Hello everyone. I am feeling very low at the moment and struggling to find the right way to support my husband. He's had problems with his digestive system most of his life. They started when he was in his late teens but were quickly dismissed by his GP as just a stage/IBS as a result of stress. They never fully went away and now he is 30 he's been having more frequent periods of flare ups that last weeks. I insisted on him seeing a doctor for a long time now but he always claimed he felt better/what would the do/ I am used to it by now etc. He's never had bleeding or lost weight and so it didn't really affect his life that much, he's got a good job and a family (we got 2 kids together). However lately, it started affecting him more and more. He feels tired all the time and really struggles to pay attention to things. Because of tiredness he started having more frequent mood swings, our intimate life has taken a turn for the worst too. He claims he just feels out of shape and exhausted and just too much is on his mind. It is not a big problem because we find other ways to spend good time together and just watch a movie or cuddle. His symptoms are really bothering him though especially the need to spend a lot of time in the bathroom and mucous discharge that is persistent. Rarely he has episodes of severe cramps in his rectum that usually happen randomly at night time, usually after a stressful time at work. After a lot of reinsurance and support he is finally going to the GP on Tuesday (a lovely lady who I met myself and I am hoping will be supportive and finally push for some proper tests). It is definitely something more serious than IBS because I've seen him struggle with his self esteem as a result of that for some time.
I am struggling to support him because it seems like he is going through a bad flare up at the moment and he is just not himself and whatever I say or do is not really enough. I would honestly appreciate any support in terms of any advice at all on how do we make sure GP doesn't come up with some useless diagnosis like IBS (i have ibs but the symptoms are nothing what he's got)and just dismisses his concerns entirely? What was most helpful to you in your IBD journey?
I love him very much I know it cannot really be cured but I would love him to try at least some medication hoping that it would calm the inflammation down.
Any advice?