How to help teenager with IBS

[Yourloss]

My 16 year old has IBS (blood tests ruled everything else out) and it is difficult for her to manage. She has an upset stomach every morning before school and last night she was up with it in the night and in a lot of pain.

We can’t work out if there are any triggers. We have tried the fodmap diet but it is hard to follow it rigidly. We suspect wheat and dairy affect her but sometimes she is fine after eating them. It’s hard to know what to give her for packed lunch as she won’t eat sandwiches or pasta any more. She also loves her food and it’s hard to restrict the diet of a teenager when she just wants to eat like everyone else.

I am wondering if there are any IBS triggers for you if you suffer from it and also how do you help when it’s your child.

I had horrendous IBS for years, could eat very little at times, it disappeared when I did energy healing work for anxiety and various traumas.. In my mind there's no doubt it was a symptom of a deeper issue, fear.
It took a lot of work to stop seeing food as a danger and at one point I actively said enough, I won't be able to eat air if I keep having to cut things out.
Look for when it started, root causes - EFT, Matrix Reimprinting, Meta Medicine
One thing I realised was I got drunk one night and ate something I shouldn't have, had no reaction and thought 'how interesting!'

I have suffered for about 15 years, it's awful! I kept a food diary and found caffeine was my main trigger. It's an inflammatory, so it can irritate any underlying issues. Cutting it out was eye-opening as it's in so many different foods and drinks. Too much dairy and oil or greasy food is also hellish.
I did some research and ended up spending the money on symprove prebiotic drink earlier this year, I took a 3 month course, and it's honestly been life changing for me. I haven't tested with caffeine, but I can have dairy and oil now with no reactions. It's pricey, I think I was about £120 for the 3 month course, but they say you should only need one course per year. 5 months after finishing it, and I still seem to be okay! Would be worth reading up on.

Blood tests are not adequate to rule out anything else to safely diagnose IBS. She should have had camera tests and biopsies.

And even if this was a safe diagnosis, which does not appear to be the case, you should not be restricting diet or removing food groups without dietitian input. That is also unsafe and can create all kinds of horrible future problems.

Is she drinking sugar free drinks with artificial sweetener? That's the worst trigger for me.

Have the doctors tried mebeverine for the cramps? And a peppermint tablet to have with meals? My DN suffered for years and these two medications have changed her life. She still suffers a bit, but not like she used to.

The GP told me she had IBS. They did not suggest camera tests or biopsies. They prescribed medication to take 20 minutes before eating but dc felt it did not make any difference.

I don’t want to restrict her diet at all. However she is suffering after eating certain foods and rejects them herself sometimes as she doesn’t want the pain. Other times she will choose to eat them and then has to wait and see what the effect is. It is really hard to manage and we were definitely left to it by the GP.

I've had IBS for years and I found that cutting out wheat has changed my life. It's really easy to do too, now that there are so many gluten-free options out there - including decent GF bread, pasta, rolls, etc. The only way to test whether this would help your DD is to cut wheat out of her diet for a whole month and see if it helps. If it does nothing to alleviate symptoms, then add wheat back in and do the same with dairy - again there are masses of dairy-free options out there now. But for packed lunches get GF bread (I like Genius and Schär brands as they generally taste nice and have a decent texture) or pasta.

Other common triggers are 'nightshades', especially their skins and especially if they're not completely fresh. Personally, I find these okay most of the time, although peppers upset my stomach, so I don't eat those. Potatoes and tomatoes though I'm okay with. Strong coffee upsets my stomach, as does red wine and I avoid high fat foods. I don't eat anything that is deep-fried or pan-fried in lots of oil. Anything battered and fried is an absolute no-no, because a) it's covered in wheat and b) it's high fat. If eating out, I stick to grilled meat or fish with veg and rice or potatoes. I don't eat curry in rich sauces (Tandoori chicken is okay as it's grilled), and I avoid Chinese and Thai food, because there is lots of hidden wheat in the sauces.

I would honestly push for a gastro referral with the expectation of a gastroscopy (they may do it under a general). Bloods aren’t always conclusive; she needs biopsies for coeliac.

My dp is gluten intolerant. Bread isn't too bad but pizza and pasta give him really bad wind, upset stomach and pain.

