Irritable bowel syndrome and Amitriptyline

I mentioned it to my Dad who has IBS(D) and he said he tried it years ago but found it made him too sleepy. He didn't remember if it helped or not, but he didn't want to feel dopey all day. He uses codeine and loperamide for his, and avoids fibre. He found symprove very good, which is a gut bacteria thing, but not like the yoghurts, it is designed to pass through the stomach without being damaged by acid as you have to take it on a very empty stomach. He had been having to avoid lactose and beer but then he could have them. But he has to pay for it.

Hi Triker - thanks for this reply - it’s really interesting. The side effects of Amitriptyline do look pretty unpleasant. I’m sure my family member would not like losing being alert. I haven’t heard of loperamide - thanks - I’ll have a look at that. Or Symprove - I’ll check that out too. My relative is allergic to dairy which means they can’t have all the yoghurt type products.

thanks for your help! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply :) 

Loperamide is the generic name of imodium. IBS is quite debilitating, I hope your family member gets some relief.

I wonder how hard it is to make? Cabbage is cheap...

Yes - I’d like to try sauerkraut- I’ve never had it but have been meaning to try it.. I’ve sometimes looked at it in a shop and been close to buying it - but then been tempted into spending the money on something more obviously nice (like a cake!).

These ‘health foods’ are so often really expensive. We’re on a budget so it’s hard to always give up the unhealthy treat for the more worthy offerings. 

I agree, on all points.

Fermented cabbage is supposed to be very good, proper sauerkraut, or kimchi, but it has to be the right stuff and properly fermented, not just with vinegar added to taste a bit similar.

I think it’s an area of science that is almost like a new frontier of understanding health. My relatives consultant mentioned the Gut Brain Axis Interface - googling it I thought - wow - it’s so important and yet a lot of people don’t have much understanding about it. 

Actually that’s really interesting! It makes sense that those sorts of foods would help - I hadn’t really thought about that. Not that they’re cheap either of course! Side issue I know but it does drive me mad that in western societies (especially the U.K.) poorer people end up having to eat the most dreadful processed foods that are full of junk. 
I might try some of those sorts of cheeses. My relative can’t because they have a dairy allergy unfortunately. But they could try including  other such ‘earthy’ unprocessed foods maybe. They eat meat (whereas I don’t eat much meat and was previously vegetarian until I was told I was very anaemic a couple of years ago). 

I like the disclaimer!

Well I can certainly believe it.  When I ate and swallowed food, it felt like it was just falling into some kind of empty bucket.  Most peculiar and very alien.

Unknown said:

I felt SO empty.  It is hard to describe.

Apparently more than half our body mass is actually bacteria! It sounds kind of implausible. I guess if it is true then antibiotics can't kill most of them or we'd lose so much weight on them!

Maybe. They aren't that cheap though - I just had to have some for my cat and they cost twenty quid for just a few tiny pills! It does seem ironic to me that they are because he threw up several times and a side effect can be throwing up... Also weirdly it listed cracked teeth as a side effect!

It was suggested I take them as I am on long term NSAIDs which can cause ulcers, but I am careful to always take them with food and don't feel I need them at the moment. I am always reluctant to take more meds than the bare minimum.

The grocery prices seem to creep up every week, sometimes honestly and sometimes by sneaky product shrinkage. I notice it a lot more now I do online ordering. If it's on the shelf you just grab it and might not notice there is less of it, but when they say the item is unavailable, why not have this smaller one for more money instead it is rather obvious!

A good few years back, I had IV antibiotics - massive doses, every day for 5 consecutive days as a hospital outpatient.  Although these were essential (Lymes), they destroyed every living thing in my gut, nose, ears, skin etc.....you get the idea.  I felt SO empty.  It is hard to describe.

I tried to re-establish some of my old "good bacteria" via all the normal routes, but like you, the cost of little tubs of pro-biotics were making me upset - and frankly, not working and not fun.

Accordingly, I reverted to slightly more medieval means.  Green top milk (unpasteurised) and the most frightening and exotic cheeses I could find plus disgusting sausages and cured meats.  [Forgive me]....the bedroom smelt like an abattoir for weeks.....but hey presto, within just 8 short months (yes, I'm being ironic) my iron-clad stomach returned to some form of stasis again.

Disclaimer:-  I'm not a medical professional, nor claim to be one - if you follow my route, you might die.

Best wishes ! 

A good few years back, I had IV antibiotics - massive doses, every day for 5 consecutive days as a hospital outpatient.  Although these were essential (Lymes), they destroyed every living thing in my gut, nose, ears, skin etc.....you get the idea.  I felt SO empty.  It is hard to describe.

I tried to re-establish some of my old "good bacteria" via all the normal routes, but like you, the cost of little tubs of pro-biotics were making me upset - and frankly, not working and not fun.

Accordingly, I reverted to slightly more medieval means.  Green top milk (unpasteurised) and the most frightening and exotic cheeses I could find plus disgusting sausages and cured meats.  [Forgive me]....the bedroom smelt like an abattoir for weeks.....but hey presto, within just 8 short months (yes, I'm being ironic) my iron-clad stomach returned to some form of stasis again.

Disclaimer:-  I'm not a medical professional, nor claim to be one - if you follow my route, you might die.

Best wishes ! 

I wonder how hard it is to make? Cabbage is cheap...

Yes - I’d like to try sauerkraut- I’ve never had it but have been meaning to try it.. I’ve sometimes looked at it in a shop and been close to buying it - but then been tempted into spending the money on something more obviously nice (like a cake!).

These ‘health foods’ are so often really expensive. We’re on a budget so it’s hard to always give up the unhealthy treat for the more worthy offerings. 

I agree, on all points.

Fermented cabbage is supposed to be very good, proper sauerkraut, or kimchi, but it has to be the right stuff and properly fermented, not just with vinegar added to taste a bit similar.

I think it’s an area of science that is almost like a new frontier of understanding health. My relatives consultant mentioned the Gut Brain Axis Interface - googling it I thought - wow - it’s so important and yet a lot of people don’t have much understanding about it. 

Actually that’s really interesting! It makes sense that those sorts of foods would help - I hadn’t really thought about that. Not that they’re cheap either of course! Side issue I know but it does drive me mad that in western societies (especially the U.K.) poorer people end up having to eat the most dreadful processed foods that are full of junk. 
I might try some of those sorts of cheeses. My relative can’t because they have a dairy allergy unfortunately. But they could try including  other such ‘earthy’ unprocessed foods maybe. They eat meat (whereas I don’t eat much meat and was previously vegetarian until I was told I was very anaemic a couple of years ago). 

I like the disclaimer!

Well I can certainly believe it.  When I ate and swallowed food, it felt like it was just falling into some kind of empty bucket.  Most peculiar and very alien.

Unknown said:

I felt SO empty.  It is hard to describe.

Apparently more than half our body mass is actually bacteria! It sounds kind of implausible. I guess if it is true then antibiotics can't kill most of them or we'd lose so much weight on them!