Having ibs is ruining my life :(

KKkitty

1.618 wrote: »

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.

What alcoholic beverages do you drink?

trixie_belle12

1.618 wrote: »

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.

That's great. I think it's true too that sometimes the same food can have a different effect when eaten on separate occassions.

My diet is pretty good in general also so I'm really only tweaking it a bit. The main things I'm having to lessen or remove from my diet being fresh fruit and veg. I would say I drink on average 2-3 litres of water a day, more when I'm training which is most days and it definitely helps

Gen.Zhukov

KKkitty wrote: »

What alcoholic beverages do you drink?

I was a Heineken man at the weekends and If I fancied a jar at home it would have been whiskey. The whiskey I know sets the cramps off big time so no more of that for a while and I can't bring myself to have beers just in case.

Me liver is delighted about the whole thing !

Still on the high fibre/fluid thing and still feeling ok.

'Brn' in my previous posts is Brown bread in case of any confusion. Best one I've found is Brennans high fibre bran. Its round,sliced,light,tasty. its in a clear pack with yellow label.

I'm very sorry for your losses btw. Got to be tough for ya.

deadanonymau5

Just curious to ask people who have had IBS for a while now, what they mean by having "bouts" of it?

Does it mean that you can eat whatever you want and have no symptoms when you dont have a "bout" of it?
or during "bouts" your symptoms are worse?

toothie

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Just curious to ask people who have had IBS for a while now, what they mean by having "bouts" of it?

Does it mean that you can eat whatever you want and have no symptoms when you dont have a "bout" of it?
or during "bouts" your symptoms are worse?

What I mean by a "bout" of ibs is when my symptoms are worse than they would normally be. I would experience a small amount of discomfort on a regular basis, which I've learned to ignore and go about my life as normal. But for the last two weeks, I've been going through a bad "bout", where I have a lot of pain, bowel movements all over the place and am feeling really sick and drained.

trixie_belle12

toothie wrote: »

What I mean by a "bout" of ibs is when my symptoms are worse than they would normally be. I would experience a small amount of discomfort on a regular basis, which I've learned to ignore and go about my life as normal. But for the last two weeks, I've been going through a bad "bout", where I have a lot of pain, bowel movements all over the place and am feeling really sick and drained.

+1 on this

username123

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Just curious to ask people who have had IBS for a while now, what they mean by having "bouts" of it?

Does it mean that you can eat whatever you want and have no symptoms when you dont have a "bout" of it?
or during "bouts" your symptoms are worse?

Same as toothie really. If I keep my diet clean, live with no stress, exercise regularly and look after myself then mostly Im ok, would always experience a small amount of gas, bloating after certain foods, minor crampiness and fairly frequent loo urgency. But Im used to these things and they dont interfere with my ordinary life.

But then something could happen, like me eating out and having something that causes a full blown stomach upset, or a stressful event, or an illness, or even just period pain, which would trigger a bout that would be constant symptoms for anything from 24 hours to a couple of weeks (thankfully its not been more than a couple of days at a time in recent years).

Ive been having a monthly hard time recently as the tablets I usually take for period pains not only contain codeine (hence gestapo questioning in the chemist monthly), but are actually off the market at the moment, and most other pain medicine triggers a bout, but bad period pain also triggers a bout - so catch 22 for me!

The_Conductor

I have Crohn's rather than IBS- but can definitely relate to the regular bouts of illness In my case- abondoning solid food altogether for a few days and only eating soups and herbal teas helps if I don't have a blockage (which unfortunately is a quite regular occurrence). If I do have a blockage- its back on the prednisolone- probably after a few shots of hydrocortisone. I like to joke that if I ever entered a competitive sporting event that I'd be banned for life- if they tested my blood or urine for steroids.......

Rough rule of thumb for me as a Crohn's sufferer- avoid fibre if at all possible, low residue but unprocessed food, whenever possible, are best. And when you're on a liquid diet- topping up with Ensure or Complan just to have the energy to go about everyday duties, is a must.

A big problem I have is serious internal bleeding (to the extent that my haemoglobin has been down between 3 and 4- and in the past year I've been taken in for emergency transfusions twice). I also am unable to absorb iron or B12 from dietary intake- so its a weekly transfusion of veinifer (ferrous iron serum) and B12 injections once a month.

