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Doctors' Willingness

1104 Views 15 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  cookies4marilyn, 
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I just found this site today so this is my first post here. I've had IBS since 1997 but never really understood the symptoms and what IBS wa until about 3 years ago. I have mant symptoms that are all very intense and its only gotten worse for me over the years. I have very few friends now, no job, a lost career, and my dog died today.....no, no, just kidding, but it is a very real suffering that has taken place in the past 8 years of my life. I've lost almost everything up to this day. I've never tried help online but I am curious to see if this is the motivation I could use to help myself. I need people and voices and relation and comparison and analyzation. I need anything that will help me get to the bottom of my problem. I have lost so much it is now impossible for me to think about. I'm 26 now, I had a sports career, then a real career, and then I slowly lost it all not due to drugs, drinking, or whatever, but due to pain, discomfort, frustration, bloating; IBS! And now I'm just getting started (unfortunately)trying to fix and deal with my problem due to the Doctors I have seen in the past 10 years. It seems they don't care anymore. It seems to me most common Doctors dont even know what I am talking about. I tell my doctor things, facts, studies, and he's like "Oh really. Where did you find that out? Are you sure?" I have been through so many doctors it is rediculous. Most of them were just plain rude, uninformative and stupid. I had one ask me how often I went to church! No lie. Its pretty bad when I know more about my problem and how to fix it then my doctor. Maybe all of us people with IBS should become IBS doctors since the real doctors don't want to understand a valid medical problem in American society. And I know there's more to it than that but C'mon. Yes, IBS is a very serious problem, but at the same time so are the trashy doctors that parade their degree around when based on their common rationality its worth as much as ignorance itself. These doctors I've seen the past 10 years are problems. Their collective decisions, small ones even, are PROBLEMS! I'm sorry but I am mad about this. The disconcern, the ignorance, the uneducated guesses, the misdiagnosed symptoms, the false hope, all big problems. I need help now. I don't know what to do, but I do know that I can't turn to my doctor for help. I'm running out of doctors here! OK, I'm done. Ibs is a hard thing to live a life with, AND all problems need to be addressed. Every single second.
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brokenhit - First let me express my sympathy at your condition and poor luck with Doctors. IBS can be very depressing, debilitating and frustrating. I assume that you have had all the medical tests to rule out other conditions because if not then you need to continue to seek out a good medical doctor. If however you have had all the test then you certainly have turned to the right place. This BB has been a god send for a lot of us. I have suffered from IBS for the last 30 years starting in my 20's so I can totally relate to your situation. In spite of this condition, I have been married for 30 years, have a great family, including two grandchildren, I have a good career, acive social life and travel several times a year, I belong to a gym and work out regularly,have curled competativly over the years and particpated in some other sports. I'm not telling you this to brag, but rather to let you know your life is not over and there is no need to feel like you have lost everything. What you need to do is learn how to live with IBS (because as of yet there is no magic cure as it is a syndrome, not a disease) People on this board will help you find the right combination of medications, herbs, relaxation, exercise and coping methods to help you improve your quality of life. It is up to you to experiment and find what works for you. My suggestion to start with is Communnication, tell your family and friends what is going on and that you need their support and understanding when you are in pain and don't feel well or need a little longer to get ready. Don't hesitate to tell your boss and coworkers about your condition as well. It is real and not to be ashamed about. Second thing that helps me is relaxation techniques and there are lots of articles written on this. Thirdly is diet, find what works and avoid what doesnt.Good luck and hopefully you will not take my comments as a lecture, they are well intended as I know well where you are right now in your life and it can be Hell. keep tuned to this site and it will help.
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Like I said, this is my first attempt at actually communicating. This has been an embarrasing thing for me for years but hopefully I can start to learn that i am not alone, but it is just that; a learning process. I am almost becoming agoraphopbic with all of these sypmtoms everyday, but I still have hope and I am always aware it could be worse. It has just gotten so confusing this past year I have secluded myself from anyone. The toughest thing about my life now is the fact that I know I could do anything in life I put my mind to, I can take this life any direction I want, but I can't now because....well, because I am unaware of how to cope. I am grateful of you guys for your kindness and I will listen to every word you guys say from this day forth. I am missing out on what is supposed to be the best time of my life and I know it would be if it wasn't for this pain and loneliness. Thank you for responding. This is so cool.
