5 Ways To Fight IBS Diarrhea
Constipation can be a difficult IBS symptom to deal with, but so can diarrhea. People who suffer from diarrhea-predominant IBS experience frequent bowel movements of watery and/or loose stool. Other diarrhea-related symptoms include abdominal pain or discomfort, cramping, bloating, gas, nausea and dehydration.
The following are 5 treatment options for relieving IBS related diarrhea:
1 - Diet Control
Before resorting to medications or alternative remedies, you should always consider your diet first. Although diet changes may not entirely cure you from diarrhea, it may help reduce the frequency of attacks. Therefore, you should monitor your diet by keeping a food diary and recording the symptoms you feel after eating different foods to determine which ones cause diarrhea and which ones don’t.
For instance, avoiding/limiting foods high in refined, artificial or natural sugar can help alleviate diarrhea symptoms. This doesn’t only include chocolate, caffeine, alcohol and sweets. It also means foods containing fructose such as honey and a variety of fruits. Foods high in sugar can act like a laxative to your body, especially for an IBS sufferer who already has a sensitive stomach.
You should also ask your doctor to test you for lactose intolerance, as an inability to properly digest milk sugar can cause diarrhea.
2 - OTC Antidiarrheal Drugs
Over-the-counter (OTC) antidiarrheal medications can be effective at providing diarrhea relief when used as short-term treatment. There are two types of antidiarrheal drugs.
- Stool thickeners -these contain fruit pectin and clay which absorb toxins and bacteria in the intestine to help thicken stool (I.E. Kaopectate)
- Antispasmodic - these slow spasms that occur in the intestine (I.E. Imodium).
Although, antidiarrheals are usually effective, they may not help other symptoms such as bloating or abdominal discomfort. Furthermore, prolonged use of antidiarrheals can result in dry mouth, constipation, and other symptoms.
Consult your doctor about OTC antidiarrheal meds for IBS treatment before taking anything. In addition, you shouldn’t resort to antidiarrheals until at least 24 hours after experiencing diarrhea, as you don’t want to stop your body from expelling toxins in the event your diarrhea is a result of bacteria such as food poisoning.
3 - Prescription Medications
Low doses of tricyclic antidepressants are commonly prescribed to IBS patients for abdominal pain. These meds effectively block pain signals to the brain and don’t cause diarrhea. However, they can cause other symptoms including constipation.
Another medication that may be prescribed is Lotronex. This particular drug is designed to block the effect serotonin (chemical produced by the body) has on digestive system, and in so doing, soothes the colon and slows bowl movement frequency. Lotronex has been found to be successful at alleviating IBS symptoms including diarrhea, stomach discomfort and urgency.
Note: Lotronex has only been approved for women who suffer from severe cases of diarrhea-predominant IBS ad have not responded to previous treatment methods.
4 - Alternative Therapy
Alternative therapies such as acupuncture, probiotics and herbal remedies can effectively reduce and alleviate diarrhea and its related symptoms in some IBS sufferers. Each of these methods is designed to assist the body in healing itself by providing it with stimulation (acupuncture), healthy gut bacteria (probiotics), or herbs. All work to aid in normal digestion.
If you are interested in learning about alternative treatments, talk to you health care provider first, and be sure to seek treatment from qualified practitioners.
5 - Behavioural therapy
Stress can actually trigger your IBS symptoms and make diarrhea worse, by causing your stomach to tense, leading to cramping and overall stomach upset. You can help reduce the regular stress in your life, and the stress you feel towards your IBS condition by engaging in:
- Meditation exercises (I.E. Yoga)
- Relaxation therapy
- Hypnotherapy
- Cognitive behavioural therapy
It’s also a good idea to distract yourself by taking part in regular activities you enjoy.
Cat DIARRHEA !!!!!?
If anyone has any info on this, please respond. My two cats are outside cats. Normally they stick pretty close to home and in our garage. For the past 3 weeks, we have been fighting a very bad case of diarrhea. They have spent about a week total at the vet clinic, where she treated them with different types of antibiotics for an intestinal virus. One of them seemed to respond somewhat, but the other did not. Now my vet is at a loss for what to do. She sent them home with a food for sensitive stomachs, saying that maybe there was some intestinal damage due to a virus and that it may take time to heal. It has now been a week and I see no improvement. In fact, last nite my hubby picked her up to pet her and the 'shit' just ran out of her all over his clothes and the floor. She seems otherwise healthy, but I wonder how much longer she can stay that way with the fluid loss. Help.
To those of you that are all huffy about letting cats roam— we live in the country. No neighbors yards to shit in. Only mine.
If your normal vet is out of ideas it would probably be best to maybe go to another vet or some sort of specialist to get more ideas! Good Luck!
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outdoor cats arwe subject to poisdoning by humans. they feed milk to kitties, and kitty gets diarrhea. safestplace for any kitty is INDOORS so the vet bill stays low. yes, kity will die from diarrhea lasting too long–dehydration and mkalnutrition.
keep them inside or they will keep being poisoned by other humans.
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sperience
You should try a 2nd opinion from another vet if kitty doesn't get better soon. Make sure kitty is getting lots of water. Feed some canned food with some added water in it to help kitty get more water. You can heat it for a few secs as well.
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get them to a vet now!!!!
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It could be that they are eating something that is outside and it is not agreeing with them. I suggest that you closely monitor their roaming patterns if they stay close to home and see if they have access to some new stuff they are eating. Yes it is best to keep them indoors but that is probably not possible if they are in the habit of roaming. I know how cats are. I had two outdoor kitties and they absolutely hated to be cooped up.
If you live in the country I am even more of the thought that they may have found a new food to munch on. There are many types of plants that are attractive to animals and they aren't necessarily good for them. Maybe lizards, even?
Perhaps a good check of the area will turn up some clues.
I wish you the best. I'd be devastated if my kitty was sick and not responding to treatment.
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Diarrhea that is like that is extremely dangerous. Diarrhea that lasts for more than 24 hours can cause severe dehydration (as you already know) and can cause major organs to shut down.
I'd hate to say that someone is poisioning them, but that could be the case. have you kept them inside since their trip to the vet? Some people get very upset having other people's cats roaming around and using their yards as litter boxes, maybe you have a disgruntled neighbor?
It may be in the best interest of your at to take her back to the vet to stay in house for a few days. She'll probably need or needs fluids. Did your vet do a stool sample to check for parasites? Can he do blood work to see if there is in fact poisoning? These are questions you should call and ask him. I would have to say that this would now be considered an emergency and would need immediate attention.
Good luck.
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veterinary assistant
OK. I'm gonna have to be blunt here, so please forgive me. People who let their cats run free are just asking for trouble!! So many people out there HATE cats and will poison them in a heartbeat! That could be one cause of the runs. If someone thinks they're strays, they could be giving them milk thinking they're doing a good thing but it's actually doing them harm because milk causes cats to have diarrhea. Then they get dehydrated and possibly die. It could be a number of things but the best thing you could do is keep them indoors from now on!! It's the safest and healthiest thing you could do for them. Keep them inside and make sure they have plenty of fresh water. Good luck!
PS. Give them some canned food,too. The juices might help get them somewhat hydrated again.
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