Trying to keep as low stress as possible- is definitely helpful- and in my opinion at least as important as any medication anyone can prescribe.

KKkitty

1.618 wrote: »

I was a Heineken man at the weekends and If I fancied a jar at home it would have been whiskey. The whiskey I know sets the cramps off big time so no more of that for a while and I can't bring myself to have beers just in case.

Me liver is delighted about the whole thing !

Still on the high fibre/fluid thing and still feeling ok.

'Brn' in my previous posts is Brown bread in case of any confusion. Best one I've found is Brennans high fibre bran. Its round,sliced,light,tasty. its in a clear pack with yellow label.

I'm very sorry for your losses btw. Got to be tough for ya.

Thanks for saying that. It is tough and some days are harder than others for sure. I know that the ingredients in most alcoholic beverages can really play havoc with the bowel. It's a curse having ibs but we have to carry on. Pity there isn't a one size fits all diet for every sufferer of ibs. It's definitely trial and error with getting the balance right. Do you miss foods you could eat before?

satcmegafan

KKkitty wrote: »

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting a question here. Ibs is zapping the energy out of me and I hate not being able to eat foods that I loved before. I'm predominantly ibs-d too. Has anyone been able to keep their ibs under control without medication. Any advice for me will be greatly appreciated.

Hi, this is my first post too and am a little nervous i have to admit. I have had IBS symptoms since I was about 20, mine predominantly consisted of severe pains in my stomach, nausea and severe bloating. Have been to my dr over the years about this countless times and have had all the tests done. I am now 34 and think I now know the root of what caused the IBS problems for me in the 1st place. I had a bad case of food poisoning when i was 19 and ended up in hospital with it for 2 wks during which time I couldnt eat or drink due to being so ill, if i ate it only made the symptoms worse so i starved which only ended up in me being kept in longer, stupid know. Anyway I am also ashamed to admit that i have also been bulimic since the age of 17 so this clearly didnt help. Losing the weight from the food poisoning only spurred on the eating disorder which i have only conquered in the last year or so myself although have never been found out or admitted it to anyone, I am way too embarressed, i guess i still restrict in a way but i am aware of it now. I left a job 4 years ago that was causing me significant stress, i simply had had enough and i know that this job over the years only made my ibs symptoms worse. I am now in a job i love, i made a decision to stop dieting and eat healthily, cut out the large amount of alcohol (i now drink maybe a bottle wine a wk if even) and recreational drugs and try to help myself control the ibs symptoms and its worked, well for most of the time anyway. I am now the slimmest I have ever been which is ironic really. I do still get the odd flare up and have solpadol, spasmonal forte and valoid to take when it happens but its rare that it does. i firmly believe diet, exercise and minimal stress is the key, if you are a woman and on a constant diet and binge on the QT this is probably not helping your symptoms. Keep a food diary and be honest with your dr from the beginning, i wasnt and it resulted in years of agony and stress. I eat plain food now most of the time, fruit, veg, low fat organic yogart (which i find really helps me), i keep bread to a minimum and only eat brown(maybe twice a week), brown rice and pasta and i make healthy dinners from scratch, homemade soup for me is a must (i eat everyday), 3 litres water and an hrs walk a day. I feel healthier now than ever before, i believe there is hope for ibs sufferers if you can change your lifestyle and look at the whole picture. I hope this post helps someone who is or was going through something similar.

spookwoman

Have IBS myself and know what it's like. Don't know if stress origionaly caused it but prob didn't help. I go from one end of the spectrum to the other and hormone levels can make it worse. Gluten and wheat are a def no no for me. Have read that an infection can cause said symtoms and an imbalance of bacteria in the gut are the cause even with people diagnosed with IBS. One girl had suffered for years and found when she took the expensive brand of probiotic yogurt things got better. Havent tried it myself as I have other problems and may be all related.

KKkitty

satcmegafan wrote: »

KKkitty wrote: »

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting a question here. Ibs is zapping the energy out of me and I hate not being able to eat foods that I loved before. I'm predominantly ibs-d too. Has anyone been able to keep their ibs under control without medication. Any advice for me will be greatly appreciated.

