Looking for my IBS Doppleganger to hopefully ease my mind

Digestive health
1

Hi Everyone,

I'll keep this as short as I can, I'm booked in for my first appointment with the Gastroenterologist next week after over 6 months of struggling with whatever it is i'm dealing with.

I'm a 28 year old male.

My GP has diagnosed me with IBS / Acid Reflux and has given me Peppermint Oil tablets and Lansoprazole.

My symptoms are the following -

- Abdominal swelling / bloating (sometimes after meals, sometimes when I havent eaten anything)

- Acid Reflux / tightness in sternum / slight feeling in neck near adams apple

- Constipation after certain foods

- Weight loss (2 stone in total, but I have been eliminating dairy/gluten/fatty foods etc from my diet so this may be down to my overall change in diet)

- A pressure beneath my shoulderblades sometimes after I eat (trapped wind maybe?)

- Mucus in stool (as im constipated a fair bit, sometimes I feel like i really need to go, but all that happens is I pass a little bit of Mucus - sometimes with blood mixed in)

- Itchy bottom quite a lot!

- Blood in stool (blood appears in my stool around 40% of the time I can actually go, sometimes its faintly mixed in with mucus, sometimes its on the outside of the stool. My doctor has put this down to hemmerhoids from constipation and forcing BM's but the colour of the blood sometimes concerns me, it's very rarely bright red anymore and its more of a middle-red ... once or twice it has been darker red which worries me a bit)

I have never had the best diet and have always had stomach distension but its only since last December when i got really clogged up that most of these other symptoms appeared ... or I noticed them at least.

I've tried everything, Probiotics, different medicines, change of diet, stopping drinking alcohol for periods of time, change of eating habits and times ... I've seen some improvement with my constipation depending on what I'm eating but the other symptoms don't seem to ever go away no matter what I do.

Of course, whilst i've been waiting to be referred to the GE It's been a total guessing game and just trial and error to fix myself up, but with the ongoing symptoms I've now got an eye on other possible causes. The dreaded C's (Colitis, Chrohns, Cancer   wink, Possible parasites? 

I'm just looking for anyone that has had similar experience that can give me some hope that this could all still just be IBS ... I know the above conditions are still possible but at the minute my brain is pretty convinced that I have something other than IBS - mainly because of the bloody stool and the colour of the blood being darker than I assume you'd expect to find with internal hemmerhoids. The back ache makes me think of Pancreatic issues too ...

I suppose my question is, has anyone had mucus / darker red blood in the stool and been confirmed that it is down to IBS? - everywhere I look online says if its darker then it's something more sinister. Its not all the time and its only small amounts, usually at the start of a BM. 

Thank you so much to any of you that have taken the time to read this and anyone that replies, these forums are gold for people that have issues.

2

Hope you get some answers soon!

I have had a load of cameras up, testing a and samples and they're saying its IBS.

I also pass a lot of mucus and blood, with a severe side pain when the blood passes. And they're still saying its "probably just IBS" shocking really. I've been hospitalised a couple of times for it and they're still sticking to IBS. Which is just ridiculous.

Have you had any colonoscopies yet? They will show everything if there's anything there and take biopsies to be on the safe side.

It's all very worrying! Especially when blood is concerned! Hope you're okay !!

3

Try to eat more fruit and veg.

As long as your GP is aware of the blood in the stool and is sending you for tests I would not worry too much.

Take care and keep in touch

Sarah

4

thanks for your input guys - ill keep you posted when i see the GE!

5

Cant really help you im afraid, your symptoms sound much worse than mine, be brave go to your Dr, try and elivate stress as best you can while you wait for results.  I have a friend whose children have chrohns, properly all in their 30s now, her daughter not coping as well as her son, at least being male you dont have the dreaded periods to contend with with as well, while dealing with IBS, maybe guys have it a little easier symptom wise, only guessing.  Wish you tons of luck with your outcome.

Debs

6

Hi

I can understand what you are going through. First of all it is good that you are going to see a Specialist. Waiting part is awful. However not all the symptoms end up with a bad diagnosis so try no to worry. Did you have any tests done?

Vivian

7

Sounds horrible.  I dont have personal experience with IBS but others might know if the symptoms arise so suddenly.   The few people I know with IBS had increasing problems over years.