She needs to keep a food diary everything even chewing gum recorded. Diary of food, drink, time of the day, and whether she was feeling stressed, anxious and any other comments like ate quickly or PMSing and then symptoms and bowel movement.
She should do this for 2 weeks minimum but I reckon within a week of religious logging you will start to see patterns.
For example, I get digestive issues from apples, onions, yeast, dried fruit, fennel, cottage cheese but hard cheese butter and milk I'm ok with! It can be so random.
I would seriously consider doing FODMAP properly. There are apps and cookery books. It doesn't have to be so difficult but it does require commitment.

I have a really bad stomach and so does my daughter (it hasn't been diagnosed as IBS but we both have Ehlers Danlos) we did sensitivity tests online (I know people don't rate them) but it made a huge difference to us both. I can't eat dairy, pork or wheat. If I don't eat them I am fine, if I do I immediately have an upset stomach. She can't have dairy, corn or tomatoes. It's amazing the change. It has been hard to stick to though

How long after eating something would she have symptoms? That’s also hard to work out.

Last night she had tea at 5pm, a small bowl of rice crispies at 9pm then she was ill at midnight.

I recommend Heathers Tummy Fibre. It's soluble fibre acacia senegal and helps with diarrhoea for IBS. I have used it for colitis. You can get it on Amazon.

I would cut out dairy and get her to take a good probiotic.
I only say that because my friends daughter really suffers and has noticed a huge difference with those two things.

Then that GP is negligent and you need to take her back to see someone who will refer her for the right tests.

IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion, it can only be made after camera tests and biopsies have ruled out anything else. The GP is putting your daughter's health at risk.

She could have inflammatory bowel disease which if left untreated could result in bowel perforation and emergency surgery. Among other serious outcomes.

She needs proper investigation and nutritional support.

Some of these well-intended DIY suggestions could leave her with osteoporosis.

Agree with the others - she needs stool test at the very least to check calprotectin.
Blood tests rule out nothing gastro related, even coeliac as it can be unreliable.
Go back and ask for stool test, comes back in 3 days on nhs app.

Worth listening to experts above re: additional testing.

I had bad IBS-type symptoms after my mum died. Stress and grief were definitely the root cause for me, more than any food triggers. Acidophilus probiotics helped a lot, as did meditation.

This organisation (based out of Aus) offer free & discounted online energy healing sessions - has helped me massively, nothing to lose giving it a go? thewbi.org/

Best of luck to you both xx

My DH recently went for a colonoscopy after being referred by his doctor. Luckily all was clear and he was told by the consultant to refer back to the doctor should he continue with the symptoms. Interestingly the consultant told him that IBS was just the name given when ALL other illnesses had been ruled out, but symptoms still continued. Please go back to the doctor for further tests to rule every other illness out before accepting a diagnosis of IBS.

She did have a stool test sorry.

I agree with pp, camera tests , X-rays / scans and stool samples are needed before a diagnosis of ibs .

I ve had it for nearly 30 years , but even now when I have a severe flare , I have to send stool samples , have blood tests , X-ray and have a camera just to check my colon ( just incase)
I find a hot bath , hot water bottles helps with the pain .
I take windeeze , buscapan & paracetamol- sometimes diazepam ( as it really helps the spasms )

I was referred to nhs dietitian and had to remove a lot from my diet or alter it . It is difficult to follow religiously.
I've now joined an nhs wellness program where drs look at chronic illnesses like ibs .
It's a whole person approach where
Any known triggers are looked at such as stress , lifestyle , diet / nutrition, exercise, medication and mental health .
I'll let you know if it works 😁

Agree with others to see GP/different GP if symptoms are getting worse or not improving.
I would also ask them to refer to a dietician - our GP has one who does a weekly clinic. They can give you proper advice and information tailored to her age and needs. I didn’t think to ask for this when I was diagnosed and instead cut various things out (on GP’s advice) which are now v hard to reintroduce as your gut adapts and can no longer process them as easily. GPs aren’t really trained in nutrition so it’s much better to get expert advice!
Some therapy may be helpful too, if you think there might be an anxiety/stress/emotional element. Learning to deal with difficult feelings now could help her avoid other issues in future - another thing I wish I’d had when younger!

I’m glad I posted now. I will ring the gp for further help.