IBS? Ulcerative colitis? Something worse?

[Spinstar]

I'm 51 and keep getting recurrent bouts of diarrhoea that wake me from deep sleep in the early hours of the morning with an urgent need to 'go'. I think I've had about 5 episodes now since mid December and the latest two have been accompanied by upper abdominal acid-like pain.

At first, I thought it was just a bug I'd picked up but after a few episodes now, I'm wondering if it's something more? I've not had symptoms like this unless I've got a gastroenteritis bug but can't imagine one would recur like this for 3+ months now.

Could it be purely perimenopausal hormones? It doesn't seem to follow any pattern around my cycle (still menstruating but a bit less regularly and got a few other mild perimenopausal symptoms.)

I've had no blood in my stools and I've also had days when I've seemed fine again. I'm not losing weight and I'm still hungry although less so because of the pain and fear that I'll be up in the night. I'm no more stressed than I ever am and not at all prone to anything like anxiety or mood disorders.

Up until it started, I was largely eating a healthy vegetarian diet and more prone to constipation than diarrhoea. Now I can only eat the blandest foods and I'm still in pain and waking with diarrhoea but the diarrhoea isn't all that bad - ie it doesn't go on all day.

I've never had IBS or any allergies. I've always thought of myself as having a 'cast iron stomach' and it takes a lot to make me sick, although I've recently had a nasty flu/chest infection virus thing that hasn't fully cleared after 3 weeks. However, the diarrhoea and pain pre-dates this by months.

Does anyone recognise these symptoms? Why would I suddenly get something like this now? Does it sound like a bug picked up from somewhere and why would it recur but not persist daily all the time? I've been fine enough between bouts. Is it related to hormones and my age and nothing else?

The day before the first episode, we visited a NT place attached to a farm but didn't go to the farm part but I did have a cuppa at the cafe and the next day, had the first episode of early morning, explosive and urgent diarrhoea. However, if it were a bug picked up from the farm, wouldn't it persist rather than clear up and then recur?

I've looked on the internet as I want to rule out anything really nasty and I'm reluctant to see a GP as I don't want to initiate unnecessary investigations or a nebulous diagnosis of IBS, which i know many women get diagnosed with, when doctors have no other explanation. So that's why I've come on here to see if anyone goes, "Oh yeah. That's obviously....xxxxx"

or even bated breath!!

Sorry to hear how ill you have been feeling and I hope last nights appointment gave you some ideas for symptom control.

I have had gastric symptoms for the last 2 years and am currently up with pain and D. I really think you need to try something to ease the symptoms as the anxiety the symptoms provoke and the feelng that only a very restrictive diet is the answer won't be helping you. I find plug in electric heat pads to be brilliant for helping pain, if hotwatterbottles help this may be worth a try. Pain gone pens also help sometimes to control pain. If your consultant has not given you something for pain releaf I would try to get a GPs appointment, whilst they won't be able to tell you what is going on with out results, things such as antispasmodics and paracetamol are unlikely to do any harm. Low dose antidepresents to control pain is also something used in both IBS and IBDs.

Have you tried any herbal teas drunk luke warm? Ginger, peppermint camomile etc can be helpful for digestive symptoms. While I appreciate you are normaly vegitarian I find bovril can be helpful after bad D, I think this is because it replaces some of the lost salts so wondered if some form of vegitable stock, potentialy made with out onion and garlic would help.

Have you tried any form of fiber suplimentation. I have periods where a liquid diet of smoothies, milkshakes and soups feels like it brings releaf, particularly if I stir in some benifiber. Slippery Elm is also a nutritional supliment used in some countries to help gastric problems. Mixing the powder into apple purae, is for me a reasonably digestable meal when things are bad.

Best of luck with finding some relief. I find that the longer I have symptoms the easier it is to manage because you are abe to put in pace things to help E.G. etting a can't wait card and radar key from IBS network or using stick on heatpads to control pain. Have you considered joining IBS network, even if your symptoms proove not to be caused by IBS the digestive friendly recipes, access to toilet keys, helplines and ability to ask a gastroenterologist questions may all help to give you a bit of added support.

Ssunnie, I think your post is really helpful.
I have a friend who every few weeks, gets the most terrible cramps in her upper abdomen and then retches and vomits all night.
It is triggered by something she has eaten, like a ready made BBQ sauce, but often by random foods.
If she takes a couple of paracetamols when she feels it coming on, then it doesn't develop further and the cramps subside.
I think pain relief can be so important.

