Is this ibs?

[Pannalash]

I have been unwell for 5 weeks now initially suffering from agonising pain in my left hand side which was initially suspected to be kidney stones however an ultrasound showed no problems with my bladder or kidneys. I have ended up in A&E twice due to severe abdominal pain and being put on a drip and giving painkillers. I became severely constipated after taking codeine which then caused me to have what was possibly trapped wind and I had pains that's spread to my chest and across the top of my abdomen and randomly throughout my abdomen. Whilst the trapped wind seems to have eased I now have awful pain still in the top of my abdomen which comes and goes, various stabbing pains randomly throughout my abdomen and a lot of wind pains. I also get pain in my chest and back I occasionally get low down pain in my abdomen. I have had blood tests which I came back normal ecgs and an x-ray of my chest that was normal. I suffer from anxiety and this is now the consensus I am suffering from IBS. I have a lot of wind and loose stools, floating stools, ribbon like stools, you name it more different types of stools than IKEA. However I'm not convinced that it's following a pattern of IBS in the fact that I don't have any particular urgency to rush to the loo and I never have the sort of pain that is relieved by going to the loo. The pain is there a huge amount of every day and I've been spending quite a bit of each day in bed feeling ropey which is no good. At the present time I am taking paracetamol and Buscopan and I've just been given some diazepam. I'll be very grateful to hear from anyone who has had similar problems. I'm just really worried that this is being put down to IBS in case it's something else. I have just been through an intense period of stress and anxiety prior to the commencement of this pain. Can IBS really affect you every day to a greater or lesser extent or is it usually just something that causes discomfort every few days? I am really at a loss and it is getting me down. I would describe the pains as variably stabbing, aching, pinching, dull, intermittent, sharp. I have twice felt like I could faint but have not done so and never fainted in my life. There has been no suggestion of referrals to bowel of gastro consultants but I really can't go on much longer in this misery not knowing when I'll feel better and wondering if it coukd be something else. I've had a complete hysterectomy so it can't be anything gynaecological. Feel like I've never been away from the doctors over the last month. Any advice or reassurance greatly appreciated.

Hang in in there pannalash. I can sympathise with how you're feeling. I was off work being ill for three months and the gp wasn't helping much, in fact he thought that I was an over anxious female and that it was all in my mind! He said he would refer me to a medical consultant ant the hospital, probably thinking I'd say no because I was 'putting it on'. I said great! It wasn't the consultant who straight away said he would do the coeliac blood test. Within a week I had my answer. I wish I'm not coeliac but at least I had an answer and it's quite simple to deal with when you've got to grips with the gluten free diet.Fingers crossed you get somewhere soon xx

That should say it WAS the consultant

Thanks Makeup it's good that you were eventually sorted out. It does concern me that things are often put down to anxiety as I do suffer very badly from anxiety but these pains are absolutely physical and certainly not in my mind. However the constant pain is having a detrimental effect on my mental health . I just want to feel normal again. Thank you again take care.

Sorry, was offline for couple of days, I had several tests & finally a colonoscopy gave me the answers.
I don't tend to get flare ups too often now, I was on a stressful job that I hated & would have had more then,
I try to keep a healthy diet & take normacol granules most days, they are a fibre supplement, I don't want to be crude but key for me is to keep things moving so a high fibre diet is important.
Hope that helps you & again apologies for delayed response
Any other questions feel free to ask or PM me.

Earlier this Year I started to have the symptoms you describe-the one that concerned me the most was the constant pain-this was not relieved by a BM-which is usually the case in IBS(something I have suffered with 10 plus years)So I began to worry it was something more serious as this was different to what I usually experience with my IBS.
I started to get back ache also and was in near constant discomfort for months!
I too became very anxious and got quite unwell due to this(stopped eating,crying fits etc...)
Anyway I kept going back to the Docs and pushing for more tests-In the end I ended up having every test available.
Full Blood Count,Celiac Screen,FOB test,Calprotectin Stool Test,Ultrasound,CT Scan,Endoscopy and finally a Colonoscopy.
All came back clear and now I can be reassured that it is IBS-and yes IBS can last for days/weeks/months or for some people some form of discomfort every day!
Stools can be all over the place(though mine are fairly "normal" which again isn't something I thought you could experience with IBS.
I have been told to cut down on wheat,some people use the FODMAP diet and I do find that cutting down on Onions helps me(onions are in nearly every meal) and stress is a huge trigger for IBS.
I do think you should go back to the Docs and get more tests-this is what ultimately relieved my anxiety,though it was hard waiting for the Test results.
Now I KNOW that IBS is what bothers me I am more calm and actually have not had many flare ups lately-or if I do it is a day thing not a month long thing which I can cope with.
Good Luck.

