Muscle Weakness

[heartmatters1]

Hi

I have been losing weight recently & experiencing general weakness & weak muscles particularly in my legs. Have any of you experienced anything like this with their IBS/gut issues? I have diverticulosis. TIA.

[Zantecat]

Any unexplained weight loss needs to be discussed with a Doctor.

[b1b1b1]

You need to see your doctor about this. It does not sound like typical IBS symptoms.

[Coachmanbythesea]

Hi,

I was diagnosed with Diverticulosis just over 2 years ago via colonoscopy. I also have something my doctor called ‘fast transit IBS’

My symptoms are wide-ranging with the main one being chronic fatigue. My doc didn’t go for medications, instead he suggested researching everything I could about the condition and find out what suited me.

It’s taken me just under 2 years to reach a healthy balance that works for me- unfortunately there’s no quick fix, trial and error is the way to go! My experience has shown me that I need a diet that’s as high in fibre as I can get it to keep me regular, otherwise everything happens through my guts at a breakneck speed!

My daily regime is probiotics with high fibre cereals at breakfast; a good intake of fruit & vegetables helps a lot too. Another painful symptom is trapped wind by the bucket load. I manage this with Wind-Eze pills- little miracle things!

Having said all that, every person is unique; have patience and try to find what works for you. What I have learned along the way is that the term IBS tends to be used by doctors as a blanket term for anything affecting the guts. Also there is a direct connection between the gut and the brain. If your guts aren’t happy, the rest of you won’t be!

I wish you good luck on your journey. Try to stay positive and look at it as a journey of discovery, success and strength 😊

[Laxido21 in reply to Coachmanbythesea]

Glad you got to a satisfactory diet, which probiotic do you find beneficial?

[Coachmanbythesea in reply to Laxido21]

Now that’s one of the unanswerable questions! The sensible answer is the one that suits you. Sorry if that sounds vague but all I can give is my experience so far. I found a minefield of cures, lotions & potions online; I tried Yakult drink, Actimel, Benecol but none suited me. Then by accident I found that Yeo Valley bio natural yogurt was my little miracle. Other brands made me worse. Then I started down the rabbit hole that is probiotic capsules! Again, trial & error led me to Holland & Barrett Travelbiotic capsules. They are fairly low potency and have ginger in them too. For me they keep me level- at the moment!

I’m sorry I can’t give you a simple answer but I’ve come to realise that there is no one-size-fits-all kind of thing; we’re all unique 😊

[Sarah090174]

Hiya, I would personally get your weight loss investigated further. I was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease last year but whilst poorly I lost lots of weight and now I am stabilising after being ill since April 2022. I have never really put the weight back on as I keep going into flares of the condition. I also supplement with dietary drinks from my dietitian. I sm still under my dietitian and gastroenterologist. I feel a bit stronger for the build up drinks but my original strength has never returned. I generally feel weak in all limbs. My back also went in July 2022 which didn’t help matters either. I have just tried to do gentle exercise but don’t think I will ever gain my strength again. Hope this is helpful but I would have the weight loss checked out just to be on the safe side. Good luck

[Luisa22]

I agree definitely that you should get the weight loss (and muscle weakness) checked out with a doctor.

Weight loss can come along with IBS at its worst, because of having a restricted diet in order to manage symptoms. But if you are eating fairly normally -same amount of calories at least -and still rapidly losing weight, then that needs checking out.

Do it anyway, I would say.

Muscle strength and function can be affected by not enough Magnesium absorption, and/or not enough protein absorption. Protein absorption is affected by low stomach acid, so PPI drugs (like omeprazole, lansoprazole etc) are going to make that worse or even cause it.

If you take statin drugs, they cause muscle weakness. You could discuss that with your doctor.

If you are wondering how your stomach handles protein, there is an easy way to check. Eat a large-ish amount of protein (say a piece of chicken/meat/fish and three eggs) and see if you get bad indigestion or not in the next few hours. If your stomach acid is low, you will probably get indigestion.

That's just a rule-of-thumb "at home" test. The doctor could check that out in a better way perhaps.

Magnesium can be tricky especially for IBS D, as taking supplements if needed can make diarrhoea much worse (except for Magnesium Glycinate which is much kinder on the gut.)

But Epsom salts baths (when Magnesium is absorbed through the skin) by-passes the digestive tract and can definitely help with muscle problems. That might be worth trying.

But yes, see the doctor.

[heartmatters1]

Many thanks for taking the time to reply & your advice.

Best wishes