Hope last night went ok OP. Thinking of you xx

Thanks everyone and sorry not to feedback before now - I'm feeling v ill with another flu like chesty cough virus alongside the abdominal pain but have had to work.

Anyway, the good news is that the consultant told me the biopsy results were fine. Quite how he suddenly got the results when they'd said they'd not be back for 6 weeks, I don't know and I'm v v slightly suspicious he was only saying this because he's pretty sure the WILL be OK and wanted to reassure me. Anyway, I'll trust him on this and am delighted, as you can imagine, that I don't appear to have IBD but rather now a diagnosis of "IBS, following a viral infection".

He didn't appear to have a lab report about the biopsies and I might just ask his PA to send me a copy in due course, as the report might say something like 'mild inflammation' and he didn't want to tell me this. But I guess I still just have to believe him, despite his patronising and misogynistic manner.

Given I've had 13 weeks of worrying I had cancer or IBD, this is a massive result, although the symptoms continue - but I can start to think about them differently. He suggested an antispasmodic called Mebeverine - but I've googled it and there seem to be lots of people with nasty side effects like dizziness and confusion and I can't afford to be in that state really, as I need to work and am in sole charge of the DCs.

If things are unbearable, I might consider trying it but I'd rather now try mind over matter to get through the pain. It'll be ages anyway before he write to my GP.

It'd be easier if, when it got bad, I could just stop and retreat to bed with a hot water bottle but I can't really do that and so I'll have to find a way of using relaxation techniques to cope 'on the go'.

I told him that just hearing him say "you're getting better and it's only IBS" would probably have the placebo effect anyway of making me manage the pain better. He was rather difficult throughout the appointment, rushing at breakneck speed and not wanting to listen to what I said or any questions - so no change there.

I asked him about Helicobactor Pylori - as I seem to have all the classic symptoms - gnawing, burning pain in upper gut, reflux cough etc etc - but he said I had none of the symptoms at all and they'd not tested me for this and wouldn't. I'm now wondering if there's anywhere that would offer me the breath test for H Pylori, without a GP referral - just so I can quietly put that possible diagnosis to rest?

Anyone know if there's a private London based clinic that might do that, as I could travel there? I don't want the one thing that hasn't been tested but that can cause lifelong ulceration of the guts, to go undiagnosed - although I'd fully expect this not to be found - but it'd seem silly not to rule this out completely.

The most annoying part of the consultation was his failure to believe what I was saying - that when I've felt most happy and calm and relaxed, when I feel better - and have assumed I'm completely better now and feel really great - THAT'S when the symptoms have then come back - ie when I'm NOT feeling anxious. He kept insisting that the pain was due to an anxiety reaction - which is totally the opposite of my experience.

Anyway, I tried to use humour to shrug this off. He told me to eat as normal now but then contradicted this by saying that the foods I'd recently added were not the foods he'd recommend?!? This was things like carrots and kale and porridge oats. I said what foods do you then suggest and he then just said - forget that - just eat normally.

As my 'normal' pre-illness diet consisted of lots and lots of raw veg and fruit and cheese - which are contraindicated for IBS - I'm not sure I'm going to return to this at all. I'm happy to not be a vegetarian any longer - so at least I get protein but am still wondering how to increase Vit C and calcium intake without irritating my guts?

He told me that there was absolutely no evidence at all that probiotics work and that I'd be wasting my time trying those - which was news to me - but again, I guess I should trust my consultant.

He was running about 20 mins late and then rushed the appointment over about 12 minutes - at £180 - so a very expensive time - but worth it to be told my biopsies are fine and I've only got a functional bowel disorder. He kept saying that I was going to get completely better - most likely - and I asked him if he could be sure, as at the v first ever appointment with him, he'd recounted anecdotes about people having IBS for life - but he said I seemed already to be getting better - ie having a few days feeling well, before another relapse.

Is that really how it can go with post viral IBS - and you can completely recover? That's what I'm aiming for. He implied I had extra sensitive guts to be experiencing pain that made me bend double but i again disagree with him as I've always managed pain v v well (labour with no painkillers. scopes with no sedatives) and wonder how he'd cope with the same amount of pain. He insisted that the pain was from the colon and not the upper gastric area or stomach (therefore not H Pylori) as he said the colon curves all the way upwards round the chest area....but then I thought hat area ALSO housed the upper digestive system too???

