Archive for January, 2009
Warning! GI Irritants
Warning! GI Irritants
These foods and beverages offer no IBS benefits but plenty of risks. Avoid them.
Coffee ~ both regular AND decaf contain an enzyme that’s an extremely powerful GI tract irritant. Go cold turkey today and drink herbal teas instead.
Caffeine is a GI stimulant and should be avoided, especially in higher doses.
Alcohol is a GI irritant and often triggers IBS attacks, especially on an empty stomach (though small amounts of alcohol used in cooking are fine).
Carbonation in soda pop and mineral water can cause bloating and cramps.
Artificial sweeteners, particularly sorbitol, can trigger pain, cramps, gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
Artificial fats, namely Olestra, can cause abdominal cramping and diarrhea in people who don’t even have IBS – imagine what it can do to you.
MSG has acquired lots of ugly anecdotal evidence against it regarding all sorts of digestive upsets. It can simply be avoided, so why take a chance?
While fats and GI irritants are best reduced or completely eliminated from your diet, there’s another crucial component to eating safely for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: understanding the difference betweeen soluble and insoluble fiber.
Typical Flare Triggers ic
Typical Flare Triggers
(1) DIET - The most common IC flares are diet induced. There is nothing sadder than talking with a patient, crying in pain, who has never been told about diet. One IC patient called our office quite desperate, bemoaning the fact that no therapy had ever helped her. She later admitted that she drank a six-pack of ginger ale each day. In our opinion, few therapies would work when various irritants are assaulting the bladder, day after day.
(2) HORMONES – The bladder is extremely sensitive to the hormone changes that occur each month during the menstrual cycle. However, each patient may respond differently to hormones. Some patients flare when their progesterone levels are higher, while others flare when their estrogen levels are higher. Many women struggle with an IC flare on the day that they ovulate and a few days before their period. The good news is that these hormone-induced flares are often predictable and short term. One thing that you might find helpful is to do avoiding diary for a few months and also track your menstrual cycle. This will help you determine if you are having any hormone induced flares and will also help you see that they can be very short term and often not worth worrying about.
(3) VIBRATION - If you had a broken leg, would it hurt if you shook it up and down? Well, yeah! When an IC bladder is jarred or bounced around it can hurt, thus driving, flying and traveling are well known IC triggers. In fact, one research study found that 50% of all IC patients had pain while driving or riding in a car. The culprit is the vibration of the car on the bladder and pelvis. Because the bladder and surrounding muscles are already so sensitized, jarring and bouncing over roads can create more irritation and also trigger painful muscle spasms. Thus, IC patients frequently report that they cannot drive long distances without experiencing great discomfort. If you’re in an IC flare, it’s best to limit car travel to short distances.
(4) STRESS - Does stress cause IC? Not that we’re aware of but it can certainly trigger an IC flare. IC patients frequently report that their symptoms worsen during periods of high physical or emotional stress. Consider the fact that when patients get very cold, they often have more bladder symptoms. Emotional stress creates similar reactions in the bladder through no fault of the patient. In the past few years, several IC researchers have focused on how nerves in the spinal cord and bladder react in highly stressful situations. They have found that intense stress causes an euroendocrine response throughout the body, brain, spinal cord and that appears to be contributing to our bladder symptoms and pain levels.
(5) CHEMICAL EXPOSURE – Do you have a very sensitive sense of smell?? If so, you’re not alone. Many IC patients seem to have varying levels of sensitivity to smells, sounds and, yes, chemicals. IC patients often report that various chemical exposures and/or medications can trigger an IC flare. The usual culprits are soaps, detergents and laundry products that leave an irritating chemical film in our clothing or skin that can irritate our sensitive tissues. Sometimes harsh smells in the home, such as cleansers, can trigger discomfort.
(6) VITAMINS & SUPPLEMENTS – Visit any IC support group and you’ll find that most patients can’t tolerate multivitamins of any type. Multivitamins are well known IC triggers because they contain Vitamins C and B6, both infamous for irritating the bladder and creating discomfort. Patients often do better when taking individua lvitamins and/or supplements, such as a simple Calcium Citrate pill. The book “A Taste of the Good Life: A Cookbook for an IC Diet”has an extensive discussion of vitamins, as well as suggestions on IC friendly forms of each.
(7) SEX & INTIMACY – A number of IC patients report that sexual intercourse can trigger an IC flare. Men with IC may experience a searing pain at the moment of orgasm. Women with IC often feel their worst 24-48 hours after intercourse, with increased levels of frequency, urgency or pain. Men and women can also struggle with intense pelvic floor muscle spasms. Read more in the ICN Guide To Sex and Intimacy.
(8) EXERCISE – Exercise, particularly workouts that involve the pelvic area, can trigger an IC flare. Bicycle seats put unusually high pressure on the pelvic floor muscles, thus exacerbating ICsymptoms. Other patients have reported that workouts that jar the pelvis, such as running or stair master, can provoke pain. Exercise is possible as an IC patient, but it’svery important to pace yourself and pick your exercises carefully.
bladder is shrinking
271. My urologist says my bladder is shrinking. Is this part of my IC? Is
there any way to stop the shrinkage?
there any way to stop the shrinkage?
A decrease in bladder size is often seen in IC. If your pain is under
control, you may want to try the bladder holding protocol. Using a voiding
log, you determine how long you can last before the urge to void occurs. You
then try to hold your urine for fifteen minutes longer. Every few weeks you
add an additional fifteen minutes and eventually you will have increased your
functional bladder capacity.
