OT: Cycling and IBS

[Red Tornado]

I was diagnosed with IBS roughly 10 years ago. Initial symptoms were a minor irritation and I hesitated to even to to the doc about it; glad I did though. Over the years I have been able to manage symptoms with diet control, sometimes less successfully depending on willpower at the dinner table or restaurant, but overall fairly successful. I know what I can and can't eat, sometimes it's just worth it to enjoy a yummy treat.

I hesitate to take prescription drugs for this due to experiences with prescription drugs earlier in life for other issues. They addressed the symptom(s), but I always had problems with the side effects, some fairly significant. So I prefer to just deal with the devil I know.

The latest IBS issue that has reared its ugly head is the affect of a.m. riding. Mornings are my favorite time to ride, especially since relocating to Texas 18 years ago. Unfortunately, my condition prefers that I don't exercise until at least noon. Any time after "lunch", I can do what I want with no repercussions. Any meaningful exercise in the a.m. will result in "issues" that could last the part of, or sometimes, the rest of the day. There are occasional exceptions, but late-day exercise is what the gastro-intestinal part of my body now prefers. I know through research that mornings can be difficult for IBS sufferers.

I would think others here might also have IBS/IBD/etc. issues. Curious what ya'll do to mitigate symptoms and if you have experienced any changes in your conditions over the years.

[rowebr]

I’m not diagnosed but I’ve dealt with some of the symptoms for years. My first thought is, what are you eating for breakfast before the morning ride? Something like a single slice of toast with a bit of jelly is the most I will start with. You can also experiment timing your hydration. I’ve found that for morning rides I need to strictly limit water intake until after I’ve warmed up during the ride.

[Red Tornado]

I do the same as you regarding hydration. I might be able to consume less food pre-ride. I worry about bonking, but possibly take in some nutrition during the ride is an option. Amazing the difference just a few hours makes.

[buddybikes]

IBS or IBD, big difference. If you have colitis, treat. Just because...not good for colon health in fact could be pretty bad. (Daughter has UC )

What type of treatments have been proposed?

[tkbike]

Yup, huge difference between IBS and IBD.
Huge difference in IBD's... UC - curable but not pleasant(ask my wife) Crohn's - No cure, don't ask how I know.
.
90% of the time IBS can be kept under control with diet, it may take awhile but keep a detailed food diary

[buddybikes]

Originally Posted by tkbike

Yup, huge difference between IBS and IBD.
Huge difference in IBD's... UC - curable but not pleasant(ask my wife) Crohn's - No cure, don't ask how I know.
.
90% of the time IBS can be kept under control with diet, it may take awhile but keep a detailed food diary

Curable... yes not pleasant having your whole colon removed....

We've been through it all with our daughter including sepsis and c-diff. She's under control but this disease sucks. Of course lot less than Chohn's. When she was diagnosed dr came out said after colonoscopy and x number tests, whew only UC. We were oblivious.

No cure, like many autoimmune diseases i.e. lupus, type 1 diabetes, etc

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by buddybikes

IBS or IBD, big difference. If you have colitis, treat. Just because...not good for colon health in fact could be pretty bad. (Daughter has UC )

What type of treatments have been proposed?

Just plain IBS is what the doc told me. Control with diet and try to reduce stress. Also recommended prescription drugs.

Prescription drugs are a hard "no" for me (see my original post as to why). Stress reduction is somewhat attainable, but unless I change jobs, that will only go so far. Previous job stress, and the fact that I don't deal well with stressful situations, has contributed some to my condition says the doc. The only thing I can really control is diet, and I do a pretty good job with that. Sometimes I let my self go a little bit, and my gut tells me when it's time to get things back under control.

It's more of a slight discomfort/nuisance these days. Just hope symptoms don't increase too much as I continue to age.

[buddybikes]

Your decision of course but just because one prescription drug didn't work out for whatever condition the need for something totally different is like apples and oranges.

What will happen as you age and need BP meds, perhaps hypothyroidism or diabetes?

Yes do whatever in your lifestyle to prevent issues, food, stress, sleep that is script for everyone.

[benb]

I was "diagnosed" like 15 years ago. I put it in quotes not because I didn't see top notch doctors but just cause IBS is sketchy, or at least it was. There is a huge massive difference between IBS and IBD. You would not confuse them. Realistically I had an absurd number of tests and nothing really came of it. Maybe things have changed now but for me it was essentially "we give up, we'll call it IBS". Some of the tests (e.x. breath tests) are flawed as well.

There was no test for IBS, they just test you for everything else under the sun and then give up and call it IBS.

Realistically it has almost no effect on me now. It's basically all figuring out what food makes you sick.

Going to the allergist for other stuff was actually a massive help. I went over non-GI stuff and the allergist picked up on my symptoms and wanted to test me for a pretty wide array of food stuff too, and sure enough I tested positive on some of that stuff.

There are a couple easy food related things for me that basically made it 99% go away.

And food is so complex it gets very hard to figure it out without some testing. Some of these were really things I feel like I'd never have figured out. Bell Peppers is one of the big ones.

Most of the medicine related stuff the GI doctor had me try was a disaster. Some aloe concoction.. made things much worse. Then they had me try a low dose anti-depressant/anti-anxiety thing. That actually upset my stomach so bad I only took one or two. It was a medication with severe side effects too so *** would I want to take that?

There is a ton of pushing of Probiotics, Yogurt, etc.. most of that made me worse.

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by buddybikes

Your decision of course but just because one prescription drug didn't work out for whatever condition the need for something totally different is like apples and oranges.

What will happen as you age and need BP meds, perhaps hypothyroidism or diabetes?

Yes do whatever in your lifestyle to prevent issues, food, stress, sleep that is script for everyone.

I have used prescription drugs in the past for a few health issues, won't elaborate what for. Each time the side effects were as bad, and in one case worse, than what was being treated.
There may very well come a day when I "have to" take something in order to function normally, beyond just gastro nuisances, and I will cross that bridge when I come to it. If it's a necessity, I'll probably have to take the drug and make the best of it.
Until then, I prefer to not put big pharma's products into my body if I can mitigate symptoms using other methods.