I've been diagnosed as having IBS.
My symptoms lately have been severe pain and loose stools.
I can't help but feel it might be something worse than IBS that my Dr is missing.
Tests I did :
FBC
Blood in tool test
Iron
CRP test for inflammation
Cal proctatin test (or however you spell it) a test for inflammation in bowels.
Everything can back clear so Dr says no colonoscopy.
What tests did you guys do?
Do you think that's enough for a diagnosis?
Dear kinder,
I have been through all these tests and thought I had something seriously wrong with me. The GP told me that there was a 35 week waiting list for a colonoscopy so I paid to go private, what a waste of money £831.00 I wish I had listened now, all that money and then having to go through the examination to be told I had no cancer no divertculitis no inflammation all clear. I went back to the GP who read the report and said "you have ibs, very common, and it does not lead to cancer" . The trouble with you and I is that we worry too much, at the moment I have pain down my left decend colon a bit in my left leg left hand tingles a bit and sometimes I get a headache. You are definitely OK but when you and I worry it gets worse. I feel very sorry for you if you have to work it must be dreadful.
I find giving up wheat and dairy food helped me also avoid tea, coffee, alcohol, fizzy drinks spicy food and anything acidic. Make sure you drink plenty of water.
Some people find the low FODMAP diet helps them, it did for me.
Exercise can help to, I take my cocker spaniel for a walk three times a day. For the cramping pain I take Buscopan some people prefer Mebeverine. You can buy these things at the chemist shop, if they work for you then go to your GP and get them on prescription.
Please don't feel you are on your own, if I can help you as a fellow sufferer please get back to me.
Please take care of yourself and try to relax.
Thinking of you
bobcrachet ( bob )
Thank you so much for your reply! It's made me feel so much better - I'm a single mum and not working so ilthats ok - I definitely couldn't work at the moment, getting horrible pains now after eating chocolate.
I was thinking of going private for a colonoscopy but you might be right. I really hope it gets better soon-I'd love a proper bowel movement!!!!!
Thank you for your support!
Thank you so much for your reply! It's made me feel so much better - I'm a single mum and not working so ilthats ok - I definitely couldn't work at the moment, getting horrible pains now after eating chocolate.
I was thinking of going private for a colonoscopy but you might be right. I really hope it gets better soon-I'd love a proper bowel movement!!!!!
Thank you for your support!
Dear kinder,
May I politely suggest you don't eat chocolate or anything with too much fat in it. This will really cause you problems. Chocolate has given me severe pain in the past and so did butter. I thought that if I eat some butter it would lubricate my tubes and cure the constipation, instead I was up all night in pain and could not sleep on either side or my back and stomach. When I told my GP he just shut his eyes and said " it does not work like that, chocolate and butter including fats generally will cause your colon to contract violently giving you lots of pain, you must learn not to eat them " It's amazing how fast pain can educate you. I have never touched chocolate or butter since.
Just keep telling me what you eat and drink and I will tell you which things affect me. This might give you the clues that you need about what to avoid. If you send me a message like this I will always reply. Others on this forum have really helped me so I will certainly help you.
Please relax and take care
bob
Thank you so much.
To be honest I don't know my triggers, I eat healthy normally.
However I do believe I've now chocolate and coffee to be major triggers and I love coffee. The pain is always in the morning mainly and it's only with loose stools - if I'm constipated then the pain is barely noticeable, which is why I wonder if it is indeed IBS. However, unfortunately I do suffer from panic attacks and anxiety plus hypochondria so ........ You know where I'm going with that - seems likely to self inflicted IBS through years of inner turmoil. It's so painful though sometimes and hard to imagine it's just a benign disorder when you get these kinds of symptoms. I only ate salads yesterday and chicken - I was fine until I ate um.....3 pieces of chocolate fudge 
I don't eat much pasta though that's never been an issue and I have cut back on diary. The dr also said I probably have gastritis too and I believe the two are quite common.
If you stick to your diet of eliminating trigger foods does it work?
Exercise is a good one - I don't so that.
Thank you so much again. I might pm you so as to not take up so much space on a public site if that's ok!!
