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.

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.

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.

I didn't know it was IBS and it wrecked my life for two and a half years until I found out it was IBS. It began almost eight years ago when I was just about 15 while visiting my parents who lived in South Africa(I lived in the UK at that time). I visited them once a year but during my second visit I was in bed whole night puking whatever I ate and had a bad diarrhea attack in the morning. It stopped after I took some pills prescribed by a doctor who lived next door. Everything was okay(except mild gas caused discomfort occasionally) until I returned to the UK. That's when severe IBS-C attacks started after a few IBS-D attacks. It started alternating between the two during high school. I couldn't attend any parties etc just so I could be home and be safe. After scoring poorly during GCSEs my dad asked me what the problem was. I told him rather embarrassed what I was experiencing and found out he suffered from it too and its called IBS.

I've had stomach problems for my entire life but after I did volunteer work in remote areas in Latin American in high school, they started to get worse. I was treated for parasites and for a while the problems subsided. Halfway into my 2nd year of college at UCSB, they came back worse than ever.

Since then I've seen countless doctors, had my blood drawn for allergies, and have had colonoscopies and endoscopies. All have come back negative except that I have elevated eosinophils and slight anemia. When they couldn't find anything else, I was diagnosed with IBS.

I've had IBS-C for about 5 years or so. I've had 2 Colonoscopy's done in this time. They found nothing. The last bout with IBS was about 2 months ago. Severe lower left abdominal pain. Had me doubled over for about 24 hours. I have found something that has helped me avoid these episodes for very long periods. First I learned to NOT take any herbs like cascara sagrada. I used to think that those helped because it would relieve the constipation. But they only make the colon contract more and that causes the intestinal spasms. But the product that has worked the best for me is called Super Seed made by a company called Garden of Life. I started taking it twice a day about two years ago and I've had little to no issues with my IBS. I ran out before this last episode and was taking cascara sagrada. I learned my lesson the hard way. I got back on Super Seed and no more problems. Super Seed is all organic and contains several different kinds of grain, like Flax, Chia and many other grains.

I wanted to tell my story after reading some very disheartening stories from very young plus older people.

I'm 62 yrs old and was diagnosed with IBS-D about two years ago. Although I know I have had this disease for the last 20 to 30 years of my life but didn't relate it to what is now happening.

In the last two years I have had 3 Colonoscopies and have had two infections one
on Christmas Eve 2008 and one in October 2009 (hospitalized for 5 days on that one)

I have gone through the cramping stomach, diarrhea 10-15 times a day, aniexty, stress, weight loss, not knowing what to eat, afraid to go out of my house and its not fun. Any meds for cramping had such bad side effects worse than the IBS.

I'm a small bone woman who usually weighs about 104 to 108 lbs, 5'2". I also have Diverticulosis and cannot have any sugar or fruit.

For about 15 years, I've had the pleasure of dealing with constantly needing to know where a bathroom is at all times. I actually remember the first time I got the big D for what seemed like no reason. I was 23, and I was eating a baked potato from Wendy's, with butter, sour cream and chives. Yum! And then-Uh oh. And so it began. Every day. Every time I ate. Every. Single. Time. Going Out to eat-No fun. Dates-No fun. Vacations-No fun. Nothing's fun when you're afraid to eat anything and you're basically mentally blue-printing every building or house you're in, scoping out where all the bathrooms are and how long it's gonna take to get to each one, like you're a spy in some kind of horrible James Bond movie gone completely awry. Well, never a dull moment. And it's almost become like a buddy to me. Boyfriends have come and gone, jobs have come and gone...But my IBS stands by me through it all, constantly there for me, urging me on, as it were. (No pun intended.) Constantly.

I had the same problem for over 10 years. I know the feeling all to well.
Been to the doctors and had 2 scopes done and they didn't find anything so they put me in the IBS.

I found something that helps a lot and almost makes it go away. No more cramps no more bathroom runs. I can leave the house and not look for bathrooms anymore. Found this out by mistake but may help you. My girlfriend has been here for me for 10 years seeing what i go through and she notice it got really bad when I left the house
Almost like nervous stomach. You know the rumble in the guts and acid turning up and cramping and then the big D. Well she got me some Bonnine for motion sickness and wow after first dose I was able to go out and didn't feel like crap anymore. I take one an hour before i leave the house and another 12 hours later and i feel great. :)

If you try it please let me know how it turns out for you.

By: Mandric38