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broken hit hi and welcome
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Broken hit you will find this site very helpful. In the least, it is a place where you can get questions answered and express how you feel amongst people who understand. This bb helped me through some very down times. There is a lot of great info. here that is way more helpful than many doctors seem to be.
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My meeting with my first doctor was so aggravating and disappointing. To their credit I must say they ran all kinds of tests on me and found noting wrong. When I then started talking to them about my symptoms they listened very patronizingly to me and told me to try foiber. This was 15 years ago. I did not see another doc for the next twelve years because I never wanted to be condescended to like that again. Then I found this board and I found out about a bunch of tests for my symptoms. I was so glad. I found a new doc and just went in there and told him I wanted him to run all those tests on me. I think he was too surprised to object. One of those tests, the fructose malabsorption hydrogen breath test, I tested positive for. However I got the impression from the board that fructose malabsorption had nothing to do with my symptoms. Actually someone clearly told me that, ironically the same person who had suggested many of the tests. So I took him at his word because he was an expert on the board and I was a vegetarian anyway at that time so I decided not to eliminate fructose from my diet. I would have saved myself many years of grief if I had taken the results of the test seriously, because when several years later I completely eliminated fructose all my symptoms of diarrhea and gas were gone. So moral of the story, taken even the experts on the board with a pinch of salt. Try out everything for yourself and see if it works for you. Don't give up your judgement for anyone else's. There is a lot of good info on the net but also a lot of bad info. Beware! Look at the internet as a source which you need to verify for yourself.You might want to read this brochure and pass it along to friends and familyhttp://www.ibsgroup.org/main/aboutibs.htmlIt explains what IBS is and not to [people who don't have it. Good luck with your quest.
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Brokenhit - Hope today is a good day for you and please don't let IBS housebound you. Take it one day at a time. Today get out, go for a walk, go shopping, or anything, but just get out as the longer you don't the harder it is. We care, share your primary symptoms on the board and we can offer some suggestions. Keep us up to date on your progress.
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brokenhit,Welcome to the board. If it is diarrhea you are suffering from with bloating pain and spasms maybe calcium carbonate can help. Email me and I can send you all the info on how and what to take or go check the over the counter section of this board and you can read many success stories from people using calcium.Linda
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This is a good articleYou and Your Doctor: It Takes Two to Tangoby Pauline Salvucci, Self Care Connectionhttp://www.healingwell.com/library/health/...r=salvucci&id=5
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brokenhit Take a look at these two things.Informative public television broadcast on IBS.http://www.itvisus.com/programs/hbhm/episode_ibs.asphttp://hopkins-gi.nts.jhu.edu/pages/latin/...se=43&lang_id=1
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Hi Brokenhit, and welcome!I have been on this BB since 2000, and have had IBS since 1983 - been to many docs including the Mayo Clinic - my final gastro told me that I did know more about IBS than he did, and to research treatment on the Internet, which I did and found this site. So you are doing the same as I did!IBS is a complex condition - you do need a diagnosis to rule out other conditions which present with similar symptoms. Bonnie's case is similar to many here - she is very intelligent and has researched a lot to find that her IBS symptoms were caused by fructose malabsorbtion -and this was her path for improvement. Others here have had success with various meds, diets, etc. some only for the short term.For myself, you can take a peek at the links below, but the short story is that after almost being suicidal over IBS - having severe D attacks for around 4 hours every day, and almost housebound - Eric suggested I try something that helped him which is a recorded clincal hypnotherapy program - and this helped me and many on this BB break that mind-gut connection. I now can function and am not curled up in pain from IBS as I once was.Everyone is different, and as mentioned above, check out everything suggested to you - there are plenty of clinical studies on things.Good luck on your journey - if you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask or to email me. I will bump up the info thread for you as well.Take care and welcome!
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Wow. I don't know what to say. This is the most attention anyone has ever gave my suffering. Thank you. As far as what I have, I have 2 ulcers, a hyeital hurnia, and severe IBS, all diagnosed, and I'm only 26, oh, and it all started when I was about 19,20. I didn't understand what was wrong then. My symptoms seemed so harsh for my age. I now know most of my problems, awkward situations, temper, and I am what they call an "alternator". I have tremendous cramping that brings me to my knees at times, and I have both bowel problems. The worst thing I'm trying to figure out now is the eating and hunger issues. I get full easy, I get hungry after a full meal, I have problems eating in the morning for some reason. It has really always been a part of my life. It just seems like its only gotten worse. Plus, I have a hard time explaining so many weird smyptoms. This is great though. I can't believe how many of you wrote something. Wow. Thank you so much for listening. I don't take people or sites like this for granted.
