Any IBS sufferers in here?

[Afternooninthepark]

Do any of you suffer from a growling/grumbling/popping sensation in your stomach and intestinal area?
I’ve been getting this quite a bit for the last 12-18 months.
It even wakes me through the night at times.
It’s drives me insane and really makes me anxious (which obviously doesn’t help the IBS!)
My gp and gastroenterologist just shrugged their shoulders when I mentioned it and said it’s one of the symptoms but that doesn’t really help me as they didn’t offer any advice.
Sounds melodramatic but it really is making me miserable! I just want a calm gut.

Yes, it's horrible, you have my sympathies. How are you managing your IBS? Great that you have a gastro. Are you on the FODMAP diet or anything?

I had IBS-D for a long time but it's been under control for some years. I avoid insoluble fibre, switched from "meat and two veg" diet to med diet, avoid my triggers (red wine, raw garlic, onions, eating too much, oily food). But I think getting my anxiety under control was the most important, especially the panic "fight or flight" mode. I used to use hypnotherapy which was very helpful, now I use the Headspace app which is fantastic. When you become a member of Anxiety UK you receive a year's subscription (total cost £30 instead of £70).

I should add I always suspected mine was from SIBO and that changing diet shifted the gut bacteria towards something more favourable: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3099351/

I should add I cut down on sugar and took a heavy duty probiotic in my efforts to IBS as well. Though I now eat dark chocolate and only use the probiotics when I have an antibiotic, norovirus or a rare IBS flare up.

Thanks grey. I was following the low fodmap diet strictly for most of this with very little improvement, which I was gutted about tbh. I saw a dietician 3 months ago and she advised me to come off it as I was probably one of the 25% of people who have no luck with it 🙁 She didn’t really advise much more. I know that I really do need to give up sugar and have been looking at the med diet (I already eat lots of fish and salad so hopefully would enjoy it). I’m currently having CBT which I hope will eventually help with my anxiety as im sure it exacerbates my IBS. I’ve been a long time lurker on the Anxiety Uk website , do you think it’s worth the membership fee?
Thanks for the SIBO link. I’ve been convinced for sometime that I have it, mentioned it to the gastroenterologist, he said it was a possibility but as the antibiotics for it can cause bad diarrhoea, he wouldn’t recommend it!!
Can I ask which probiotics you used?

Oh so sorry you didn't get any improvement after going to all the trouble of doing the FODMAP, Afternoon. Sounds like you already eat a med diet with lots of salad and fish. I did FODMAP and it did help me but was too restrictive to follow over the long term. Since then I am very careful with onions and brassicas, but what works now is eating a very varied diet. So varying carb sources, adding more veg but being very careful to avoid or process anything with a hard husk (insoluble fibre). I avoid combinations of triggers - so no red wine when I have oily food etc.

That's great you're having CBT. I got the Anxiety UK membership as the cheapest way to access the Headspace App: www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app
I really like it but something else might work better for you. There's a free 10 day trial if you're interested.

I'm sorry, I don't remember the probiotic I used, but definitely worth trying one. I also got a multivitamin oral spray as my B vits were always coming back low and I wasn't sure I was absorbing enough from food.