[8breakNrun]

Hey all!!So I finally managed to get myself signed on to some sort of IBS support group/forum after a while of searching...I'm a 24 year old female , living in Toronto , ON ( Canada) sorta caucasian? LOL (Hispanic father , Moroccan mother , raised here in ONT ) , normal bloodwork , lost/losing weight but still overweight , light smoker , no drugs , not big on the booze either. No family history of any GI disease (except my mom has acid reflux which she is on meds for still - I think! ) , however the rest of us get the odd bout of reflux from time. I do suffer from panic / anxiety on a fairly moderate level. I'm not currently taking antidepressants , as my episodes are too inconsistent at this point.This seemed to have creeped up in Jan '09 , when got this strange sensation the upper left side of my stomach and I was bloaty , gassy , getting these weird spasm sensations ( that seemed to radiate up my chest ) and I would get hungry , but take two bites of something and feel like I ate a whole meal I went to my doctor , he gave me Motilium and that seemed to help. I had odd stomach pains as a child also , but they never returned until last year. It seems as now its developed to a point where the pain is usually lower left or right quad ... and sometimes I swear I think its my appendix , but it isn't. Abdominal / Pelvic Ultrasounds last July came back normal. I have another Abdominal Xray in 2 weeks.I went to my family doc , who insisted it was maybe a muscle, and then from that it was gas , and finally IBS. I would say I'm definitely more on the constipated side of things , however my bowel movements seem to constantly change in shape , colour , frequency....What the hell is going on here!!I seem to always be in some type of pain , I get randomly nauseous sometimes (usually night), the crampy/bloaty/sharp/stabby/achy feeling all the time is wearing me thin! I went to a GI doc to get another opinion and he said it was definitely IBS - however he didn't request any bloodwork or tests , which I found strange. I then made another appointment with a GI doc to get yet a THIRD opinion and he is also absolutely sure based on my symptoms that its just IBS...Does anyone else get these strange pains that end up EVERYWHERE at different times , even to the point you can almost feel it in your ribs?!!!He has booked me for a colonoscopy / endoscopy which i am SCARED SH*TLESS ABOUT!! Its not til June but still!!! He's offered to run these tests to give me peace of mind and hope that knowing everything will come back Negative " I can learn to accept and deal with the fact that I have IBS and I have to manage it "..... So is anyone with me on this or am I going batsh*t crazy? .... I don't know how to deal with it . This sucks!!!!! =(*cries*PS - Does anyone else suffering this get hungry in the middle of the night even if they had dinner? .... Wtf!!! I think I'm losing my marbles guys lol : (

 

[Jillywindy]

Yes, it's quite common to get pain all over the place. The colon runs right round your abdomen so IBS can manifest anywhere from the ribcage down. There are specific points like the extreme left hand upper quadrant of your abdomen which are a dead give away as there's nothing else there that can cause this sort of pain. It does totally suck, but most likely you will find solutions in the form of diet, probiotics, meds etc. that help in the end. This site is a fabulous resource for this. Also, don't be scared about the endo/colonoscopies. For most people, they are no big deal. Mine (I've had both too) were real easy and totally painless. Having a tooth filled is worse.I used to want to eat in the middle of the night but not since I've changed my diet. The low carb thing gives you much more even energy levels.I don't think that your symptoms are too inconsistent for low dose anti-depressants to be an appropriate treatment. They are certainly the only prescription med that's helped me.

 

[blondeoverblue24]

8break - I know it's easier said than done, but like Jilly said, the endoscopy and colonoscopy are relatively easy procedures. The worst part of the colonoscopy is the prep - The laxatives the day before - Even if you're used to having D because of IBS, going constantly can run you down a bit. Once you get to the hospital (or wherever your procedure is being done) it's usually smooth sailing. Personally, I don't remember much of either of my procedures (I've had both) and was a little groggy for the remainder of the day (and a lot of people don't have that issue, I just always get tired with any anesthesia). If you have any questions specific to the procedure, please feel free to ask. I find that knowing more about something makes it less scary.

 

[Kathleen M.]

IBS typically causes pain. The pain can be anywhere the colon is.So from the lower right part of the abdomen near the hip to just under the ribcage on the right, then across the top of the abdomen until it turns just under the ribs on the left then all down the left side until it makes another turn to the centerline and the rectum.So pain everywhere is usually a sign of colon pain, not other things, and that is typical of IBS.If you are not eating enough to maintain weight that could be part of the hunger in the night. However people can have gastritis (some inflammation in the stomach for any reason even taking too many over the counter pain relievers) and that often feels like hunger and tends to happen between meals.

 

[Gmonkey]

All i will say is that a colonoscopy is not that bad.I was scared too but to be honest it was fine. I would not worry so much at all if i had to have another one.At least then you will have checked to see if its anything they can diagnose.If its IBS then its all about management because they dont know what causes that.