He's definitely one of those consultants who get a fixed idea in their head and then won't move on it at all, even if it's contrary to a patient's experience. I've known other people who've see him - long before me- and they spontaneously said the same - hence my slight wondering if I should get a quick quiet test for H Pylori somewhere.

Anyway, I think that now I can 'think' about the pain as not life threatening or causing irreparable harm - presuming he's right - then I can work around it and cope and if it gets really really bad, I'll try the antispasmodic.

Today, I tried paracetomol for my chest virus and noticed nothing worse with my gut symptoms - although it didn't actually help the viral symptoms much either - but at least I know I can use them now if I want. I also tried camomile tea today as I was desperate for a warmish drink for my cough and sore throat and so far not acute stomach symptoms - just a mild burning sensation about 2 hrs later.

I really think the symptoms and pain just come and go and there's things that might not help at all - like certain foods - but even on a bland diet - it still happens. So I need to enjoy the good times and get better skilled at managing the bad times. I still have loads of questions for my consultant. Ssunniebear, does the IBS network allow you to tap into asking qualified consultants questions online? That would be v useful.

PS - he didn't seem at all worried that I'm still losing weight - 13 pounds in 13 weeks. Should I not worry either,a s I was slightly overweight before? I'd rather not lose anymore but for the first time in about 30+ yrs, can't seem to put any back on. I've never ever been like this! Always been happily plump until now.

Spin: I think you are over estimating the knowledge that consultants have of IBS, nutrition and food sensitivities.

Surely the benefit of using an online IBS network is gaining knowledge of the condition and how to manage it from other IBS sufferers.
Their collective knowledge is likely to be greater than that of the consultants (IMO).

Sometimes, the so called experts don't have the answers because science and the text books haven't caught up with modern illnesses.

A few years ago ME was a complete mystery to the medical profession and people with it were accused of being malingerers.

Apologies to any medics - I don't mean to be disrespectful to you.

Ssunie's post have you excellent advice.

Is the IBS network called just that - ie IBS network or are there several different ones? Would like to tap into that for sure.

VVega, where do I buy peppermint water? I've got some peppermint tea in the house but was afraid to try it because of the pungency that might irritate rather than help a sore gut - but it wounds like I should try what you suggest. Do supermarkets sell peppermint water or health food shops - or what?

Contrary to what my consultant told me, I think I may also try probiotics. Does anyone know which ones to go for - as I see there are different types and not sure what to try? I could ask a pharmacist I suppose.

Re. my consultant - I think he'd be best served working in a lab rather than directly with people!

Just to say that I am the Queen of side effects and the Mebeverine has been absolutely fine, doesn't fully remove all symptoms but makes them much more bearable.

I have been through similar and its 'just' ibs that does have awful flares, bug had remission too. Google FODMAP for foods to avoid, my absolute nos are apples and avocados, and can tolerate raw fruit/veg as part of meal but absolutely not on empty tummy. No brassicas either

Solgar do a good range of probiotics. Their products are vegetarian too.
I find it easier to buy them online.

Spinster I have been lurking on your threa d for a while now. I'm really pleased to hear that your have now found out you are not 'seriously ill'.

I just wanted to share my story with you.

I developed IBS when I was 20 following a bowel infection. I contracted when travelling in the Middle East. The original infection cleared up all on it's own after a month or so, however I then developed IBS symptoms which have lasted 20 years.

What caught my eye about your situation was the being woken in the night with the severe abdo cramps, most info on IBS says this shouldn't really be a presenting complain but for me when I have a bad flare up it is a totally predicate l symptom. The cramps are here're and at times make me want to vomit.

There are a few things which are guaranteed to cause a flare up for me, and a few others which are likely to. Mexican food and chilli power or flakes I cannot tolerate at all, within a. Few hours I am in the midst of a flare up. Other spicy food however eg Indian food is totally fine!!

Severe or prolonged stress will always induce a flare up despite having no dietary provocation.

The weirdest one for me is. I am totally unable to drink plain water, within a10 minutes I am suffering. I have come to the conclusion it's something to do both the osmolarity of the water as it contacts the Bowel wall.

