Having ibs is ruining my life :(

deadanonymau5

trixie_belle12 wrote: »

I too suffer with the mucous side of it. For me it's happened gradually over a couple of years. Every time I get an attack now it's longer each time and this current one has been on the go since end September. Main symptoms are noisy stomach, constant diarrhea, urgency to go to the toilet. I am also having trouble with incontinence. Just last night it happened in my sleep :mad:

I do find the condition pretty debilitating. I also find it very frustrating as I eat well (well used to), drink plenty of water and excercise most days. I'm not working at the moment so I don't have to manage the stomach noise from that perspective.

Thanks for answering. Im very curious to hear from other people. The noise thing is really embarassing IMO especially if its really loud and long. Do your stomach noises happen randomnly or just before you go toilet?

trixie_belle12

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Thanks for answering. Im very curious to hear from other people. The noise thing is really embarassing IMO especially if its really loud and long. Do your stomach noises happen randomnly or just before you go toilet?

No problem.

I had dinner about 8 and it's still making noise so probably a combination of both to be honest.

How long are you taking Colofac and do you find it helps your symptoms?

deadanonymau5

trixie_belle12 wrote: »

No problem.

I had dinner about 8 and it's still making noise so probably a combination of both to be honest.

How long are you taking Colofac and do you find it helps your symptoms?

Since Dec 1st. Not too sure tbh, i think so tho. I only found out about IBS very late November, so don't know too much about my problems. Pretty shocked about it still. Came outta nowhere I think. How do you deal with the noisy stomach?


Anyone else suffer from trapped wind and alot of flatulence/farting also farting when your going toilet?

KKkitty

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

trixie_belle12 wrote: »

No problem.

I had dinner about 8 and it's still making noise so probably a combination of both to be honest.

How long are you taking Colofac and do you find it helps your symptoms?

Since Dec 1st. Not too sure tbh, i think so tho. I only found out about IBS very late November, so don't know too much about my problems. Pretty shocked about it still. Came outta nowhere I think. How do you deal with the noisy stomach?


Anyone else suffer from trapped wind and alot of flatulence/farting also farting when your going toilet?

My noisy stomach happens at night usually and I'm doing a lot of belching and have flatulence. I don't feel like leaving my house most days with it.

deadanonymau5

Anyone here have sleeping difficulty? Being waken up in the middle of the night? Sometimes with a rumbly stomach?

KKkitty

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Anyone here have sleeping difficulty? Being waken up in the middle of the night? Sometimes with a rumbly stomach?

I find it hard to get to sleep. Do you get aches and pains.

deadanonymau5

KKkitty wrote: »

I find it hard to get to sleep. Do you get aches and pains.

Not really. Maybe aches.

deadanonymau5

Has anyone here seen a Gastroentrologist or a specialist? Did they help? What did they do?

I think my GP is going to refer me to one. Will I have to pay? I don't have private healthcare.

trixie_belle12

KKkitty wrote: »

I find it hard to get to sleep. Do you get aches and pains.

My sleep is all over the place. Definitely better to stop eating as early as possible in the evening but that doesn't always happen :rolleyes:

pejay

I found that an over counter medicene called colpermin was very good for IBS

also keeping to a wholegrain diet helped also.

deadanonymau5

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Has anyone here seen a Gastroentrologist or a specialist? Did they help? What did they do?

I think my GP is going to refer me to one. Will I have to pay? I don't have private healthcare.

Anyone able to answer these?

KKkitty

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Has anyone here seen a Gastroentrologist or a specialist? Did they help? What did they do?

I think my GP is going to refer me to one. Will I have to pay? I don't have private healthcare.

Anyone able to answer these?

Since I've no other cause for concern no. If you don't have a medical card you will have to pay I'm afraid.

KKkitty

trixie_belle12 wrote: »

KKkitty wrote: »

I find it hard to get to sleep. Do you get aches and pains.

My sleep is all over the place. Definitely better to stop eating as early as possible in the evening but that doesn't always happen :rolleyes:

I know how you feel. Especially if something is happening late in the evening you don't want to be refusing to eat. My sleep pattern is all over the shop now. I haven't been feeling to bad over the past few days. I even went to a kids party yesterday and ate crisps and cake with no ill feelings after which left me pleasantly surprised Was watching eastenders and cried after it and have been getting my feelings about some things out a bit more lately too so maybe for me I shouldn't keep things to myself as much. How are you feeling?

deadanonymau5

KKkitty wrote: »

My noisy stomach happens at night usually and I'm doing a lot of belching and have flatulence. I don't feel like leaving my house most days with it.

