IBS - is it normally to feel bad all day everyday?

[holidayseeker]

Ive had ibs for years but only minor symptoms. That was until June this year when it started to become a real problem.

It started off as diarreah every few days then became daily pain with wind and gurgling stomach. I went to gp who prescribed mebeverine and said classic ibs. However I still continued to have problems so decided to go to a dietician, they set me on a lowfodmap diet and advised to increase fibre.

I have found 2 triggers which are bananas, these make me poo up to 8 times the day after I have eaten them and lactose free cheese which made me feel ill after 45 minutes and poo alot the next day.

Now following this since July I am still suffering, every day as soon as I wake up my belly is grumbling and I have to rush to the toilet. Then I could poo up to 4 times a day. I also get gurgling in my belly and wind in the evenings.

I am now wondering if my body didn’t like the complete change of diet I had after following the dieticians advice? I used to have quite a bad diet eating junk food.

I am desperate to feel better. I have become so scared of needing the toilet when I am out that I al staying at home so much more then normal.

Any tips? How can I stop these daily symptoms?

It can be normal during a flare up and they can last a long time unfortunately. Personally I'd just get a supply of Imodium in, although I appreciate that doesn't really solve the problem. You're also entitled to a radar key if that would offer you some peace of mind out and about, you can buy through the IBS network.

Just checking, have you previously had blood tests to rule out anything else?

Thank you. When I’ve had it before I’ve only been affected the day i the the food that didn’t agree with me so not used to this.

I have had cealiac test, full blood count, iron, liver and u&e’s I think. All were fine.

My daughter has this, worsens when shes stressed. She couldnt go anywhere without buscopan in her bag. Got recommended L Plantarum supplements (probiotic) its been a game changer.
She said its the first time in 10 years shes felt normal.

@reesewithoutaspoon thank you, I’ll have a look for it. I am willing to try anything to feel better.

Normal for me during a big flare too, sadly. The worst I had was 5 weeks straight and it was hell so sorry to hear you've been suffering for months now OP! Have you tried peppermint capsules at all? They were a game changer for me, so much more effective than peppermint tea. I had a big flare earlier this year and I'm sure it was taking them that got me back to normal (well, my normal...) within a week or two.

I've had IBS since I was 6/7 and when I was 15 or so I had a flare up like that for a few months - not even really sure what triggered it, but it felt like it was never going to end and life would never get back to normal. Some types of fibre seem to make mine worse and ironically my symptoms reduced massively when I stopped taking the fibre supplement I was advised to take when I went to the doctor.

Are you particularly stressed? I used to have a swollen, grumbling stomach pretty much daily in my old job. It would be like a beachball by 5pm! Now I've changed jobs, with no changes to my diet, and it's much better most days.

You will sort it out eventually and I know how annoying it can be when it feels like it's getting in the way of life. If it does continue maybe consider seeing a doctor, just so they can rule out other things.

@BearSoFair I have tried peppermint tablets but unfortunately for me they have me stomach pains.

I have suffered with ibs for many years. The fodmap diet did not work for me.

I don't eat any wheat and very little dairy and over the years have identified the other triggers. First is stress, then food stuffs like bananas, onions, tomatoes, anything with flavoring of some kind (like crisps for eg). I take Librax when I have a flare up and use Iberogast drops. It's an awful thing as it rules your life.

I always have a good supply of Buscopan to hand as well.

Hope you feel better soon OP

@Toblerone345 thank you. You are right it is feeling never ending to me and like my life won’t ever go back to how it was. I was stressed in May/June and symptoms began July so I have thought stress may have caused the flare however I am no longer stressed about anything other then my symptoms now. So maybe that is prolonging it.

I have called the gp again in August but they say nothing to why can do for me.

@isthismylifenow thank you, I’m finding it hard to find triggers apart from the cheese and the bananas. Also as you and pp said also stress but it’s annoying as the only thing I am stressing about is feeling ill.

I have IBS, garlic is one of my biggest triggers. Ive had attacks that have lasted weeks so i sympathise OP.

Oddly sometimes drinking full fat coke is the only thing that settles my stomach

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth thank you, I’ve just counted and this is 12 weeks now. I’m wondering if the change of diet to healthy fibre food has made it worse.

