To ask if anyone has ‘cured’ their IBS?

[ImaHogg]

I know it’s classed as a life long condition but I’ve been suffering for 22 years and have just about have enough of this horrible condition.
I belong to endless IBS support groups but obviously most of the members are people like me who are still suffering a looking for help and advice. I am assuming that if people do have a grip of their symptoms then they are hardly likely to be on support groups.
I’ve tried endless things over the years from the low fodmap diet to hypnotherapy and CBT. None of which have really helped long term.
Two things I haven’t tried are probiotics (some of the reviews say they can cause diarrhoea which is one of my huge fears with this complaint). I’ve also tried a few antidepressants but I couldn’t get past the awful side effects.
I’m 48 and am starting to think that hormones now play a big part as my symptoms became much worse and virtually daily at the age of 45 and I also can’t lie and say I don’t suffer from anxiety as I really do and I have a very stressful life atm.
Late 2019 I had a colonoscopy, endoscopy and ct scan. At the follow up appointment the gastroenterologist said all was clear. I handed him a list of my symptoms and he asked if I had tried all the standard IBS meds, which I have to no relief. He handed me back my list and told me that he couldn’t help me and to go back to my gp!
So I am just wondering if anyone on here has/had IBS and has found a way of living well with the condition and has minimal or no longer has symptoms?
Any advice is most welcome.

ouchmyfeet I have uterine polyps too and it’s been suggested I have the mirena, I (probably stupidly) have put it off!

Thank you everyone.
I’ve gone through every reply and made lots of notes. Somethings I had looked into already, some I’ve not considered before but all suggestions have been so helpful.

Good luck - hope you get it sorted/under control!

@WhiskyWhiskersdottir

I’m pretty much symptom free now due to dietary measures and some probiotic supplements.

About 70% of people with IBS have SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) or IMO (Intestinal Methanogenic Overgrowth) or a combination of the two. The work of Dr Mark Pimentel of Cedars-Sinai is informative on this.

There are antibiotic therapies for SIBO and IMO which are often successful to the point of total cure, depending on the underlying causes. Acid reflux is also a common symptom of SIBO.

Many cases of SIBO are caused by a bout or bouts of food poisoning. This will often be called post-infectious IBS. Repeated bouts for food poisoning can mean that the illness progresses to being an autoimmune condition.

There is a blood test, called IBS-Smart that can I form you whether food poisoning is the underlying cause and if it has progressed to an autoimmune stage (the latter is more likely to recur- treatment is possible but may need to be repeated).

Another common underlying cause of SIBO is EDS so that would be worth looking into.

I have SIBO but it’s not the post-infectious kind, so the antibiotic therapies are less likely to be effective for me so I have taken a dietary management route.

This is basically components from Low Fodmap and Fast Tract Diets, and I keep an eye on the sulfur content of foods too (this is because the the bacteria implicated in the form of SIBO I have is also implicated in IBD and there is a Japanese diet based on lowering sulphur that has been shown to be effective in managing IBD symptoms).

I also take:
L Plantarum 299v
L Rhamnosus
L Reutri
These are all probiotic supplements and also molybdenum (helps with sulphur processing).

I have also found that both live lactose free Greek yoghurt and Roquefort cheese (or any low lactose aged hard blue cheese) are helpful as regular parts of my diet.

I often think I may have SIBO, I’ve mentioned it to gp’s who have never heard of it! And several gastroenterologists who just shake their heads with a firm no! Yet I can tick off most of the SIBO symptoms.

The three people I love best (mother, DH and friend) all have some form of IBS. They all know that stress exacerbates it, some foods trigger but not consistently (probably related to stress)

DH was tested for https://gutscharity.org.uk/advice-and-information/conditions/bile-acid-malabsorption/ just by chance and finds taking the salts make a big difference. Mother and friend also tested and found the salts provided useful.

Not a complete cure by definitely a difference. I would love everyone with symptoms of IBS to be tested and wonder why is is big more routinely checked for.

Anyone who finds greasy things troublesome should definitely ask for a test from their GP.

Finallyhere thanks for the link.

@SheeshazAZ09 if you connect the onset of your IBS to the pill, it's really really worth trying some high quality probiotics. The pill is thought to harm your gut bacteria. This happened to me, but with a course of antibiotics. It took me two years of misery before I connected the two, then I took probiotics and my guts have been literally perfect ever since.
I know people get sick of trying this and trying that, but at least probiotics are definitely good for you even if they don't fix the problem!

I'm dairy intolerant, but I find eating an activia yoghurt everyday helpful. I've no idea why, and it has to be activia but it does make a difference. I'm also gluten free, oat intolerant and avoid greasy foods.

I'm definitely not cured, I'm not sure it's possible. I hate IBS and the impact it has on my life and diet, interestingly I'm hypermobile too.

@WhiskyWhiskersdottir you have just reminded me that my IBS symptoms once went away totally when I took some strong antibiotics for an unrelated problem. I wonder if that is a sign that I had SIBO? I mentioned it to the Dr who said that it must have been a coincidence . I was better for a long time, and then the symptoms slowly came back.

@FeistySheep Thanks, I am cured now as long as I'm relatively careful with diet (not difficult for me, I just have to avoid junk and sugar, which is good for my health anyway). But I agree that probiotics are very helpful and I have taken them from time to time.

OP are you overweight?
When I stopped carbs. ate clean and started exercise I cured it. I also had Colonic and found it helps to kick start the weight loss and new eating.
Kefir every evening or morning absolutely, you must take care of your gut health. Eat sauerkraut, live yoghurt etc.
Diet plays such a huge part. And exercise helps the stress, I’m no gym bunny, a good hour long walk helps me massively.

