[warped_1]

Hi all. Have been suffering with what has only recently been diagnosed as IBS, for approx. 14 years. In my early 20's I started having excrutiating abdominal pain, losing consciouness twice. The first time my husband rushed me to the hospital but recieved little help from the Dr. (May be relevant: I have a strong family history of auto immune diseases, I myself had Juvenile Rheumatoiid since age 4, but have been in remission for past 6 yrs. am 34 now) So during my 20's had alot of trouble with arthritis, on alot of meds, and my stomach discomfort only increase in frequency. I went to my local Dr tried to explain my symptoms, his advice "Go home and watch what you eat". Continued like this for nearly 10yrs. Then for a couple years I don't remember having much pain or toilet issues, RA was in remission, i was pretty damn happy. Two years ago symptoms returned with a vengence. I had episodes that would last from a couple days up until months at a time, varying btween D and C, terrible cramping and, a newbie, bloating and gas. My local Dr suggested IBS - I'd never heard of it. I live in a small rural community, no one talks about this stuff! So went home tried to watch what i ate etc etc. Last year had a bad episode(mths long) eveything I ate went straight thru me. Everything except bread, that bloated me and led to so much pain i avoided it entirely. I lost alot of weight, which i had little of to begin with. Travelled to our nearest city and Dr booked me in for endo/colono, multiple bloods taken - everything came back nil.So atm I am very guarded in what i eat. I'm totally gluten free now, some fruit/veg are excluded tomatoes, citrus etc. My dairy intake is very limited. But i still suffer bloating, i can't pinpoint what causes it. My toileting is still inconsistant, but alot better since i've restricted my diet. My weight is not too bad at the moment, a little on the too thin side tho. But I am so tired... and I can't take any of my meds for joint pain coz one makes me terribly nauseos and the other gives me tarry stools. My local Dr is no help, and the GI didn't want to know about me when all the crucial tests came back ok, actually told me i should be thankful for the body i have and that women my age would like to look like that - I refuse to go back to him. Can anyone out there relate? Does this sound like IBS or something else? And am I doing something wrong diet wise? Any suggestions for pain management?

 

[Jillywindy]

It definitely sounds like IBS. Don't you hate it when people start complimenting your on your weight when the only reason you are that thin is the IBS. Give me some more weight and a pain free gut any day thanks. Actually, I can't complain. I'm doing real well on a combo of amitriptyline, low grain/carb diet, hyponotherapy, probiotics etc. Virtually no symptoms today at all. I won't be able to tell exactly what it is that's working because I did too many things at once but the first 2 things for sure.

 

[Kathleen M.]

For a disorder that effects 5-20% of the population it is amazing how many people never heard of it. It really is quite common and you sound pretty typical.They did the tests that would show any other autoimmune problem, and usually those tend to more diarrhea all the time rather than alternating back and forth.The foods you find bothersome are fairly common foods that bother IBSers.A couple of things you can do yourself (and may have to mail order a few if the pharmacies do not have much selection, or you have no health food/supplement store near you--The Vitamin Shoppe is a store I have near me that has a good selection on line as does GNC).Probiotics. These are bacteria that do not release gas when they digest carbs (like the starch in wheat we as humans cannot digest and gets dumped into the colon). Align, VSL#3, and Culturelle are a few brands with some clinical data behind them and I have done well reducing fart frequency with GNC and Vitamin Shoppe store brands).Peppermint. Either a tea or a capsule. This is an antispasmodic and may relieve some of the pain.Fennel is an herb that is traditionally used for indigestion and post meal bloating. You can make a tea, capsules, or chew some seeds (the main traditional way of taking it) at the end of a meal.Pancreatin (A digestive enzyme) has been found to reduce bloating in a small clinical trial You don't want the all vegetarian digestive enzymes, but the one with real pancreatin in them.Diet-wise you seem to have a good handle on it, but diet alone rarely controls IBS. It would be nice if you had a doctor who might be willing to prescribe something, but that doesn't sound like an option unless you travel.