Hmmm. IBS could well be exacerbated by alcohol and inflammation is going to have an impact on your gut, as they both give the intestinal villi a hard time of it. The gut (which has been called the "2nd brain") produces a lot of chemicals that we need, one of them being serotonin. Two things come to mind, Turmeric and GABA, the former helping to calm inflammation in general and the latter being a calming neurotransmitter. Have a look at this review page on Amazon for GABA, one person talks briefly about IBS:

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Gaba-75 ... B0013OVZAG

I hear that one shouldn't go beyond 750mg, perhaps 250mg caps would be a good place to start. Aside from gut effects, people mention positive mood effects too, so while I wouldn't go tossing the stuff down my throat willy-nilly, seems like it would be a good subject for further research, including a chat with one's doc.

I hope you get the upper hand on the "bug" soon! One day, we'll find a way to get to them despite the fact they mutate so often.

I have some powder gaba in my medicine cabinet. It was suggested that I put some under my tongue in the evening to curtail cravings. I stopped because I didn't think it worked. I could start again.
Off to school today, the high temp is gone and I feel so much better.
Thanks all.

Ironically enough, I have started taking turmeric - I was told that I have arthritis in my back and so decided to give the turmeric a try - I have not noticed anything re my back, but feel okay! It is innocuous enough Meggie so you could give it a try - although you might start to balk at all the different things that you have to take! I also tried Gaba for the cravings and it didn't do anything for me but make me sleepy! And this was the RX Gaba not the supplement Gaba .....I am not sure if one is supposedly better for cravings than the other?

Glad that your fever is gone Meggie and that you are feeling better.

Hugs, Maggie xx

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Meggie -

Is that GABA that you have, or is it Gabapentin? Those are two different things. GABA is available OTC, Gabapentin is prescription. They do two different things.

Meggie - I was wondering how you are doing - it is a while since you have posted .....

Hugs, Maggie x

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Thank you all. Fever is long gone, plugging along. The students and I haven't had a real vacations since Christmas and we haven't had a single snow day. This is a first in my decades of teaching. We are all sick of each other and need a rest.The students are arguing with each other and are sick of learning. This is not a good think because they have state tests in April. We do have a four day weekend this week. I hope this will help all of us regroup.
I have a doc appointment to hopefully add a antidepressant, I can't get in until the first.
Drinking has been the same, I don't really notice any change. I wonder if I should order some pills on line and go up a forth of a pill???

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Meggie -

When you're working with your doc to pick the right AD, be aware that there are reports I've seen on the internet of folks having increased alch cravings from some of them. It seems to be peculiar to the person, not really a sure thing at all. Effexor is one that seems to pop up more wrt this and Paxil actually mentions Alcohol Abuse in the Neurological section as an uncommon side effect. Again, this is just people posting on the internet, but something that might be good to keep an eye on. If you google SSRI Alcohol Craving you'll see what I mean. There's a site called Rxisk that has an article from a layperson talking about the subject, but the site is hosted by doctors, so it gives it a bit more credibility in my eyes. Like I said, it's not a sure thing, for the same AD, someone else may report that their consumption went down. Another might report that there was no change at all.

http://rxisk.org/driven-to-drink-antide ... r-alcohol/