Disney with IBS....

[princessallegra]

Originally Posted by Elinor Dashwood

Garlic? Me too! Add to that onions, broccoli, cabbage, legumes, red meat and most spices and there you have it.

BAM most of my triggers right there...

OP I feel your pain. I too was on lexapro and i felt it did nothing but make me gain weight, feel lethargic and have no sex drive. If a drug isn't working think about trying a different one maybe. Now i take a high dose probiotics like Klaire labs therbiotic, or VSL#3 every day, as well as Vital Nutrients gut repair capsules. I also take Activated Charcoal pills when i have a flare up and before anticipated heavy meals. I was pretty good this past trip. There have been trips where I have literally spent good time in the bathrooms at the parks :-/

As some of the posters have mentioned, get a map and note the bathrooms and even note them in your phone if it helps. Use them frequently and do your best not to feel shame. It's ok :-) I always have wipes and supplies to make going more comfortable. Also staying hydrated for me is super important.

I start each day with a barely ripe banana in the room after my probiotic. I find that binding. To get my probiotic which requires refrigeration from ny to orlando i put it in one of those silver cold/hot bags with a few ice packs. Worked great til we could get it into the room fridge. We also buy cases of water from any drugstore or whole foods offsite. I find distilled water with lemon squeezed in by the gallon helps me immensely.

Good luck! :-)

[bellerissa]

Originally Posted by WsPrincess

I completely feel your pain! After years of dreading leaving my house or somewhere known I finally seem to be on an upswing. I have tried several different medications and finally my patient amazing doctor suggested trying a low dose anti depressant that is actually been on the market for a long time (I take 30mg a day a dose for it as an anti depressant is 300mg a day) and I have found I am almost normal. Do I have flares, YES!!! I have identified garlic as a major food trigger but otherwise I have yet to find a food cause. Stress makes it really bad for me.

As someone suggested, I always know the length of a ride, basically how long will I be "trapped" with no control. I find knowing helps me stay calmer (weird I know).

Good luck and know you are not alone!

Which medicine are you on, if you don't mind me asking? It's nice to see others have/are experiencing this, it can make you feel very out of place sometimes! I definitely know the length of all the rides too lol. Even when I'm leaving the park I choose my path back to TTC just by the lowest wait, I've even walked to the contemporary and then gotten on the monorail during really crowded times!

[WsPrincess]

Originally Posted by bellerissa

Which medicine are you on, if you don't mind me asking? It's nice to see others have/are experiencing this, it can make you feel very out of place sometimes! I definitely know the length of all the rides too lol. Even when I'm leaving the park I choose my path back to TTC just by the lowest wait, I've even walked to the contemporary and then gotten on the monorail during really crowded times!

I do that with leaving the parks too!!

I have tried Bentyl, Donnatol (sp??) and now I am having improvement with Imipramine. Like I mentioned, I take a low dose. My doctor said I could even increase to 50mg but after that it won't be effective and we will have to try something else. I do have a problem getting it at my pharmacy since it is such a low dose so I always have to plan ahead since it can take them up to 2 days to get it in. Good luck!!

[princessallegra]

Originally Posted by bellerissa

Which medicine are you on, if you don't mind me asking? It's nice to see others have/are experiencing this, it can make you feel very out of place sometimes! I definitely know the length of all the rides too lol. Even when I'm leaving the park I choose my path back to TTC just by the lowest wait, I've even walked to the contemporary and then gotten on the monorail during really crowded times!

It's true it can feel so lonely at times. Once on our honeymoon we went to tutto italia and i had a horrible attack, so bad i said we need to leave RIGHT NOW and go back to the room. Man that was a tough monorail ride back to the Poly. I swear i thought i was gonna crap myself no joke. I can tell you were pretty much all disney restrooms are lol.

[dawnball]

Originally Posted by Maggie'sMom

I've heard that anti-inflamatories can be helpful. I haven't noticed a benefit from them, but I also may not have taken them consistently enough and for long enough to get results.

Really? NSAIDs like ibuprofen/asprin/aleve/etc? I'm not allowed to take those at all (to the point I have a standing prescription for percocet) because they can be so damaging to the gut. I do take turmeric capsules for their anti-inflammatory properties, but those seem to be much safer.

[Maggie'sMom]

Originally Posted by dawnball

Really? NSAIDs like ibuprofen/asprin/aleve/etc? I'm not allowed to take those at all (to the point I have a standing prescription for percocet) because they can be so damaging to the gut. I do take turmeric capsules for their anti-inflammatory properties, but those seem to be much safer.

Sorry. I should have noted that typical OTC NSAIDs can be more irritating than helpful. I'd read that persistent inflammation in the colon can be a cause of IBS. I did a google search and found a Mayo Clinic article that mentions the possible link between inflammation and IBS, but it also says that studies on anti-inflammatories haven't shown any benefit.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-ed...0/may-21a.html

I'm lucky because I have never had any additional issues caused by taking NSAIDS. I was on high doses of Advil this summer for plantar fasciitis and actually had a pretty decent summer with hardly any flareups and the ones I did have were directly linked to my food triggers. Those are garlic, spicy food, high-fat foods, and ice cream. I can handle pretty much all dairy foods except for ice cream.

[SDSorority]

We have had a LOT of success managing IBS with eliminating gluten from our diet. We also watch our intake of dried fruit, legumes, and onions. We don't eliminate these foods, but we do limit them. We also take great care to take time for relaxation every day.