Oh and there is a group for IBS on Facebook-it can be quite helpful-I dip in now and again and it does reassure me when I need it too.

Thankyou Summer and Charlie really appreciate your replies. Currently lying in bed as I was up at midnight taking painkillers and again at 4 o'clock this morning so I've had very little sleep just waiting for my doctor to ring back as I really can't go on like this feeling pretty desperate, anxious and very weepy and in pain.

I had pain like you describe pannalash. It was variable, in terms of where and the type. sometimes i was in a&e screaming in pain, other times it was like period pain, so a dull ache. Eventually, after many useless and dismissive doctors (one told me I had pulled a muscle!), we figured out that had severe abdominal adhesions. basically everything was all fused together and it was why I was in so much pain. my bowel in particular was very badly affected and I had a terrible time with my digestion.

I had scans, blood tests etc. I needed a laparoscopy to figure it all out. I had the surgery a few weeks ago, not sure whether I'm all fixed yet. its under a general anaesthetic.

I'm also sorry no-one is listening to you. insist on referrals. I ended up in uro-gynae.

Thankyou Bumble I'm really glad that you've now been treated wishing you a speedy recovery. Do you think that adhesions from a hysterectomy and removal of removal of my ovaries would cause me pain all over my abdomen chest and bac bearing in mind it's nearly 6 years since I have the op. Would it take this long for the adhesions to cause trouble?

It's worth pushing for some investigations to see what the problem is,
If it is anything bowel related I find ibuprofen is double edged sword, brilliant for the pain but gives constipation which worsens the problem.
I hope you get sorted

Honestly, I've got no idea. No one has any idea why I had adhesions. The specialist expected to find severe endometriosis but it turns out, not the case unless it's "microscopic". I'm no expert but i think scar tissue from previous surgery can cause adhesions. I think it's also more likely if you had a C-section too, because that causes scar tissue.

Adhesions are only visible with a laparoscopy, I had all manner of scans, tests and prodding that yielded no answers. Can you get yourself a gynaecologist referral given your history?

Now have mebeverine to try for abdominal pain and a referral to gastroenterology so slowly moving forward. Thanks again for all your messages so very much appreciated just hope I can manage the pain and discomfort till I see the consultant as there may be a long waiting list

I didn't find Mebeverine to be any real use for me-Reg painkillers helped more!
Hopefully it will help you and you get your appointment and some answers soon.

Thanks charliebear

My ibs is similar horrific pain worse than when I had my c section I spent 4 days in hospital on a bowel ward earlier this year on oromorph so I agree that ibs can be debilitation- mine is constipation not running to the loo

I have to add it's been worse since my c section and I do think adhesions are playing a part

Sorry to hear that you suffer from IBS bumplovin do you mind me asking what tests you've had to diagnose and where your pain is? I have random pain literally all over my abdomen and back but the pain that I really find hard to deal with is at the top of my abdomen.

So sorry you are feeling like this.
The medical field has came a long way with this thankfully.
There are several different types of it.
My gp eventually referred me to an nhs dietician and this helped no end.
Sadly the opposition can only be said nutritionists .
It is important that you get checked out and a proper diagnosis and then get referred to an nhs dietician.
Keep a diary of all you eat and the times and any symptoms and show this to your dr. Do not cut out any foods except on medical advice.
Massage can help.Stress tends to make it worse. You may also be told to avoid certain medicines, it depends on how severe you are .
Hope this helps.

Please push for a referral to a gastroenterologist. IBS should be an 'exclusion' diagnosis only after everything else has been ruled out. I have Crohns but was misdiagnosed with IBS in my 20s as the tests were deemed inconclusive. I know colonoscopies are horrible but it will give you a definite answer. The blood tests usually check for inflammation but they're not definitive & until my massive flare in 2012 my bloods showed very little inflammation & then the levels shot up. A faecal calprotectin test shows inflammation in the bowel only so I would ask for that as well. Good luck hope you feel better soon x

Thankyou primrose and fireandice really appreciate your advice and for sharing your experiences. Much appreciated.