Can anyone advise me on an embarassing problem?

[Angiel]

Just recently I have been getting terrible agonising pains in my stomach and it feels like up my bottom as well. Sorry if this is too much detail! It makes me squirm with pain and cry out and feels like someone is sticking a knife into me.

Shortly after the pain has passed I need to go to the loo and then things are ok until next time.

Has anyone got any ideas what could be causing the pain? I was thinking trapped wind, but I'm not particularly windy (god, this is humiliating) and I had no idea it could be this painful.

sorry I would just say you have the Sh*s

have you eaten something funny?

Coddie may say this is codswallop, but could it be irritable bowel syndrome ?

wind can be reeallly painful. sometimes it is mistaken for appendicitis! If it's a one off I;d guess wind. if it happens a lot then maybe IBS.

I lost control and logged into Mumsnet againI know I have been gone for two hours...Angielhave you just started prenatal vitamins? Sometimes an iron supplement can do that to you...I was sensitive to this and could not take the regular formula, apparently I needed less iron. I was happier to eat molasses. Good luck, I know it is horrible. I suffered with IBS for almost two years and I have been working with a cranio osteo which seems to be helping.

Thanks for your replies.

I've just had my appendix out a couple of weeks ago. It turned out I was quite anaemic and had to have a blood transfusion and have been on a heavy dose of iron tablets since then. So perhaps the iron tablets are the cause.

I haven't got the sh*ts and I'm not constipated although some of the symptons do sound similar to IBS.

Guess I'll have to wait and see what happens.

Did you have antibiotics after the appendix op. After mine I went to the docs in agony, wondering what was wrong. I think now that a few probiotics would have done wonders. The abs made my gut leaky so every time I ate dairy I had that sensation of needing to go.

BobtheBaby and Angiel, I firmly believe in probiotics, I have mentioned this on another thread (which you shouldn't even bother to read as it is very ugly over there right now). I can't believe I am giving advice, but here goes! AngielI believe that probiotics would absolutely help to make you stronger and digest better after this surgery. I would try reducing the iron, check with your doctor and see if you can cut it in half. When I started on prenatal vitamins I thought I would die the pains were so bad. (little did I know they would not compare to labor!). If you don't mind eating molasses and raisins, they will help alsoit is just so difficult to eat enough of them to catch up to what you need. Good luck!

I did have loads of antibiotics which gave me an upset stomach, but I finished taking those a week or so ago. I have got some bio yoghurts, perhaps I should go and eat a few!

Thanks for the advice Sunchowder. Hope you don't mind if I pick your brains about something.

My dd2 has an immune deficiency, she was taking loads of antibiotics as a preventer and I was feeding her probiotic yoghurts which she loved. Unfortunately, she started suffering from some badly infected eczema and I had to put her on a milk and lactose free diet. This obviously meant I couldn't give her the probiotic yoghurts anymore.

How can I give my dd probiotics in other ways? I had heard to some granules that you can sprinkle on food but the ladies in the health shop, said she was too young for those.

Any help gratefully received.

Get the tablets and take the maximum dose. You have some serious bacteria to colonise. Is there a trigger food? For me it was dairy and wheat. If there is avoid this for a few days and just eat plain food while you get your gut right. I would recommend enteric coated tablets so they get properly into your gut. If they break up in the stomach they are not as effective.

Angiel, my paed. put ds 7 mo on normal capsules but the powder tipped into pear and mixed. He takes the same dose as an adult but split into a dose with breakfast and one with tea. He imports them from America, but said you could take the ones from a health food shop. We have special ones here in NZ for babies, but that could just be a marketing thing and they are exactly the same. My question to the health food shop lady would be - well if you can have them in yoghurt, why not on other food? Does soy yoghurt have them in - it does here.
They have done wonders for his eczema.

I've never seen any soya yoghurts that are probiotic. I'm going into town tomorrow, so will question the ladies in the health shop and stock up on stuff for everyone.

Angiel and BobsMum,we have dairy-free powders here that you can mix in with juice. I would ask at the health food store, if you give your little one too much, she might become gassy--I believe that would be the most negative effect it could have, but you want her to "enjoy" taking them as much as possible and not have a bad experience to begin with. The yogurt's are great, in many cases they just don't have enough of the bacterias if you are already deficient. Anything will help though. I believe they will base the dosage on her weight.

I have a book called Probiotics, Nature's Internal Healers by Natasha Trenev. It was a good read (you can drive yourself insane with all of this info). The other book that I found quite informative is called, No More Amoxicillin by Dr. Mary Ann Blockthis book goes into some detail on preventing and treating ear and respiratory infections without antibiotics. I am all for alternative forms of medicine which can be controversial, so I hope not to offend anyone with this information. There is a time and place for all of this. If my baby was already sick and had a risk of pneumonia, I certainly would not be giving her probiotics and hoping for the bestI would have her in the hospital on IV Antibiotics!! The alternative treatments are great preventatives and help maintain good health. Even with chineses herbal therapies, there are different formulas for the different stages of a coldsome formulas support the organs to get well, other formulas will concentrate and getting rid of congestion, etc. I hope you find this helpful. If I can do anything, let me know. Blue Green Algae is another wonderful remedy to boost the system, massage is great, accupressure, reflexology, I also practice cupping which is absolutely ancientI will try anything to keep my kids well. I have recently tried Cranial Sacral Therapy and have good things to say about this also. I get so stressed out when my kids are sick. Feel free to contact me via Mumsnet if you like.

I've read the Block book too, the massage stuff really relaxes my ds and we've had better sleeps and less unexplained screaming since I started doing them after his bath. It could be coincidence (it probably is) but who cares. I've finally had 2 nights where I've sleep for over 2 hours at a stretch.

Angie - I used to get something that sounds similar to you. It started, usually in the night, with a really nasty pain 'up the bum', and lasted ages (20 mins or so). It only eased if I rocked on it! Looking back, I think that I must have had IBS caused by work stress, as I have only had it once in the last 3 years, and I haven't worked since 2000...coincidence? I think not!

Sounds like IBS to me.Best getting checked out.I have this and I now know which food makes me double up in pain.Take care