[quote holidayseeker]@smilingthroughgrittedteeth thank you, I’ve just counted and this is 12 weeks now. I’m wondering if the change of diet to healthy fibre food has made it worse.[/quote]
I find too much fibre causes attacks

Gosh OP, I could have written your post. My bowels have always been unpredictable - reasonably frequent diarrhoea and then times when I don’t go for several days, and other times when I don’t have diarrhoea but go multiple times a day. However, I’ve never had pain - until recently. I’ve had a huge amount of stress in the past few months and I have pain every morning when I wake up. I then need to go several times a day and it makes me so anxious that either I don’t go out, or if I do, I take preventative Imodium so that my anxiety doesn’t make things worse. I’ve been putting off going to the GP, partly because I’m an idiot and am afraid of a colonoscopy! I am trying to keep my diet really simple and see if I can identify any triggers other than stress.
Does anyone know if it’s worth getting a private food allergy test (the York test???) or are these unreliable/useless? I know it’s probably stress related in my case but someone mentioned this to me and I wondered if it was worth looking into.

@Stinkyjellycat sorry you are feeling the same. Reading your post is just like me as well.

My gp said no colonoscopy was needed as typical ibs but you should speak to your gp to see what they say.

I know that I can’t go on feeling this anxious to go out as I know it can’t be helping things.

I’ve had a look at the York test but I have cut so much food out I wasn’t sure if it was worth doing.

@holidayseeker I think being worried about these symptoms can actually be quite stressful. When my IBS was going through a bad patch I'd regularly get a sort of overwhelming sense of panic if I was in public and felt a twinge in my stomach and it was a horrible feeling, worse than the IBS itself sometimes.

I've never been able to find many food trigger for my symptoms, other than too much of some kinds of fibre and weirdly soy. Other things that have helped are not wearing restrictive clothing, regular exercise (nothing strenuous, just a walk to keep things moving), and making sure I'm going to the toilet regularly even if I have to use laxatives once in a while. If I go to long without going to the toilet I can guarantee I'm going to have a day of awful cramps and 5+ urgent toilet trips coming up. I didn't think mebeverine was a miracle worker but it did help as a sort of placebo to calm the panic if I was in public and felt my stomach go. Maybe you have tried all of these things but if not I hope one of them might help you.

If you are feeling worse after continuing with the new way of eating, maybe you could speak to your dietitian and see if they have any suggestions. If it's making you worse then it doesn't sound like it's right for you, even if it works for lots of other people.

You really have my sympathies because it's such an inconvenient and painful condition to have, and I think it's made worse by the fact that it's much harder to speak to colleagues, friends. etc about than if you had a non-toilet related problem!

@Toblerone345 thank you that is really helpful advice. You are right it is tough because you don’t want to tell people about it so you end up keeping it all in.

Mine can be like that if I'm having a bad flare up due to stress. Otherwise, no. Just when I eat certain things like lots of garlic, onion, cream and spices.

Just thinking have they ever tested a stool sample? My friend had hers tested for similar and had picked up e.coli. There can be various bacterias you can pick up. I'd defo ask it to be checked if you havent.

I have been suffering with severe abdominal pain and frequent bowel movements for the last year. Every time I ate it was like as if my colon went into overdrive to try and eliminate the food, with severe cramps, gurgling and diarrhoea. It got so bad that my g.p sent me to a&e 3 months ago, as she thought there was a blockage in my bowel ( have had multiple abdominal surgeries). All tests for Celiac disease, gallbladder, diverticulitis etc came back clear so finally I had a colonoscopy. This showed that there was nothing sinister, but my colon was going into spasm with even air. I was referred to a dietician and started Low Fodmap diet and I have to say it has really helped. I am just reaching end of elimination stage ( 8 weeks) and am due to return to my Dietician and start introducing some foods. I have found the diet restrictive ,but most of the gurgling, spasms , bloating and diarrhoea has stopped. Hopefully I can introduce some more foods ( like onions and garlic) safely into my diet, but I feel I will never return to Gluten again.

Forgot to add, I found the Specific Carbohydrate Diet worked well for me when I was having symptoms (low-FODMAP didn’t).

My girls(12 and 16) both have it.onions,garlic and tomatoes are shared triggers.very high fibre foods (bran, wholemeal bread etc) and high fat trigger it too.biggest help for us has been the gut health doctor book and relaxation techniques(stretching yoga/mindfulness) the gut brain axis means stress does affect gut patterns and it's also a vicious cycle worrying whether another attacks imminent.i hope this help.ibs is truly horrid

Op, can you give us a run down of what your daily food intake is?

Include supplements, as there are many hidden fodmaps, so perhaps we can help?

@Toblerone345 weirdly soy

Soy is high on the GOS fodmap. So, not so weird.

It's not just enough to do the low fodmap diet, you have to be careful not to have too many foods in the same chain, in the same day. So I react to fructans - garlic, onion, wheat... so having a cheese & onion sandwich on which bread would kill me. However, I can have the same filling on a wheat free bread, and I am ok... unless I have wheat or onion again that day...

Google stacking, it's not something that is covered well in the low fodmap diet, but it is v important not to stack fodmaps