Hi there
So over the past year i have been having some abdominal issues, bloating, gassy, constipation, cramps and rib cage discomfort. The doctor said it was IBS as all my tests come back clear.
Pelvic Ultrasound
Abdominal Ultrasound
ECG
Chest X Ray
Blood Tests
Urine Sample
Stool Sample
CRP Blood test
Over the past 2/3 weeks i have been taking probiotics and inulin and my stomach definitely has started to feel better than it did but now i have this ache in my back that radiates around my waist and into my right hand rib cage. I often feel breathless with an accelerated hear rate. I have also been having night sweats, pretty much every night for the past couple of weeks. Im not waking up soaking wet but definitely wet enough to make the bed damp. I also have this know type feeling in my abdomen like strain or something, the joint in my right elbow hurts on and off also. I feel like this is taking over my life, im constantly worried, i wake up grumpy, moody, irritable, im impatient, cant concentrate and am short tempered. Im worried that i have carcinoid syndrome or lymphoma etc as alot of my symptoms match up.
Has anyone been through this or is going through this?
Back pain is an IBS symptom. Breathlessness and an increased heart rate can come from anxiety. All your tests are negative. I think if you had anything serious going on, it would have shown up on your tests and your doctor would have told you about it. Remember, the medications you have been taking have helped your IBS, so believe your doctor! Anxiety aggravates IBS and can cause pain in the body and sweating. Night sweats are also associated with the perimenopause/menopause if you are close to fifty.
Some people get rib cage pain with IBS and rib cage pain can also be caused by costochondritis which can start because of stress. Try not to google your symptoms; you will only get inaccurate results which will lead to anxiety. Only listen to your doctor. iBS symptoms can cause anxiety.
Try relaxation and distraction techniques for your health anxiety. Before my IBS diagnosis, I had terrible health anxiety due to googling symptoms and getting no diagnosis for three and a half months and I was convinced I had all sorts of serious conditions that had been missed. Once I got my diagnosis, my IBS went into remission and my health anxiety completely cleared up.
I do believe i have health anxiety, i just sometimes find it hard to believe that alot of my symptoms can be caused by it? im 34 with a 4 year old and it has got worse since having him because as a mum you always think if anything happens to me what will he do. my aunt also got diagnosed with breast cancer after 16 months of false diagnosis, once she finally got told she had breast cancer it had spread to her liver, she is only 45.
ive dealt with this to a T.. And unfortuanetly worry and stress makes it worse . in a year and a half ive had every blood work imagineable , a ct scan, ultra sound , colonoscopy , endoscopy, cystoscopy , urine tests, liver tests etc. guess what they found ? basically nothing . was told i have gerd and ibs . nothing scary , nothing serious , nothing life threatening . youve got to find a away to relax and get your life back . its really hard , trust me i know. there are days where you feel you have no control over it . but take peace in that you had thorough testing . also if you feel certain tests would give you peace of mind , continue to oush for them . dont feel embarassed or crazy , tell your doctor bluntly what you are worried about . you can get your life back and get in control of this , i have started to myself .
Hi killeen
How are your vitamins and minerals? You could have been describing me regarding the way you wake up until i started taking Vit D, Magnesium, Vit C and multivits plus Vit B12 which i get by way of 3 monthly injections because medication i take blocks B12 absorption…try taking the above if you don’t already in particular Vit D and B12 for digestive problems…
I asked my doctor if he thought i needed a colonoscopy and he said no, i wasnt sure if i should request one or not. He said lets see what comes back from your CRP blood test and stool sample and they both came back clear so he doesnt think its necessary. I worry most days that theyve missed something
I dont take any supplements at all other than probiotics and inulin. My blood tests all came back ok. If i was lacking any vitamins and minerals would they not have shown up on my results?
Hi Kileen
With a routine blood tests vits and minerals like Magnesium, Vit D and Vit B12 are not screened they have to be specifically ordered by your doctor. Under the ‘Freedom of Information Act’ you can request a copy of your blood test results from your doctor and check what was screened and the results for yourself…
Anxiety can cause a lot of strange symptoms. Hormones can make IBS worse too. Looking after a young child can be very exhausting and stressful. Remember that you have been thoroughly tested and everything was normal. Normal results and improvements from the medication are very good signs. While serious conditions are sometimes missed, this does not happen to everyone. Try to accept your doctor’s diagnosis. Constant worry will make your IBS worse.
