had bad diarrhea 3 days ago, it was really painful and was stuck in the bathroom for about 4 hours. I am now eating just plain chicken breast, potatoes, corn and corn chex and I am so constipated...I haven't gone since I had diarrhea which was three days ago

I have been drinking a lot of water...so much that I have to go to the bathroom every 30 mins or so...I have upped my magnesium intake to 250 mg a day and vitamin D to 2000 a day. I have eaten a few apples, and even green beans...and still nothing. I don't know what to do but this backup is causing a lot of unease and pain.

Rachaelknatcal · Post by **Rachaelknatcal** » Mon Sep 12, 2016 8:42 pm

One other thing I forgot to mention, I haven't had a bowel movement but I have tried to push (sorry for the tmi here) and sometimes I'll see a little mucus come out...or sometimes just some bubbles?? It's weird. I read through an earlier post that mucus could be an indication of a inflammation reaction...but I haven't had any pain. I am wondering if the mucus means something in connection with the constipation, like signaling I need even more water or something?

Post by **tex** » Mon Sep 12, 2016 9:07 pm

That's the way my symptoms cycled — from D to C and then back again for another round.

Yes, the mucus is associated with inflammation. Copious amounts of mucus is a common symptom when MC is active — it's the intestines' attempt to protect the mucosal surface from whatever toxins might be in the fecal stream causing the inflammation.

I never was very good at resolving C though. Hopefully someone else will be able to offer some suggestions for that.

Tex

dhouts · Post by **dhouts** » Mon Sep 12, 2016 10:20 pm

Hi Rachael,

I was on Bentyl for quite awhile for pain. Initially, it helped. When the D and the pain increased, I was told to increase the Bentyl. I don't remember what the dosage was because this was over a year ago; however, I began feeling very dizzy. This went on for about four months before I finally figured out that dizziness is a side effect of Bentyl. So, I stopped taking it and started using Pepto. If you are still taking Bentyl, keep this in mind just in case you start feeling dizzy.

Are you able to walk? Or, is it too painful? Walking, as you may already know, is a good way to get things moving.

Hope you are feeling better.

Rachaelknatcal · Post by **Rachaelknatcal** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 3:16 pm

Hey everyone,
I hope no one minds me continuing to post in this same thread, I didn't know if I should start a new one with questions I have.
So I was badly constipated for 4 whole days, and now here I am again with yet another stomach attack and in horrible pain getting it all out. One of my questions was, how long can it take for a food to affect you? I don't know too much about how the digestive system works and I was just wondering, if I were to eat something a few days ago, could it be affecting me now? I'm thinking if I'm really built up with stool, could what I ate be just now getting to my intestines and causing the pain? I'm curious to know because when I start trying to figure out my triggers, I don't know how much time I should allow for a reaction.

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 4:02 pm

I wish there was a 'simple' answer to your question

for some food reactions can happen within 5 mins, and for others it can take 12 hours or even 24 hours.

if you are constipated and there is compacted poop in your bowel, there is no food, time equation for the pain. the pain will happen anytime the bowel is trying to move the poop through.

as we have mentioned while you are inflammed and magnesium deficient, the body is struggling with the process, for now my suggestion is;
-get into the magnesium (oral and topical) and Vit D3 - you need to reduce inflammation levels and sort out the constipation
-have tablespoon of coconut oil am and pm
-increase your water intake
-stick with the bland eating plan, ideally with some plain animal protein each meal

with constipation like you have, it will take 24-48 hours for high dose oral magnesium to start to clear the issues
once you have some bowel motions, dont stop the magnesium, just reduce it a bit. (if you stop then the constipation can return within a day or two)
it will take a few weeks for your body to 'retrain' and get strong enough to get BM's more regular.

hope this helps.

Post by **tex** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 5:59 pm

Cyclic D/C is tough to analyze because as Gabes points, magnesium deficiency causes C for many people and that has nothing to do with food sensitivities — it's a separate issue that tends to complicate the equation.

Back when I was recovering I didn't realize that I was magnesium deficient, so I continued to cycle. I found that for the most part, I react to gluten within approximately 4–6 hours, and that's probably true for many of us (more or less). I found that dairy (casein) usually took a day or 2, but for many people (probably including me), dairy is constipating, so that complicates the problem. Back then, foods such as corn took 2–4 days to cause D. Drinks based on ice slush (slurpees) usually took about 8–12 hours to cause D.

Foods that cannot be digested in the small intestine and end up fermenting in the colon may take from 2–3 days to cause D. This can include sugars and fiber. But remember that we are all different.

Tex