I cannot drink lager or beer although In can drink wine in reasonable doses.

Very fatty food can cause a flare up but not every time.

When I,am experiencing a bad flare up I can feel, like you, physically I'll fleuy shakes and really dreadful. I would say having read your posts that the only difference is the cough which I have never had.

The things that have helped me are:

Avoiding the foods I know will cause a flare up. Luckily they are not numerous so this is fairly easy. The are some foods that I used to be intolerant of that are now ok in moderation eg orange juice. So there is hope that you will be able to re introduce foods ok.

In the last few years I have started taking buscopan, my. GP prescribed this at first but I now just buy it OTC if having a flare up. It does help reduce the pain and urgency I get.

I try to control my stress levels, not always easy but. I let a lot pas em by these days that would have upset me five or ten years ago.

If I am having a flare up and in pain I sometimes take a few cocodamol OTC tablets as this seems to calm my bowel down and gives me a bit of pain relief too..

No,plain water!!!!

I also do the breathing excersises I learnt for labour (!!) when I am getting a bad attack as I find it helps me cope and seems to calm my bowel.

One things I have not tried is biofeednback training, as you are early on in the IBS this might be really worth while. Basically you get taught how to relax and manage your bowel overriding your autonomous nervouse system.

Lastly, and again. I have not presumed this, but most areas now have IBS management courses run by the NHs psychology service. Might be worth googling to see what is available in your area.

Good luck and hope you feel lots better soon.

Spin, I have both IBD and IBS (I never do anything by halves, me ;-) ) Now that cancer and (potentially) IBD has been ruled out, I'd like to share what works for me. Before I do though, please start a food diary, detailing all that you eat and how you feel. Once you work out what you need to avoid, and for me it's certain fruit, veg and cakes, life will be so much easier.

First, my meds. I take Colpermin (enteric coated peppermint oil capsules roughly half an hour before I eat. I take inner leaf gel aloe vera extract once a day (the outer leaf has a laxative effect). If I have fatigue, then I take a single dose of Feroglobin (Google it).

My trigger foods are classic IBS, onions, tomatoes, and peppers. Passata is better than whole tomatoes, and onions cooked for hours in a spag bol I'm fine with. Chillies I have the same problem with as peppers, fine if skinned and deseeded. Grapes can also be a problem, depending on how many I eat. A couple? Not a problem! Lots? Let's not go there! Christmas cake is also a real problem for me, I could never work out why I was always ill over Christmas. I can have the occasion mince pie.

Nuts can cause problems if my tummy is already playing up, but fine if not. Fat can also cause problems for me, I have skimmed milk and low fat yogurt, but cheese doesn't affect me, strangely.

What works for me though, may not work for you. Good luck, hope you find out sooner rather than later!

OP The IBS Network has three ways to get questions on IBS answered

1. Online box where you can ask questions of a consultant,
2. helpline open a few evenings a week where you can call up and spek with nurses with experience of iBS
3. health unlocked forum, where people with the condition discuss possible treatments.

Googling the side affects of medication can be a dangerous thing, few people post to say that the medication has worked really well for them so you are only seeing a very small percentage of the affects and this is usually from the people with problems. I assume the cramps themselves can be distracting and if the side affects of the medication were worse than the bennifits you could always stop straight away. Would it be worse to have a few hours of unplesant symptoms or not to try something for fear of the symptoms which could calm things right down for you.

I agree that mint is good. I sometimes use a mint powder from Amazon which can be mixed in hot water.

Now that you have a diagnosis of IBS it will be much easier for your GP to find a medication that works,I have listed below a few of the possible options.

1. antispasmodics [multiple options here
2. medications such as imodium to control symptoms
3. laxatives
4. Antibiotics [my consultant reccomends trying a course of a strong antibiotic as this can clear up symptoms.

5 bile acid sequestrants incase it is a problem with bile being reabsorbed causing the problems 6 antidepresents at a low dose to control the symptoms 6 psychological therapies such as CBT or hipnosis

1. medications with sideafects wich may control symptoms for example anti acid medications

9 painkillers such as codeine which may calm things down 10 diet advise through a dietitan / hydrogen breath testing for intollerances 11 old fashioned medications suh as kaolin to bulk things out 12 fiber supplimentation.