Hi, this is my first post too and am a little nervous i have to admit. I have had IBS symptoms since I was about 20, mine predominantly consisted of severe pains in my stomach, nausea and severe bloating. Have been to my dr over the years about this countless times and have had all the tests done. I am now 34 and think I now know the root of what caused the IBS problems for me in the 1st place. I had a bad case of food poisoning when i was 19 and ended up in hospital with it for 2 wks during which time I couldnt eat or drink due to being so ill, if i ate it only made the symptoms worse so i starved which only ended up in me being kept in longer, stupid know. Anyway I am also ashamed to admit that i have also been bulimic since the age of 17 so this clearly didnt help. Losing the weight from the food poisoning only spurred on the eating disorder which i have only conquered in the last year or so myself although have never been found out or admitted it to anyone, I am way too embarressed, i guess i still restrict in a way but i am aware of it now. I left a job 4 years ago that was causing me significant stress, i simply had had enough and i know that this job over the years only made my ibs symptoms worse. I am now in a job i love, i made a decision to stop dieting and eat healthily, cut out the large amount of alcohol (i now drink maybe a bottle wine a wk if even) and recreational drugs and try to help myself control the ibs symptoms and its worked, well for most of the time anyway. I am now the slimmest I have ever been which is ironic really. I do still get the odd flare up and have solpadol, spasmonal forte and valoid to take when it happens but its rare that it does. i firmly believe diet, exercise and minimal stress is the key, if you are a woman and on a constant diet and binge on the QT this is probably not helping your symptoms. Keep a food diary and be honest with your dr from the beginning, i wasnt and it resulted in years of agony and stress. I eat plain food now most of the time, fruit, veg, low fat organic yogart (which i find really helps me), i keep bread to a minimum and only eat brown(maybe twice a week), brown rice and pasta and i make healthy dinners from scratch, homemade soup for me is a must (i eat everyday), 3 litres water and an hrs walk a day. I feel healthier now than ever before, i believe there is hope for ibs sufferers if you can change your lifestyle and look at the whole picture. I hope this post helps someone who is or was going through something similar.

Well done for getting your bulimia out of your life. I've never experienced an eating disorder but I can only imagine what you went through. You say food poisoning could have been a trigger so during my last pregnancy I caught the vomiting bug with diarrhoea. I also had minor surgery after giving birth. A suppository was used on me at that time too which left me with very soft bowel movements and an incessant urge to use the loo. Sorry for all those gory details but that and burying my parents over a year apart must have had a psychological effect on me do you think. Are homemade soups easy to make?

KKkitty

spookwoman wrote: »

Have IBS myself and know what it's like. Don't know if stress origionaly caused it but prob didn't help. I go from one end of the spectrum to the other and hormone levels can make it worse. Gluten and wheat are a def no no for me. Have read that an infection can cause said symtoms and an imbalance of bacteria in the gut are the cause even with people diagnosed with IBS. One girl had suffered for years and found when she took the expensive brand of probiotic yogurt things got better. Havent tried it myself as I have other problems and may be all related.

What other problems do you have if you don't mind me asking. I know what you're going through with ibs and what brand of probiotic yoghurt did that girl try. I'm willing to try anything at this stage.

spookwoman

Diagnosed with cutanious Lupus a few years back and it looks like it developing into something more. Also got Restless Leg Syndrome. IBS and bowel problems seem to be common with Lupus sufferers.
You can get Gluten free beer and it is very nice but a little more expensive. Cannot drink after 7pm as it gives me leg pain

deadanonymau5

Anyone here take probiotics? Which ones do you take? Do they help?

rugbug86

Ok so I've been looking at this thread for the past while and have finally got the time to post.

I've (likely) got IBS. I say likely as it is a diagnosis of exclusion and so far my tests have been "normal".

I suffer from chronic constipation. I take anything up to 5 different laxatives a day, many of them in high doses, and I might poop once or twice a week.

I get really bad bouts of tummy pain - not a day goes by that I'm not in some sort of pain but I manage to get through the day without having to take to my bed. Unfortunatley every so often I get a bad dose of it. The pain starts and my system shuts down. I can't keep food down, heck I can't even keep water down. I get a fever and I can't get out of bed. Except to puke. I've ended up in hospital a few times on drips for rehydration, and also to make sure that it's not appendicitis (I've all the symptoms except an inflamed appendix - my pain is lower right quadrant). Each time I get a different diagnosis but IBS is always mentioned.