Dear kinder,
Because I retired very early I have had all the time I need to find out all the answers, or as many as we need to stay out of trouble. Your type of IBS is so similar to mine that we could be the same person. Chocolate and coffee are serious triggers for me, I must not consume them at all, and I really did like coffee, I even had my own expresso machine because this would wake me up fast in the morning. I had to get rid of it because of this IBS.
Pain is associated with diarrhoea because your bowel is too active, some doctors beliveve that IBS is caused by an increase in sensitivity to bowel movements. When you are constipated everything has slowed down so pain is minimal. This sensitivity also describes why chocolate and coffee cause us pain, because these things cause our bowel to contract more violently, it also explains why coffee is a laxative for some people, but if you and I use it we will have lots of pain for up to 24 hours.
There is a very recognised link between our bowels and our brains which is why if we get upset our IBS symptoms get worse. This is the reason why a person receiving bad news about a family member or say winning a big prize can can suffer from diarrhoea with either experince.
There is not going to be anything wrong with you, if there was the GP would have put you in for a colonoscopy. More women than men suffer from IBS for some strange reason. GP's get really good at diagnosing what is wrong with you. There are serious signs if you had bowel cancer or something like that, you are 98% sure of having IBS.
This condition is unpleasant but it will not kill you or shorten your life. It can be managed by diet and exercise and doing your best to destress.
You will also find it a help to talk about how you feel to a nice friend if you can find one. Probably another women who just wants to listen to your feelings. I have tried to help many people on this forum just like many people have helped me but sometimes you might require more attention so this is when a good friend can help. Women always seem to be the best at listening and will not try to tell you what to do all the time.
Relaxing will really help you, I know that is difficult today, especially if you have children to look after but you must have a bit of time to yourself. Sleep is also very important to you with this condition.
Please take care of yourself and blog me on this forum if I can be of help, if I am a bit slow in coming back to you it is because I am out with the dog. He is a cocker spaniel called willy.
Best wishes
bob
Dear Bob,
Again thank you so much.
It's actually quite a relief to hear from someone else who is going through the same thing and for you to take the time you have to reply to me is very kind and I appreciate it so much - so again thankyou.
I do have girlfriends that i can talk too, however discussing your bowels is quite a hard thing to do and I find on this forum you can be as 'honest,' as you need to be and people don't judge you for it and if anything are eager to join in the disucssion and talk about their own issues as well which to me is amazingly helpful.
I too had/have my own coffee machine, boy I love my coffee.
I was consuming about 5 cups a day though and believe that has been the main reason why all of a sudden my IBS has gone 'beserck.'
Today has been much better, still that annoying nagging pain but nothing like the other day where I was sitting on the toilet literally crying waiting for the pain to be over, I have to say it felt very similiar to child birthing pains, it's quite awful isn't it.
The pain, obviously not the child birth
I'm glad to hear you have a lovely walking companion called Willy!
ha ha...I think exercise is probably a key factor for me.
I will let you know how i get on and any other tips you may have would be greatly appreciated.
Have you tried kefir? or probitoic?
Did that make a difference?
I was on fish oil supplements but coincidental or not it seemed to make things worse.
The brain/stomach connection is a fascinating one and I believe the stomach is sometimes (though of course inaccurate) called 'the second brain.'
It seems to have it's own nerve responses - and I must remember this when it comes to IBS.
- After eating pancakes as a treat this morning I seem to be starting to have the pain again .... I guess I can tick either milk or flour of my list - or um.... oh yes the Nutella spread... wow .... it's going to be hard to eliminate foods! ;(
Dear kinder,
It does not matter how many times you communicate with me through this forum, I will always come back to you. I know all about the pain and in the begining I was convinced I had something seriously wrong with me.
It is difficult to find a diet which agrees with you but you must try because if you don't IBS will give you absolute hell.
I have never tried Kefir but I do buy LLAETH Y LLAN yogurt in the local spar shop at £1.28 for 450 grams which is a very good probiotic, prebiotics are good as well because they feed the good bacteria in the gut.
I would not touch pancakes ( wheat in the flour ), fish oil ( oil is bad ) or milk ( dairy ). All these will cause you problems.