I have posted such a long list not to overwhelm you but to show there is pleanty they can do and if one thing doesn't work there will be more things in the that type of drug they can try and other types of medication. My advise would be that you go to your GP not with the expectation that they have all the answers, everyones symptoms and response to treatment can be different but more with the expectation that they can look at controling a particular symptom.

Which symptom causes you the most distress at present?

Hello again. Well that is a relief that it's nothing awful and you can get on with calming it down.
I've had something similar - was on that other thread - and, apart from continuing lactose intolerance - it's much better.

The probiotics I was recommended are Bio-Kult, and start with two a day then build up. It's good to add in natural fermented food too, either sauerkraut or I've used Kefir.

As I said before, I also used digestive enzymes for a couple of weeks, which really did help normalising things. I only take them now if I am eating a big meal.

I've also used some herbal drops from the health food shop for digestion, these also seem to have made a difference. But I am now waiting on some Iberogast from eBay. There was [[http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/08/do-herbal-medicines-improve-our-health
an article in the Guardian on herbal remedies]], and this is one that is apparently proven to work with IBS. I'll let you know if it works, it's coming from Poland...

Get this checkout out and take a list of symptoms with you so you do not forget anything.

Similar to a lot of others here, i am a single parent to a SN child, diagnosed with UC 4 years ago and 2 years and multiple surgeries (and perimenopausal), i have a permanent pouch too.

My doctor wasn't quick enough off the mark to refer me, even though i was bleeding and running to the loo 30+ times a day (that wasn't urgent apparently). I went to a NHS private hospital in 2 weeks, or had to wait 2 months to be seen by local hospital.

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy as it has been a loooong journey, but if you can go earlier to get this sorted, rather than later, you will have peace of mind and know what you are dealing with.

I diagnosed myself long before the consultant and received a lot of help on this board, so you are in good company.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on! :)

Ooh, sorry, it seems i only read the first page! Apologies!

Really good news Spinstar, I posted a few pages back that I really thought your problems started from your visit to a cafe and now I really think you can assume you did catch something that has sparked off IBS. I also posted on other threads because the exact same thing happened to me in March after norovirus and I am still on right but better compared to the symptoms of IBS I had for weeks. I think I mentioned this to you at the same time.

To be honest, you do still sound very anxious in that you are really not trusting the consultant you saw and this will not help your rehabilitation now. Please take some probiotics, start eating plainly cooked meals like steamed fish, rice, vegetables, oven baked chicken, potatoes, etc etc, yoghurts, fruits without pips for the moment and relax! Of course you will get some symptoms with IBS but you don't have anything seriously wrong with you. Just enjoy your children now and start eating properly!

Cod - thanks for the reassurance about mebeverine. If I can get by without anything, i will but I may give it a try - once my consultant has written to the GP and I've been able to see the GP - all of which could easily take another 4 weeks. My consultant explicitly stressed that I should now eat normally and not follow any special diet for IBS like Fodmap. In fact he kept repeating this throughout the consultation but I plan to use my own common sense as well as his guidance.

Notfabulous, many thanks for sharing your story - which is very helpful for me to hear about. I'm keen to try using various mind over matter strategies to manage the pain and disengage from the reaction humans have to pain and biofeeedback and possibly hypnosis may help along with the usual stuff like mindfulness, relaxation techs., yoga etc). I don't yet really know if certain foods trigger off worsening symptoms and the consultant kept saying just eat normally - but I'll have to see how it goes.

I suppose my own GP might be better than the consultant with symptoms management, although the times I've recently seen him, he's constantly deferred to the younger consultant. I used to eat things like red peppers, onions/spring onions, leeks, garlic, tomatoes, courgettes, nuts/seeds and mushrooms plus beans and pulses fried in olive oil, and all the brassicas/green leafy veg, plus cheese, virtually every single day - but I think a lot of those foods are not supposed to help IBS.

Two 'luxury' foods I miss now are the occasional slab of chocolate cake (couldn't celebrate my recent birthday as I usually do, sadly) and good quality chocolate.

Shadowfax, sorry you've got both IBD and IBS - that's a lot to cope with! Thanks for sharing what works for you. I'm learning far far more from people on this thread than I've learned so far from my consultant! I'll look into those meds you recommend too.

