[case38]

hi, i'm so glad i found this site as i'm very scared what could be wrong with me. about 8 weeks ago i started 400 mg of magnesium oxide to help with my bad headaches, it caused my stomach to go haywire, so i quit. the symtoms never went away. i have constant gas trapped in my upper and lower gi tract, last nite felt like a heart attack, i feel very full after small amounts of food, urinate frequently. however, i am usually not constipated, or never have diahrrea. i get gassy with or without food, and the pains are bad!!! i'm meeting with my gyno tomorrow as i love her and am hoping she'll point me in the right direction. i had a pelvic ultrasound 10 mos ago, no worrisome findings. any ideas please??? thanks

 

[Kathleen M.]

Well you aren't mentioning anything that tends to make me think anything other than a functional GI disorder.You can have functional abdominal pain or functional bloating which is when you have completely normal stools (even the consistency or frequency off counts for IBS you don't need watery diarrhea or severe constipation).Full after a small meal may be more functional dyspepsia (so in the stomach) rather than IBS (which is usually in the colon).

 

[Guest]

So are you saying you can have IBS without diarrea or constipation?

 

[Kathleen M.]

Technically you have to have a change in consistency or a change in frequency to get an IBS diagnosis (may be soft or loose rather than what some people call diarrhea, or a bit hard but not rabbit pellet constipation).IBS is ONE, only ONE of a whole plethora of Functional GI disorders.You do not have to have IBS to have functional bowel problems.Most of the other functional bowel disorders are "not quite enough symptoms to get an IBS diagnosis" so almost all of the "but I don't have enough symptoms for IBS" are in one of the other functional bowel disorders. (functional pain, functional bloating, functional diarrhea, etc.).Most of the "worse than IBS" or not at all functional disorders have MORE symptoms than IBS not less.In the clinic most doctors call all functional bowel problems (and often all functional GI problems) IBS as it doesn't matter which name it gets, they treat the symptom the same whether it comes by itself or wrapped up in the combination that is IBS (pain and change in bowel habit).It is basically which way you want to split the hair. Call them all different names like the researchers do and give the same drugs. Just don't assume that less symptoms than IBS cannot be a functional GI disorders as most of them are either "but in a different place than IBS" or "but not all the symptoms in IBS".