i have the peculiat sense that cleansing the irritated areas, ie. colon, intestines; will help ease IBS symptoms. I am currently in the preliminary stages of fasting and colon cleansing, after about 10 months of colon and GI tract problems, and I will keep updated here.my history: in february of this year, after eating a quite large meal and drinking some fluids afterwards, i was feeling "extremely full". the meal, having taken place very late in the evening, it was only a few minutes before we were in the car and driving home. now, i was so full that i couldn't really move or bend all that much, so while driving i was arching my back and breathing deeply, as when yawning, when the driver made a joke, whence i immediately bent forward, laughing, in a sudden motion. at the time of the motion, i heard, or felt, but i distinctly remember it being heard, a "pop" on my "left nipple line", at the base of my ribs and just tucked within them. i felt pain for a couple of days and got worried, so i visited the doctor. after 2 UltraSounds, a CT scan, and several different doctors, the diagnosis' came in this order: 1. "pulled a muscle", 2. (after an emergency room visit, perhaps induced by the smoking of marijuana, which has never occurred to me in 5 years of smoking, and the feeling of "dying" that was occuring in my body) i was diagnosed as a "possible" ulcer. i am now unable to smoke cigarettes or marijuana, as i feel very ill when i do. 3. saw and GI tract specialist. diagnosis, "IBS". 4. found a new doctor, whence i went through the second US, and some blood tests. blood tests come back positive for "Mononucleosis", and the US shows nothing "extraordinary or swollen" aside from some build up of what they said was basically "poop", in a key area of pain. so now my doctor, (who by the way, forgot i had mono when i went back to see him in 2 weeks), did a "complete" physical and said that i was healthy.i have symptoms of an unhealthy person, so i disagree with my doctor, this far. his physical did not answer my questions or deeply touch most of my physical or mental health. i'd say that it was all very superficial and "shallow". my symptoms include: swollen lower, left side, back, below the ribs. (this is persistant and not symmetrical on the right side), feeling of bloating and "tightness", along with swelling, on my belly, bellow my left nipple line. i am a thin and tall man, so i can notice swelling easily. from my left hip-bone, running down to my groin, along side my "six-pack muscles" there is swelling, that appears as a 8-9 inch stretch about 1 1/2 inches wide of swollon mass. much more so than on the right side. along with this i have general tenderness on the "middle" of my belly, and my breathing feels "off" or sometimes "shallow".my doctors have, thus far been ignorant of my condition. i have also done several x-rays and they show nothing "abnormal". the things is, i feel such acute feelings of discomfort that i can describe and show, but the doctors are looking for a more general or extreme disorder. i am very sluggish now and becoming sick easily (as shown in the mono) headaches are appearing on the left side of my head around my left temple. please, if someone can decipher this message and my symptoms and has any clue about what might have occurred and is occurring, please, please help me understand. if you know a really good doctor (and please be aware of the distinction that can be made between a "doctor" and a "technician") i need a wise doctor, who cares, is intuitive, more intelligent than "med-school book smart" intelligence, and is working in association with various other specialists, directly, please, please help me out. i want to cleanse my colon because i feel so bloated and discomforted when i bend to the left. the feeling is as though there are 2 volumes that are "overly inflated" and are pressing up against each other causing lots of pressure. this is only on my left side.also, the sounds that my digestive tract makes, now, are amazingly wierd. they seem to me, almost alien they are so strange. i am losing hope. literally. i feel that my life will not last very much longer, if this is not taken care of, and i am beginning to lose hope that i can be treated, successfully, at all.somebody who Knows what's up... please send me some advice. email me if you'd like or post on the board. i will be around and participating for some time i feel. i need help!!but, for now, i am beginning this fast, no matter what. with hope being lost, i am doing the only thing i can: empty it all out, and start fresh... or atleast, less polluted and compounded. One Love. I pray for you all.