Posted: 4/17/2012 12:41:39 PM EDT
Yes, this is a poop thread so keep it clean.
I have IBS and its just something I've learned to deal with. After reading up on different treatments, I figured I'd try probiotics. The way I figured it, they would either help or cause my colon to be a raging torrent of hot lava. So far, I've had good results which of course got me thinking. If you or anyone suffer from "bowel issues", you know that not eating regularly, eating crappy food or stress can be triggers. In a SHTF-type scenario, all of the aforementioned would be present which would also be a bad time to be looking for a biffy. It may not work for everyone, but you may want to try them and if they work for you, would go a long way in ensuring that you remain healthy. |
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I have (had, actually) UC. Switching to a primal diet basically nuked all symptoms.
I know there's already a thread on this, and I don't want to derail this one. But give it a try. Rob Wolf (A big deal in paleo circles) eliminated his UC with a similar diet. PM me if you want to talk about it. |
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There's actually some research being published now regarding the effect of antibiotics on the normal mix of bacteria in your GI tract. Unsurprisingly the AB's screw up the balance and they are actually doing "fecal transplants" (you read that right) to correct it.
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Quoted:
Fasting would heal your condition. You are not told that (in addition to a million other things) because you are intended to be a stupid sheep. BTW, just a hint, after the fast, do not eat the same garbage. Fasting will NOT heal the condition, it may temporarily alleviate the symptoms but food is not the problem with IBS, especially UC. Food may trigger a flare up but the root cause of IBS, again, especially with UC is the immune system attacking the healthy bacteria in the intestine. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Fasting would heal your condition. You are not told that (in addition to a million other things) because you are intended to be a stupid sheep. BTW, just a hint, after the fast, do not eat the same garbage. Fasting will NOT heal the condition, it may temporarily alleviate the symptoms but food is not the problem with IBS, especially UC. Food may trigger a flare up but the root cause of IBS, again, especially with UC is the immune system attacking the healthy bacteria in the intestine. Exactly..fasting doesn't do jack. I tried that and it made it actually a little worse for me. YMMV. OP - I have IBS but haven't had any symptoms of it for over a year. I take a good probiotic (the kind that have to be refridgerated) once a day and it takes away the symptoms. For my BOB I have a package of the kind that don't have to be kept in fridge. There is a difference in quality with the fridge kind and the non-fridge kind. The non-fridge work, but I have to take two of those to every one of the fridge kind. |
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Hate to plug a product, but Melaleuca's Florify (probiotic) has worked well for my family. My wife and I made 2 trips to Guatemala and one to Mexico in the past 3 years. Any time we felt something coming on, we took Florify and got back to normal ASAP. Several friends had good results, too.
Don't know if that means it would work for IBS, but it wouldn't cost much to try it. ETA: I have no relationship to Melaleuca, other than I use some of their stuff. |
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I can affirm that probiotics (and supplementary dietary enzymes...similar but different supplements) are effective treatment for IB, gastrointestinal distress and pathogens.
Years of overseas travel for work, much of it rough, has pretty much worked over my lower bowel (hell, the whole system, but don't tell the wife.) Same as with other posters, we use it on assignment to treat acute issues. When I personally am back home, at the direction of medical professionals, I continue to use the supplements regularly. When I have flare ups (acute diarrhea, soft stool, bleeding, and *ahem* frequency), I double up on the dose. It usually knocks it back pretty handily and regularizes the system. Even more interestingly, I often get acute heartburn as a side effect of a system failure. It helps with that too. Bottom line: The level of risk is pretty low to try the course of treatment, and a regular daily course works wonders. For me it's sort of like those little packets you flush down the toilet to keep the septic system in check. If I do it regularly, no big deal. If I fall behind, you find crazy shit in the bowl...bowel... :-) |
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Quoted:
It means beneficial bacteria. When your bowels get out of whack, its because the "flora" (bacteria that aid in digestion) are messed up. Probiotics replace the bacteria that got out of whack. Yogurt with "active cultures" have the same thing. That's where I learned about probiotics. Used to travel a lot. If I got diarrhea, I'd eat some yogurt and get regular again. Probiotics give you the same stuff without the milkfat.
what does the word probiotic even mean? never heard of it until last year on gullible person commercials along with title loans, quick cash, etc. |
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You should try making Kefir water. Google it... I make it all the time. All you need is the grains, water, and sugar. I've had the same batch of kefir grains for several months and have even given away half of them. I gave about a cup of them away about 3 weeks ago and they have already grown back. It's also a great way to make healthy soda. I throw a few strawberries in the blender and throw it in and it makes a nice strawberry soda. This is a cheap and easy way to ensure you have lots of probiotics available if SHTF, by growing them.
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Quoted:
what does the word probiotic even mean? never heard of it until last year on gullible person commercials along with title loans, quick cash, etc. Laugh and poke fun if you want to but they work. My wife went through two years of digestive tract hell after she had her gall bladder removed and contracted an antibiotic resistant clostridium difficle infection in her gut from the hospital. We went through 5 different MD's including 2 gastroenterologists who's first suggestion was to try to prescribe my wife an SSRI like prozac and telling her it was all in her head. We finally found a Dr. that's not just another rude jackass pill pusher. He ran endoscopes up both ends and lo and behold she has gastritis from bile reflux and a twisted colon and scar tissue adhesions from the necrosis and infection of her gall bladder before they finally removed it. He prescribed her some meds that helped reduce the bloating, gas, pain, reflux, and chronic diahrea. The problem the was we're trying to have kids and several of the meds are contraindicated for pregnant women and their fetuses. Well I got on the net and started looking and reading. Apparently post gallbladder surgery complications are about as rare as sunshine. I found lots of references to fiber supplements helping. We tried Benefiber and she was able to stop taking the two meds that caused osteoporosis and all sorts of other nasty side effects. The fiber works better than the prescription reflux meds! Then one night we were flipping through channels and landed on the local PBS station. There was this woman going on and on about the digestive system and this stuff called Ultimate Flora. My wife, a research scientist with a Phd. in plant pathology< thought it was a scam. I was intrigued and tired of her being sick all the time. I happened up on a jar of the stuff in the local CVS and bought it a few weeks later. After begging, cajoling, nagging, and threatening her she started taking it. The first two weeks were interesting and she almost stopped taking it due to it's initial effects. We happened to catch the same PBS fundraising infomercial at the beginning and watched it all the way through. We discovered that the side effects she was experiencing were normal and would go away within a month. They did. Today my wife only takes a bile resin binding pill when she eats a lot of greasy fried foods or if her stomach gets out of whack from strange food. She's no longer fatigued all the time. Her gastritis, chronic diarrhea, gas and bloating have pretty much disappeared too. The stuff ain't cheap but it works for her and has worked for several people we've told with similar issues. |