KKkitty wrote: »

Since I've no other cause for concern no. If you don't have a medical card you will have to pay I'm afraid.

Would the noisy stomach and belching/flatulence not be enough concern?

If its in a public hospital would I still have to pay?

username123

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Has anyone here seen a Gastroentrologist or a specialist? Did they help? What did they do?

I think my GP is going to refer me to one. Will I have to pay? I don't have private healthcare.

Yes I saw consultant gastroentologist (blackrock clinic) and no, didnt help.

Cant remember the name of the guy I saw, he was very nice though. He examined me and then admitted me to hospital for a few days for tests.

The tests were a colonoscopy, a gastroscopy, and drinking a barium solution then being x-rayed every half hour to see how it progressed through gut.
The consultant told me at the original appointment that I was not to leave the hospital without speaking to him, when I asked for him in there they sort of sniffed at me and next thing I knew I was being discharged. He wrote to my GP later saying they couldnt find anything wrong. My VHI paid for it.

You wont have to pay if you go public but you could be a long time waiting to be seen.

deadanonymau5

username123 wrote: »

Yes I saw consultant gastroentologist (blackrock clinic) and no, didnt help.

Cant remember the name of the guy I saw, he was very nice though. He examined me and then admitted me to hospital for a few days for tests.

The tests were a colonoscopy, a gastroscopy, and drinking a barium solution then being x-rayed every half hour to see how it progressed through gut.
The consultant told me at the original appointment that I was not to leave the hospital without speaking to him, when I asked for him in there they sort of sniffed at me and next thing I knew I was being discharged. He wrote to my GP later saying they couldnt find anything wrong. My VHI paid for it.

You wont have to pay if you go public but you could be a long time waiting to be seen.

Thanks for answering really appreciate it. Im very anxious/stressed.

Merch

I never found colofac or colpermin worked.
I'm not 100% sure even now as I still get bouts but homeopathy could be helpful.
There is a store in town off grafton st that does stuff that helps with bloating but ive seen them in Hollands and Barretts too.
Seemed to help me a bit with the bloating, but still I cant just eat what I want.
Having said that (fingers crossed, I am better than I was before) I try to keep quite a plain diet, but temptation gets the better of me sometimes and I eat stuff I shouldnt. I try to keep my diet plain and unvaried with a minimal of options.

KKkitty

My ibs is down to stress. I buried both parents 13 months between each other and some days I felt like eating and other days I didn't. I haven't really come to terms with them dying the way they did. I don't like to burden people around me with it either. I know the root of my ibs but just have to manage my grief in a better way.

Gen.Zhukov

I've recently joined the ibs'ers. Its a feckin nightmare. Had it really bad over the crimbo. It kicked off last crimbo too, but this time its really serious.

Luckily I have a good mate that happens to be a well qualified dietician. I ran the problem by him and he sent me the texts below.

I found his description of what was going on excellent. It has already been said in the thread about fibre and fluids and this is backed up by my pal.

Hope ye find some of the info useful.

Good 2 hear u dude!, hope all is well apart from the ibs! Good news is it's v manageable. What is ibs? Symptoms (crampy stabbing abdominal pain) make the condition seem much worse/more sinister than it actually is. Cause is 'irregular peristalsis'. The bowel is one long tube from throat to arse (medical term!). Its lined with circular (ring shaped) muscles. These contract & relax in sequence down the length of the bowel to move food along the bowel 4 digestion. This sequential movement is 'Peristalsis'. It's a bit like a 'mexican wave' of circular muscles when it's working properly. If the sequence goes wrong, the 'waves' meet & cause severe pain & disruption of normal bowel function. This is ibs. It can be fully treated by diet. Long term meds not needed. Treatment is 3fold. 1)Regular meal pattern/times. 2)High fibre. 3)High fluid (more detail 2 follow). M

Irregular peristalsis leads 2 spasm of d circular muscles & pain++. Meds are to ease spasms & regulate peristalsis. Will have ltd benefit. Best way 2 regulate peristalsis is by following the 3fold approach in my 1st text. 1)eating regular meals at regular intervals through the day (ie b'fast/dinr/tea). 2)The meals shud be high fibre (or high bulk). Reasons are: A)regular food intake stimulates strong regular 'peristalsis wave sequence'. B)fibre absorbs fluid in the bowel & 'swells' & becomes 'bulky' in the bowel. This greater bulk stimulates a strong contraction & relaxation of the circular/ring muscles in the bowel & thus strengthens the regular 'peristalsis wave' generated by food. 3)Finally, fluid is essential to maximise the function of the fibre in the food u eat. High fibre without sufficient fluid will cause constipation and make the ibs worse. Take up to 3ltrs water/juice/milk/t/etc per day.

