I know that IBS usually affects women. In this case it is affecting my husband, which, in turn is affecting the whole family. My husband has lost 50 pounds in about 6 months. He is 130 pounds and 6 feet tall. He has become affraid to eat anything because it is so unpredictable what is going to give him pain. One food will not give him pain at all one day and then the next time he eats it, he ends up doubled over in pain, throwing up, or with the runs. We know that stress makes it all much worse. We are going to the doctor today to see if there is information she can give and to have him screened for cancer as he believes he is dying and that is adding to his stress. I think once we rule that out, it will be easier to concentrate on making him better. Has anyone dealt with this awful disease? How have you coped? What kind of resources have you used to find a diet that will work for you? Any information on websites or resources would be awesome. I've done some looking and have found some things that look promissing, but I'm hesitant on spending a great deal of money on something that could be a fad or not realy work. Thanks for any help anyone can send my way!
WOW! so many passionate people. This is the first time I received more than 2 answers to a question I posted!! Thank you so much for responding!!!
I just wanted to let you all know that we did go to the Dr. appointment, but first...When my husband was first diagnosed with IBS, part of the process of getting diagnosed was having a CT Scan, a colonascopy (SP?), and some blood tests that all came back normal. This was prior to the weight loss. After the weight loss we decided it was time to see the Dr. again. This time armed with more information about his symptoms and everything. The Dr. is concerned about cancer, due to the weight loss. My husband gave five viles of blood to test for various things and a urine sample. He also got chest x-rays. The doctor would like to do an endoscopy (sp?) the one that goes down the throat. Once all the test are done we will have a better picture what is going on. Knowing that my husband internalizes all of his stress, I'm certain that is the problem. I'm not going in blind or trying to self diagnose. I'm making sure that all the test are performed and I am probing the dr.s with tons of questions. But I'm also preparing myself and my husband for the fact that he may need to speak to someone about the stress other than me and he may need anti-anxiety medication.
Thank you all sooooooooo much for your support and well wishes. I will keep you updated with what we find.
My husband has ulcerative colitis (same symptoms as IBS). We have gone through everything you described. If you would like to get in touch, please send an email.
-H.
Hi T.,
Please get your husband to a proactive GI specialist and don't try to self-diagnose this, or you may waste valuable time. He's losing too much weight too fast. The GI specialist should take his situation seriously and move him ahead in the queue to get tested, whether that be by way of a CT Scan, Sigmoidoscopy, Upper GI Endoscopy, or a colonoscopy.
He's been in pain long enough - testing should get you some answers. Good luck!
This is going to sound harsh but please hear me out. Get to a gastroenterologist right away. My fiance has diverticulitis and it can be controlled and healed but it requires high fiber food, fiber supplements, and lots of water and probably a medication. Fiber must be added slowly to the diet but it can make a world of difference. He also had a spastic colon that caused great pain.
Do NOT accept the diagnosis of IBS - it can be used as a "catch-all" for undiagnosed digestive issues. Has he had a CT scan of his abdominal area, an MRI, a colonoscopy??? All of these tests should have been performed when he started losing weight rapidly.
If your doctor is not giving you sound advice, fire him/her. I mean it. Find someone who will listen and keep testing.
God bless and good luck!
The author of The Maker's Diet Jordan Rubin suffered from Chron's disease. He tried conventional and alternative treatments before developing his own way of eating. You might want to look up his information and see if it makes sense.
J.
Hi T.,
My son is on a gluten-free diet because he was in severe discomfort as a toddler. (Up half the night crying even when held and frequent diarrhea.) However, he never vomited and was gaining weight just fine before we changed his diet. And my mother has suffered from IBS issues all her life. None of her symptoms are as severe as your husbands. And she is overweight, not loosing weight.
This does not sound like IBS to me! (Nor a celiac/gluten type issue either.) I agree with the previous post. He needs to see a GI specialist (or a different one if he has already seen one) and have some testing done. The pediatric GI specialist my son sees typically has a 1-2 month wait for appointments though. Perhaps your husband's primary doctor can advise you on finding a way to get him in to see a specialist sooner. Be strong. Do not take no for an answer. I've learned that you sometimes have to push hard to get the health care needed for our loved ones.
Good luck!
D.
T.
I have read all the respondses. Please, please get your husband a referral to a good gastroenterologist. This does not sound like any sort of food allergy to me. I have Crohns Dz and I remember doubling over in pain and severe, rapid weight loss. The thing about Crohns is that it can happen overnight and is hard to diagnose. At least it was when I was diagnosed. It is treatable but your husband needs an accurate diagnosis.
