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I have been struggling for some time now with IBS. I started so well with Diet 1 and IBS has crept its nasty way back into my life. Nothing related to Diet 1, it just did. Like a visitor who has overstayed their welcome and you just dont know how to tell them to leave! So I'm having a hard time dealing with this, diarrhea, soft BMs, inflammation-like feeling in my intestines. Today, I when I looked at my body in the mirror, I just look so thin that it scared me. I guess what stuck in my mind is that my husband told me my boobs are shrinking. Being that this has never been a problem, I thought, he's joking! But once I saw he was right, I just cried. Athough I had read that this losing weight business is normal at the beginning, its really scaring me to the point where I dont know what to think. Yes, I just started treatment which then I ended up with a cold due to our son getting sick (thankfully that's much better). But for whatever reason, my mind cant think positive. Being scared, feeling alone is what makes me think & be so depressed. How have others dealt with this?
Do others have IBS to the point that your BMs are either diarhea or soft on a regular basis? I used to go every morning, nowadays its every 2-3 days. Is this just the normal part of acclimating to the Diet and herbs? I would really love anyone who is going through these kind of troubles tell me what they have experienced. Also, for those that have lost alot of weight, how many months did this go on for? I know everyone is different but when your insides are burning, I dont know how to 'soothe' them..
Perhaps its also hormonal? But I just had my period... what gives!
My biggest question here is if Dr. B has explained in depth to anyone why your body loses so much weight. I understand the basics, no sugar, no processed foods, you will lose weight. But, what is really going on in our intestines? I read her blog from awhile ago that your body will start gaining weight at some point. At what point do you know? Has anyone read her dissertation? If so, can you please tell me if it covers this area of weight loss? if so, can anyone share your insights? I havent purchased it yet but plan on doing so soon. I just need to put my mind at ease about this IBS and weight loss.
Adrienne- I am so sorry I
Adrienne- I am so sorry I don't have much to add as IBS and weight loss are not my issues. I did lose weight but only 10 lbs below my usual weight I am in a healthy range now and I look fine.
I just couldn't read without posting because you are struggling! For me- the hardest part is the uncertainty of not knowing the answer to "WHY?" for every part of this treatment and disease. On my good days, it occurs to me that learning to let go of that need to know could be very freeing for me and my life- not just my IC. I am beginning to think I amy have some....er.....control issues and IC has completely upended my security and intellectual comfort zone. There is so much of this that I don't think Dr B can explain to us- I think she'd be working 24 hrs a day.
Anyway- for me- I am working on internalizing ALL THE GOOD STUFF people say and Matia's reassurances too. Why do I believe my negative thought? Are the negative things more "real" than the positive ones?
Also- I sympathise with the worry about your son and missing school/work etc. Fortunately, I don't work full time but when my kids get sick it is like a huge burden on me. It's like the straw that broke the camel's back. In the beginning of treatment- I think my 3rd week or so, everyone got fevers, colds etc spread out so it was like 1 kid sick then a few days later the next etc and I was having freaky die off and vertigo at the same time. Horrible horrible.
The thing is- it passed and pretty quick. I can't say how long it will take for your IBS to pass but I truly truly believe IT WILL.
Hang in there, we are all on this journey together!
ps- my boobs have shrunk too.
ps- my boobs have shrunk too. But that's ok- I needed a little shrinkage in that case! LOL
We all are different. I was
We all are different. I was diagnosed with IBS 10 years ago. It didn’t cause many symptoms and I wasn't concerned. I gained 10 pounds on Matia’s diet since introducing starches and not eating enough vegetables.
Hope you all have a good day!
loosing weight
Hi Adriene. I have been with Matia for a bit over 2,5 years. When i started with her i started losing weight, i went from 114 to 92 pounds. it was bad, very bad, sometimes i had diarrea others i was constipated. I ate 4 times a day and even like that i lost weight. My period left for like 7 months. i was sooooo depresed that i had no boobs or botton that i used to cry every day. Matia told me that because of treatment and ic i was not absorbing nutrients as i should. In one trip to the States my husband bought me a special bra that made me look like i had some boobs, that really helped me. Well as time went by and i was getting better my weight came back so do my boobs!!! Dont worry, this will pass, i know the feeling but believe me, one day you will look better than you looked before ic!! Please dont worry anymore.