I kno d last 2 txts were as long as 'war and peace' but this one won't be! (I hope). Regular meals, high fibre, high fluid will lead to gradual improvement in your symptoms in anything from 2 to 8 weeks. You need to stick at it, but it will work. If u follow this approach you will only have 2 or 3 minor ibs bouts per year (or u may have none) instead of the misery u have now. Check out www.indi.ie for fact sheet on ibs (fact sheets on rhs of web page). Also google 'british dietetics association' (bda.org.uk i think but not sure), they have fact sheets too. Send me your email address and i'll send u more detailed info. Will get u 2 send me a diet history/food diary and i can evaluate it for you. Cheers. M.

I would go ahead & get the colonoscopy done. I expect he's doing it 2 rule out colitis or crohn's (both debilitating inflammatory conditions of the bowel). Most bizarre aspect of the colonoscopy is the product they use 2 clean u out in preparation 4 the scope. It's called 'GoLitely'! Must be some ****rs with a sense of humour like ours workn in health! .Re stress etc. It's a common trigger 4 symptoms but more importantly it severely exacerbates what would otherwise be mild symptoms. Re:gargle. It's known to be a physical irritant to the bowel and it also causes dehydration (rule of thumb - 4pints in=5pints out). Both of these will make existing ibs worse. Fluid is a key factor in ibs (and general health) and it's value is seriously under estimated. It's virtually impossible 2 take in 2 much fluid, ther's no downside 2 taking in plenty.

username123

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Thanks for answering really appreciate it. Im very anxious/stressed.

You need to try and destress - it will make your symptoms worse to be anxious/stressed.

For me the main reason was stress, similar to kkitty.

1.618, thanks for the informative post, but diet doesnt always manage ibs fully, if there is underlying stress that causes the person to subconsciously clench the gut and interfere with normal gut function then a change in diet may not help. Unfortunately stress builds into a negative feedback loop so stress causes clenching, clenching causes pain, pain causes stress, neuromuscular pathways for gut clenching get stronger so the body thinks gut clenching is normal.......

Ibs is unfortunately one of those conditions that feeds on itself, stress being a cause in some cases, then ibs causing more stress. Its a vicious circle.

deadanonymau5

KKkitty wrote: »

I haven't really come to terms with them dying the way they did. I don't like to burden people around me with it either..

Sorry to hear that.
You should talk to someone, I know its hard but its not good to keep it in. A friend wont mind, and it wouldnt burden them just to listen to you.

username123 wrote: »

You need to try and destress - it will make your symptoms worse to be anxious/stressed.

Do you mind saying the symptoms you suffer from? Any noisy stomach?

1.618 wrote: »

I've recently joined the ibs'ers. Its a feckin nightmare. Had it really bad over the crimbo. It kicked off last crimbo too, but this time its really serious.

Luckily I have a good mate that happens to be a well qualified dietician. I ran the problem by him and he sent me the texts below.

Could you ask your dietician friend good sources of fiber for IBS? and ask him should IBS sufferers try take in only soluble fiber as oppposed to insoluble? Could you also ask him what he thinks of the FODMAPs diet (http://www.ibsgroup.org/brochures/fodmap-intolerances.pdf)?

KKkitty

I find it hard to talk about it. I guess if I talk about it it seems real. Both died young and I knew something was wrong with dad but he wouldn't see a doctor. With my mam she complained of headaches a lot and ended up getting a brain haemorrhage.

trixie_belle12

KKkitty wrote: »

I know how you feel. Especially if something is happening late in the evening you don't want to be refusing to eat. My sleep pattern is all over the shop now. I haven't been feeling to bad over the past few days. I even went to a kids party yesterday and ate crisps and cake with no ill feelings after which left me pleasantly surprised Was watching eastenders and cried after it and have been getting my feelings about some things out a bit more lately too so maybe for me I shouldn't keep things to myself as much. How are you feeling?

Mmmmm crisps and cake go you!