I also get impacted bowels, however unlike normal people who get impaction in the sigmoid colon/rectum, I get impaction at the beginning of my large intestine.

My poop is never hard, the laxatives keep it soft, but I still get really bad rectal bleeding. Sometimes even without having a bowel movement.

One or two days a month I throw up whatever I've eaten. I just have to have a light diet those days - soup mainly as it's easy to digest.

I've tried high fibre, low fibre, kept food diaries to see if anything triggers/makes pain better/worse. Nothing seems to make it better/worse, except pizza - that tends to make me hurt. But I've no signs of coeliac disease.

I've had colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies, barium tests, CT's, xrays, transit studies...

No markers for Chrons/Colitis in my blood.

My bloods are interesting - high levels of hemoglobin (normal for a female is 12-15, mine is ~18) and high levels of iron saturation (~35% last test). I've got a slightly overactive thyroid even though I'm overweight and constipation is a symptom of UNDERactive thyroid.

I'm fairly active. Exercise intensely 3 times a week, go for walks most other days. I eat healthy.

My doctors haven't a clue what's up with me, but I'm at my wits end!!

KKkitty

spookwoman wrote: »

Diagnosed with cutanious Lupus a few years back and it looks like it developing into something more. Also got Restless Leg Syndrome. IBS and bowel problems seem to be common with Lupus sufferers.
You can get Gluten free beer and it is very nice but a little more expensive. Cannot drink after 7pm as it gives me leg pain

Can you not even drink water after 7pm?? You have a lot going on. How do you cope on a daily basis with it all?

KKkitty

rugbug86 wrote: »

Ok so I've been looking at this thread for the past while and have finally got the time to post.

I've (likely) got IBS. I say likely as it is a diagnosis of exclusion and so far my tests have been "normal".

I suffer from chronic constipation. I take anything up to 5 different laxatives a day, many of them in high doses, and I might poop once or twice a week.

I get really bad bouts of tummy pain - not a day goes by that I'm not in some sort of pain but I manage to get through the day without having to take to my bed. Unfortunatley every so often I get a bad dose of it. The pain starts and my system shuts down. I can't keep food down, heck I can't even keep water down. I get a fever and I can't get out of bed. Except to puke. I've ended up in hospital a few times on drips for rehydration, and also to make sure that it's not appendicitis (I've all the symptoms except an inflamed appendix - my pain is lower right quadrant). Each time I get a different diagnosis but IBS is always mentioned.

I also get impacted bowels, however unlike normal people who get impaction in the sigmoid colon/rectum, I get impaction at the beginning of my large intestine.

My poop is never hard, the laxatives keep it soft, but I still get really bad rectal bleeding. Sometimes even without having a bowel movement.

One or two days a month I throw up whatever I've eaten. I just have to have a light diet those days - soup mainly as it's easy to digest.

I've tried high fibre, low fibre, kept food diaries to see if anything triggers/makes pain better/worse. Nothing seems to make it better/worse, except pizza - that tends to make me hurt. But I've no signs of coeliac disease.

I've had colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies, barium tests, CT's, xrays, transit studies...

No markers for Chrons/Colitis in my blood.

My bloods are interesting - high levels of hemoglobin (normal for a female is 12-15, mine is ~18) and high levels of iron saturation (~35% last test). I've got a slightly overactive thyroid even though I'm overweight and constipation is a symptom of UNDERactive thyroid.

I'm fairly active. Exercise intensely 3 times a week, go for walks most other days. I eat healthy.

My doctors haven't a clue what's up with me, but I'm at my wits end!!

I'm so sorry to know of your distress. You've had all the tests going it seems and still you're none the wiser and you're doing it all right and still going through hell. Seeing your post puts what I'm going through in the shade. Do you have bloating at all. I hate the diagnosis of exclusion tag that comes with ibs and really feel more should be done for ibs sufferers. All of us with it have varying levels of discomfort and pain and it seems like the medical professionals of this world sweep ibs under the carpet a lot. Have you got anything that is stressing you out when it hits you bad. I hope you get better soon.

rugbug86

KKkitty wrote: »

I'm so sorry to know of your distress. You've had all the tests going it seems and still you're none the wiser and you're doing it all right and still going through hell. Seeing your post puts what I'm going through in the shade. Do you have bloating at all. I hate the diagnosis of exclusion tag that comes with ibs and really feel more should be done for ibs sufferers. All of us with it have varying levels of discomfort and pain and it seems like the medical professionals of this world sweep ibs under the carpet a lot. Have you got anything that is stressing you out when it hits you bad. I hope you get better soon.