I would have been at least seeing another GP and trying to get to a specialist.   Six months is too long not to have escalted the testing and getting an expert opinion.   The things that scare you need immediate treatment and someone on a high pay scale should be proving its nothing serious.  When is your specialist appointment?   If its still far away ask for anothe rspecialist who can see you in a week or so.   Put pressure on them to prove its not serious before you accept IBS (which is of course serious in its own way)

Good Luck

8

Thanks Graham, my appointment is next Friday - 3rd July, so not too long to wait now. I have had symptoms on and off for years really but never to the point where i thought something might be wrong - now theyve escalated to the point where they are constant and can be quite debilitating.

I do see improvement when eating different foods sometimes but then other times it doesnt seem to matter. Could be anything ... im prepared to deal with whatever it is ... it's the not knowing that is doing my head in ... if i'm told I have XYZ and I need to do XYZ to manage or cure it then I can go away and do that ... it's just the constant trying this, trying that, maybe this will work, maybe that will work that bothers me ... takes up too much thinking time!

Thanks for your reply 

9

Hi,

I'm not a doctor so I don't know if any of this will help, but my experience of IBS is that your symptoms can change over time and as you change your food to solve one problem you can inadvertently create another.

About 3 years ago my symptoms changed and caused my weight to plumet, largely because of nausea.  After losing a stone I made a conscious effort to put weight on but couldn't do it through larger portions, instead I made myself snack whenever my kids asked for food.  Eating little and often helped to break the cycle.  I also discovered my body wasn't coping with insoluable fibre so I tried to reduce my intake of that as much as possible and that seemed to help reduce the nausea.

Fast forward to today, no nausea but bloating and weight gain amongst my symptoms.  First worked out I was dairy intollerent and then finally figured out my body was having problems with resistent starch - when things like potato and rice are cooked and cooled the startch changes, same thing happens when you reheat it.  Trying to eliminate reisitent starch has stopped the bloating and started to bring my weight down.

For anyone with IBS I'd recommend drinking LOADS of water, you may find this helps your back pain too.  The other factor in all of this is anxiety, especially the anxiety of not feeling you have a definite diagnosis.  It feeds back into the IBS and makes symptoms worse or creates new ones.  I've found simplifying my life as much as possible has helped get my symptoms under control, although there are times where I just have to accept that my symptoms will go off the chart e.g. when there's a death in the family, but knowing that they will improve again helps to get me through those times.

I know it all seems rather scary right now (especially when you look at the internet), but most of the time these symptoms really are what your doctor has told you they are, IBS, hemmeroids, acid reflux.  IBS symptoms are something which you can learn to control to a certain extent, but probably not eliminate, so hang in there and please believe life will get better.

 

10

I haven't had any tests except a physical checkup in the GP's office (felt my abdomen - finger up the jacksy) and he said everything looked and felt fine. He doesn't seem to be concerned about the blood as it isnt black and tarry ... he said if I ever pass black or tarry blood to go back to him immediately and i never have ... but like I say, it isnt black, but it has been dark red a couple of times. That's the concern.

11

I've had Anxiety issues in the past, and i know that the mind and the stomach in particular have a link ... and I also know that this extreme constipation (which is when i got really bad) started the night my Grandad died. I'm in great control of my emotions and thoughts and feelings and that side of Anxiety doesn't really affect me ... but i suppose the physical side of it, the subconscious effect it can have on me and my body may have a part to play in all of this. It was the first thing my mam said to me when she I told her it started the night my grandad died, but for me the symptoms are all too indicitave of a physical problem. Like I say, the blood is the worry - it's not all the time and it's rarely dark ... but that couple of times it is there, I just cannot find an answer as to why it's there. If it was lighter i'd be content to class it as hemmorhoids until I get to the GE but it was just the fact that it was darker that concerns me. 

Well I see the GE on Friday so hopefully I'll get some answers ... i'm prepared to deal with whatever I have to ... it's just the waiting, not knowing and trying a thousand different things that bothers me because it seems to take up all my concentration as Im trying to fix myself.

Thanks for reading and getting back to me.

12

Good luck. Let us know.

Vivian

13

Did you get anywhere xxx

14

Hi everybody ...

Thanks for all replying, it's great that there are loads of others out there that are able to help.

I had my Colonoscopy this morning ... no polyps, no inflammation (much to my surprise) - all clear and everything as it should be!

The procedure itself was fine too ... the only part about it was the pressure you could feel every now and again as the air was blown into the colon ... but that just felt like a really bad belly ache for a second or 2 then it would stop.

Specialist believes the bleeding i was having was down to hemmerhoids ... even though the blood was a darker color at times ... and he also thinks it's just a pure case of IBS.

I've eliminated dairy from my diet and the swelling and symptoms overall have settled greatly, so I'm looking down the intolerance avenue now.

Thanks again for all your kind words and help ...

A very relieved co-patient.