I was taking something called Hyoscyamine, it's a generic name. It did help with the pain and spasms. But, since I've gone gluten-free I haven't needed to take it.

I am SO sorry, Allyson. I thought I told you about them in my long-ass post of recommendations I made a while back. Bentyl and Levbid aren't magic bullets, they aren't cures by any stretch, but they help with the spasms and cramping a LOT. For some reason Levbid works better for me, or works faster, or something.

Jesus tapdancing Christ. I cannot BELIEVE your doctor didn't put you on an actual IBS medication.

Bentyl, for me, works more as a take-3-times-a-day-every-day-for-a-while drug that got my guts to stop spasming over time. Levbid worked more as a quick(ish) triage kind of drug; it's usually in a formulation that dissolves under the tongue, so the body absorbs it quickly, and it calms down the spasms within 20 minutes or so.

God DAMN.

Hyoscyamine, it's a generic name.

That's the Levbid (or Levsin; again, the multiple names is confusing as shit and I don't know why there's more than one name that's so similar in spelling; it confuses the fuck out of my doctor's office when I call for a refill).

That's the Levbid

I was very happy with it. It worked well until I didn't need it anymore. I still hang on to the last refill, that's a couple of years old, just in case.

But, the gluten-free life is working just as well.

Prilosec mainly works gastric reflux. For some time, I had to take two pills a day to get rid of the "there's a soldering iron in my chest" feeling and the cramping when I lay down. It only took 15 years of doctors and tests for my oncologist(!) to figure that out.

Oh, man, I am just not going to be able to keep up in Natter any more. Oh well.

ita !, you want I should ask StW about the port thing? He should know or be able to find out.

Allyson, oh my lord, I stand with Steph and her righteous fury. Can you get a 2nd opinion/see a GI?

Once in a while they HAVE NO PREFERENCE. You don't care if you are called David or Dave? WTF? WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

I think I told this story in Bitches... my first date off OKC here in NOLA was with a guy who refused to tell me how to pronounce his name. I rattled off six options and he was like, "Yeah, I get called all of those." So you can amuse yourselves imaginging options, it is spelled "Jeme."

it is spelled "Jeme."

Cheh-MAY. With the "ch" like in "challah."

I have slightly weird name things, I guess -- people call me Jess all the time, but I don't like if they say it like it's my name. Basically, friends call me Jess, but I don't like it in a more formal setting.

I think my favorite is "gee-mee."

I'd go for zhu-may, in an exaggerated French accent.