Bloating - yes. Thankfully I live ~5 min drive from work so I can go home to change out of my jeans if they start to hurt. I also carry a spare tshirt in my bag in case I throw up. Not fun

I'm not overly stressed, no!

satcmegafan

KKkitty wrote: »

Well done for getting your bulimia out of your life. I've never experienced an eating disorder but I can only imagine what you went through. You say food poisoning could have been a trigger so during my last pregnancy I caught the vomiting bug with diarrhoea. I also had minor surgery after giving birth. A suppository was used on me at that time too which left me with very soft bowel movements and an incessant urge to use the loo. Sorry for all those gory details but that and burying my parents over a year apart must have had a psychological effect on me do you think. Are homemade soups easy to make?

Hi, thank you, i just knew something had to change it was taking over my
life, I was about to get married and thought i have to change before i can go through with the wedding it was that simple. I definately think losing your parents so close together has to have had an affect on you and if you are an ibs sufferer it most certainly would aggrievate it, I am very sorry for your loss, it must be very hard still having gone through that, i simply cant imagine. also i think having any sort of surgery must be traumatic, i know if i was
told i would have to have an operation it would totally stress me out,
id be worried what they might find. Well as i said my dr knew nothing
about the binging and starving side of things around the time I got the
ecoli but once I was well again maybe 2 months later my stomach started
acting up bigtime. After years of going to him with the same complaint
and having had tests done he put it down to post infectious ibs. He said
i always could have been suseptible to ibs (as have always seemed to
have issues with my stomach) but having the food poisoning just made it
ten times worse. It got to the point where having started my new job i
had a big conference to plan and of course the ibs kicked off bigtime, i
got so stressed I couldnt eat which of course makes it worse so went to
my dr and was like you have to give me something to get me through the
day so i can work with this. So he gave me the tablets i mention above
and they really work for me but i only take them if i am really bad as
they can make you quite sleepy which is no good for work or driving. I
am lucky i guess in that my ibs isint one where i have diarrhea or
constipation, well unless i get really stressed but i think thats normal
with even people who are not ibs sufferers. My symptoms are the agony
pain, like someone is twisting ur gut, also the nausea (like the nausea
you feel when you have an agony period, these waves) and of course the
horrid bloating which touch wood i have not had in a long time, I really
feel for sufferers who have to keep running to a bathroom that must be
really difficult to deal with. Soups are so easy seriously, i just chop
up and chuck all veg into a pot (ie onions, celery, carrotts,
courgettes, leeks, spuds or whatever u have) saute them for ten mins
then add a veg stock cube, bring to boil, add salt and pepper and let it
simmer for half an hr, then when cool blend it, dead easy.. You can
also add diff types of beans, or red lentils (carrott, onion, lentils
and spuds - fab but dont blend this one!) Soup really works for me, its
incredible how much its helped. The yogart which works for me is the
glenisk one any of the low fat ones and they taste fab. I was tested for
coeliac but came back negative but my dr told me that just because it
came back negative doesnt mean i dont have an issue with wheat that i
know my own body best, I do agree with him and i eat very little wheat
as when i do my stomach can start off..My concern now is that i want to
get pregnant for the first time but worry how I will cope if i did get
pregnant and had a flare up as obv i wouldnt be able to take those
tablets i have been prescribed...i dont know how i would get through the
day in work although i do have a very understandin boss who knows i
have issues with my stomach. Any advice from women who have ibs and have gone through a pregnancy would be great, here's hoping i can conceive soon..

satcmegafan

rugbug86 wrote: »

Ok so I've been looking at this thread for the past while and have finally got the time to post.

I've (likely) got IBS. I say likely as it is a diagnosis of exclusion and so far my tests have been "normal".

I suffer from chronic constipation. I take anything up to 5 different laxatives a day, many of them in high doses, and I might poop once or twice a week.