One doctor wanted to redo all my tests to check nothing had been missed because everything was inconclusive. I go another opinion from my named doctor who told me that I didn’t need any repeat tests since my symptoms were no worse in three and a half months and I hadn’t developed any new ones. I accepted this and felt immediately better. I would listen to your doctor and trust him when he says that a colonoscopy is unnecessary especially since your recent test were clear.I spent three and a half f months worrying that something had been missed which was not the case. Don’t listen to what your anxiety is telling you. Anxiety and IBS are linked because of the gut-brain axis.
Hello, aside from test results and supplements. Take a look on your diet that causing your IBS and other symptoms. Are you eating more processed foods, lactose, chocolate, ice cream, milkshakes, dairy, milk, wheat, pasta, pizza since you were young? If yes, these are the major triggers of your IBS. And the best to do is to eliminate these on your diet so the rest of the symptoms like pain, night sweats, anxiety etc. will be gone. Dairy, refined flours from bread or pasta and fried foods are mucus producing that encourage toxins to accumulate in your colon or large intestine resulting to abnormal contractions of your colon. But rest assured there’s NO inflammation going on in your intestine.
People with IBS are less tolerant with the pain so the number 1 they usually recommend is to take 1-2 enteric-coated peppermint oil capsule twice daily between meals to alleviate pain and cramping. If you don’t like capsule, peppermint tea will work. Drinking water, fiber and activity helps your constipation. vegetable juice is a good way to eliminate toxins from your colon.
I definitely believe this is NOT carcinoid syndrome, lymphoma or any type of cancer because you have NO bleeding anywhere from your intestine base from the test results. I believe your Doctor is right that this is IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) which is NOT life-threatening.
I find antispasmodic painkillers work more for my IBS; natural products do nothing for my pain and peppermint aggravates my reflux.Sometimes heartburn goes along with IBS.
ALL GI drugs and chemicals did nothing to my gastrointestinal issues since grade school. My GI issues got even worst. So, I discarded what I learn in nursing school and open my heart to natural remedies. I’m glad I OPEN my mind to it. I study thoroughly on my own. I never went to Doctor since 2015.
I have a lot of sensitivities to prescribed medication too. I have tried natural medications in the past for a variety of things but they simply don’t work or give me side effects. I was very open to try alternative therapies such as chiropractory and deep tissue massage to treat old injuries but they caused a huge reaction that lasted nine months and eventually led to my IBS. I am all for natural remedies, but for me they are no use.
FYI, chiropractic massage definitely WON’T lead to IBS. The main cause of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is the accumulation of toxins in the colon or large intestine from food and some medications resulting to abnormal contractions of colon because the colon is trying to dispose it to protect the body from poisoning. That’s why a person with IBS have alternating diarrhea or constipation, the body is trying to expel toxins.
Hi Naomi-04
Deep tissue massage does release toxins into the kidney and pancreas. It is documented that drinking water will help release the toxins from the kidneys and pancreas. Therefore, toxins will be trapped in the colon thus causing IBS. Tests and research are ongoing on the subject…
Where are the toxins coming from? Isn’t it from the the food that you eat? It’s not from the massage. Also, IBS results after eating dairy, refined flours for SO MANY YEARS. Thus, deep tissue massage is NOT the main cause of it. It’s the FOOD. So far, I didn’t see the study on pubmed, so the study might be financed to present a false study.
Hi Naomi-04
Did you read my post properly. The studies and research are still ongoing so until it is stated otherwise due to outcome of research, deep muscle massage can produce toxins and bring on IBS. This has been bourne out by a forum member pippa who has experienced just that. Let’s just wait for trial and research results which are carried out involving IBS sufferers…
There are quite a few causes of IBS. However, everyone experiences IBS differently and there is no single cause of IBS. Sometimes toxins and food are the cause, but in my case,the main cause was stress caused by the severe pain and mental stress of chiropractory and deep tissue massage, My doctor recognized my IBS as triggered by stress and nothing to do with food or toxins when I told him about the six months of stress I had experienced starting with chiropractory, deep tissue massage and an incompetent nurse botching a blood test done to establish why I had nine months of problems after chiropractory and massage. Personally, I don’t believe toxins are released after these treatments. For me, it was an severe immune response which was never picked up by doctor because I never went back after my blood test injury which turned into permanent neuralgia.
Both chiropractory and deep tissue massage did lead to my IBS. The accumulation of stress caused it within six months. IBS can develop six months after a stressful incident. The onset of my symptoms was no coincidence.