[futurama]

Hi everyone, thanks for reading mypost. I have not yet been diagnosed with IBS but I have been experiencing symptomsover the past year which link my situation to that of an irritable bowel. It all started just over a year ago and I started having stomach cramps and then a sudden urge to go to the toilet. The symptoms have now worsened to the point where I'm terrified to go to work sometimes if my stomach feels a bit off for fear that I will need to go to the toilet at work. It might be useful to let you know that in my job it is very awkward to go to the toilet in between normal breaks because I work in a courtroom and as you can imagine, it is not convenient to need to go in the middle of proceedings! I have also recently begun experiencing gurgling sounds and vibrations in my stomach and intestines after eating, followed by either an uncomfortable bowel movement or passing of gas. This does not happen every day but today has been particularly uncomfortable. The bowel movements are not quite diarrhea, but they can be very soft and sloppy. I panic a lot about my symptoms and I am always reading these forums looking for some kind of comfort that I amnot alone in my suffering. Does anyone else have my problems and can you please advise me on how to make them go away??Thanks.

 

[Waray]

I just joined today also. You are definitely not alone. I've dealt with it for years and was too embarrassed to tell my doctor. When I did he basically told me "too bad". I've had other doctors with the same attitude. Mine's a result of antibiotics and now fungal disease. It's debilitating. We're both lucky to have discovered this forum.Wendy

 

[Kathleen M.]

You sound pretty typical for someone with IBS, so you are not alone.Cramps with urgency that lets up after you have a BM is pretty much classic IBS, not everyone has that exact pattern, but that is pretty close to diagnostic for IBS.Everybody's colon is more active after every meal. Many IBSers find that activity which they never noticed before is now pronounced and often leads to a BM.There are lots of things that can help.Get checked out by a GI doctor if you have not to make sure nothing else is going on. You aren't complaining of the symptoms that indicate something other than IBS but it should be checked out.There are a lot of treatments, since you have the after meal thing probably the first step is see if taking an antispasmodic 20-30 minutes before your meals helps keep things calmer afterward. If that doesn't work they probably will try a low dose antidepressant (the nerves in the gut use the same chemicals as the ones in your head) and they may pick one to also help reduce the anxiety. You may also want to try other treatments for the anxiety. Either relaxation/meditation types of things and then medications if you need something more.A lot of people get in a cycle where the symptoms make you anxious which then ramps up the symptoms which then makes you even more anxious which makes the symptoms even worse...and so on.So you may need to work on both parts of the cycle to get it work things back down.Some people find hypnosis for IBS helps with both the anxiety and the symptoms and you can check out our hypnosis section of the forum for more info on that.Other things people try on their own is just plain old Imodium to control the symptoms (can also be taken in small doses before a meal or do a morning and night thing). Start low then increase. This can be too constipating for some people. You may also want to check out Linda's Calcium thread pinned at to the top of the diarrhea forum.Some people find peppermint tea is really soothing (an herbal antispasmodic) so if you can have a beverage with you in the courtroom that may be something to do. I would avoid coffee or energy drinks with a lot of caffeine in them as that can ramp up the cramps and urgency.

 

[futurama]

Thank you both for your responses. I find that sometimes if I lie still and try to remain calm, my symptoms will pass quicker than if I were to spend more time worrying but it is not always easy for me to remain calm when I am in so much discomfort. I hate that I get kept up through the night with stomach cramps and gurgling and the constant need for a BM. Has anyone else found that their IBS has been triggered by something traumatic or emotional happening to them? I'm not sure if this is absolutely correct but I seem to recall that my problems were increased around the time that my grandad passes away last October. I was extremely traumatised by this and it has taken me a long time to come to terms with it happening, it just doesn't seem fair that I get left with this to cope with! I feel like there is no hope because from everything I have read the only thing we can do is control the symptoms and hope for them to be less severe over time. I would appreciate more thoughts on this matter? Thanks

 

[123kev123]

Remaining calm is really important. The doctor told me that stress does causes IBS symptoms to become worst. It became really bad after my GCSE O levels (major, major examinations) and than after which it was anxiety issues over this IBS. I get really scared if I feel like vomitting of have an urge to have a diarreah with a stomach cramp. I get anxiety attacks sometimes (thankfully only 5 times in my entire life). I would just close my eyes and pretend that I'm somewhere far away that's calm. Have you seen the doctor? Medication can control the symptoms and the doctor said that eventually, i would no longer need any of the medication. Somehow, IBS is a bi-yearly thing for me. I would have one good year and one horrible year, which hopefully means a great 2010 =D. hahaGood luck, Kevin.

 

[Kathleen M.]

There does seem to be some relationship between trauma and IBS. People who have had a trauma are more likely to report IBS than other people. Not sure if the trauma causes it, or just makes someone near the edge of IBS go to having it show up. They have shown people who have had a GI infection are very prone to get IBS right afterward. Some people might have a small amount of damage that doesn't really manifest until something like stress and trauma triggers the symptoms to get bad enough to notice.Some of the mind body therapies do seem to have some long term effect on the symptoms (even after the therapy ends) so if you are in a good place it may be worth looking into Hypnosis or CBT for IBS. If you are still having issues from the trauma then getting treatment for that should help.

 

[futurama]

That's very interesting, about the GI infection. Around Feb of 2008 I suffered from Norovirus, the stomach flu infection and was seriously ill for well over a week. This cleared and having lost a large amount of weight I was unable to eat a lot at each meal and I began suffering from indigestion and heartburn. I was prescribed Omeprazole to tackle this which worked for the most part and then I was ok. It was then in the October that I experienced the severetrauma of my Grandad passing away. That makes a lot of sense for my situation. Thank you for the information. Anyone else have this type of thing?

 

[BQ]

Future I would just urge you to get a proper diagnosis. I know your symptoms sound very familiar to many of us with IBS. HOWever...It is never a good idea to self diagnose. So please make an appointment with your Dr. and perhaps bring along this list of 10 Questions to ask:http://www.webmd.com/ibs/guide/questions-about-ibsAll the best