[Guest]

ive never talked to anyone who said their doctor has helped them with their ibs, i think they are only there for the money, people are getting tired of listening to stress related , when some of the time it's not , why bother going to the doctors if there is nothing they can do for you, maybe they don't know what causes it, but if they took it a little more serious to research it, instead of just taking money, or brushing people off SICK OF DOCTORS

 

[Guest]

I totally agree with you! It's "stress-related" is all ever hear - regardless of what your symptoms are - meanwhile I have these rashes that pop up for no good reason, can't sleep, everything I eat makes me ill - but that's STRESS - right? HA!

 

[JeanG]

I agree with the two of you that some of the doctors don't take IBS as seriously as we think they should. Mine doesn't. However, there have been a few people on the Board lucky enough to have docs with IBS themselves, and they sympathize with their patients, for sure.I think it's good to remember that, while they can't cure our IBS right now, we have to be tested to rule out other diseases that mimic IBS. I'd rather go and have things like cancer ruled out, or treated if it's in an early stage. Better IBS than that!JeanG

 

[Maceo]

agree!

 

[Guest]

AMEN!!! maybe we should all print this out and send it to our doctors! They wouldn't know who was who here

BUT I have another problem and find the exact same thing..STRESS...BULL! It's about 112 outside and I am about as happy as can be today so let me talk to a doctor

 

[Guest]

As a physician (foot doctor, not GI), I think I can provide some insight into this topic.The reason docs don't seem to care is because they feel helpless. IBS is a "catch-all term." It is the same when you say "I have fibromyalgia." All that means to me, as a physician, is that you have a ton of problems and that I can't help you fix them. It also means that I have patients lined up out the door (because managed care forces me to spend as little time with the patient as possible) and you are going to take up a lot of time.True: you should expect your doctor to be compassionate and listen to the problem.False: you should expect your doctor to truely forget everything else and place all focus on you when he feels like there is nothing he can do and he is overworked.One of two things will happen in today's medical market:1) Your doctor is a saint and will listen and try to help as best possible (ideal)2) Your doctor will see your diagnosis on your chart before he goes in the room and roll his eyes and pretend to care (very likely given how overworked he/she is)and hopefully be able to help in some way. Either by giving you some advice or something that might help or by sending you to a specialist.Sadly, the prevailing thought when you see a catch all diagnosis is "get this person out of my office and hope they don't come back. They take up a lot of time and I can't help them. They have probably already been to a lot of other doctors. When patients get upset that they aren't being helped, they sue. I don't want to be sued by somebody because they have too many problems to fix."Now, I'm not saying that this is all doctors. I'm certainly not saying this is how I would approach a patient (please don't make inferences). I'm simply saying that I know how docs think and this is how they think. And remember that even though you think you only spend a short time with the doc, he or she still has to write up your chart and take care of a lot of business related items at the end of the day. This is not a 9 to 5 job and then you go home. Docs want to help, but they also want to be able to go home at the end of the day without spending 2-3 extra hours after seeing patients taking care of business stuff. Blame that on managed care.Most docs go in to medicine to help and they mean well, but the stresses of everyday practice make it impossible to look at each individual case and help in all instances. If you ask any medical student, they will be full of ideals and the wonders of medicine. Ask a resident and they will have a different story. Medical training leads to cynacism. That is a given.I hope this helps in some way. I know it seems like a big downer when you need help, but this is what really happens when you have a problem that doesn't fit into a neat little diagnostic box.HighwayIBS-D type

 

[eric]

Jean and Highway, good posts and it better like Jean says to have the tests done to rule other things out.Highway, I am glad you posted this as well very good insight into this.I suggest going in with as much IBS info as you can and try to work with a doctor you feel good with especially if he knows about IBS which you can ask about. There are good and bad doctors and IT IS very frustrating sometimes, but try to be as knowledgeable as possible beforehand and that should help.------------------ http://webpotential.com/ericibs/index.htm

 

[luckylou]

Very informative post Highway, thank you. I am lucky to have a Dr. that knows it is an umbrella term. She still reads and tries to stay up to date on IBS. She also has me give her any new knowledge I may have learned from this BB. What more could I ask for?

 

[Guest]

Highway - thank you for your insight. I personally found that very helpful. I also believe that staying as informed as we can will help us help ourselves. Since, like we all agree, IBS is an umbrella-term, we are also responsible for doing all we can with the aid of our doctors. I am lucky enough to have a doctor who is afflicted with IBS and migraine headaches (not so lucky for the doc, though) which are the two things that have been trying to rule my life for years - but even so, I understand there's only so much he can do for me. Boards like this are lifesavers, I think.

 

[Guest]

Some very good points are made in this topic. I agree with both sides -- patient and doctor. I understand that my doctor (or any other) is not going to be able to give me a magic pill or procedure to 'cure' my IBS. It must be very frustrating to the doctors to see patients with conditions that they can't 'fix'. However, it is frustrating to us patients when the doctor seems to 'brush us off'. Although this "syndrome" is not life threatening, it certainly can be serious and life altering. It is very demoralizing to be treated like a whining, emotionally disturbed hypochondriac. If I was going to 'make up' a physical malady, it certainly wouldn't be this #$%!* one!