So sorry to hear about the loss of your parents. I can't even begin to imagine what that has been like. I haven't taken this advice yet but numerous people have suggested yoga to me to counteract the stress side of things. I don't know if that's something you've done or would consider but I'm going to give it a try in the next week or two. It can't hurt!

I was out last Thursday all day with a friend. Had lunch and a couple of drinks spread throughout the afternoon. I was extremely ill that night. Didn't make it to the bathroom in time and ended up getting about 3-4 hours sleep as my stomach was extremely active after that As a result was exhasuted on Friday and still pushed myself to the gym which probably wasn't the best idea but I took it very easy yesterday. I'm losing weight from the whole thing at this point sometimes I just eat less to avoid what's going on if you know what I mean. It is really hard in general. I think it's particularly hard because it's silent. No one knows what you are going through and sometimes I'll have to refuse food or drink or be picky about where I eat. Does this happen to you KKKitty?

Gen.Zhukov

1.618, thanks for the informative post, but diet doesnt always manage ibs fully, if there is underlying stress that causes the person to subconsciously clench the gut and interfere with normal gut function then a change in diet may not help. Unfortunately stress builds into a negative feedback loop so stress causes clenching, clenching causes pain, pain causes stress, neuromuscular pathways for gut clenching get stronger so the body thinks gut clenching is normal.......

Ibs is unfortunately one of those conditions that feeds on itself, stress being a cause in some cases, then ibs causing more stress. Its a vicious circle.

It can be a chicken/egg syndrome alright. However, changing the diet to a high fibre and lots of water/fluids is the easy way to start to try and break the circle.

My story to date.

As i said it became very bad Nov/Dec just gone. Bad enough for me to eventually go to a doc. I had an idea that it was ibs but I said nothing to doc. He diagnosed that too. Gave me a script for 'spasmonal' and took bloods (results next week)

Got in touch with dietician pal and started on the high fibre/fluids regime.
Vast difference within a couple of days. Backed off the alcohol too.

Was doing really well all week with only minor twinges and as a little treat had a couple of whiskeys for a nightcap on Fri night. Disaster. Crippled for 18 hours but fine today.

The foods I've been eating all last week consisted of:-
Breakfasts- Porridge/ W-abix mixed with muesli warm milk.
Lunches-Sambo's(brn bread) soup, salad, beans on toast(brn) etc.
Dins-Beef stew(loads of veg) fish, roast beef/chicken(veg)veggie pizza(with side salad) etc.

So as you can see the foods are not too radical. Its a balance thing.
If you eat something not generally considered to be great(pizza) balance it with a salad.

I have been drinking lots and lots of water and other fluids. Even if I go out for an hour I bring a bottle of water with me.

This is just my experience of the diet and it does work for me. I'm sticking with it.

trixie_belle12

1.618 wrote: »

It can be a chicken/egg syndrome alright. However, changing the diet to a high fibre and lots of water/fluids is the easy way to start to try and break the circle.

My story to date.

As i said it became very bad Nov/Dec just gone. Bad enough for me to eventually go to a doc. I had an idea that it was ibs but I said nothing to doc. He diagnosed that too. Gave me a script for 'spasmonal' and took bloods (results next week)

Got in touch with dietician pal and started on the high fibre/fluids regime.
Vast difference within a couple of days. Backed off the alcohol too.

Was doing really well all week with only minor twinges and as a little treat had a couple of whiskeys for a nightcap on Fri night. Disaster. Crippled for 18 hours but fine today.

The foods I've been eating all last week consisted of:-
Breakfasts- Porridge/ W-abix mixed with muesli warm milk.
Lunches-Sambo's(brn bread) soup, salad, beans on toast(brn) etc.
Dins-Beef stew(loads of veg) fish, roast beef/chicken(veg)veggie pizza(with side salad) etc.

So as you can see the foods are not too radical. Its a balance thing.
If you eat something not generally considered to be great(pizza) balance it with a salad.

I have been drinking lots and lots of water and other fluids. Even if I go out for an hour I bring a bottle of water with me.

This is just my experience of the diet and it does work for me. I'm sticking with it.

You seem to be able to tolerate quite a good selection of food which is great. Do you find that raw vegetables or salads are difficult to digest as a matter of interest? I love this type of food but it doesn't seem to work for me anymore. I tend to eat alot of protein and cooked vegetables at the moment but I haven't had normal motions for over 4 months I'd say now.

username123

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Do you mind saying the symptoms you suffer from? Any noisy stomach?