At WDW, we try to eat 2 of the meals and most snacks made in the room out of ingredients we're used to eating. We do fine with one meal out at the TS restaurants, making sure that what we eat is gluten-free and things that we normally eat (fruits, veggies, meat, GF products (like bread, rice noodles, etc)). We know where the bathrooms are that we like to use (quiet, out of the way ones.... check this out-> http://www.cassworld.ca/bathrooms.htm and http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2076903

From an anxiety standpoint, I do not like using public restrooms. They cause me tremendous stress. Because of this, I sometimes seek out companion restrooms for a little more privacy. Don't be shy to do this if you need! It actually helps calm my stress level down, knowing where these single bathrooms are.

[clanmcculloch]

I have to comment on the inflamation in the gut thing that's being discussed. If you have evidence of inflamation then you do NOT have IBS. IBS is a diagnosis where other conditions have been ruled out and no cause for the GI issues can be determined. Inflamation IS something that can be seen and investigated. The doctor should be taking biopsies of the inflamed tissue to get a pathalogy report that can help determine the cause of your GI symptoms. Until you and your doctor actually understand the underlying cause of your symptoms, it is impossible to accurately treat you. PLEASE push your doctor for further testing.

In the mean time, I would strongly urge you to keep a VERY detailed symptoms, food and activity journal. Write down every single symptom you experience along with date/time as well as every single thing that passes through your lips along with date/time as well as your activities (including sitting doing nothing if that's what you're doing). With time, a pattern may emerge. If nothing else, you'll have a detailed log of all of your symptoms for your GI doctor to look over.

[princessallegra]

Originally Posted by clanmcculloch

I have to comment on the inflamation in the gut thing that's being discussed. If you have evidence of inflamation then you do NOT have IBS. IBS is a diagnosis where other conditions have been ruled out and no cause for the GI issues can be determined. Inflamation IS something that can be seen and investigated. The doctor should be taking biopsies of the inflamed tissue to get a pathalogy report that can help determine the cause of your GI symptoms. Until you and your doctor actually understand the underlying cause of your symptoms, it is impossible to accurately treat you. PLEASE push your doctor for further testing.

In the mean time, I would strongly urge you to keep a VERY detailed symptoms, food and activity journal. Write down every single symptom you experience along with date/time as well as every single thing that passes through your lips along with date/time as well as your activities (including sitting doing nothing if that's what you're doing). With time, a pattern may emerge. If nothing else, you'll have a detailed log of all of your symptoms for your GI doctor to look over.

Absolutely fantastic, spot-on advice!

[special ed teacher]

Check for celiac disease and food allergies. If celiac, eliminate all gluten and you will feel amazing!

[disfan07]

Originally Posted by clanmcculloch

I have to comment on the inflamation in the gut thing that's being discussed. If you have evidence of inflamation then you do NOT have IBS. IBS is a diagnosis where other conditions have been ruled out and no cause for the GI issues can be determined. Inflamation IS something that can be seen and investigated. The doctor should be taking biopsies of the inflamed tissue to get a pathalogy report that can help determine the cause of your GI symptoms. Until you and your doctor actually understand the underlying cause of your symptoms, it is impossible to accurately treat you. PLEASE push your doctor for further testing.

In the mean time, I would strongly urge you to keep a VERY detailed symptoms, food and activity journal. Write down every single symptom you experience along with date/time as well as every single thing that passes through your lips along with date/time as well as your activities (including sitting doing nothing if that's what you're doing). With time, a pattern may emerge. If nothing else, you'll have a detailed log of all of your symptoms for your GI doctor to look over.

absolutely. thats how we ruled OUT IBS for me. I had a colonoscopy and it showed inflammation. but all biopsies were either negative or inconclusive. Same with my endoscopy. so we at least ruled out IBS and celiac and a few other things but still no answers.

[Kidgoingon40]

Originally Posted by LaurLaur04

I have a lot of trouble with my IBS at Disney. The anxiety of crowds and long lines makes it worse. I find myself nervous when there is no immediate access to a restroom. I try not to eat very much but it rarely helps. Does anyone have this problem? How do you cope?

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you starting this thread!! I am exactly like you. I try not to eat until we are at the hotel for the night to lessen the chances of having an "incident" at a park. I also have great anxiety about having to go and being unable to get to a bathroom at time. Sometimes I start to panic if I feel I don't have an exit strategy that I can do at a moment's notice. This all causes me great anxiety which of course makes the issue worse. To make matters even more stressful, I have OCD and one of the things that freaks me out is using public bathrooms (for a variety of reasons). I try to avoid this as much as possible. Which I know is ridiculous...

The IBS also makes me really antsy about doing things like tours because I am worried I will need to run off in the middle of it. Which sucks because I really enjoy tours.

One time I had an attack eating lunch at Le Cellier and there was a line in the bathroom. I needed to get to DHS and ended up going ahead and taking the boat and I had intense cramping the whole time (I was scared I was going to have a horrifying accident in the middle of the boat ride...eek!!!). I ended up having to use the first aid bathroom at DHS (and it was a long attack that took about 20 minutes or so...so that would be hard to do in a regular bathroom at the park when it is crowded ).

I hate having IBS! I feel like my entire life revolves around my bowels.

I appreciate all the tips given in this thread and knowing there are others out there who have similar issues!!

[kxs401]

I have had luck with peppermint oil capsules, taking about fifteen minutes before I eat.