Diario di MouthWideShut, 09 feb 24

You keep doing your research, I just know there are natural effective things we can do for ibs. Hope you feel better soon. It's no picnic I am sure. I hear you on the little losses on a regular basis! I so wish that was the case for me! This bouncing around is for the birds, and plateaus are even worse. Congrats keep going! 

I definitely do some natural remedies for my IBS. I'm not actively doing anything else except staying away from high gluten intake and too many raw veggies, since both of them really set it off. I spoke with my doctor about it the other day and she said just keep doing what I'm doing. Stay away from things I know upset my insides and try to keep my stress level down. I work in the hospitality industry, it's nothing BUT stress lol. 

Thats the way to do it, natural and what you know works for you. I am the opposite, my body cant handle fats very well at all. My pancreas gets to hurting from inflammation. I just drink turmeric/chamomile tea for that and slack way off foods for the day. Stress? I'm familiar... LOL. All we can do is breathe, right?  

I read your post and had to share my experiences with constipation, weight loss, and gut problems. 14 years ago, I had a colonoscopy. While in recovery, I asked the doctor about my chronic constipation. He explained to me that regular intake of fluids would make a difference. He said that low intake throughout the day, with a large intake in the evening, does not allow the large colon, rectum, and feces to stay wet enough to allow the feces to move easily. He strongly recommended 1 cup of fluids every 2 hours throughout the day. That intake equals 8 cups a day. As soon as I started that regimen, I had incredibly easy BM's. When I get off that schedule, the constipation immediately returns. IBS... I wonder if quercetin would help you. In 2010, my apple tree finally produced fruit. I found myself eating an apple every day. 2 weeks later, my rampant heartburn was gone, and I stopped taking Omeprazol. I related the experience to a friend who was suffering through a vicious cycle of Crohn's. He started eating an apple a day. By the 2nd week, he was symptom free. He stopped his meds after the 3rd week. It's been 14 years, and he is still symptom free. I believe it is the quercetin in the skin. If you can't eat raw apples, cook the quartered apple with skin. The quercetin will leech out of the skin and become available in the cooked apple flesh. Commercial applesauce may not provide quercetin, as it depends on how it is made. Are the apples peeled before cooking? Maybe a quercetin capsule would give the same benefit. Lastly, my thoughts on weight loss. I am hyperinsulin resistant. I have been on a 30g of carbs a day for 4 years and no weight loss whatsoever. My fellow diabetics have lost 22 lbs per month on the same diet. I've been told that hyperinsulin resistant people can not lose weight unless they do weight resistance training, i.e., weight lifting at a gym. I believe that to be true. 14 years ago, I joined a gym and pumped 30-50 lbs of iron, one hour daily. I lost 22 lbs per month. in the third month, I sprained an ankle walking through my yard. I had to stop the training. During those 2.5 months, I lost 54 lbs and gained a lot of strength. I went from size 22 down to size 11-14. The interesting thing was that at 170 lbs, I wore a size 14. My daughter and her girlfriend both weighed 140 and 144. They tried on a size 14 pants. I told them that I weighed 170 and could easily put on their size 14. They exclaimed, "No way!" When I walked into the room, wearing their favorite pants, their mouths fell open. Over the years, I had a 5 year health issue that kept me from exercising, and I regained the weight. A month ago, I jumped into a carnivore diet and lost 16 lbs. Then, as an experiment, I went on a regular diet of 1200 calories per day and counted calories, not carbs. I gained 6 lbs the first week. I use a calorie app on my phone to track whatever I eat. Also, based on my weight, height, age, and LACK OF EXCERCISE, the app says I should intake 1700 calories per day. My avg daily intake is 1200, and I'm gaining weight. This is a classic hyperinsulin resistance result. Because I'm diabetic, I'll go back to 30g carbs a day to lower my blood sugar, or go back to carnivore to lower blood sugar AND lose weight. If choose 30g carbs per day, I will have to join a gym and do weight lifting in order to achieve weight loss. I hope my thoughts shed light on your concerns. Will any of it work for you? Give it some thought. I would start with the water approach, and maybe, a small enema to get some immediate relief. 

Stress at home is almost always the culprit of my own constipation... 😬😡🏡 

Sorry to hear. I've suffered from IBS, and recently did the opposite and it turned out to be/created diverticulitis requiring some pretty serious surgery. I would not wish that on anyone! You may not feel like eating and that's totally okay, but make sure you have a high fluid intake. That will help all around! 

jdode, read every word of your comment, and if you dont mind I will pass this info along to my daughters boyfriend who suffers with ibs. And I can so relate to the 1200 calorie (actually less most of the time) and scale not budge. I havent been to Dr office in a couple years, but Id bet Im seeing insulin resistance. I have a home meter (husband was diabetic), just need to get fresh test strips. Protein is good but I have trouble processing fats, so its a juggling game. Thank you for your post! 

So sorry! That's painful and not fun. 

Protein shakes always make me go ..🤪 

I increase my fat intake to help with bowel issues. 

Like avocado 🥑 

Or I increase my coconut 🥥 oil in my coffee. 

Chug the water and increase the exercise to daily. It doesn't have to be crazy -- just a 30 minute walk on your lunchbreak (in addition to whatever else you're doing to get into shape). Dairy messes up a lot of people's insides, so you might be lactose intolerant. You could try to avoid milk, creamer, cheese, & yogurt for a week or two and see if that un-obstructs things. 

I have noticed the same thing when I forget my supplements.  

Windy Day My insulin resistance probably started in my mid 20's. That's when I noticed weight gain when ingesting more than 1000 calories per day. I stayed at 900 calories per day for the next 10 years and weighed 110-113. At age 34, I had my first pregnancy and developed gestational diabetes, but not during the later 2nd pregnancy. Through my 30's and 40s, there was not a diagnosis of diabetes, but my weight was 189 at the end of each pregnancy. I was unable to get under 160 lbs after each pregnancy. I took 40 minute walks with the baby every day. By absolute starvation, at age 38, I lost 20 lbs. Over the following years, the weight piled on and walking never helped. Diagnosed type 2 diabetic at age 50. Couldn't lose weight. At age 52, weight resistance training (weight lifting at a gym) was the magic pill. I dropped 22 lbs per month. My diet was about the same. Age 56-61 was a major illness, so the weight came back. Here I am age 70, avg daily caloric intake is 1200. For the past 4 years, I've counted carbs and kept them at 30g daily. Still no weight loss. Other diabetics lose 22 lbs per month on 30g carbs per day. I absolutely must be hyperinsulin resistant. I asked my doctor and he screamed at me, "Of course you are!" He's no longer my doctor. Therefore, the only way to lose weight is via weight resistance training. So, I'm going to join the gym and try not to hurt myself. 😁 

Hope you are feeling better, Mouthwideshut :) Jdode, be careful dont hurt yourself! I hope you see some weight loss. 

Thank you for all the input everyone! I do exercise daily for at least 30 minutes, plus I average about 5000 steps. I drink about 100oz of water a day, so my intake there is good as well. I've also just had two blood panels done and everything but my slightly elevated bilirubin level (Gilberts syndrome) is normal. I really do love this page and how supportive and informative it is. Keep it up you guys!