Never had diagnosis but had frequent pain, bloating etc in my late teens and early twenties, which think, for me, was lifestyle related (overeating and bingeing, lots of alcohol, v little exercise)

I saw a private gastroenterologist years ago, and helped me trust my instinct and build on my “safe foods”, nothing wrong with eating rice or potatoes for most meals

Fresh bread (yeast) a trigger, but earring stale toasted bread fine

No raw onions, peppers, cucumber Etc ever

No (or very little) alcohol

No deep fried or oily dishes (all takeaways really!)

I do eat lots of oats with kefir, rice, potatoes, chicken, fish, steamed veg.

Obviously my case is less severe than yours.

Do you know exactly which foods are “safe” and can you build from there?

Id02242730 I have quite a low bmi due to my symptoms and lack of appetite, it’s why I’m hesitant to go very low carb, I’ve heard (including my own friends) many people say it really helped with their gut issues but I really don’t want to loose weight so will have to do the diet very carefully.

supercalifragilistic123 so no adverse reactions from the activia? It was recommended to me by a dietician but I’ve been too apprehensive to try as I’ve not eaten dairy for 15 years but several people on here have mentioned it, I should man up and try it lol!

Im loads better since eating kefir or full fat Greek yogurt. Both teeming with good bacteria.
Hardly ever get a flare up now.

PrintempsAhoy my ‘safe’ foods are actually the same, rice and potatoes and starchy foods, they seem to sometimes quell the gurglings.

whenwillthemadnessend Many have mentioned the Greek yogurt, I need to try it. Do you have the lactose free version?

I've not read all your posts but can say mine was (mostly) cured by diet. Took me 12 years to realise diet would help. Followed a good diary & cut of food groups to see if it helped. Reintroduced to check if I had a reaction. I kind of follow FODMAP diet - for me it is no dairy, egg, soya, gluten. Also not too much sugary/carbs good so get a reaction from too much pot/sweet pot. Also randomly react to Pepsi max - very strange! If I eat food mentioned I have severe diarrhoea, sometimes constipation, tiredness, mouth ulcers, acne, redness in my face. I also retain weight which you'd think it would be the opposite. Good luck 🙂

I realised that when I had a bad flare up, I tried all the tricks and nothing helped, so I returned to what I prefer eating, which is cheese, meat, and chocolate (not on the same plate) Every time I did this, my symptoms calmed down, but I just thought that that was because the 'episode' was over.

I tried living like that for a bit longer than just the 'Oh SOD IT!!' day or two, and my digestive system was settled in a week. Like it's never been. Apart from all the other symptoms, I'd been bloated for years without knowing it; it was just my normal.

So I've jiggled it about a bit, and basically given up fibre. Very very little in the way of fruit and veg. Which is a bugger, because I was vegetarian mostly, but a vegetarian in a lot of pain.

I'm so pissed off with the NHS. I had so many invasive tests over the years, to no avail, and was always told to eat more fibre. I've taken pills, suffered migraines, been on my knees in pain, had a fat belly on my skinny body all my life, and I cured it all in less than a week by eating what my body can digest.

@ImaHogg

Id02242730 I have quite a low bmi due to my symptoms and lack of appetite, it’s why I’m hesitant to go very low carb, I’ve heard (including my own friends) many people say it really helped with their gut issues but I really don’t want to loose weight so will have to do the diet very carefully.

Eat plenty of fat, then. Low carb is a good weight loss diet because it stops that 'hangry' feeling, and you can deal with hunger better, but it doesn't stop you eating, wanting to eat, or consuming enough calories.

I'm very low carb. I live on meat and cheese, mostly. And eggs. It can be boring, but GOD I'm comfortable.

Not cured but definitely well managed I’d say.

At one point I had constant recurring diarrhoea for the best part of a year, had fissures, was also starting to vomit with it. Was missing work a lot. It was terrible.

Two of my biggest triggers were mushrooms and red meat, have cut them out entirely (cut out all meat in fact though occasionally eat some fish).

I got my anxiety largely under control - meds, therapy, some cbt and mindfulness techniques all helped along the way but the biggest thing that changed my life is learning about an approach called the three principles or sometimes called an inside out approach to mental health. My (excellent) therapist put me onto it and it‘s really helped me. I still have wobbles and I’ve definitely struggled since pregnancy and having my daughter (and did experience some ibs again as a result) but I always tend to get back on an even keel again.

Reducing alcohol to almost nothing (currently not had a drink since New Year’s Eve) has helped too - didn’t do that with ibs in mind but it’s been a bonus side effect.

I do tend to eat some full fat Greek yoghurt most days too - never made a connection but reading other posts on this thread maybe that’s helping? I’ve cut out fizzy drinks and whilst I do have caffeine in tea I try to keep it down to a couple of cups and drink mint, camomile or ginger tea the rest of the time.

I still suffer with it around the time of the month or if something particularly stressful
crops up but the flare ups aren’t as bad and don’t last as long.

A friend of mine has found that 12 hour fasting has really really helped. Eg he only eats between 8am and 8pm or whatever. The theory is it rests the system.

Worth a try. He does do some diet related stuff too.

I came on to say check out Bile Acid Malabsorption like a pp suggested - apparently loads of people who think they have ibs have a bile acid issue. It was a game changer for me and probably my family too! Good luck, it’s really miserable. Xx

@ImaHogg

supercalifragilistic123 so no adverse reactions from the activia? It was recommended to me by a dietician but I’ve been too apprehensive to try as I’ve not eaten dairy for 15 years but several people on here have mentioned it, I should man up and try it lol!

Yes, I can eat them with no problems. I've tried a few other live yogurts with dire consequences, but these are OK