I started to get sick in the prime of my social life at 22, I'm now 25 and was only diagnosed correctly about 1 1/2 years ago. Before my symptoms started I was going out with my friends and drinking and partying like a normal person my age. When my stomache got to a point where i wasn't even able to go to a club or out to a park for fireworks or drive in a car for more then 10 minutes all my friends started forgetting to call me or would roll their eyes when I told them i couldn't hang out cause my stomache hurt. I lost A LOT of people that I thought were friends. My best friend of 10 years even said she didn't believe I had problems cause of how frequent my symptoms were and she was with me every day! I still have pretty severe ibs but with paxil and a daily laxative and a very resticted diet I have some of my old life back but none of my old friends.

My IBS-D started late one night out of nowhere. I awoke with severe abdominal pain, constant bathroom use, and vomiting. I was rushed to the hospital and they didn't know what was going on. They gave me pain medicine, IV fluids, then sent me home. The first doctor that I went to did the usual tests; CT scan, Colonoscopy, Endoscopy, and ect. The answer I was givin was this; "It's all in your head." Then I was also told that I needed to lose weight. (How can you lose weight if the only time you can get out of bed is to drag yourself to the bathroom???, not that 145 is really that bad being 5'4") Things kept getting worse. I was put on an anti depresent and I did see a psychologist. None of this helped of course. Finally my mother got me into another doctor. After redoing all the test, nothing showed up. She told me that I have IBS w/diarreah. For the next couple years we tried different medicines, diets, ect. Nothing helped.

For years (throughout my thirties, forties and fifties) I suffered with lower abdominal pain which was diagnosed as "trigonitis", or inflammation of the bladder; a diagnosis which turned out to be incorrect or at a minimum "not quite right". The main reason for this misdiagnosis was that my inflammatory bowel condition had not reached the point in symptomology that it could be defined as IBS. Also, when I would describe how it felt (feelings of extreme pressure and discomfort in my lower abdomen) and a urinalysis would reveal no infection, trigonitis was the only category that my symptoms fit (although from time to time interstitial cystitis a/k/a IC, Painful Bladder Syndrome, was mentioned too as a possibility since a cystoscopy did reveal mild bladder inflammation).

Dear friends,

I have suffered from IBS-D almost for as long as I can remember. I am 53 years old. But this worsened over last 5 years. Out of this i was in New York for three years.

Symptoms: I rarely have severe dairhhea. I usually have unformed stools in the morning and then after breakfast I would have loose stools. This continued on an intermittent basis for many years but became more frequent over last 5 years. I am a thin person but I lost subtantial weight over this period. I was prescribed the following medicines at various points. In India I was being teated by a Gastroenterologist and in New York, my PC treated me trying various medicines

Immodium
Librax
Levbid
Colospa(mebeverine hydrochloride)- helped to some extent.

I have joined today. I have been suffering from IBS for 4 years with constipation. I live at Jamshedpur.

How can I get cured plz help me.

By: DINESH SAW

I'm a 14 year old girl who has been diagnosed with IBS. I was diagnosed about two years ago after undergoing various blood tests and even a colonoscopy/endoscopy procedure. I have been in pain since I was about 6 or seven. I always woke up with a stomach that hurt. This may have been an early onset or something like that. I HATE IBS and I want it to just go away.

By: Baleigh Kate

I just joined this site today. I found it in helps finding people out there that know what I am going through! I am 19 years old and my IBS started when I was 15.

Hi,

This is my first story. I am 48 and got my fist IBS-D aged 19. My IBS -D had deteriorated rapidly over the last year and a half. To the stage of being frightened to eat or go out because you need a toilet close by. I have had tests done as many of you on this site have had. showing that I have low digestive enzymes.

I have had alternating IBS for about 12 years now. It started at a period of time when I was very stressed.
(Although now I think it started long before this. I remember lots of windy pain in the belly as a young teenager, and my mother took my to the doctor about it.)
(Also had a very bad stomach bug in my early 20's that would cause intermittently, over about a period of a year, very bad diarrhea. It did finally go)
The IBS became very bad at night (a painful lower and upper back and a very tight, very painful tummy) I had a year where I practically had no sleep. I was always exhausted. At 38 I realised I couldn't really have another child (I wanted one) as I just had no energy. I still pushed myself around all the time because I had no choice.

I was diagnosed by a specialist who just said that I had IBS (no tests) and that there was nothing that could be done. Different times back then.

For the past 3 years I have been dealing with IBS. I must say that my doctor was quick to diagnose the situation and suggested I "watch what I eat". I would have " rumbling thunderstorms" from gas in my upper intestine and had to warn everyone when I was about to "Let Lose" to relieve the pressure. It was 24/7. I also have succumbed to diverticulosis. It can be more painful than IBS and would require medication to relieve pain and inflammation. In addition I have hemrroids. They were brought on by heavy lifting back in 1996.

Recently for a 5 week period I took a serious look at what I ate and the outcome of my IBS. When IBS flares up I have diahrea. I can have as many as three major bowel movements a day. Each time more diluted than the previous. Sudden unexpected urges to move..anywhere anytime. During the 5 weeks I measured the foods I ate and the timing and type of BM (Bowel Movement) I had. It seemed that it didn't matter what I ate I would continue to have the problems.