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[randomguy]

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So sick of this terrible IBS-C interfering with my life. As many of you with IBS-C can relate, my morning "ritual" of trying to produce a BM is taking control of my life. Once a BM is produced, I'm scared to eat again, as the pain, bloating and distension come back after each meal. It's been 7 years of living with this condition now. Over a dozen tests have been run, with no real explanation. I've seen family doc's, GI and been to the hospital a handful of times in pain. I've recently taken on a new doctor to run the same tests over again for a second opinion and starting to lose all hope and worried that this will consume my life as I become older (26 year old male now), although I have read that sometimes things can ease up as you get older.About a year and a half ago, my common law spouse and the mother of my child and I separated and life has been hell since. Trying to figure out title on the home (which still isn't resolved), custody, seeing her date (and move in with another person at one point) and acting like a child has thrown my IBS in to the most severe state its ever been. Never remembering being depressed in life, my chronic symptoms, accompanied with daily life stress (or daily hell) is harder and harder to handle. The stress of the past year and a half cause me to lose my job (2 of them) and now I'm on the verge of losing my home as well if I don't do something soon. With no drive left and feeling awful most days, I don't know what the next step is. I'm scared, very depressed and tired of this. Not wanting to go through the added stress of finding another job, fear of failure and my chronic illness preventing me from being effective at work just to throw my symptoms in to an even worse state. I've been sitting around for the past 2 weeks and feel helpless, while watching my life savings diminish week by week.I read about some IBS-C patients trying Paxil as a treatment for IBS-C. I've tried Zoloft in the past, but the side effects were too much. Paxil (and SSRI's in general) seem to speed up motility in the bowel and could have positive effects on slow motility (which is what I've been told I have). I've also read over the years that SSRI's can have a positive impact on pain threshold. I'm wondering if anyone has tried Paxil as a form of treatment and the results.Not having any health insurance anymore, I don't want to waste money on ineffective treatments. I need to get this thing under control prior to looking for work again, or I'll just be in more despair. I hope life gets a little bit easier, as I'm rock bottom.

[tableandchairs]

I have been on SSRIs in the past but still relied on laxatives. The problem with SSRIs is that it takes weeks to find out if they are any benefit to you and not easy to go off of, you need to be tapered and could feel unwell during the process.Sorry to hear about your situation I know what's it like to feel hopeless because of this illness, I battle with it every day. Sometimes when the pain is so bad and my life starts falling apart and then the stress makes my illness even worse it becomes a vicious cycle that has at times made me question whether I even want to live. What keeps me going is knowing that medical advances have made strides since my diagnosis 15 years ago. I learn more as time goes on what can help me manage. There are new prescriptions on the market and a few in the works. I have recently been suspected of having pelvic floor issues that may be contributing to my IBS-C. It took 15 years for this to come up but I try to look at it in the positive, at least there's another road we can going down and I can keep on' keepin' on trying to fight this. I wish the same for you. Sending a virtual hug over the net

[dilu]

A combination of metronidazol and oral vancomycin totally reversed all my symptoms. But only to return gradually after the antibiotics cure. But that made me certain that it's a bacteriological problem. There are many causes you can consider, such as: Small Intestines Bacterial Overgrowth, (pre-)diabetes, pancreatic problems, bacterial infection of the bowel with some type of constipation causing clostrydium, etc... Personally I will follow the path of chronic appendicitis, because i had an acute appendicits diagnosed when i was 19yo, but my appendix was not removed and just treated with antibiotics. Believe me, i know what you are going through. It's hell. http://www.mombu.com...ht-2212835.html

