IBS taken over my life

[pinky987]

Since the start of July I’ve been having problems with my bowels. GP says classic ibs and prescribed mebeverine. I was struggling with diarreah when I went to the GP which did stop after taking the medication but my bowel movements kept troubling me.

I then went to a private dietician who I am working with through an elimination diet but still my bowel
Movements are erratic.

I have called the GP several times to be told it’s ibs find your trigger and dh rang the other day as I am so down about it and gp advised he thinks it is being caused by stress and to go to therapy but no other help given. A nurse I spoke to said you can’t carry on like this and referred me to the hospital but the sent back the reply no appointments available which the gp has advised is because I have no red flags and I am of non importance to the hospital.

But how can I get on with my life when I constantly need to go to the toilet? This morning I have had three bowel movements already and some days I can have up to 8. When I went food shopping yesterday I had to rush home as I thought diarreah was coming but when I got home I didn’t need anything.

I am now no longer going to work as I can’t bear the drive for fear I’ll need a toilet, I want to start up at the gym again but again have the same fear. What with lockdown as well I have been mainly just in my house for months now. If I go out it will be an achievement if I’m out more than an hour.

All this is bad for my mental health but how can I help myself when I need the toilet so often?

I don’t seem to be able to find anyone who is willing to help me at all.

I’ve had problems for two years. No blood in stool so no referral.

Did get the poo test. Clear.

NHS Dietician got me on fodmap. I couldn’t eat some of the foods as I knew they were triggers already. So I follow a reduced one.

I don’t eat fruit and veg as they run right through me. Same with Diet Coke.

I live on fish, meat, eggs. All boiled, grilled, microwaved or oven baked.
Bread (oddly I’m ok with wheat), pasta, rice. Tea, coffee. (Both weak and black, with sugar not sweetener)
Wheat based crisps (potato crisps are a trigger).
No dairy or oils so no chocolate or fried food. No shop bought sauces or dressings.

That’s it. No takeaways, cake, pizza, snacks, biscuits basically no anything that brings me joy. But at least it’s stopped the pains and runs.

I think it’s bad that I have effectively been left to just crack on myself. How many years would they have me on this reduced diet, all the time not getting balanced nutrition, because I can’t eat normal food.

I fully sympathise with your plight OP. But you really need to find your triggers. You are still eating them so you must be eating too broad a range of things.That’s why you can’t hone in on the bad ones.

Can you eat chicken and rice only for three days for breakfast lunch and dinner and see if that helps?

Then if you are ok add bread for three days.
If you are still ok add something else.

It can take me three days for stuff to go through me and out the other side. So keep a note if what you eat and think back three days and see what you ate if you aren’t able to work it out easily.

I developed IBS almost 30 years ago and had ultrasound/colonoscopy and a whole raft of tests before being told it was IBS. I did an elimination diet and cut out various things for six months. I discovered my triggers and avoided them, which helped but I still had milder symptoms. I went for colonics which really helped. I went plant-based, which really didn’t. I went low carb for T2D a couple of years ago and this has helped enormously! Hope you find a successful path soon xx

I think for me the IBS is probably a symptom of chronic stress/anxiety rather than a disease on its own, but I didn't really see it that way when I first had it.

I hate to say it but I started ibs at 19 and still struggle at 29. It's a completely overlooked condition that doctors dont take seriously. I have however learnt to manage it over the years and when it started it was constant for about 6 months. Now it comes and goes and I've learnt to manage flair ups

@Elieza it is mad that you have been left like that. Surely they should have worked through reintroduction with you. With regards to eating something that is still triggering me all I eat everyday is gluten free cornflakes, rice, chicken, potatoes, banana, strawberries, green beans and red pepper.

I wondered if the fruit was triggering me so I cut that out but that didn’t make any difference. I also cut out the red pepper and that didn’t alter anything. The next thing to try is green beans.

@Danascully2 I know that I struggle with stress and get easily anxious. Can I ask how you improved this to help ibs?

@IndiaMay I agree that it is overlooked.

OP I can’t reintroduce anything, I just get the runs again! My tolerance is one tablespoon of fruit or veg per day. It’s hardly worth eating!

I’m going back to the GP again soon to see if anything else can be suggested.

All the things I have wrong with me are things they have diagnosed but the medical profession don’t know what causes them and there’s no treatment.

@IndiaMay I was originally diagnosed nearly twenty years ago. However I have never been as bad as I am now.

@Elieza that’s no good. Hopefully your dr may be able to help.

As someone who's had IBS since their teens (though didn't go to the doctors until a number of years later), I agree that you should've been tested for the others first. A change of diet can definitely help to relieve things.

Haha I wish I had a magic answer for stress and anxiety! I still struggle with it but the Ibs has improved anyway. I find yoga helpful (Yoga with Adriene online) also gardening and not too much screen time (she says while typing on Mumsnet.....!). Also exercise, mindfulness and a bit of CBT in a book which helped recognise some negative thought patterns which are not helpful. But I have two young children and struggle to find time to do this sort of thing. I think at one point I was in a vicious cycle where I was stressing about the diarrhoea which made the diarrhoea worse which made me more stressed.... I hope you feel better soon.