 

[8breakNrun]

thanks guys!Yeah I guess its just frustrating because it seems like this all came on suddenly , out of nowhere....One day I was fine , the next day everything seemed totally out of whack.I was givin Tu Zen , Ibergast and some Digesta? to try....I was told to consider these first , see if they help , and if they do , then stick with it and I could potentially just cancel my colon/endo *although I think I'm gonna suck it up anyways*My mom has been for an endo , my dad has gone for a colonoscopy....they both said also it was a breeze.... My dad just kinda laughed though and said " better get a crossword book and a blanket for the prep " LOL I don't suffer D ... I definitely lean more towards the C side of things, but sometimes I'm "normal" .UGH why the hell is this so confusing! .. . It was also mentioned that I might have some Celiac issue?? Doc said to avoid Gluten for a while...I guess everyone has their own ways of dealing and coping, but I just think that everything for me is out of control because its so inconsistent.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Welcome to IBS.That inconsistent thing is normal. I think we want it to be triggered by food and only food (makes sense food goes in it must be the problem) but often other things play a much bigger role in whether you have a good IBS day or a bad IBS day.The starting quite suddenly is also common. Very often a GI infection type of things starts it up and it seems a lot more typical to have a it came out of the blue rather than very gradually over the course of years it kinda got bad. It is more like a short in the remote control for the gut. Once it shorts, all heck breaks loose, but up until that moment everything is fine. Most medical tests check "the TV" rather than "the remote" so even though it changes channels when you hit the mute button or turns itself on and off randomly when you check the "TV" (do a colonoscopy) everything check out as OK. There are some ways to test "the remote" but that is pretty new and doesn't give any better idea how to treat it.Some of the other triggers are the environment (how good is the air, is it a bit too warm, a bit too cold, a front came through)Physical stress (did you eat well, sleep well, get enough exercise, got too much, hormone fluxuations)Mental stress/Emotional stress.Some of that you can control, and some you can't. And often we try to blame the food we ate when it was just an innocent bystander then get confused when we eat the same thing three days later and we are fine because we did finally get enough sleep.One of the problems with IBS is the symptoms are so distressing and the pain can be bad enough it causes it's own mental and physical stresses on the body which makes it a vicious cycle.

 

[blondeoverblue24]

It was also mentioned that I might have some Celiac issue?? Doc said to avoid Gluten for a while...

If you are having the endoscopy done, do not avoid gluten. If you have celiac disease and enough time passes between giving up gluten and having the procedure, the small intestines heal and will appear normal and they'll think that you don't have celiac disease when in reality you might.

 

[wishthiswouldend]

Hi there, not to worry. Though I know this is not fun at ALL- the procedures are easy and really you will feel better that you have ruled out all options! I do agree not to avoid gluten pre-endoscopy and really I would even go as far as asking the doctor to take a good look and a biopsy if anything suspicious. May as well rule it out while you're there!I think it really is a process of figuring out what are your triggers, a journal logging food, mood, menstrual cycle, and life events can really help you begin to learn your triggers and then make the needed changes. I think it is safe to say fiber is helpful for many- I choose the Psyllium husks in veggie caps and take four with every meal (you can start smaller though). It's good you have this forum- I only just found it myself! Best to you!

 

[8breakNrun]

Thanks for the info!My appointment for the tests are scheduled for June 11th so... just under 2 months. I haven't gone totally gluten free , because really I can't handle that type of routine , its a little pricey , and I'm not the one responsible for groceries in my house , so I'm just trying to avoid consuming too much of it.Oh OH!!!For anyone in Canada with celiac disease - I FOUND GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE AT BULK BARN!!!!* and for the record , its super yummy and awesome for a fast little sugar craving *AND it didn't make my stomach feel all screwy!!!... I really appreciate all this support. Its nice to know that I'm not alone and that people out there can relate to this misery : ( .... My mom said to me the other day " When in doubt , fart it out "hahaha

my giggle for the day!

 

[Gmonkey]

Thanks for the info!My appointment for the tests are scheduled for June 11th so... just under 2 months. I haven't gone totally gluten free , because really I can't handle that type of routine , its a little pricey , and I'm not the one responsible for groceries in my house , so I'm just trying to avoid consuming too much of it.Oh OH!!!For anyone in Canada with celiac disease - I FOUND GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE AT BULK BARN!!!!* and for the record , its super yummy and awesome for a fast little sugar craving *AND it didn't make my stomach feel all screwy!!!... I really appreciate all this support. Its nice to know that I'm not alone and that people out there can relate to this misery : ( .... My mom said to me the other day " When in doubt , fart it out "hahaha

my giggle for the day!

Let us know how you got on.One thing.....why did your dad have the colonoscopy??? and mum??? Just out of interest.

 

[8breakNrun]

I cant say I'm totally sure why my dad went for the colonscopy....What I do know is that there is no history of any stomach , colon or bowel cancers or disorders in his family AT ALL , so maybe he just did it for a screening / check up?? ... My mom went for her endoscopy because she has nasty reflux. She's been on prescription meds for a while now to treat it and has a horrible chronic cough ... so they went in to check stuff out......All in all , I've slacked to take any of the stuff that my GI told me to take.. ( a bunch of homeopathic things...digestive enzymes...probiotics..etc) I feel completely stupid, but I keep forgetting. I forget when I feel good , then when I start feeling like #### again I think 'oh yeah , I should be taking that..'ugh!

 

[Kathleen M.]

Colon cancer isn't just in families with it and they generally tend to recommend everyone get one around the age of 50 or so and then every 5-10 years after that. Colon cancer is fairly common disease associated with aging. Just like they do mammograms of women who don't have a family history of breast cancer. Everyone has a small risk and if you just do people who have a family member you will miss a lot of people who could be saved with regular screening tests.Pretty much everyone will eventually get a colon polyp. It is just something colons do. A small percentage of these polyps will develop into a cancer. If you remove polyps as they form you can pretty much prevent colon cancer. We just can't tell from looking at the outside if you'll get your first polyp by age 50 or by age 105.