Look it's going to be a long job but I will give you a write up of my diet which works for me, I will get it done Sunday because that will give me more time to prepare. This will be a long blog but it will help you sort things out. I can see why you dont like to talk to peòple face to face, feel fee to say anything to me, I will never be shocked.
Hope you havè à good niģht
bob
Thank you so much Bob!
I will look forwar to your diet plan.
I imagine it will be a long road an I can't wait for things to get better!
Thank you so much Bob!
I will look forwar to your diet plan.
I imagine it will be a long road an I can't wait for things to get better!
Hello kinder,
It's bob, I am sending you this from a Samsung galaxy tab 3, it is a bit slow so high hope it gets to you OK.
Bobs diet for IBS
Lean beef, Chicken, Scrambled egg, white fish.
Porridge with milled linseed, Brown rice, potatoes,
Walnuts, Almonds, Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds.
kale, Spinach, green beans, Tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, celery, swede, turnips, olives.
RIPE bananas, grapes, kiwi fruit, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries.
Probiotic yogurt, and a litte olive oil.
I must avoid the following foods as they cause me problems.
Lemon juice, Vinegar, Chilli, onion, garlic, dried fruit, coffee, tea, butter, cheese, animal fats, honey, alcohol, chocolate, fizzy drinks, wheat, rye, fruit juice and ice cream
Make sure you drink plenty of water as this will help your bowel condition.
I hope this helps you kinder, remember to keep in touch as I have more things to tell you.
best wishes
bob
kale,
HI bob,
all love all the the things you cut out!
seems though I may have to try.
im now back to being constipated-which is annoying, I've passed a small amount of mucous but that's it!
im so over it.the one thing that concerns me is that I wake up in the morning with a sick stomach - it feels as though I've been vomiting all night - do you eerie nice that?
im back to wondering what else it might be.....
i ate pretty well yesterday and the only thing I had that was bad was a coffee and or bread.
but this is starting to become ridiculous!
up until about 5 months ago everything was normal!
i just want it to all go away. It's depressing - will venture to Dr this week again to see if I can get a colonoscopy although now I'm starting to wonder if it might be a neurological thing. Aggghhhh. Thank you though so much - I think it ill start by going on a strict paleo diet. See how that works?!
thanks x
sorry ryping on my iPad so please excuse the many mistakes.
Dear kinder,
I know this really gets you stressed up but try to relax. You have all the symptoms I had. For some people they seem to get diarrhoea and constipation all the time but for others it is triggered by something and they get the symptoms intermittently. You say about passing stools with muscous, this is again a classic sign of IBS.
By all means, speak to your GP this week but don't be upset if they don't want to give you a colonoscopy. I think they have already made a diagnosis of IBS.
Please don't drink coffee and eat bread, especially white bread. It's even worse if you do it before you go to bed.
The reason I don't eat wheat s that it contains gluten and this is a real problem for those with IBS.
It will take you time but you really should get you diet right r your symptoms will persist.
Diet, exercise and de-stressing are the best ways of dealing with IBS.
Hope this helps you a bit, keep in touch.
bob
Dear kinder,
My last message was blocked buy the moderators, so I cannot tell you about a possible cure for IBS. If they delete this message I will close my account and advise my friends what has happened.
Oh please moderaters do not block his message!
You can PM me I think?
Thanks Bob.
Hello kinder,
I have actually found a cure for ibs. I have used it myself and it works.
For some reason the moderators are blocking me. I would like them to grow up and email me why I am blocked from telling you.
I have not sent you any linksto other sights and I have informed my GP what I have done.
How can I pass this information to you ?
Regards
bob
Hi Bob!
Oh that seems to go against everything this site stands for.
People helping others in need out - I"m quite suprised.
Is it because it might come across as a product endorsement?
(maybe/) - I don't know just trying to figure it out.
You can email me ... however someone sent me a PM so I think that is possible. I will try see if I can PM you.
Thanks Bob.
Dear kinder,
How are you, just thought I would see how you got on with the sites, it is unrthodox but farmers have been using it for years in the USA.
If I can be of any help just give me a shout.
bob