When I have a bad bout (which is rare now), I would have more or less constant diarrhoea, bloating, acid indigestion, lot of flatulence, noisy stomach too, urgency to get to a loo, very drained (probably from the strain!!), crampy, and a sense that I must force myself to eat very simple clean food to try and get control of the situation even though every fibre of my being is telling me to starve it out. But that doesnt work - you need to eat.

I have had a noisy stomach in company and just apologised bluntly and said Id an upset stomach. People dont really react, mostly people are very polite about things like upset stomachs.

toothie

username123 wrote: »

When I have a bad bout (which is rare now), I would have more or less constant diarrhoea, bloating, acid indigestion, lot of flatulence, noisy stomach too, urgency to get to a loo, very drained (probably from the strain!!), crampy, and a sense that I must force myself to eat very simple clean food to try and get control of the situation even though every fibre of my being is telling me to starve it out. But that doesnt work - you need to eat.

I have had a noisy stomach in company and just apologised bluntly and said Id an upset stomach. People dont really react, mostly people are very polite about things like upset stomachs.

I have been feeling exactly as you described for over a week now. I've had ibs for years now, but this is by far the worst bout I have ever had.

username123

toothie wrote: »

I have been feeling exactly as you described for over a week now. I've had ibs for years now, but this is by far the worst bout I have ever had.

Thats terrible toothie. All you can do it try to eat as clean a diet as possible and more of the small frequent meals than large infrequent meals as a heavy stomach only makes things worse.

I hope you feel better soon.

KKkitty

trixie_belle12 wrote: »

KKkitty wrote: »

I know how you feel. Especially if something is happening late in the evening you don't want to be refusing to eat. My sleep pattern is all over the shop now. I haven't been feeling to bad over the past few days. I even went to a kids party yesterday and ate crisps and cake with no ill feelings after which left me pleasantly surprised Was watching eastenders and cried after it and have been getting my feelings about some things out a bit more lately too so maybe for me I shouldn't keep things to myself as much. How are you feeling?

Mmmmm crisps and cake go you!

So sorry to hear about the loss of your parents. I can't even begin to imagine what that has been like. I haven't taken this advice yet but numerous people have suggested yoga to me to counteract the stress side of things. I don't know if that's something you've done or would consider but I'm going to give it a try in the next week or two. It can't hurt!

I was out last Thursday all day with a friend. Had lunch and a couple of drinks spread throughout the afternoon. I was extremely ill that night. Didn't make it to the bathroom in time and ended up getting about 3-4 hours sleep as my stomach was extremely active after that As a result was exhasuted on Friday and still pushed myself to the gym which probably wasn't the best idea but I took it very easy yesterday. I'm losing weight from the whole thing at this point sometimes I just eat less to avoid what's going on if you know what I mean. It is really hard in general. I think it's particularly hard because it's silent. No one knows what you are going through and sometimes I'll have to refuse food or drink or be picky about where I eat. Does this happen to you KKKitty?

Losing parents is extremely hard. I guess in my own mind I thought I'd be older when they died and more settled in life. No matter how you think you're going to cope it never quite works out that way. I kinda dread even being asked anywhere so if I am out I keep it as simple as possible. I worry way too much. Even if it's something out of my control I worry. Thanks for getting back in touch. Didn't think as many would post on this. I don't know many that have ibs.

Gen.Zhukov

trixie_belle12 wrote: »

You seem to be able to tolerate quite a good selection of food which is great. Do you find that raw vegetables or salads are difficult to digest as a matter of interest? I love this type of food but it doesn't seem to work for me anymore. I tend to eat alot of protein and cooked vegetables at the moment but I haven't had normal motions for over 4 months I'd say now.

Yeah, it seams I'm lucky with the food so far. What I listed is not too far off my normal diet anyway. The big change (and my pal has mentioned it a few times in his texts) is high liquid intake. I keep drinking lots of water. I've taken to leaving mugs of water around the house and having a good drink every time I pass.

There was one time recently where I had a salad and the cramps kicked off. Then again last week I had salad, brn bread, water and tea with no probs.

Bear in mind I'm only on week one of this and as my bud said "anything from 2-8 weeks" to get a grip of it.

Only thing that triggered it so far was the booze.

Oh, and I suppose the anti spasm pills must be doing something too.
Hope things work out for you.