So sick of this terrible IBS-C interfering with my life. As many of you with IBS-C can relate, my morning "ritual" of trying to produce a BM is taking control of my life. Once a BM is produced, I'm scared to eat again, as the pain, bloating and distension come back after each meal. It's been 7 years of living with this condition now. Over a dozen tests have been run, with no real explanation. I've seen family doc's, GI and been to the hospital a handful of times in pain. I've recently taken on a new doctor to run the same tests over again for a second opinion and starting to lose all hope and worried that this will consume my life as I become older (26 year old male now), although I have read that sometimes things can ease up as you get older.About a year and a half ago, my common law spouse and the mother of my child and I separated and life has been hell since. Trying to figure out title on the home (which still isn't resolved), custody, seeing her date (and move in with another person at one point) and acting like a child has thrown my IBS in to the most severe state its ever been. Never remembering being depressed in life, my chronic symptoms, accompanied with daily life stress (or daily hell) is harder and harder to handle. The stress of the past year and a half cause me to lose my job (2 of them) and now I'm on the verge of losing my home as well if I don't do something soon. With no drive left and feeling awful most days, I don't know what the next step is. I'm scared, very depressed and tired of this. Not wanting to go through the added stress of finding another job, fear of failure and my chronic illness preventing me from being effective at work just to throw my symptoms in to an even worse state. I've been sitting around for the past 2 weeks and feel helpless, while watching my life savings diminish week by week.I read about some IBS-C patients trying Paxil as a treatment for IBS-C. I've tried Zoloft in the past, but the side effects were too much. Paxil (and SSRI's in general) seem to speed up motility in the bowel and could have positive effects on slow motility (which is what I've been told I have). I've also read over the years that SSRI's can have a positive impact on pain threshold. I'm wondering if anyone has tried Paxil as a form of treatment and the results.Not having any health insurance anymore, I don't want to waste money on ineffective treatments. I need to get this thing under control prior to looking for work again, or I'll just be in more despair. I hope life gets a little bit easier, as I'm rock bottom.

[randomguy]

A combination of metronidazol and oral vancomycin totally reversed all my symptoms. But only to return gradually after the antibiotics cure. But that made me certain that it's a bacteriological problem. There are many causes you can consider, such as: Small Intestines Bacterial Overgrowth, (pre-)diabetes, pancreatic problems, bacterial infection of the bowel with some type of constipation causing clostrydium, etc... Personally I will follow the path of chronic appendicitis, because i had an acute appendicits diagnosed when i was 19yo, but my appendix was not removed and just treated with antibiotics. Believe me, i know what you are going through. It's hell. http://www.mombu.com...ht-2212835.html

So, If I understand correctly, once your appendix was removed, your symptoms completely stopped? Was it you that wrote the thread above?I've been checked for SI bacterial overgrowth by means of hydrogen breath test, all normal. Every other test you can think of, I've completed as well. As mentioned I've taken on a new family doc, who seems MUCH better than what I had before. I'm on the last stretch of completing all of these tests again and have a review with her early July. I'm hoping we can make some progress, but I have the feeling she's going to try and place me with another GI, which has proven useless in the past and most wont even see me anymore. I would give just about anything to feel better at this point.

[randomguy]

My main symptoms at this time are chronic C (every day), extreme bloat and distension, trapped gas and extreme uncomfortableness. I'm losing weight, as I can't get proper consistent nutrition, although I try to stay active.I'm really hoping to see light at the end of the tunnel after my tests are reviewed by the new doc.

[randomguy]

It's been 7 days of HELL. Worst IBS-C I've had in a long time. Tests are concluded (again) and hoping for some sort of future direction with my new doc this week. Praying for the best. I'm miserable, don't feel like myself anymore and have no passion for life. No one understands. People are getting sick of hearing me bit** about my stomach all of the time, but it's all that I can think of. How can we possibly live like this?

[oceannir]

It's been 7 days of HELL. Worst IBS-C I've had in a long time. Tests are concluded (again) and hoping for some sort of future direction with my new doc this week. Praying for the best. I'm miserable, don't feel like myself anymore and have no passion for life. No one understands. People are getting sick of hearing me bit** about my stomach all of the time, but it's all that I can think of. How can we possibly live like this?

Unless you've had it you can't really understand the type of misery and discomfort it can bring.

[StellaMuro]

I am a new member and was just browsing through forums and posts... I stumbled across this one of yours. I don't have constipation issues, I have the opposite, but I completely understand the struggle w the job, and the stress and the friends, and bit#%*ing and moaning about your stomach... 10000% relate. I too often wonder how we can possibly live like this. I wonder if I did something to deserve it? I wonder how people can possibly jut spring out of bed and drive an hour to work in traffic every morning, wait on lines and not have anxiety attacks, I wonder how people can just make spontaneous plans and not spend hours prepping/worrying. I wonder how we have shuttles going to a damn moon in Saturn and finding an ocean underground yet they can't tell us "here's the answer to you problems for "C" or "D"". As I type, I am supposed to be getting ready for a boating trip for the day, and my usual prepping/worrying is trying to take over. I know how you feel. We all do. No one understands but people with it. I have a couple of friends w stomach issues so I know I can talk to them. I try to hang out w them as much as possible bc I want to surround myself w ppl who know what it's like, not people who could give a rats a**. Maybe you should try to set up a support group meet up in your area. It might be nice to just vent w people who really know, and possibly share remedies that might help alleviate your symptoms. I have personally been turned on to Colostrum. It's a supplement you can buy pretty much anywhere, and it's like the stuff that's formed in breast milk, or milk from mammals that contains all these nutrients. It's supposed to help rebuild some of the mucus lining along your colon. It helps repair damage to "S" victims and helps smooth things over for "C" victims. Probiotics may help too. There is a serious one called VSL#3 that I'm looking into getting as well. I've heard that the combination of the colostrum and the multi-strain probiotic has significant effects, with little to no side effects. Do some research on it if you have the time and see what info you find. I did that and I found some really helpful reviews that gave me some hope. I just bought the colostrum the other day and I just bought FloraStor, a probiotic, so I'm going to finish that out and see how I feel. Good luck amd keep your head up. I know it all sucks so much. Just surround yourself w positive supportive people who know how you feel. That can do wonders for the psyche (which is already destroyed) which can in turn affect other facets of life. Much luck to you

