Can you tell me what you think is wrong with me?

Digestive health
1

Hi all, 

I'm new to all this, as I've only been having gut issues for about 4 months now. I'll briefly try to detail my experiences below:

-at the beginning of June, there was about a week and a half where I couldn't fart. This was the beginning of all my digestive issues. I felt extremely bloated, tight, and just like I had trapped gas that wouldn't come out.

-after x-raying me and finding nothing wrong with me, my doctor told me I was constipated, thus I should eat more stone fruits/fiber. I did as I was told, but didn't feel better.

-at this point, I decided to omit all grains, dairy, and soy from my diet (essentially following a paleo lifestyle). I did this for about a month, but still experienced extreme bloating (to the point of visible distention), cramping, and trouble pooping--I now had lost my urge to poop and would have to force myself to defecate. Additionally, my bms were often very small, but still soft. I was also tested for celiac disease. I do not have  it.

-since after a month, I still wasn't feeling better, my doctor told me to clean out my colon by doing a Miralax cleanse--for 2 days, I drank nothing but water, pear juice, and chicken broth and had 6 capfuls of Miralax a day. I was pooping a lot. 

-after the clean-out, I reverted back to my original state of discomfort. Could not poop without forcing, was severely bloated. I now experienced abdominal pain from time-to-time as well.

-went to a gastroenterologist. He told me I had IBS and to assume the low-Fodmap diet for two weeks.

-I did not feel better with the low-Fodmap diet. I was in a constant state of discomfort due to bloating (again, to the point of visible distention), cramping (sometimes it felt like I was on my period), and in inability to produce successful bms (ones that wouldn't just be a small pile of mush after straining for 20 mins).

-my GI specialist prescribed me Rifaximin and probiotics (50 million strain) for two weeks. Each day, I take 3 Rifaximin doses (1 pill at 6am, 2pm, and 10pm) and 2 probiotic doses (1 probiotic at 10am and 6pm). I have been on this treatment for 10 days now and do not feel better. My symptoms include:

     -severe bloating and trapped gas, regardless of the time of day or

      whether I just ate or not (abdomen always protruding now; visible

      distention)

     -pain/cramping, especially in the lower left quadrant of my abdomen

     -loss of my urge to poop (just feels like I have to fart, which can be

      confusing). I now poop out of obligation--I have felt that when I don't

      force it, the feces just accumulates and I feel worse.

     -bms are soft and small (piles of mush), yet require a great deal of

      time and effort spent straining (as well as squatting on top of my toilet       seat)

     -the feeling that someone has poured cement in my intestines and let

      it harden (feeling sludgy, heavy, taut--like my guts are being

      compressed)

I have tried taking magnesium citrate each night to help me poop. The recommended serving size is 2 tsp, which worked like a charm the first time I took it. After the first time, however, it did not work. I would take it at 10pm and not have a bm until the next day at around 2-3pm (and it would be forced). I have upped my dosage to 3 1/2 tsp, but I still have to force in order to poop at all the next day (unless I wanted to risk feeling severely backed up for the rest of the day). 

I should also provide background as to what kind of lifestyle I have:

     -I am healthy. I eat several servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I

      drink plenty of water. I limit the amount of gluten and grains I have to

      1 or less servings per day.

     -I am active. I do cardo-intense kickboxing three times a week, and

      spar once a week. Occasionally, I go on walks.

     -I am a woman. I am 5'10 and weigh 140-145 lbs.

I think that should cover it for now. What do you think this could be? What is my next step/what would you recommend? Is anyone out that who had the same experience as me that could offer me any advice? I don't want to deal with this for the rest of my life, as it has begun to affect not just my physical well-being, but my mental state of mind as well.

Thanks. Any help/input is greatly appreciated. 

2

Hi. I am not sure what is going on for you but what you are suffering sounds a bit like gastro paresis to me. I have an autoimmune disease with some GI issues and a lot of people in my help group suffer from gastro paresis. Have a look and see if it sounds familiar. Have you had an endoscopy or anything like that to have a look at how the bowel is functioning?

