I wanted to start this thread for any IBS sufferers out there .
2 year ago after a bad kidney infection i was diagnosed with IBS and it was nothing like i thought.
Before suffering from it , i just thought it was when you get a bout of "the runs " how wrong was i ?
I discovered there are many forms or IBS and not all sufferers get all symptoms.
I suffer from Bowel Spasams i dont really get the runs or constipated , jus painful spasams in my bowel. Once they start , who knows when they will stop. They get so bad somedays the pain travels down my leg , i have to take codine phosphate for the pain.
My back is always tender and ive tried working out what foods may trigger , so far ive came up with onions and chinese food .............but im still not so certain ........also layin on anything hard triggers it , ive recently had to get a orthopeadic matress which has helped lots.
My attacks are gettin less frequent as i learn to understand it more , but at one point it was all day every day for aprox 6weeks ..........so pain full.
I am writing this thread today as..........nice old IBS has flared up again all night and ive been up since 5.30am.
Would be nice to unite with some other suffers and hear your stories and what has helped for you, and how it affects your dieting etc .
It's nice to see this thread, although I'm sorry you feel so icky. I've been diagnsoed with IBS-D for 9 years now.
Things that trigger me:
Caffeine (or any stimulant)
Artificial sweeteners-including stevia, truvia. I have to use Tom's of Maine toothpaste (made without sweeteners) or I get nasty tummy aches all day
Alcohol--I can't even take cough syrup or non-alcoholic beer
MSG
Fried foods
Dairy
Garlic
Raw onions
I used to be on anti-spasmodics, but I now manage my diet pretty well without them.
Eating small meals through the day has helped immensely, as well as increasing my fiber. I rarely have an attack (knock on wood, lol) these days, but I also watch what I eat pretty carefully.
This book really helped me after I was diagnosed: http://www.amazon.com/First-Year-IBS...6326141&sr=8-3
Glad to see this site. Can you answer some questions for me. My doctor said he believes I have IBS but he didn't suggest any testing for it. Is there a test for it? I need to figure out my trigger foods. This morning I had a poached egg on toast and it triggered an attack. But I did have coffee before hand.
No there is no testing for it they can only diagnose by symptoms , IBS shows no physical abnormalities , and after having a ultra sound scan everything was showing normal but i was getting symptoms of IBS.
Thats why it can take a long time even years to dignose. Also can take along time to work out what your triggers are. Depending what your type of IBS is .
Go and see you doctor they should give you more info and leaflets.
there is a IBS froum that i have found helpful if you want the web addy just let me kno xxx
IBS runs in our family; I had it since my teens, but now it is much better. IN the past, the only thing that helped it was "natural strawberry extract" which you can't find here anymore. Now I eat several small meals per day and added fiber too.
Firstly, I know that I am very allergic to dairy products, esp regular ice cream; if I eat a regular ice cream cone, within an hour, I have stomach pains and then runny diarrhea right after and end up stuck on the toily all night ... sorry if that is too much info, but I suspect it is not if you suffer from this, like our family members do ...
Other things that can trigger it for me are coffee, chocolate cake, milk, etc. I can have a little milk, but too much causes the runs (ie can't drink a glass of it). I can have dairy that is already fermented like yogurt, yogurt ice cream, hard cheeses; and slice cheese is OK too -- have no problems with them, so I have switched totally ...
I used to have this daily, and I also believe STRESS was also a really big trigger. I have taken measures to get better and the difference is amazing; and I am so grateful becuz it was a nightmare for so many years. Whenever company would come over, I would end up spending most of the time in the can; and I had so many "accidents" it was embarrassing and devastating. How about a proliferation of "tooting" while talking to your boss at work, then having to excuse yourself to run the washroom ...
Many people just don't understand the extent and ramifications of this disease -- you can't go anywhere for fear of an "accident"; guests hate waiting for you to get out of the washroom; you can't work becuz you spend so many hours in the can (esp in the morning for me, but no guarantee as it can happen right after dinner too). You don't know what all triggers it, so an attack can happen at anytime and anywhere.
The pain in your stomach brings you to tears; it's almost like your insides are on fire. Then there's the mess after the "accident" == showering, washing all your clothes, and cleaning the bathroom or wherever it occurs. This happened to me so many times. Having to pull over on the side of the road to go; so we finally resorted to taking a porta-potty in the trunk with us everywhere we went for years. I had to carry extra clothing in the car and other personal supplies too, etc.
