I'm just wondering how many people have chronic stomach problems - and find that they have MORE problems when they are flaring?
I know immune disorders come together, so I'm sure SOMEONE out there has something....I'm suspicious that I've got IBS or something similiar, and I just want to see how common it is.
Oh where to start! I have hellish problems with my stomach. I can't digest my food properly so I take digestive enzymes and I don't produce a lot of hydrochloric acid so I take those too but even they hardly take the edge off it. Food basically doesn't digest properly in my stomach and ferments (basically goes off in my stomach) and I get a big bloated tummy and lost of (excuse me here ) but awful rotten smelling wind. Sometimes I get burps that smell like rotten eggs and I have to make myself vomit to feel better and i get a sore head, like the food is actually rotten in my stomach and is poisoning me. I get constipated a lot too unless I take psyllium husk - this started before the RA but I feel it is connected. It is not good. Ooooooooo I don't feel so alone.........Thanks! Though I'm sorry you have so many issues!! Has a doctor ever given you an actual diagnosis?? I get the bloated thing, where you feel like the food is actually spoiling too. It's the worst :( I've started to find that I have a lot of food "sensitivites" which I work around pretty well. However, since January this year, I've been sick with the "stomach bug" more times than in ALL of 2006. So you see why I'm suddenly suspicious....Dont know if this will help but have you tried probiotics.Can't have dairy :( Which is a new thing for me, but not suprising. All of the women on my mom's side have suddenly become lactose intollerant. Odd, eh?
Where would I find pills?? I've never seen them like that...I knew about the yoghurt...but not the pills!
You can get probiotic capsules in a health food store Katie. I have IBS and the food doesn't stay round long enough to ferment in my stomach. I have chronic diarrhea I NEVER worry about the pain pills constipating me, they just make me normal. I have IBS. I also have too much acid and suffer terribly from acid reflux if I don't take my nexium. It burns right up into my sinuses and burns my throat, one day it will go into my lungs if I'm not careful. And that is WITH the nexium, if I didn't take it I'm sure I'd have cancer of the osophagus by now. Or just a burnt out osophagus. We have something called Yakult here which is a cultured drink, they are in about 65 ml bottles and you drink one each day to keep your insides healthy. They contain lactobacillus. I think the capsules contain acidophillus. They are also great to take when you have to take antibiotics. I always used to get thrush when I took antibiotics but if you take these things it cuts down on that. Hope this helps.Acid reflux is relatively new for me, but the IBS has been going on since I was your age. I find adding even more fiber to my diet helps more with IBS than anything else. Keep trying the fiber brands until you find one that does not increase gas - gas causes more pain.Im celiac. So no gluten for me unless i want to be sick to my stomach for about a week..........also lactose intolerent and stomach is just messed up for unknown reasons i definetly think its related to the jra!I have acid reflux which stays under control with medication. I was also diagnosed with IBS with constipation a couple of years ago. I get some WICKED stomach aches. To the point where I'm ready to shoot myself. I do take Zelnorm for it but still have a lot of problems. Since the pain pills (I take codeine) are so constipating I have to really, really need them before I'll take some. It has gotten worse in the last year or so (since RA).I know I have an acid problem...don't know if they'll just say "oh its just heartburn" or actually give it a name. I get the acid burps, and the burning throat and chest and everything....hellatious really. Hmmmmmm very interesting....Well keep in mind that much of your immune system is in your digestive track.
flint, it sounds like you might have something different going on there, I'd get it checked out. Needing to throw up to feel better is NOT normal! Great thread, Arris!
Interesting to see how many people with RA or JRA also have
stomach issues. I had a gastro infection right before my RA
symptoms started and my stomach has never gotten back to
"normal".
I agree that dairy is something best avoided.
Hope you're feeling better!I have a lot of stomach problems but nexium seems to keep it at bay. I am
also am lactose intolerant and seemed to have become that way in the past
few years since this nightmare began. I tried silk chocolate milk for the first
time today and it is really good, I was really surprised. does not seem to
have that gritty taste that so many of the soy milks have. For anyone who is
milk intolerant, try it if you haven't, it is good and the extra protein can't
hurt.I too have stomach issues. I actually had a colonscopy about 3 weeks
ago--not fun. Anyway, I have a followup next week since they found
some inflammation. I am curious to see what the next step is.
It hard since I teach I can't leave the classroom if my stomach acts up.
Something about leaving a bunch of teenagers in a science lab just
doesn't seem right!
Beckylol Becky. I can just immagine the condition of the lab after leaving a bunch of teenagers in it.
I too have acid reflux problems and IBS I take prebiotics and they have been good for me. I also take medication (omeprazole) for the acid and mebrevine(spelling) for IBS . I am due to have a tube up my nose into my throat to test for acidity levels
Hope you feel better now Katie
http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Aloe%20Vera/al oinf20.htm
I also use Olive Oil (for oven roasting, and certainly avoid cream (aww -I love it) and fatty fried foods. Combined with plenty of fibre - this regime keeps me regular, and no probs now apart from the heartburn. But my wheatbag helps with that. Hope that things resolve for you soon - it's certainly not pleasant that's for sure.
I agree with the acidophillus pills. I lived on them for months. Expensive but gee they work a treat for acid problems. You can get it in powder form as well so you can mix it in a drink if you want. I have been reading alot about acid/alkaline levels in our diet and how it can have such a huge effect. Have a Google on acid/alkaline and so much comes up. If we learn to alkaline the diet more things are promised to change.Good morning
Ditto for me.....I also have gastrparisis which is a long name for saying my stomach takes forever to empty......and add that to acid reflux and all the RA meds....YIKES......one more reason I guess why I hate this disease but love all of you.
I have some mild IBS but started on the fiber drink Citrucel and it has disappeared. My husband also started drinking it-now no more "dutch ovens" in bed.