I have been diagnosed with ideopathic IBS with constipation. Colonoscopy and abdomen CT scan were done last year and revealed nothing wrong. I have not taken any medication but have found that dairy makes my constipation worse. My symptoms worsened after a 3 month bout with salmonella.

I have a lot of bloating and stomach discomfort and am constipated for 5 to 8 days at a time. During this time i might have small bowel movements but nothing significant. After the constipation period I am extremely cramped and all of a sudden everything in my bowels leave me. It starts as major cramping and elimination of formed stool, then gets less formed and eventually turns to diarrhea.

Should I be focusing on treating the constipation?

Some of the stools i have are pastey, and after they sit in the toilet for a few moments, there is a brown residue that comes off of them and sits at the bottom, sort of like grease. What causes that? It is light brown so it's not blood and it's not really mucous either.

I know Jini reccomends removing plastic containers but how do you get spring water that isn't in a plastic container?

Also, I'm not totally clear on which diet to start. Most seem more geared toward bleeding, or diarrhea and my main complaint is constipation. Thanks for any help.

Hi, there.

Jini is actually working on a "Quick-Start Guide" specifically geared toward constipation; keep checking back in the Holistic Health Shoppe for that. http://www.holistichealthshoppe.com

It will talk about causes of constipation, natural healing protocols she recommends to give symptomatic relief as well as heal the root cause(s), dietary recommendations and a discussion of some other commonly recommended natural supplements.

It probably would be hard to find spring water in glass bottles. I (well, my husband, actually!) installed a water filter that removes chlorine and fluoride, as well as contains a pre-filter to remove micro-organisms. I got it at www.pure-earth.com. If you buy their multi-filter system, then you can add filters to address the concerns specific to your municipal (or well) water supply. I have municipal water, so chlorine and fluroide were my big concerns.

In the meantime, have you tried Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol or high-dose probiotics? If so, what were your results?

Take care,
Nicole