Robert J. Evans
control, you may want to try the bladder holding protocol. Using a voiding
log, you determine how long you can last before the urge to void occurs. You
then try to hold your urine for fifteen minutes longer. Every few weeks you
add an additional fifteen minutes and eventually you will have increased your
functional bladder capacity.
Robert J. Evans
Ordinary Touches Multiply
Ordinary Touches Multiply
into Severe Pain for
Fibromyalgia Patients
By Eric Benjamin Lowe
into Severe Pain for
Fibromyalgia Patients
By Eric Benjamin Lowe
The millions of Americans who suffer from fibromyalgia live with a two-edged
sword: excruciating pain, accompanied by the doubts of many who dismiss it as
a made-up illness invented by a troubled mind.
But researchers at the University of Florida and elsewhere are beginning to
piece together clues that reveal the physical basis of the puzzling syndrome
that causes severe fatigue and aches, and has defied easy diagnosis.
UF scientists have found an abnormal central nervous system reaction in those
with fibromyalgia-the body magnifies ordinary repetitive stimulation into an
experience of crippling pain.
“This is particularly important because it has been unclear if fibromyalgia
was just an imagined illness or a real syndrome,” said Dr. Roland Staud, an
associate professor of medicine at UF’s College of Medicine who also is
affiliated with the UF Brain Institute. “We now have good evidence that shows
that it’s not a psychological abnormality, but that there is a neurological
abnormality present.”
Staud, who presented his research findings at the annual meeting of the
American College of Rheumatology last November, recently was awarded a
National Institutes of Health grant worth nearly $800,000 to continue his
studies for the next four years. Donald Price, a UF professor of oral and
maxillofacial surgery, and Charles Vierck, a UF professor of neuroscience,
are collaborating on the research. Their goal is to develop a better
understanding of the condition, with an eye toward improving diagnostic tests
and treatments.
An estimated 3.7 million people in the United States – primarily women who
are diagnosed during their 30s and 40s – have fibromyalgia, according to the
NIH. A chronic illness with no known cure, its cause also is not known.
Researchers have theorized that an injury to the central nervous system or an
infectious agent might be responsible for triggering it in people who have
inherited susceptibility. Symptoms include persistent and widespread
musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and tenderness in the neck, spine, shoulders
and hips.
Staud and colleagues found the central nervous system abnormality by
conducting a series of repetitive stimulation tests on people with the
syndrome as well as healthy research participants. The tests involved
repeatedly placing warm plates on their hands and arms. The healthy
participants felt the sensation but did not report it as pain.
For those with fibromyalgia, however, the sensation would magnify with each
repetition into an experience of crippling and unbearable pain.
“When a sensation signal reaches the spinal cord, the signal can be omitted,
changed or augmented,” Staud said. “If it is augmented, then something that
is innocuous, such as pressure on the skin, can then be perceived as a
painful stimulus.”
Jessica LeMay, one of Staud’s patients, has been battling fibromyalgia since
1993. The 30-year-old Lake City resident said the pain starts in one area and
usually spreads, sometimes becoming overwhelming.
“I imagine if someone had taken a baseball bat and beaten me with it, that’s
got to be what it feels like,” she said. “Depending on the day, I’ll just
move out of the way if someone tries to touch me.”
The pain of fibromyalgia often interferes with a person’s working life.
“These are people who are diagnosed in their productive years. Many have
personal or professional problems adjusting to the pain experience,” Staud
said. “The illness makes some people feel dysfunctional because they can’t do
the activities they once did.”
The condition can worsen from stress and inadequate sleep, Staud said.
Because living with fibromyalgia often causes stress, and pain makes sleeping
difficult, a vicious cycle develops.
LeMay said many people dismiss her condition, not understanding the “huge
difference” between her severe fatigue and the healthy person’s occasional
tiredness. “When this fatigue would come about, it’s almost like a weight
being dropped on you, and you can’t function anymore,” she said. LeMay said
she is hopeful that Staud’s research will lead to more effective treatment
for fibromyalgia patients and better understanding by the general public.
“In our society, you either get better or you die, and fibromyalgia patients
don’t do that,” she said. “We don’t fit in the mold, so people don’t know
what to do with us.”
prevent food-drug interactions
HealthDay News) – Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, can negatively interact with foods, supplements or other drugs.
| ADVERTISEMENT |
Here are guidelines to help prevent food-drug interactions, courtesy of the American Academy of Family Physicians:
- Check prescription and over-the-counter drug labels to see if they contain any warnings.
- Follow directions on all medications carefully.
- Unless you get your doctor’s OK, never break up pills and mix them with food, and never empty capsules into food.
- Take medications with a whole glass of water, unless your doctor has given you other instructions. Never take medications with alcohol.
- Don’t take your medications at the same time as you take vitamins or dietary supplements.
- Don’t mix medications in a hot drink, as the heat may affect the medication.
water
Daily Fluid Intake
There is no evidence to support the need to drink eight glasses of water a day they said. On the contrary, studies suggest that most people get enough fluid every day from juice, milk, and even drinks containing caffeine. And there is clinical evidence that drinking too much water is dangerous and can lead to death.
The myths’s origin may have been a recommendation in 1945 which said 2.5 litres was a suitable fluid intake for adults and that most of this comes in prepared food. If the last part of the recommendation is omitted, it could imply the fluid intake should be in addition to normal food, suggested the researchers.
