[cecross]

I am new to the board....still have some tests to do before we are sure of what I have, but my Dr is leaning towards IBS. So I came here to look at sympotoms and see what I can figure out on my own, not always a good thing..LOL I don't get pain, at least not like is described here. I guess really my bowel habits have just changed. I do get the rumbly tummy sounds and feelings, but then I have always been like that. I used to describe it as like a cat purring, it just makes noise....I guess I have gas, but not more than normal for me, and most of the time it is not smelly, in fact it usually has no odor at all. I have been having more frequent BM's and they are usually soft to quite soft in the am, but 90% of the time, I go once or twice, then not again or if I do, it is a normal one later in the day. It used to be that I would get really soft and kinda crampy only around my cycle. I called it my monthly weight reduction program...LOL But what prompted me to go to the Dr was weight loss (13lbs over 6 months) and it lasting for over 4 weeks straight. But again I get breaks, sometime 2-3 days of everything being normal. I can't seem to find any food triggers although I have stopped all coffee and anything alcoholic. My guess would be stress as over the past 5 years I have had quite a few stressful things happen. Although I sometimes think I am under less stress now then a year ago, so why is it worse now then it was then??The only other real "symptoms" I can say I have are I feel cold alot, I get shaky for no apparent reason and I have been getting more headaches. Oh and I do have a mucus like substance with my BM or sometimes just on its own, but no incontinence of it. I told my Dr it was more like a jelly though and most of the time it is clear.Sorry to be so lon winded, but I am kinda preplexed?? I will add that about a week ago I was feeling pretty frustrated as I was waking up with it by 4 in the morning and was having a hard time dealing becasue I was so tired. And at that point to my stools were quite a bit softer than theny had been. So I started the 1/2 calcuim plus pills at dinner and breakfast. I don't know if I am just doing a bit better on my own or if they are helping, but hey they won't hurt me so I am keeping up with them.I do feel kinda silly complaining about how I feel when I read what some of you go through. I know my ex-husband suffered from IBS and he could be in a great deal of pain and discomfort and have some pretty nasty BM's. He would also get nauseated and vomit some times times as well. Sometimes he wouldn't even make it through a meal....I really did feel for him and we treid all sorts of food combo's to try to help. He has since been diagnosed with Sleep apnea and he is a pre diabetic.They are testing my Thyroid, a bunch of blood and stool tests and the blood test for Celiac. She poked all around my abdomen and found nothing unusal nor did I find it painful.....So any insight??

 

[cecross]

So I am guessing as nobody has responded to this that you likely all think I am crazy for complaining. It took alot for me to post on here after having some really bad experiences with another board during my pregnancy. I know what I am experienceing isn't anywhere near what some of you are experiencing, but it is a change for me and my symptoms are real to me and scary for me. And reading things here is helpful but scary too. I was hoping for some support too.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Sometimes it takes awhile to get someone who has something to say, especially with a long post. Kinda crampy counts as pain/discomfort for IBS. It doesn't have to be severe wanna die pain although it can be that bad.Usually FEWER or MILDER symptoms than IBS means one of the other functional GI disorders (so functional diarrhea rather than IBS) not something much more serious.Weight loss, however, is NOT a symptom of IBS. If you are eating as much or more than normal (and it may be worth tracking your diet for a few days on any of the free online diet trackers to see if you eat enough calories).Sounds like your doctor is doing the tests I would have thought you needed (celiac for the weight loss and thyroid for the cold thing), so that is good news.

 

[cecross]

I would think I eat as much as I used too, however when I look at it closer, I do notice changes, I have tried to eat healthier, less junk food, less Tim Hortons for lunch, etc. And smaller more frequent meals. So maybe that has had more effect than I realized?? Also I realized recently that at least 2 other times in my life that I am really aware of I lost a great deal of weight due to stress. The year my Mom was dianosed with brest cancer and going through chemo, my son was sick, we claimed bankrupcy and moved, I stated a new full time job and had some marital issues, I lost nearly 35lbs by the time I was at my lowest point. Then gained it back only to loss it again later when I lost them. So I can see patterns.I know I can deal with this I just have to get there. I used to be a very strong person, like my Mom, I just need to find that person againThanks for the reply....

 

[Bonzi]

Stress and anxiety sometimes have more affect than an actual issue, syndrome or disease. When I first started having my gastro issues, I was stressed to the max for about a week. Lost my appetite, my smptoms increased 10 fold, which cause me to stress more, crazy BM's, more pain, no sleep, lost weight. But once I got a grip on my anxiety, my appetite returned to normal, BM's got back on track, and I gained all my weight back. If stress and anxiety are strong in your life, then so will your symptoms

 

[cecross]

I never used to consider my self anxious, but then I started having that fluttery heavy feeling in my chest, feels like you can't breathe and found out it was an aniety attack, although mild.... Since then stress has taken over my life really. And it just seems that I barely get one crisis under control when another hits....And yes the more I think about whats going on the worse it gets...its a vicious circle...