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Oh yeah, I can't remember how to spell hiatal hernia. Hyiatal. Hyatal. Hietal. Hyietal. At least I got hernia right....
jk
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brokenhit - glad we could be of help - you are just a few years older than my son - and the same age as my nephew. Your case is very similar to several young people that the developer of the hypno program - Mike - has worked with. They had IBS at around 16 or 17, and could not even get to school - bent over in pain and not even able to walk, with severe D, etc. He worked with them, and they went back to school, no problems now. - I have had contact with many young people who have had IBS - many times it can be attributed to eating - but the eating relex creates peristalsis which is the musclular contractions of the intestine - with IBS, those contractions get out of sync - either too fast (D) or to slow © or a combination. Food for the true IBS patient is not the cause, but sometimes because someone has a particular food and then an attack, that food becomes linked with IBS - it is a long complicated thing and everyone is different.Let me know if you have any questions - but for more on the HT take a peek at http://www.IBSCDS.com which has been very successful for young persons.Take care and again - we are here to help!
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I quit college early because I was unaware of what was going on with my body(plus I think I partied just a tad too hard). I lost a sports career. I remember being in pain when I was younger, all the time. Now I'm a bit older, a lot more aware and it has all gotten worse over the years. I hardly do anything anymore. twice a month maybe. Its sad. I played sports, raced dirtbikes,anything, I had lots of good friends, owned a nightclub, I had money. Now here we are, I cant work, my doctors are half my age and Iraqi, so I cant understand a word their saying to me, I have no friends, no social life. I dont know. I just really have to figure out a plan soon. I've been sitting here in this house for 16 months now after being rejected for disability when my doctor told me to apply for it..Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!I am a very focused, strong minded person so I cannot allow this to beat me but I am not winning right now and I am sure their are valid reasons for that. I need to know that.......Sorry, I got to thinking. My life the past 5 years HAS been pure hell. THE worst part: Weed helps the pain and nauseasness, I was set up for weed within a 1000 feet of a church a few years ago by a college ex-friend, so I got a mandatory 18 month prison sentence. I took him some bud and I ended up in prison. Imagine severe IBS in prison, or trying to explain IBS to prison doctors! Its a whole other world of pain. I've been through so much. Me personally, I'm in shape to be in the NFL(despite an injury), I have a great girlfriend of almost 4 years, I care about people and do wrong to no one.....but here I am. I know its not fair but when problems pile on symptoms and you're trying to handle all of it the right way with no help or anyone to talk to...life gets hard. well, at least now I can't say I dont have anyone to talk to.
One excuse elliminated.
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Wow - you've been through a lot. My son wrote a paper on why weed should be legalized - (he doesn't partake himself, but is a musician, and so is aware of the truths and falacies about it) the same arguments for prohibition apply - many IBSers have had their pain eased by it... you have certainly been through a lot of agony in your young life. I do believe you CAN beat this, I did, and many others did - about 3000 or so have used the IBS program successfully - worth a shot anyway - doesn't work for all, but it does for most.As far as docs go, if you don't understand them, then change to one you can - it is important to have a doc you can communicate with - and one that is versed in functional gastrointestinal disorders and the latest brain-gut research - I searched from 1988 to 2000 until I found this site, and then help - the docs tried but they can't always help. If they did, then this BB wouldn't exist - people are searching for answers and suffering terribly. Researchers are trying, but in the meantime, there are many who suffer because treatments, meds, etc. take time to be developed, or the word just doesn't get out as it should.If you have any specific IBS questions, let me know. You are at the time of your life when you should be partying, and enjoying life not worrying about IBS - I see it firsthand with young people all the time - I feel for you - My son just walked by, and I told him about you - he says that he feels for you - 18 months- he says they are out in 12 months for manslaughter - not fair at all - you were just trying to feel better.Well, hope you are now on the beginning of your journey to healing - please, let me know if I can help you - hang in.
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