I know this has been hard to "hear" but I kind of call them as I see them.
If you need to talk feel free to write me a private message.
The offer goes for your husband too.
In my thoughts
S.
My husband suffered for a long time with IBS. He finally went to a gastronenteroligist(not sure how you spell that). She did a colonoscopy and found that he had a camplio-bacteria. He was able to treat it with antibiotics. This made a huge difference but he still had some issues. About a year ago we both started to take Probiotics. It has changed his life. Probiotics put good bacteria into your intestines. I think everybody should take them.
Good Luck,
J.
Hi T.. Make sure your husband gets tested for gluten intolerance.
-J.
If your husband has not had a formal diagnosis, I would recommend you go see Dr Imperial, a gastroenterologist, at Stanford. I know from personal experience that she is excellent for bowel disorders and this is her absolute speciality. Her contact information is: ###-###-####. She will perform all the necessary investigations and have your husband in good health in no time.
I would also be open to trying accupuncture and homeopathy, but if you only do one thing, then I would certainly go see Dr Imperial, you'll be glad you did.
Good luck and I hope your husband regains his health back again soon.
Dear T.,
This must be very stressful for you and your family.
I encourage you to be very aggressive with your doctors, as another woman has suggested-- push for the specialist. I also encourage you to be open minded about acupuncture and homeopathy. Western medicine (your Dr.) can be great at diagnosing disease, but NOT good at diagnosing and treating allergies. Also, once your husband is on the mend, it will be important to have a doctor with a holistic approach to help him get his full health back. Western medicine is not good at this either.
3 years ago, with the help of my acupuncturist, I determined I am allergic to gluten. I had symptoms similar to your husbands, though not as severe. It took me about 6 months off gluten to build my health back up again. This may or may not be your husband's problem. I hesitate to say too much because it seems like an easy answer.
Good luck. Feel free to email me if you want any more information about acupuncture or gluten intolerance.
A.
Sorry to hear about your husband; trouble T.. Our friends were diagnosed with celiac and gluten intolerance (they are now in their 40's) and they go to really really excellent medical professionals in Sunnyvale called Health Now. In their cases they ad tried all the usual drs, but found this group to be the only knowledgeable specialised group with any idea about diet and bowels and what is happening. Try them. If you can't find them, I will email my friends and ask for their contacts.
Regards
P.
I suffered a while back with bad IBS also. I was also afraid to eat anything because everything seem to make me nauseated or bad stomach ache. They did all kinds of tests to rule out anything else that might be going on and diagnosed me as having IBS. Well, when all the tests came out fine my doctor gave me a prescription for zantac. That seemed to do the trick and after that I felt so much better and all my symptoms went away. Anytime, later if I ever felt a flare-up coming on, I would get over the counter zantac and it helped. Hope this info helps a little bit.
Hi T.,
I would start by eliminating gluten from his diet. This is a protein that is added to many foods but which also proves to be irritating to the lining of the intestines. If gluten intolerant, one can experience chronic diarrhea, stomach upset, vomitting and of course, weight loss. Trader Joes has a nice selection of gluten free foods. You can also look online as there is more literature coming out. Good luck and good health!
We had similar problems with my husband, with all sorts of tests, including a colonoscopy, only to find out, without the help of his doc or specialist, that he is lactose intolerant! Thankfully we DID figure it out (yay to his mother - mothers always know best), because our son also became slightly lactose intolerant around age 3 1/2. We might not have figured that one out until much later, had we not just been through the whole thing with my husband! They can both usually eat cheese and yogurt, but my husband cannot drink milk or eat anything made with cream or whipped cream or milk. He gets worse when stressed (currently he has cut out all milk products). Simple fix - lactose free milk, and carry chewable lactaid tablets for occasions out - ice cream, dessert, cream-based soups and sauces - at restaurants, parties, etc. I give lactaid tablets to my son's teacher and care-takers, he knows to ask for them.
Just something to check for, in case nobody has thought of it!
Hi T.,
I don't have any solutions for you yet because we have just found out that my husband is experiencing the same thing. At least that's the conclusion they are starting to come to. One thing we were told is to increase the amount of fiber he is getting. I actually had started doing that long ago, but for some reason he let it drop off. In addition we were taking flaxseed. So that is what we are going back to. I will make sure he has his FiberOne bars twice a day, plus the flaxseed. That will make sure he gets the daily allowance of fiber. I will also make sure that he's getting fiber in other food throughout the day. Just make sure that once the fiber intake has increased so do the water as too much fiber causes constipation.
God bless and good luck.
D.