I get really bad bouts of tummy pain - not a day goes by that I'm not in some sort of pain but I manage to get through the day without having to take to my bed. Unfortunatley every so often I get a bad dose of it. The pain starts and my system shuts down. I can't keep food down, heck I can't even keep water down. I get a fever and I can't get out of bed. Except to puke. I've ended up in hospital a few times on drips for rehydration, and also to make sure that it's not appendicitis (I've all the symptoms except an inflamed appendix - my pain is lower right quadrant). Each time I get a different diagnosis but IBS is always mentioned.

I also get impacted bowels, however unlike normal people who get impaction in the sigmoid colon/rectum, I get impaction at the beginning of my large intestine.

My poop is never hard, the laxatives keep it soft, but I still get really bad rectal bleeding. Sometimes even without having a bowel movement.

One or two days a month I throw up whatever I've eaten. I just have to have a light diet those days - soup mainly as it's easy to digest.

I've tried high fibre, low fibre, kept food diaries to see if anything triggers/makes pain better/worse. Nothing seems to make it better/worse, except pizza - that tends to make me hurt. But I've no signs of coeliac disease.

I've had colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies, barium tests, CT's, xrays, transit studies...

No markers for Chrons/Colitis in my blood.

My bloods are interesting - high levels of hemoglobin (normal for a female is 12-15, mine is ~18) and high levels of iron saturation (~35% last test). I've got a slightly overactive thyroid even though I'm overweight and constipation is a symptom of UNDERactive thyroid.

I'm fairly active. Exercise intensely 3 times a week, go for walks most other days. I eat healthy.

My doctors haven't a clue what's up with me, but I'm at my wits end!!

Hi you sound like you are at your wits end, i know i would be, I feel for you i hope you find out what is causing this.. This sounds silly really but surely the laxatives are not helping, i know they can cause issues with your stomach and intestines, could this be the problem or at least a contributor? do you drink a good 3 litres of water a day, this could help you..

spookwoman

Can drink water etc just no alcohol after 7pm. Really only in the last year things went downhill and finally after a number of blood tests got a referal to the rheumatologist. Its the pain and rashes that get to me.
Taking too many laxatives is not good as you can become dependant on them. I went to the pharmacist and he advised duphalac, it's mild and works over a few days for a normal person. 3 or so hours works for me. Dairy products can cause ibs symptoms as well.
With my experience of the medical system here I find they don't really want to REALLY look into things and are fast to dismiss people.
satcmegafan - All these bowel problems are being caused by something, look at what you are drinking aswell.

satcmegafan

spookwoman wrote: »

Can drink water etc just no alcohol after 7pm. Really only in the last year things went downhill and finally after a number of blood tests got a referal to the rheumatologist. Its the pain and rashes that get to me.
Taking too many laxatives is not good as you can become dependant on them. I went to the pharmacist and he advised duphalac, it's mild and works over a few days for a normal person. 3 or so hours works for me. Dairy products can cause ibs symptoms as well.
With my experience of the medical system here I find they don't really want to REALLY look into things and are fast to dismiss people.
satcmegafan - All these bowel problems are being caused by something, look at what you are drinking aswell.

I agree with you i dont think the medical profession takes it seriously and it can be very frustrating and upsetting when you are in agony, there has been countless times when ive been out socialising and it comes to a point where i have to leave and go home as it just puts me in a bad mood. I know that 3 lots of tablets are not the answer when it flares up but I do think i have reduced its severity with diet and lifestyle change, the tablets for me really are a last resort but sometimes i do have to take them just to get through the day in work. i feel my doctor puts it down to stress and the fact that I had a bad food poisoning episode years ago..but I do worry that years from now there is going to be something found inside my stomach and by then it'll be too late, a little paranoid i know but thats how i feel. I have had all the xrays, barium tests, camera down and up and nothing..Its really comforting to know though that i am not alone, i really could have done with a site like this years ago as i felt i was the only one on the planet that had something like this as none of my friends have any issues, i know though everyone has something..

username123

@rugbug86 - have you tried either abdominal massage or reflexology for your constipation? I have a friend who is suffering in a very similar way to you and this is to be her next thing to try (she has been to specialists, had tests, tried laxatives etc...).