Hi Adriane, Sorry to hear
Hi Adriane,
Sorry to hear you're feeling so rough. I've had a IC , with symptoms on and off, since I was 16 (33 now) and have been working with Matia for about 6 months. 2 years ago when my symptoms came on really strong, I was like you. I was eating a limited diet similar to the one Matia puts us on, and I was eating quite a bit, but my body was absorbing nothing that I ate. I lost about 20 lbs in 2 months and everyone was worried I had an eating disorder. Needless to say, I could tell from my insane diahrrea that none of the nutrients I was consuming were being processed by my body.
I was seeing a naturopath at the time who gave me a product called GI-revive that helps rebuild your intestinal lining. Over the course of a few months, it helped a lot. L-glutamine is the main ingredient and it really worked wonders for me. I found I became much less gassy, was more "regular" and really felt better overall. I don't know where matia stands on using something like this or if your system would respond the same way, but it might be worth exploring. It really changed my digestive health for the better.
Claire
IBS
Hi Adriane. I have suffered with IBS for about 30 years or so. Like you, my bowel movements are very loose. I still struggle with it on a daily basis. Perhaps eating all the extra vegetables is causing you some grief. Broccoli, cauliflower, etc., all get mine going. Also, I have found that the probiotics make my IBS worse, as well as some of the herbs Matia sometimes uses. I did lose weight for awhile, but recently I have been gaining a few pounds again. I'm not sure why. You aren't alone in your struggles. It can be very depressing at times. I hope you soon see some improvement.
I wonder if it would help to
I wonder if it would help to really cook the vegetables. I know some diets like the GAPS diet for evere digestive maladies. leaky gut, autism etcinclude only very well cooked vegetables in the beginning . I would try simmering them in home made bone broth which has enzymes and minerals and gelatin to help with digestion.
IBS
Hi, I have IBS but mine is constipation. I have had this for 40 years. The doctors tell you to eat more fibre, but this has never worked for me...the more fibre I eat the more problems I have. I have tried drinking tons of water, I have tried all kinds of natural things, eating tons of vegetables...etc. For me I am convinced its more my body is so out of balance that nothing is working. I can take tons of probiotics and even this doesn't affect me. Matia is once again changing my protocol to see if we can get things working. Its very unpleasant living with this because you are constantly aware that you need to go...but can't and you get pains and cramps and terrible gas. Its awful. I just hope and pray we can get things moving....for me I believe its key to getting my body getting back into balance. My weight problem is different too. If I'm not careful about how much I eat, I gain weight so I have to be very careful.
Before
Before I started with Matia, I was a little below a healthy weight for me, or at least at a weight I felt really good at. And I pretty much ate whatever I wanted. I also was not contipated too bad, and I didn't struggle with everyday feeling like I was stoved up!!!
Since being in treatment, the constipation is pretty hard to deal with. I was going 2-3 times at first during the day, and then about 4 months into treatment it just switched. I have struggled so much with constipation it makes me sick. It is an awful thing to deal with.
Because I am always constipated, I have gained 10-15 lbs being on the diet. You can't lose weight if you aren't going to the bathroom enough. Matia says over and over that it is just die off, and like a backed up train station, when everything is trying to detox at once. It gets so old. Some days are much better then others thank goodness. But it seems trying to find supplements to help is an on going process. It's hard to go from eating whatever you want and being at a light weight, to eating restricted and healthy and feeling stoved up.
Try and keep your chin up... if you lose a lot of weight, it will come back when your body gets into balance. Just like I hope when my body starts to balance more, I can lose the weight I've gained. It can be so depressing! Your not alone!
Sorry
So sorry to hear you are going through this. I don't know if I have IBS. But for me before I have a bowel movement I get cramps and a lot of pain in my colon. Then after my bowel movement, I have pain too and it burns. I have to sit or lay down for at least 15 minutes and then it goes away.
I have always had loose stools, but after starting Dr. B's protocol they have tightened up. They a smaller and harder now. So I guess whatever I am taking is working for me. Although I still have the pain. In my head I think it's just yeast in there that is hurting me. And I feel like it might be die-off.
What makes me wonder about you is, your symptoms sound very similar to what my Sister went through right before she got diagnosed with Celiac disease?
Have you ever been tested for that?
