[nyc-gidistress]

i am new to the forum. i have chronic problems and nothinng i do seems to help and no doctor has been able to help and i am so frustrated. i am IBS-C mainly but have chronic gas irregardless of eating or not eating. I have tried: digestive advantage-beano-gas-x all variations-eaters digest tea--pancreatic enzymes-rifaxin antibiotics-align-numerous probiotics-eating gluten free/wheat free-eliminating lactose-soda-wheat-activia-i exercise 5 days a week and drink water throughout the day- do not smoke--good health and at wit's end. no matter what i eat or don't eat-still experience gas even after BM, like it is just rumbling or like my intestines are like rumbling and bloating and rectal gas. i am so depressed as it intergferes with my life-who wants to feel crappy all the time? i also have had endocsopy and colonoscopy and have tested negative for celia, hpyloi, giardella, any food allergies. i do not chew gum eitherl i am so upset thinking that i may have to just live with this for the rest of my life. i have also tried papaya, aloe, peppermint, acupuncture, digestive teas, fennel.no relief. i have seen 6 GI drs over the last 10 years. i eat basically healthy-graisn fiber veges and fruit. i am at wit's end.is there anything i haven't listed that anyone would suggest? it is so frustrating and so few people undertand what i am dealing with!!! p.s have seen nutritionist but the symptoms are not specific to anyting i eat.sorry to pour this all outl just don't even know what to do anymorelany ideas/suggestions welcome!!!!

 

[IBS4ever]

I realize the same things don't work for everyone, but after all other efforts had failed I met someone that had had to give up sugar. It is not as easy as it sounds, but it has worked for me. I had terrible gas and bloating, doubling over with the pain. When I stopped eating all added sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup and sugar substitutes, it helped considerably. Then, I finally conceded and gave up fruit and I cannot believe the difference! I also read that while you are having a flare-up you should not take fiber supplements(which I have taken for years)I gave that up, too. It turned out to be the turning point for me and I am now mostly pain-free. Give it a try if you haven't already. And you will have the added benefit of weight loss...since I stopped eating sugar, the pounds are falling off! Good luck!

 

[Constinker]

I've read on this site that getting more of your fiber in the form of insoluble fiber and less soluble fiber may help with decreasing the gas.According to a few members, and it seems reasonable to me to believe given that individuals have colons with different microbacterial make ups (ibs sufferers microbacterial make up is quite different from normal people's), that a probiotic strain's effectiveness is quite individual. So a probiotic strain that works for one individual may do little for the next. Experiment with different strains of probiotics, there are a couple members that know some of the strains that people have had success with.I may be IBS-C as well, not sure, as IBS is usually characterized as having abdominal pain as one of it's symptoms, but I've got no abdominal pain, just severe constipation at times along with just truckloads of gas. I'll be ordering a probiotic called VSL#3 just as soon as I've finished paying off this new computer (on two credit card payments). That's all I can suggest, the above suggestion sounds worth a try as well.

 

[searching4answers]

omg I sooo get what you're going through. Plz don't get mad at this suggestion, but have u been tested for bacterial overgrowth, I was just diagnosed and the 1st med i'm trying is Flagyl and it's not helping so far, had one good and since then it's back to the same uncontrollable gas. I have those symptoms. Sharp pain, bloating, gas, somewhat constipated, and leaky gas is the worst of all. I've been ready to give up so many times but i'm still keep fighting because i want to find a cure and when it is, I want the doctors to publish it to the world to help people with this. I can't imagine other people having this. They'd break down so fast. I don't know how old you are, but i just want to be a normal teenager. It sounds like you're some steps ahead of me as far as what you've tried and hasn't work. I'd appreciate your feedback. Stick it out, you'd really be helping someone by sharing your experience even if it's not over. You'd be helping me. I'm sure you know how it feels to be at where I'm at now and just hearing it helps me feel a little less alone is this stomach struggle even if no one in my whole state around me has this.

 

[Constinker]

How do you get diagnosed with bacterial overgrowth? Is that in the colon or small intestines? I might be interested in getting myself checked out.

 

[searching4answers]

It was through a hydrogen breath test for lactose intolerance that I tested negative for the lactose intol. but positive for the baterial overgrowth which they think one possible cause for was the several bouts of antibiotics I had to take for frequent sinus infections and the stomach flu. So what do they give me to fix the baterial overgrowth? A stronger antibiotic...I don't get it, but okay? I'll offer to be their guinea pig if it means finding an answer/cure that could help someone else.

 

[Constinker]

That's weird. I mean prescribing antibiotics when it was probably antibiotics that caused it in the first place. I've also had antibiotics administered for a week three times for systemic infections (I'm at higher risk for that with the severe varicose veins due to klippel-trenaunay syndrome). I've read that antibiotics can do in the good bacteria and the bad stuff can overrun your colon. Thanks, I'll look into it, I'll probably try deluging my digestive system in probiotics before trying antibiotics though.

 

[dredz]

The best way to assess the bacterial/fungal/parasitic environment of the gut is through a stool sample analysis. I like this one from Metametrix [topic="0"]DNA Stool Analysis[/topic] Taking antibiotics is not a good idea. I suggest you read the information on this link: [post="0"]Choosing a Digestive Cleanse[/post] You can download a booklet that explains in more detail how to approach how to realistically change the environment of the gut in order to really treat the condition instead of the symptoms. Hope this helps.