I personally found that western modern medicine rubbish for helping with IBS. It was only when I went for alternative medicine that I began to get relief. Id say I had spent thousands in 2 years, saw my doctor countless times, was accused of making it up, was told it was in my head etc... and eventually I went to a place for vega testing and that was where I found out not only about my intestinal candida - but also all the sensible stuff being discussed here like exclusion diets, diary of events, etc....

My underlying reason was stress. But I was able to get to a place where the IBS was under control while still suffering stress.

rugbug86

I take movicol (osmotic laxative) and resolor (nerve stimulator) daily.

Sometimes I take fybogel if I'm not getting enough fibre. If I'm really at a loss I take ducolax pico solution or a dulco suppository OR sennokot. Sometimes also lactulose which is yuck. This is all done under GP and gastroenterologist supervision so I don't abuse or overuse laxatives - the excess ones are only if I'm suspected of being very clogged up.

I drink about 4 litres of fluid a day between water and juice. And another few hundred mls of water for the movicol.

I've never heard of abdominal massage but am considering reiki. I'd try anything at this stage just to have a normal poo!

daisy1223

Hi all, so glad i found this thread.

So here's my story, Last August I start getting these sharp stabbing pains in my right side just above and below my hip was worrying myself sick it was my appendix. I would keep pressing on my stomach to see if the pain got any worse when i released but it didnt, was just convinced it was going to get really bad and was worried sick. I went to the doctor after a few days and he didnt seem concerned about appendix, he did an abdominal exam and nothing seemed to make the pain anyworse. He gave me busocpan but they didnt do any good and alos referred me for an x-ray and ultrasound as he was thinking maybe it was kidney stones. I went for the tests and they showed nothing, the girl doing the ultrasound said I had a lot of gas in my stomach and seemed the think my appendix looked fine (she knew how worried I was). She advise me to take imogas for the pain and felt it should settle. I went back to the doctor a week later for results and he confirmed they were all clear and asked if I ever had IBS. I told him I do have alternating bowel movements (sorry to be graphic) and he felt it could be IBS and gave me Colofac and Spasmanol, I took the Spasmanol and it did help. But it came back again over Christmas and again was convinced it was appendix but Im still here lol! Now today at lunchtime and up to 7.00p.m I was getting a sharp, stabbing pain in my left hand sid just inside my hip bone and I could feel it in my back also. Im at a loss and am convincing myself yet again its my appendix as im just so worried about it, it is now kinda spreading to my right lower side too. I only ate strawberries for lunch so dont know why it just came on so quick. Any help/advice would be so appreciated.

rugbug86

I've had the same thing Daisy. I can't take spasmonal cos it makes constipation worse. And buscopan doesn't work for me.

Keep at your GP if you're concerned - rule out everything else.

Feelgood

I sympathise with you guys, I haven't suffered from IBS myself by my mother suffered terribly.

Now I don't want to give you false hope, what works for some may not work for others but she has been drinking raw Apple Cider Vinegar and she feels 100% since. Apple Cider Vinegar has to be raw and unfiltered (There should be bits floating around in it, not the clear stuff at the supermarket)

We got this info from a site called earth clinic which deals with natural remedies. http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/IBS.html

Give it a go and hopefully will help some of you.

deadanonymau5

Anyone here take probiotics? Which ones do you take? Do they help?

Where would you get apple cider vinegar in Ireland?

satcmegafan

Yes i should have mentioned both solpadol and the spasmonal forte tabs do cause constipation but its only for maybe 12 hrs and for me personally as i am not affected with that or diarrhea with my ibs but more agony spasms and bloating, when the pain kicks off these tabs are the only thing that stop the pain and let me get through the day. I would be interested in trying out the abdominal massage and the apple cider vineger, thanks for that, maybe a health food shop would stock it but could def buy over the net i imagine. ive often wondered would a colonic irrigation help, its not something i would jump at the thought of having but maybe it would be worth trying for some people...reading the posts its amazing the variation in people's symptoms. neither buscopan, colpermin, peppermint tea or any otc remedies have helped me, i may aswell have been eating smarties maybe they work for some people though..
rugbug86 - apologies i wasnt trying to imply u abuse laxatives, its just that they are known to make things worse instead of better, obv of course depending on people's specific symptoms..
deadanonymau5 - the glenisk probiotic low fat yogarts are the ones that help me, i eat one every morning with fruit, ive never tried probiotic tabs if there is such a thing