[Sean]

It's been 7 days of HELL. Worst IBS-C I've had in a long time. Tests are concluded (again) and hoping for some sort of future direction with my new doc this week. Praying for the best. I'm miserable, don't feel like myself anymore and have no passion for life. No one understands. People are getting sick of hearing me bit** about my stomach all of the time, but it's all that I can think of. How can we possibly live like this?

About all I can say is that you are not alone. People who don't have this disease do not realize how debilitating it can be to not only your body, but also your mind and spirit. Some periods are very bad, while other times are tolerable. Sorry that you are going through a bad time now. I have discovered that there is no choice but to hang in there. I am also having a bad time this past week. As I sit here at my laptop, I am having very painful cramps from the Dulcolax tablets that I was forced to take last night. My last BM was 6 days ago, and that was just a small,hard rock that I managed to pass. It has been 13 hours since I took the laxatives, so it should have worked by now. I thought about going to the pharmacy to get an enema to use, but I do not dare leave the house. The Dulcolax could start working at any time. I am missing brunch and a pool party with my friends today. That sucks, but it cannot be helped. I am beating myself up, because I should have taken something two or three days ago. I could never find a convenient time, plus I hate swallowing the medication, because I know it is going to cause pain before it takes care of the problem. I also have to wait to take it until I know that I am going to be alone the next morning. I can't stand the thought of anyone being around me when it is having its effect. Hopefully, the Dulcolax is going to work soon, and I will feel better for a while.

[annie7]

randomguy--oh no you're not alone and yes it is truly difficult, living with chronic constipation. some days are definitely worse than others--never lose hope that tomorrow may be better. i do hope your new doc will review your tests carefully and be able to give you a treatment plan that works well for you. wishing you all the best.sean---so sorry you're having such a tough time of it right now. and yes the enema should really help but i understand completely about your not being able to go out right now to get one--been there myself. any mag citrate handy? fingers crossed the dulcolax starts to work pronto and give you some relief.

[Sean]

randomguy--oh no you're not alone and yes it is truly difficult, living with chronic constipation. some days are definitely worse than others--never lose hope that tomorrow may be better. i do hope your new doc will review your tests carefully and be able to give you a treatment plan that works well for you. wishing you all the best.sean---so sorry you're having such a tough time of it right now. and yes the enema should really help but i understand completely about your not being able to go out right now to get one--been there myself. any mag citrate handy? fingers crossed the dulcolax starts to work pronto and give you some relief.

Thanks for the good thoughts, Annie. The Dulcolax finally worked mid-afternoon and I had a large movement. I still felt full, however. I decided to go the enema route about midnight last night. It worked well. Even better than the Dulcolax. I was shocked at how much the Dulcolax did not get out. Feeling much better today.

[annie7]

hooray!! relief at last! what a feeling it is...yes it is amazing how much the laxatives--even dulcolax at times--fail to get out. i have the same thing happen. good thing you did the enema. so glad it worked for you. i've had mixed success with enemas. sometimes they work well and get it all out. other times i retain an uncomfortable amount of water--although thankfully it finally all comes out the next day-- after i've taken a stimulant laxative the previous evening of course. but until then it's miserable.here's hoping you never have to go through all that again...

[randomguy]

Glad to hear you're feeling a little bit better Sean. It's good to know that others can relate, as I feel like the only one on a deserted island sometimes. I see all of these happy people around me, carrying on with spontaneous lives, like I used to. This new doc seems very good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the best. I'm wondering if anyone has had success with pain/cramping relief on SSRI's? I don't want to go the AD route, however 7 years of daily torture is making me desperate for some form of relief.