Hey there, this is me. Loose
Hey there, this is me. Loose stools, get very bad burning on all my tissues after diarrhoea, and definitely notice that when I have bad IBS it's a trigger for my IC symptoms - in fact these days it's my main trigger, as symptoms are better than they were.
I find when I up my probiotics that tends to briefly trigger more diarrhea, then help with it a bit. I've had it for years, and it only really resolved when I was pregnant! Think it's the key issue for me.
PS I know it's hard, but try
PS I know it's hard, but try not to worry about the weight. I lost loads but have now stabilised at about half a stone below where I started, which is fine for me. I'm sure you'll stabilise too!
Also calieve, if the burning you get is the same as mine (mine feels like acid over all my tissues down below) I read that it actually IS acid - stomach acid, which would normally be dealt with in the bowel, but has passed straight through because the intestine isn't working properly - which makes total sense and helped me deal with it a bit!
Interesting
Wow, thanks for sharing SarahC. That make so much sense. I always wondered what was causing the burning.
Hi Ladies, Thank you so much
Hi Ladies,
Thank you so much for your ongoing support. This week is passing quickly again and I’ve had 1 good normal day. But I can certainly appreciate that I’m not in this alone, I guess I try to take control of this too much and need to start easing up and trusting what Dr. B is telling me. I did email her and she says not to worry. So I will try my hardest to be more positive. Prayer has also been helping a lot. My anxiety of wanting to be back to normal again gets me down a lot. I must think positive and pray that I’m alive and others are suffering more than I.
Veronica,
I would love to be able to chat with you and hear your similar experiences. Please let me know if you are open to speaking one on one.. I’ve reas some of your prior posts and seem to relate to your experiences.
Calieve,
Yes, I have been tested for Celiac, tested negative, it’s a good thing, right? I also had a colonoscopy done on Aug 11 right before my laparoscopy, Aug 12. All they found is diverticulitis. I never did go back, post op, to see the nurse. I thought, why am I going to miss work for them to tell me I have diverticulitis and give me a prescription? This was right around the time I found Dr. B as well.
Claire,
I’m interested to hear more about the GI-Revive and what it does, perhaps you can share more specifics about your situation/symptoms.
Clueless
Have you had any relief from the diarrhea being under Matia’s care? I will pay more close attn to see if I react to the Natren’s superdophilis and Siberian Extract (taking each three times/day prior to meals). I don’t think this is my case, at least I hope not, in terms of it causing a reaction from the supplements.
Deir,
Its funny you mentioned soup bone broth. My mom reminded me of this and I made it this past Sunday, ate it for close to 2 days straight. It was yummy and has A LOT of nutrients. Its super fatty so she told me to only eat this a few times a week. I added cooked veggies, rice allowed on List 1. I think I even added a small carrot, no reaction. I will make it again but its hard to find soup bones at the store. Something in my intestinal wall is wrong, I can just suspect that is why I agree with you that I feel the nurtrients are just flushing through… can this be repaired?? I will have to ask Dr. B during my next phone call with her next week. I eat red meat close to 3-4 times/week thinking this will help my stools get more firm, but nothing. I hope my cholesterol doesn’t sky-rocket.
Hopeful,
I used to be ALWAYS constipated. I mean, I grow up like this even though my mom cooked healthy meals.. Just one week, I would want to be like this but I know that too isn’t healthy. I hear your pain and hope you are doing ok.
Sarah,
You have triggered my interest by what you say about the acid. Perhaps you can share links on where you read this online. Is that considered leaky Gut syndrome? I would want to read more on this if you can share please.
Since having gotten a cold last week, my hearing remains as a sense of being/feeling plugged. I also have a lot of phlegm/mucous even though I feel much better. Could this be die-off as part of the protocol? It just dawned on me last night since typically, my colds only run a few days and then I’m back to normal.. Perhaps it is die-off. I will have to ask Matia next week.
Thank you ladies for being there, this online support group is what makes me keep going daily and I feel like I need to check in daily, even though I may not always have time to reply back so quickly.
Wishing you all have a good day today.
Adrienne- dis Dr B tellyou to
Adrienne- dis Dr B tellyou to watch your fat re: the soup?
Deir -
no she doesnt even know that I tried this, I will have to ask her next week.
Ok! Because fat is good!
Ok! Because fat is good! Don't be afraid of it or red meat. :)