[themelb]

Hi everyoneI am new to the IBS website and just wanted your expert and valued opinions please! I am still waiting to be diagnosed with IBS but the Doctors think there is not a lot left else it can be! For the past 3 months i have had terrible stomach pains and lower back ache constantly along with constipation and feeling slightly dizzy. I feel tired and no matter how much sleep i have dont really feel any better. At first the doctors thought i had a UTI but after 5 different lots of antiboitics and many trips to A & E as no BM to have enemas they decided it was possibly PID! Again another 2 weeks of horrid antibiotics which did nothing. Eventually through going private i got to see a Gynae doctor who did ultrasounds and then CT scans as they the next thought was Endrometrosis ... Again now this has been ruled out as nothing shows on the scans. I am now waiting to see the Gastro Speciailist . In the meantime they have given me Amitriptyline for the pain.. I am now on 20 mg a day and this seems to help with the pain...But i dont want to be on these forever and presume i cant keep taking themI am wondering with IBS can you have this pain constantly?.... It never seems to go,although is a little better with the Amitrip... I have to take Fybogel twice a day to have a very small BM once every few days.. The pain is getting me down after 3 months and i am struggling to even walk far or go out anymore.. Up till 3 months ago i was perfectly healthy going to the gym every few days and had a normal life! Now it seems my life has had a total turnaround..I am wondering if all the antiboitics i have had has caused this and if you all think it could be IBS as it seems this is all a maybe left with as a diagnosis. I have been taking peppermint capsules, eating lots of probiotic stuff and trying to eat more fibre but nothing seems to help. Does this sound like other peoples IBSI have also noticed that when things get very stressful it seems to get worse. I would really appreciate any comments as i think i am going mad! thank you everyone x

 

[Brianmay1975]

I think that IBS can be very different from person to person. I guess there are no two persons with the same exact symptoms. If they can't find any inflammation or other structural anomaly of the bowel, then it's a functional disorder and it might as well be IBS, since IBS means that an otherwise normally-looking intestine is not functioning properly...How did these issues start? Was it anything that triggered them?I have read that antibiotics can destroy the intestinal flora and thus can be a factor to trigger IBS. But you already had some symptoms prior to taking the antibiotics, or so I understand from your post. If so, they couldn't have caused, since the problem manifested itself earlier than that.I have IBS-A and I do feel tired and sometimes slightly dizzy. I usually wake up feeling ok, but as the day wears out, I get tired sooner than I did before. This happens even when I'm in remission... Also, IBS is sometimes correlated with chronic fatigue syndrome, so you might want to check this out if the tiredness doesn't go away.And, anyway, if your body is constantly struggling with pain and fighting pain is terribly stressful for the body, it's no wonder you get to be tired all the time... I hope you will feel better soon and you will be able to find a medication that works for you. I wish you all the best.

 

[themelb]

Thanks Brian May for your support... I am back to the the Gastro today so fingers crossed i will have more information!

 

[Kathleen M.]

IBS pain ranges from a few hours a couple of times a month to every day pretty much all the time (tends to be better with sleep, but often when we are asleep we aren't that aware of how much pain we are in unless it wakes us up).Poor quality sleep can also make the pain and IBS worse than they would be with good sleep. So if the fatigue doesn't get better you may need to be evaluated for things that cause fatigue and if you snore you may need a sleep study to make sure you breathe at night well enough to get sleep.

 

[Jessica yy]

Hi, same problems...I remember i was sent to emergency room on a Christmas day because of the serious pain. the doctors even used x-ray and i was kept in the hospital, nothing acute finally. it's just IBS...I have been having it for quite a long time, sometimes it gets very bad, but sometimes it becomes better. god knows what happened

 

[claire_louise]

Hi, same problems...I remember i was sent to emergency room on a Christmas day because of the serious pain. the doctors even used x-ray and i was kept in the hospital, nothing acute finally. it's just IBS...I have been having it for quite a long time, sometimes it gets very bad, but sometimes it becomes better. god knows what happened

I think most people on here will agree that saying 'it's just IBS' is like saying 'I've just been hit by a truck'. I never let people (medical professionals included) dismiss my symptoms and none of you should either.I'll hop down off my soap box now...

 

[TFM]

I too am fairly new to IBS--since 2008. I can sympathize, empathize and every other "ize" there is with your situation. Mainly whatever tests they do will be to rule out any other plausible illness so that they can finally say it's IBS. I have had colonoscopies, endoscopies, blood tests and a breath test--everything comes out "normal". I agree completely with Brian May as we can have IBS but with different effects....The few medicines that I have tried with short-lived relief are Bentyl(anti-spasm), Hyomax(anti-spasm), Nuerontin( works on nerves).My gastroenterologist believes that it is a food allergy and I am palying human guinea pig with my diet. I hope some of this information is useful to you. Also have them check for lactose intolance. Good luck!

 

[themelb]

I too am fairly new to IBS--since 2008. I can sympathize, empathize and every other "ize" there is with your situation. Mainly whatever tests they do will be to rule out any other plausible illness so that they can finally say it's IBS. I have had colonoscopies, endoscopies, blood tests and a breath test--everything comes out "normal". I agree completely with Brian May as we can have IBS but with different effects....The few medicines that I have tried with short-lived relief are Bentyl(anti-spasm), Hyomax(anti-spasm), Nuerontin( works on nerves).My gastroenterologist believes that it is a food allergy and I am palying human guinea pig with my diet. I hope some of this information is useful to you. Also have them check for lactose intolance. Good luck!

 

[themelb]

Thanks everyone for your replies.... I am just getting to grips with the fact that IBS seems to be here to stay! No let up... I am also seeming to be a guinea pig in terms of what i can eat now! Am only drinking lacto free milk whilst i am tested for this and no wheat anymore. I thought , the other night i wanted to be "normal" again and go out for a meal.... something i havent done in 4 months since all this started.. I had lasagne and a glass of beer! Oh my god have been in agony for 3 days now.... never again... I am sticking to wheat free now and never again any alcohol the pain is so unbearable. I have been told to take buscopan now.. Am on 6 tablets a day which help a tiny amount... Is there anything else like Buscopan that works any better? I have another two weeks before my next gastro appt .Thanks everyone for any ideas