Some of my family still suffer terribly -- and recently, some tests have revealed that our food is not leaving our stomachs as it should; my food can stay in my stomach for hours and hours when it should have left in about 2 hours. They believe this is another cause of the diarrhea and pain as well: as the doctors put it -- our food is putrifying in our gut and intestines ...
I thank GOD above for being healed of this ailment (as long as I am really careful what I eat); it is horrible and I really feel sorry for anyone who goes through it -- as it really takes a toal on your social and private life too ... to all other sufferers out there ...
I really feel for you and your family thats the worse case ive heard of. Im fortunate i dont suffer from that form of IBS where you get the runs .......but i share your pain in my bowel spasams which can get horrific.
It is a frustrating disease, my grandmother suffered from it to and in the end she ate like a hamster in fear of an attack.
LUCKY ~ yes, it was a very bad case, and all of my family have it, but one of my sisters (NUMPSTER) has it really bad like I did. In order to work, she stopped eating during the day, only eating one meal at night, which resulted in her developing diabetes: her sugars got too low, then her body dumped insulin which caused high numbers again ...
SHe has tried all kinds of arrangements: starting work late and working at home, but becuz STRESS makes it worse and you don't always know which foods you eat will cause it, you end up withit anyways. For our family, there are many kinds of foods that can cause an attack plus stress on top of that.
In the past, when I worked, I used to eat less during the day too; becuz you can't spend all day in the can. Now, the main symptom I have left is that I always have to "RUSH" to the washroom to avoid an "accident" as I don't have a lot of notice (the sign you have to go is late since my childhood). Now it goes back and forth between constipation and looser bowel movements.
Once I even got heck from an employer who told me that I went to the washroom too often and that he was going to deduct me .25 c for every minute I was in there. I told him to go ahead, as I couldn't help it; I had to go and that was it ... I eventually had to stop working myself. We have always had to battle this kind of discrimination and my sister is battling that now -- a terrible lack of understanding and compassion.
Last edited by Justwant2Bhealthy; 06-15-2010 at 10:34 PM.
LUCKY ~ yes, it was a very bad case, and all of my family have it, but one of my sisters (NUMPSTER) has it really bad like I did. In order to work, she stopped eating during the day, only eating one meal at night, which resulted in her developing diabetes: her sugars got too low, then her body dumped insulin which caused high numbers again ...
SHe has tried all kinds of arrangements: starting work late and working at home, but becuz STRESS makes it worse and you don't always know which foods you eat will cause it, you end up withit anyways. For our family, there are many kinds of foods that can cause an attack plus stress on top of that.
In the past, when I worked, I used to eat less during the day too; becuz you can't spend all day in the can. Now, the main symptom I have left is that I always have to "RUSH" to the washroom to avoid an "accident" as I don't have a lot of notice (the sign you have to go is late since my childhood). Now it goes back and forth between constipation and looser bowel movements.
Once I even got heck from an employer who told me that I went to the washroom too often and that he was going to deduct me .25 c for every minute I was in there. I told him to go ahead, as I couldn't help it; I had to go and that was it ... I eventually had to stop working myself. We have always had to battle this kind of discrimination and my sister is battling that now -- a terrible lack of understanding and compassion.
Yeah i know its a totally misunderstood condition. I to have missed significant work days due to IBS. I have had two long term sicknesses which lasted 2/3months linked with IBS , my bowel spasams also trigger spasams in my back muscle in the same area ( lower right of my back) which also brought on a bout of depression. It is i vicious circle.
Im currently not working , i left my job after my sickness period ended as the work was very heavy ( i worked in nursing care) i then went to collage but it didnt work out ( thats another story) anyhow im curently job hunting but ive been unempolyed since october. Its frustrating not finding work, but ill be honest it has been a journy of self discovery especially with IBS it was really bad in january how ever it calmed down alot and now i only have attacks ay once every 4-6 weeks , it has been much more managable. So i understand that it is a very hard condition to work around work! It can take over your life.
I have curently had a few attacks this week and had one last night i was awake till 6.30am this morning. My only long term concern is , ive treid all the IBS drugs anti spasam and they dont work ..........im now prescribed Codine Phosphate and if i get a attack i have 60mg to ease the pain , and in turn codines constipate me
It is something only IBS sufferers will understand , and its nice to meet and talk to fellow sufferers and sometimes it can be an isolating nd overlooked disease.
