new here w/ stomach problems

Avatar for itsmylife2001
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-17-2003
new here w/ stomach problems
6
Tue, 11-08-2005 - 1:34pm

Hi ladies,

I thought I'd ask you advice on this. I've had IBS for more than 10 years, sometimes it's hard to cope but I know what it is at least.
Last january, I started to follow Weight Watchers because I wanted to lose 20 pounds. At the same time I started evening classes. It has been a hard time because the classes were stressing me, my IBS was acting up and I had to go to the bathroom every time I was eating or drinking. So to avoid this happening in the middle of the classes, I took the habit of not eating on those nights (twice a week during 3 months). And I was feeling bad from the IBS anyway so I had a small appetite. When the courses ended, the IBS calmed down and I felt better.

The thing is, because of that and of the diet, I took the habit or eating less and less. Now I can't have a normal meal without feeling sick; I only eat small portions and I have taken out a lot of things from my diet (not much sugar, no cookies or chocolate, no dairy because of IBS, less meat etc...) and now that I have reached my ideal weight, I can't stop losing because I don't eat enough! And I'm getting scared about that. For example for lunch if I dring 2 cups of soup, I'm done, and it's maybe 2 WW points (where 18/a day is the more drastic diet, and I don't think I reach the 18 for the moment!)

I must say also that I tend to be very anxious. 3 years ago I had so much pain in the stomach my GP was sure I had an ulcer, and when I had the tests done, I had nothing at all and the problem went away in one week with anti-depressors. I feel I'm in the same logic right now, I don't know how to get out of this, and the losing weight is making me more anxious. Some days I feel perfectly fine, and the next day I'm feeling sick again. But I don't have nausea, don't throw up. It's mostly discomfort, bloating, sometimes heartburn or pain from the acid.

Do you have any ideas on how I could increase the calories I eat without eating more than I can take? And if you have relaxing strategies as well, I think they could help!

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Avatar for lucky30605
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 11-09-2005 - 3:04pm

Try drinking Ensure.

if you are eating a healthy diet then you don't need that many calories per day. Skinny is not as dangerous as most folks make it out to be. As long as you are getting good nutrition and plenty of fluids you should be fine. If you are eating you will NOT waste away to nothing. And don't let everyone tell you you are too skinny. You are not anorexic.

You might check out the "Underweights" message board for hints on weight gain if you are still worried.

Good luck,

Lucky

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-21-2005
Wed, 11-09-2005 - 9:21pm
I've been round and round with IBS, so I know what you're talking about when you say you had to use the bathroom every time you ate or drank...ugh. The one thing that really helped get my IBS under control was Celexa, because my IBS was closely tied with my anxiety disorder. However, I know that doesn't work for everybody. I agree with the suggestion to drink Ensure, because that's what my grandparents practically lived on when they couldn't cook. There are also some whey pills you can get...I don't know a lot about them except my doctor tried to get me to take them one time to help me gain weight (he wouldn't listen when I said the reason I didn't eat much was because of my damned IBS! :-P). I don't really know what else to tell you, except that a multivitamin is never a bad idea if you can't/don't eat a lot.
Community Leader
Registered: 10-01-2002
Thu, 11-10-2005 - 10:32am

I am no expert Marie

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-03-2005
Thu, 11-10-2005 - 11:23am
I know that all of this must be very uncomfortable. Have you talked to your doc about Nexium? That's supposed to be really good for acid reflux.
Avatar for itsmylife2001
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-17-2003
Sat, 11-12-2005 - 5:50am

Thanks ladies for your answers.
I am far from underweight (140 lbs for 5'9") or skinny, but I like the way I look right now and I don't want to lose more. What worries me is that I can't stop losing when I'd like not to.

I've seen both my GP and my homeopath, none of them are worried, I am the only one getting anxious about it.

I had a big IBS attack yesterday night with horrible D, and I don't feel find at all today :-( I'm so tired of it all. I have taken prazolam this morning to calm myself because last night I didn't sleep well, I was shaking like crazy during 2 hours so it's clearly my nerves...

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Community Leader
Registered: 10-01-2002
Sat, 11-12-2005 - 2:26pm

Not to tell you what to do

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