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About Heather Van Vorous
Expertise
I can address questions regarding diet, cooking, recipes, and non-pharmaceutical supplements (soluble fiber, herbal, probiotics, etc.) for IBS. I can supply information sources about diagnostic guidelines, symptoms, and the medical pathology of IBS, but I cannot give a diagnosis or analyze test results a patient has obtained. I would prefer not to answer questions about prescription drugs and diagnostic tests. PLEASE DO NOT TELL ME YOUR SYMPTOMS AND THEN ASK ME TO DIAGNOSE YOU!

Experience
I'm the founder and president of HelpForIBS.com, an organization dedicated to serving people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. My goal is to offer education, support, and help that allows people with IBS to successfully manage their symptoms through lifestyle modifications.

I'm the author of Eating for IBS, the only explicit dietary guide and cookbook for people with bowel disorders. Eating for IBS then led to my second book, The First Year: IBS, a comprehensive view of the disorder and every way to successfully manage it. Together, these works have become the two best-selling, best-reviewed IBS books in America.

My writing has led to an ongoing Canadian clinical research study of the groundbreaking dietary guidelines for Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Eating for IBS; this work also led to my inclusion in the 4th edition of Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare. Today's Dietitian has featured my IBS dietary guidelines, and I regularly exhibit at the international Digestive Disease Week conference to reach gastroenterologists and internists. I'm also the author of "Heather's IBS Newsletter", which is free to subscribers and is published twice monthly. As a result, I've become recognized as the foremost patient-expert on IBS in America. I've personally had IBS since age 9.

I now teach classes on managing IBS through lifestyle modifications, I developed the Heather's Tummy Care line of organic medical foods for the dietary management of IBS, and I'm planning to work with corporate HR departments to offer employee IBS education programs. I host Heather Cooks!, the Seattle television cooking show for good digestive health.

Publications
Canadian Living Magazine
USA Today
Today's Dietitian
Digestive Health & Nutrition Magazine
Health Magazine
American Airlines In-Flight Magazine
Health.com
DiscoverCare.org
Drkoop.com

Eating for IBS excerpts and recipes licensed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Education/Credentials
M.A. 1996
B.A. 1992

Awards and Honors
Inclusion in Marquis Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare

Eating for IBS Finalist for an IACP Julia Child Cookbook Award 2001

Eating for IBS #17 on the Library Journal's Cookbook Bestseller list for 2000

You are here: Experts > Health/Fitness > Irritable Bowel/Crohn's Disease > Irritable Bowel Syndrome > IBS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome - IBS

Expert: Heather Van Vorous - 10/29/2009

Question
I have IBS and there are times I am not able to digest certain foods. They basically come right out of me an hour or so after eating them.
I was recently put on a medication called Pristiq to help with my anxiety attacks that I am having. I have been on it almost 3 mo and it doesn't seem to be helping at all. My doctor even upped my dose. The one thing I have noticed from the very beginning of taking it is that every morning around 9:00 I would have diarrhea and what looked like the pill I took the night before (I take Pristiq before I go to bed)was in my stool. I didn't think much of it, but I couldn't find anything to say that was "normal".
I have been reading other people's questions similar to this and it has me very worried.
If this pill is in my stool every morning does this mean that my body is not absorbing it AT ALL? Could this be the reason I am not seeing any positive results with it?
I am very worried because if I am unable to absorb the medication in this pill, how am I supposed to get better??
I appreciate any helpful answers you can give me.

Thank you,

Answer
Hi Stacie - I'm so sorry, I'm not familiar with that drug and really can't address this. I would definitely ask your doctor and also your pharmacist.

You may need to try a different drug, or change the time of day you take it. It may also be what's causing your diarrhea - a lot of drugs have GI side effects.

Hope you're doing better soon,

Heather

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