 

[jane93]

I've been there. One thing I think very few doctors understand or even acknowledge is the mind body connection and the power of the mind to help heal the body. They (doctors) may be attempting to acknowledge this when they say "Its all in your head", but the reality is they probably want to get on with their hourly quota of patients and you're an easy one to dismiss as there is no cure.Thats why so many of us turned to alternative physicians as they listen to us, but in the end provide no cure and take our money anyway...ah well.I did finally find a physician who listened to me and has spent some time trying at least to reassure me that I don't have cancer or a life threatening disease. He even suggested the dietary changes like excluding wheat and dairy would help. Most other docs didn't agree with me there.------------------Jane*************C/D/G type *************

 

[Guest]

Okay, I'm going to brag. I have a very good Dr. He's been putting up with me for 15 yrs. and I know sometimes I drive him nuts but he is always there for me. When I was pregnant with my twins I developed accute asthma. I would have never made it if it hadn't have been for my Dr. Sorry all of you can't have the same.

 

[taffy]

Highway...thanks for the post. I'm from the midwest and must admitt I have a good medical Dr and a good Chiropractor that are very interested in me but I can see why they would get fustrated with IBS because it can be a thing of complains. I had an attack in my Dr's office one time and I was waiting for him to come in for a paps smear. I knew it was coming and I had to get dressed again and fled out of the room looking for the nearest bathroom.I just made it. I could not of sat there any longer. He was in the hall talking to his nurse about ready to come in.When I came back I said lets try this again and we both laughed and that made me feel more comfortable.He is very understanding and I think that it was good for him to see that and it helps him to understand better just what I have been through. Last fall we discovered that Glaxo was getting ready to release Lotronex and he gave it to me as soon as it had been released. Lotronex has given me my life back.Over the last 6 months I have had a lot of ackes and pain and I asked my /chiropractor to test me for Fibro and he sent me to get blood tests first. If he hadn't done that I would of never found out that I'm diabetic. that explains the burning feet. this had been going on for several many months. I don't have to be on med but will be able to control it with diet. I thanked my Chiropractor for sending me to get the blood tests. I may have fibro but he thinks it is such a mild case that I will never have problems with it. I can go with that.I have sore pressure points in the only 3 quardrents not the 4 as required. Taffy (widowed 64 year old)

 

[Guest]

I think that all of you who feel that your Dr. doesn't care should come visit my Dr.!

His name is Dr.Bob Fusco and here's his website. www.gihealth.com He's the best!Tina

 

[Clancy Garner]

My GI is great, not only has he helped me with my IBS... but we talk about some of the underlying causes and option I could do to reduce the stress.Like us they're human and have good and bad days... but could we do better listening to "Here's why I feel bad"? Gotta be rough

 

[SteveE]

I don't agree that IBS is an umbrella term. As far as I've read in scientific literature and the few published books about IBS, there is no reason to believe this. Can someone explain to me why I should?To me it seems counter-productive to think this way, because if I do that then I'll be constantly trying to figure-out what it is that I DO have (vs. IBS--since it is allegedly just a catch-all term). I don't have the resources for that. I'm not a scientist or a doctor. I'd be agonizing about what MIGHT be going on in my gut instead of spending time learning to be a better academic advisor or saxophone player, or just hugging & kissing my wife, watching some ducks play on a pond...in short...trying to cherish the momments I have on this planet despite the pain I have everyday.And don't tell me that this is "easy for you to say because you don't feel as bad as I do." I've seen a woman in horrific pain two weeks before her death making jokes and enjoying her last days as best she could..it wasn't easy for her, but she found a way to laugh even when all was about to be lost.If it is a catch-all term for several underlying ailments, how many? 3? 5? 15? 100? Even if it is only 2 it'll take research at least 20 years before they're certain of that. In the meantime, what we have to work with is what we know about fiber, stress-reduction, water, fat, etc.. If we all think we're on different pages because IBS is just a "catch-all", then what are we doing on this board at all? We couldn't hope to get any tidbits of info from anybody to help us because we might be treating the wrong thing, so all that is left is supporting each other. I'm in favor of that, but I guess I have to come at it from a different perspective than the rest of you.As I posted elsewhere, I just got through reading a book called In the Shadow of Polio by Kathryn Black. If you look at things from the perspective of the people who lived through the nightmare epidemics that plagued the first half of the last century here in the U.S., you'll see that they too wondered about polio being several illnesses in one. (Or at least several forms of the same disease.) They suffered from the same kind of uncertainty we have...some patients suffering physically more than others, but all of them uncertain about their futures. This historical precedent says to me: Steve, you don't know what research will say about your condition, so just stay informed so that you can look yourself in the mirror and honestly say "I did my part." Then live your life as best you can and let the researchers do the rest.

 

[Guest]

Steve, I think (just my opinion) that one reason IBS is considered an 'umbrella' or 'catch-all' diagnosis is that it is a diagnosis of "exclusion". The patient is tested for colon cancer, colitis, etc... if all tests are negative, then the diagnosis is IBS.I'm sure that neither patients nor doctors are happy with this situation. It is always more definite and reassuring if you can test FOR a specific illness instead of defaulting to that diagnosis because nothing else was found.I am impatiently awaiting the day when medical science isolates what the actual problem(s) really are and finds definite solutions. This must be caused by something!

 

[SteveE]

KMG--right! It is assumed by many that it is catch-all term simply because we're all so uncertain about it. But it isn't really logical to assume anything about it except what we already believe we know from the research that has been done so far. And as I keep pointing-out, assuming we're all totally different could present big problems if we want to get anything practical from this group.

 

[Guest]

New UK member here. Just to let you know it took me nearly 3 years to get my IBS diagnosed by my doctor. I'm now on Colofac which helps, but I still get those ugly stomach cramps. At least I've found a site with useful information.

 

[NancyCat]

Tinas-Your DR's website is great, if he is as good as you say you are indeed fortunate

In the 20 plus years that I have lived in the Boston area I was only able to find one doctor who validated my IBS and guess what? he retired last year

I am so sick and tired of explaining my condition TO doctors!------------------Nancy