3

Your symptoms sound like IBS.  Fodmap doesn't help everyone and probiotics need several weeks trial to judge whether they are working rather than just ten days.  If everything else has been ruled out with tests, accept your diagnosis and you will feel better.  When I accepted my IBS diagnosis, my symptoms improved.  Try prune juice, green grapes and oranges and be prepared to try lots of different treatments because everyone is different. I often have no urge for a motion and they are often hard pellets or soft.  The pain used to be like period cramps.

4

Thank you so much for responding. I have not had a colonoscopy or endoscopy, but I would like to get one or both just to see if I'm functioning correctly. 

As for the gastroparesis--I don't think I have it because I don't have GERD or acid reflux, rarely get the feeling that I need to vomit at all, and my pain is centralized in the lower left quadrant of my abdomen, not in the stomach. Thanks again though--any little bit of information helps. 

5

Hi, check PM some info.

6

Because your body is not repsonding to any of the treatments or diets you are trying, regardless of how long your taking them for then you really need to keep nagging your doctor or find one who generally takes IBS seriously. Doctors are not supposed to diagnose IBS untill every test has come back normal. This includes scans. So go to your doctor and demand a range of scans to rule out anything else this will help.

Your BM may be soft but because your straining and feeling bloated etc then it sounds more like constipation. Its so so dangerous to strain or force yourself to go. You could be doing more damage than good despite the short relief you may feel. Maybe worth trying a laxative to help regulate bowel movements a bit? However if they make you feel bloated or worse (they do some people) then dont put yourself through it. IBS treatment is fast acting. Thats the whole point of it. So if they dont work then your body is trying to tell you something.

I would for the time being look into some anti spasmotic tablets. Especially ones that target bloating. Colperin are naturally based and have great results with Constipation and relieving wind. Many people also use Buscopan for stomach pains. This may give you some relief untill you know exactly what your dealing with.

Im sorry i cant be of much help. It sounds as if you have tried most things. Just keep on at the doctors and get everything ruled out before assuming you have IBS. As it may be something like Gastro Paresis.

7

I so agree with this IBS has become a catch all for " I don't know what is wrong with you and I wo 't bother to investigate". Get annoyed when these symptoms are not properly investigated.

8

Go to your GP and get tested.

9

Do you drink lots of water? Drinking water before eating breakfast and before going to bed. Drink fibre drink before going to bed will help with constipation.

10

I drink water throughout the day, including warm water before breakfast and bed. I haven't tried any fiber drinks though, just osmotic laxatives like Miralax, powdered mag citrate, and now liquid mag citrate. 

11

Yeah I think that'll be my next step. 

12

I agree with margaret22116...it's such a broad, vague umbrella term that doctors can get away with just slapping it on a patient's record and telling them to work around it. It's absolutely frustrating--why am I feeling this way? Why did it just start so suddenly? If you don't have answers, just tell me that you don't know. And don't just tell me that "it is the way it is". There has to be something that we're missing.

And thank you emily92420 for your response. I think I'm going to demand a colonoscopy/endoscopy. My doctor told me that the next step would be antispasmodics, so I'll have to look into those soon. 

13

Melissa, I have been studying the way you say your bowel movements are and when you have them you say you still feel like you have BM that's not all coming out. I'm a CNA and have worked in nursing homes and I have had patients that woudl be having bowel movements but yet they would seem bloated and miserable. You need to insist that your Doctor do some test where they can see what is going on inside your bowel. I think with what you are saying maybe you could have some kind of bowel obstruction going on because you can have an obstruction and still be passing stool but it could be coming around the obsruction or blockage. Please get in touch with your Doctor and tell them you want them to run some kind of test to see if you may have some kind of obstruction/blockage and please keep us updated with what going on with you. Update us as soon as you know some kind of results. I hope this may help you to come up with an answer. God Bless you.

14

Thank you so much! Will definitely keep everyone posted, especially if it means I can help someone else out who may be experiencing the same symptoms. 

15

Melissa,

     That's how  I see it because when your facing things that you are unsure of it's good to hear from someone who has facts about what kind of things they've faced and what's worked for them, because a lot of people experience things in different ways I guess it's just how our bodies are made, we're all different. I hope things get straightened out for you soon because I know your aggravated that you still don't have an answer after all this time... God Bless..