[Janei]

Hi all,I am struggling badly with getting to grips with having IBS, which was diagnosed in August.I live in the UK (Leeds) and feel so lonely because of all this - it's like my life has shut down and all that I am left with is my anxiety.I quit smoking in March and the gut problems started then - wind, constipation and funny coloured BM's, but as most people seemed to think this was normal for quitters, I wasn't too alarmed until it didn't go away!!I have had all the tests done and nothing sinister was found, so it's IBS. I guess that I am mostly C with a few episodes of D along the way, but am finding it really hard to get my diet right. This is mostly my fault cos I decided to put myself on a bland diet before the colonoscopy and then never came off it!So I am stuck on it and am too scared to try new things even tho I know I must. I see a dietician but she is not too helpful and my doctor is not too interested in IBS, so I just feel lost.I still get symptoms and have really bad days even tho my diet never varies so it's not even helping me that much! All that I do is obsess all the time about why I am having an attack and what I should have done differently. It's crazy isn't it??Please can someone recommend a good probiotic and also just generally try to cheer me up?I know I sound really self pitying and I apologise for that. I just feel so lost and lonely.Thanks all for listening to me and take carejane xx

 

[BQ]

Jane it sure sounds like you might be having anxiety symptoms.... how about seeking some treatment for it?? That might make all the difference.

 

[Genie75]

Hi Janei, Can so relate. I get the fear of eating too. I am on a very plain diet, mostly raw foods now. Eat meat also but no grains except rice. I alternate between diarhea and constipation and no happy medium. And with the constipation comes colon spasms which hurt. I sort have figured out a way to eat to get me thru my days, but since the summer, I have had to give up eating lunches out with friends. My digestive system is too unpredictable for me to eat restaurant food and then come back to work after and not get sick. So I have lost a few friends over that. I do make myself eat. I have lists of foods I can eat. When the diarhea is real bad I switch to a liquid diet, but then once the diarhea stops then the constipation sets in. I don't really get the type of constipation where the food doesn't move for days, I get a different type, where I'm still having bowel movements but the feces are so dry, and it causes severe cramping, sometimes causing me to faint during bm. I am taking magnesium supplements which sometimes seems to help. All in all though, I am unable to eat like everyone else does. Quite frustrating. Everyone gets frustrated with me. What everyone doesn't realize is that I am happily plugging away and learning to live with it, but they don't realize that I get sad cause I can't eat what everyone else does. Have been to the point of tears a couple of times, trying to explain my eating habits.Hugs Genie

 

[stevefriel]

anxiety is a nightmare, i know how you feel, my life ain't normal anymore because of it, wish i could go out and socialise with people againmedication the doctor put me on ain't really helping tbh been taking the tablets for a few weeks and still no improvementsi feel that acupuncture helps the anxiety, sitting in a dark room for around half an hour or so on a recliner chair listening to relaxing music helps out