IBS

[weekendtime]

Aibu to ask any other IBS suffers their remedies for IBS bloating. My stomach is so sore and bloated and my usual flat stomach is very distended. What can I use? Any help please I can't get an appointment until next week with my GP

Peppermint tea. I swear by it.

Simethicone can help.

Thank you. I'll grab some peppermint tea today. Is buscaban prescription or over the counter?

Over the counter.

The only thing I would say with Buscapan is that it can cause constipation if you are prone to it. Works a treat for me, less so my daughter.

I was under the mistaken impression that Buscopan just dealt with the wind/bloating/cramps bit of IBS, @DharamLovesDrarry - so I haven't tried it - but as I am most prone to diarrhoea with the IBS, a touch of constipation wouldn't be a bad thing for me, so I will give it a go.

Kolanticon Gel is good - tastes awful (like gaviscon) but very good st helping wind, bloating and cramps. Helps me where Buscopan doesn’t and doesn’t bing me up for days!
Very old school so you may find a chemist with a dusty bottle in the back or they can order it in.

Peppermint tea, buscapan, hot water bottle, massage tummy, stick to foods that don't flare you up, if constipated eat fibre.

Simethicone works wonders for me. Sold as stuff like wind-eze. Peppermint oil just gives me horrendous heartburn.

Mebeverine is the only thing that helps me. Before some bugger changed the recipe I had fibogel and mebeverine which worked great for me, but then they added sweeteners and I found I couldn't tolerate it anymore. It also needs to be a specific brand of mebeverine as well.

Peppermint tea makes me worse (actually anything with peppermint in it does), though I've found spearmint and camomile tea quite good for digestion.

There's some gel thing you can get from health food shops, I couldn't stomach the texture so whilst it might work I couldn't actually take it so I've no idea on that. Silcogel? Something like that.

Drinking lots of water.

Hopefully you get some relief soon

Things to do to help with this going forward is keeping a food diary to see where the flare ups happen and what triggers them.
Ensure you are getting 25-30g of fibre a day and plenty of water to help move this also

Funnily enough, sparkling water can help with bowel movement if you are constipated but you may just be inflamed

Look to include gut healing foods in your diet. Things like bone broth and fermented foods can make a big difference to your gut health

I have suffered with IBS for years.

The only thing that gives me relief for any length of time is to follow a low FODMAP diet (as recommended by my GP and included an initial period of food exclusion and reintroduction to discover my individual triggers).

My specific triggers are dairy (milk, yoghurt, icecream specifically, I can tolerate cheese in small amounts. I tend to buy lactofree products), onion, garlic, wheat products, beans and pulses (lentils are OK), stone fruits, apples, pears.

If I cut these out as far as possible my symptoms are greatly reduced. It's hard to stick to though and I know when I've 'cheated' as the '8 months pregnant belly' bloating returns.

It's worth looking into - research has been really positive about how a low FODMAP diet can help the majority of IBS sufferers.

www.theibsnetwork.org/diet/fodmaps/

Some useful info

Oh and I forgot - Sorbitol is the WORST for painful bloating. Try to avoid anything 'low sugar' and artificially sweetened.

Visceral manipulation. In the UK you can contact the Barral Institute to find a practitioner - they will also advise on foods to avoid depending on their findings and their total person assessment.

As a sweeping generalisation that can cause little harm, cut out wheat and dairy for 8 weeks. I don't know why, but with IBS it tends to be wheat rather than gluten that is the problem. Then if you find improvement, reintroduce one specific food at a time. In reality, probably when you re-introduce a food that is the problem, you will see the effect immediately (at which point you can exclude again and wait to get back to normal before trying a new food). But 6 weeks is the best to be sure if no symptoms arise immediately.

Looking at anxiety triggers, depressive thoughts and learning how to relax is also a huge deal. IBS is one of those illnesses where the ridiculous mind/body split makes no sense. Googling 'gut brain connection' and 'gut second brain' might be enlightening to you.

I hope you can find your solution, it is a debilitating condition x

@ChristmasFluff - the reason that the problem is wheat rather than gluten for IBS sufferers is that it's the sugar (Fructan) rather than the protein (gluten) that is the issue. See also Lactose in dairy..

I agree the quickest way to overcome the issues whilst waiting for an appointment is to find a high fodmap list and avoid all those foods in the short term.

Also agree with reducing stress, yoga can really help particularly with, erm, helping the trapped wind to escape (perhaps do an app at home for this reason!). Long term it also reduces stress.