I have ibs, too, and am lactose intollerant. I used to get severe cramping and the runs when I ate dairy but a few years ago that changed. Now I can use lact-aid. It never worked before so I don't know if its a new version or what. I also find eating yogurt (with a lactaid pill) really helps. I only eat stonyfield farms so again don't know if it's because it's so natural that it helps or not.
lucky8, thanks for the link to the group!
Does anyone else find it's worse in the late winter/early spring than any other time of the year? My doctor used to say it was because I was starting to eat more fresh fruits and veg.
BLISS ~ I find yogurt OK to eat as well; I do try to limit how much dairy I consume at one time, keeping to a serving size. My stepmother suggested those lactaid pills too; I should get a bottle to have here just in case. Your symptoms sound very similar and are usual for lactose intolerance. I agree about the veggies and fruit, both my sister and I have noticed that we do not digest them at all and they go right through our systems. I eat them for health reasons anyways, along with daily vitamins and minerals for a lifelong deficiency. I'm sure having this intestinal disorder contributes to that too.
LUCKY ~ yes, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about this condition by the general public yet so many people seem to suffer from it. They don't get it that you can end up running to the washroom for hours whenever an "episode" occurs (for us, anywhere from 1-4 hours is common).
The other issue is the lack of remedies to deal with it; we have tried all the meds on the market. Some don't work at all; some work only a bit; some only work for a while; and only once in a blue moon, when you find one that works sometimes, then you can't get it anymore. The only thing that helped me (pure strawberry extract) is no longer available here; all you can get is the creamy kind now, but it isn't nearly as effective and it takes much longer to work.
So our only other remedy is to watch what and when we eat very carefully; plus try to keep our stress levels down as much as possible, but that is only a stop-gap measure -- meaning, it only helps a bit or temporarily. It is true that it gets better at times and worse say, when you have a flu bug.
BTW ~ I also get those bowel spasms, but not as bad as I used to; and one of my brothers does too. Not sure if the others do or not; he just happened to mention it once. All six kids and both my parents had/have this ailment; only my father and I have the back and forth issue (very loose or too firm BM's) as far as I know.
Last edited by Justwant2Bhealthy; 06-18-2010 at 05:34 PM.
I have found that pepermint capsuales help with digestion and ive found that multi vitimans with probiotics have helped...........i took a box and throughout the time i took them my IBS calmed down , im still having pain today its benn going on for over a week now so im gona get some of these probiotics tomorrow when i go shopping see if they can help again. Yeah ive found tablets subscribed only work to a degree like buscopan and another one that i was prescribed , that digested my food straight away and id be hungary again but not just hungary STARVING............sware this was the cause ov my weight gain .........over the time i was on them was over the time i gained weight , but who knows.
Ill have to find out the name of them it began with a "M" anyway x
Mebeverine or known as Colofac thats what i was prescribed.
I also found when subscribed Fluxoetine my symptoms almost dissapered , this must have been to the relaxant nature of them , however i cud not stay on them due to other undisiarable effect.
I'm joining in for the great support in this thread I have no diagnosis but have IBS-D symptoms following gallbladder removal surgery two years ago. It is such a socially isolating issue and I feel so alone in the midst of an episode that I had to chime in on the thread. I have an incredibly supportive boyfriend and somewhat supportive family (on this issue lol) but I realize how hard it is to really understand and/or accept the limitations imposed by these issues. I'm currently undergoing some limited testing for whatever it is that ails me digestively and will come back to the thread often.
IBS Chicks .....Unite
i dont really get the runs or constipated , jus painful spasams in my bowel. Once they start , who knows when they will stop. They get so bad somedays the pain travels down my leg , i have to take codine phosphate for the pain.
sorry if that is too much info, but I suspect it is not if you suffer from this, like our family members do ...
I have no diagnosis but have IBS-D symptoms following gallbladder removal surgery two years ago. It is such a socially isolating issue and I feel so alone in the midst of an episode that I had to chime in on the thread. I have an incredibly supportive boyfriend and somewhat supportive family (on this issue lol) but I realize how hard it is to really understand and/or accept the limitations imposed by these issues. I'm currently undergoing some limited testing for whatever it is that ails me digestively and will come back to the thread often.