Ssunniebear, that list is incredibly helpful and so it your recommendation for the IBS Network, which I plan to join. You're a fountain of knowledge! My worst symptom is when I get the upper abdominal gnawing/acidic/burning pain that goes under my ribs and round my back and makes me want to double up in agony. It feels as if something is eating me up from the inside outwards. The consultant told me that what I was feeling wasn't upper gastric or acidic based but was spasms in the colon - but the 'spasm' feeling is something different that I'm aware of lower down in my abdomen - and much more manageable - like a mild colicky feeling.

The upper gastric feeling is qualitatively different and is the symptom most likely to make me unable to work and do more than basic tasks. Second to that symptom, would be the occasional days when I've been stuck on the loo with urgent need to 'go' - but I've not had further proper diarrhoea at all - just that urgency feeling that is like my digestive system has been in slow-mo for a few days and then suddenly goes, "you know, what, it's time to go up a few gears and get rid of the waste at top speed"! If that occurs first thing in the morning before school run and work, I can manage it and so far the longest I've recently been on the loo 'going' was about an hour.

Confused, sorry to hear you've had HPylori twice! I did push the consultant about being tested for this and whether the biopsies had looked at that and he was totally dismissive, told me I had none of the H Pylori symptoms and no need for testing and that my symptoms were classic IBS following a virus. So yes, I had biopsies taken from the gastroscopy part of the scopes but not tested for H Pylori.

Getinthesea, I may explore probiotics despite the consultant telling me there was no scientific evidence to prove they work and he actually sneerily laughing about anyone who uses them at all! So that slightly put me off! What I don't understand BTW is that if IBS is a functional issue with bowel spasms causing pain, how might trying to rebalance the gut flora have any effect at all? The consultant told em that it would rebalance itself completely anyway. Is that the case? If so, why does anyone take probiotics, which i was really hoping were going to help hugely, until he told me this?

Charlotte, thanks for the input. I'm not anxious now as I know I haven't got a life threatening illness. I don't fully trust the consultant as I always believe that an 'expert' can only contribute the limit of their own knowledge and experience without fully knowing the experience of an unique other person - so I balance his input with my own live experience too.

My experience of him as a person (and from what others have told me spontaneously about him too) is that he can be a bit of a rigid thinker, who gets fixated on certain ideas and isn't a good listener (he interrupted me as soon as I started to talk and told me his own opinion before I'd told him how I was feeling and then denied my own experience). I think this can make him slightly limited in flexible thinking tailored to a specific individual and has already contradicted himself to me and has his own way of managing IBS that isn't the same as other medics - from what people here are saying.

The bland diet you mention is almost exactly what I've now been eating for the last 13 weeks but the symptoms still come and go. However, today I've had 2 cups of peppermint tea - without bad effect so far - and yesterday some chocolate - ditto. Ii'll give it a go following his advice to 'eat normally', but with some moderation - and see how it pans out.

Pax, thanks for the recommendation of probiotics range!

Well it turns out that your consultant isn't keeping himself entirely up to date. It appears that probiotics do help IBS, but no one is quite sure how that works medically.

Mine started with a bug/food poisoning as well, and it feels to me that my stomach or gut lining is now raw and can't cope with spices or anything difficult. So I can imagine that probiotics, digesting the food more quickly, could help get rid of irritants and irritation. But that's just me guessing.

And very good that you've had some chocolate too!

I'm not sure if this is even relevant, but my Ds suffered recurring episodes of sickness and diarehha after gastroenteritus. Apparently, the gastro caused ongoing inflammation in the gut and alteration of gut flora.Since January he has been having probiotics and fingers crossed he is symptom free. It may just be a coincidence but in his case they have worked wonders.

I came on to read your update. Years I ago I was very stressed & not eating properly due to depression & I took a tonic you buy in the chemist I think it was called Metatonic. It actually felt like it burnt my stomach & I ended up with an upset stomach that happened the same time every morning. I saw a Dr & he prescribed Mebeverine (Colofac). You can buy it OTC but you get more on prescription. It was brilliant & really helped as I had a constant cramp in my side. I will get side effects from most medications but I had no problems with this.
I would try the probiotics & follow the diet advice as a few others have suggested. I didn't find Buscupan helped much for cramps but the Colpermin might be worth trying for you. I've also heard that aloe Vera juice is good for IBS.