IBS is making my life hell

[IBSHelpMe]

IBS Is really ruining my daily life. I don’t know how to make it better any tips grateful . Always had a slightly dodgy stomach but since August last year it’s been daily.

I have been well looked after by the NHS but so far no cause has been found, we have a history of Crohns in my family.

So far I have had
A colonoscopy
Endoscopy
MRI small bowel
Pelvic scan
Bloods which showed slightly raise calprotectin

I am due to have a SEHCAT scan but once that is done and ok then I will be given an IBS diagnosis.

Which scares me in itself because there is no treatment. I have so far tried probiotics, buscopan, liquid diet, cutting out food groups and nothing helps.
I am overweight and sitting at a desk daily makes it worse I think.
I don’t suffer from diarrhoea more constipation, I have a lot of wind from when I get up to go to bed, I have constant pain in lower bowel and its sore after going.

Its ok at night when in bed, I do drink coffee but that has never made a difference. If I eat its bad, if I don’t eat its bad. Could IBS really cause symptoms on an empty stomach ?

Any advice would be great I can’t see this going away

@Longwhiskers14 I do have a lot of these symptoms. I do find when things are really bad I've eaten bread, pastry or pizza the day before. This is worth me doing I think! Does it control things for you?

@wonderstuff thanks for the tips I appreciate it.

Does your husband get much pain?

Op, I spent practically a whole year in pain and I didn't know why. I had pains like period pains in the tummy , pain down my legs, in my back, felt unwell in myself. I had all the tests you had. They eventually said it was IBS and to try a low fodmap diet. I went to a different doctor to ask what could be done about the pain, I spent hours just lying on the settee in pain. It was horrible.

He said he wondered why hadn't been prescribed Mebeverine as that was usually the first step. He gave it me with instructions to take it 20 mins before each meal. Omg, the very next day the pain stopped. Just like that. I took three a day for months and the pain almost completely went away. That was about 3 years ago now and I sometimes have the odd flair up. I only take one tablet before dinner now, or if I am going to eat a big lunch I take one. I am 95% better just taking Mebeverine. Have you tried it? If not, ask for it! You can actually get it over the counter in a pharmacy too, but it's way more expensive. About £5 for 8 tablets. I recommend you try it!

Avoiding your trigger foods is important too. I get pain if I eat baked beans, baked potatoes, sometimes bread, sometimes, pasta.

@Sleepingboy thanks for the tip I have some of this I would say I have tried maybe for a few days and found no difference at all.

But.. Then I gave up I think it's worth a go and maybe for a longer term!

I second fodmap

My gastroenterologist (who is meant to be one of the best, according to my doctors friends) told me to do it for my ibs.

Perhaps if it’s difficult just commit to a short timeframe (1 month) first? Then you can see if you can get used to it, find foods/recipes that you like, and see what it does with your symptoms.

Then decide whether you’ll continue. That way it’s easier to commit to the first four weeks as it’s not that long

You have to take it 20 mins before food, the Mebeverine. You then eat and spend the next hour trumping for England. That's how it works! It soothes the gut, relaxes it and then helps you trump out all the trapped wind. It really completely changed my life, dramatic but true!

@Cocomobile I will try anything at this stage! I am going to plan to try this properly thank you

IBSHelpMe Going GF hasn't just helped me, it's transformed me! I used to suffer joint aches, brain fog, exhaustion, bloating, diarrhoea pretty much every day and I piled on weight no matter how hard I dieted (with NCGS your body suffers inflammation and malabsorption, so my body clung onto every pound). Since going GF last autumn, I feel like a different person. I have energy, I can concentrate and the weight is melting off – I'm a stone down already.

I did an elimination diet for six weeks. I really recommend you try it!

@Sleepingboy not dramatic at all I have some in if you don't take it do you feel the effects

If you found the FODMAP too restrictive, have you just tried low carbing more generally? My IBS symptoms disappeared when I started low carbing. I wasn't low carbing for this reason - I was doing it to lose weight - but I realised after a few weeks that I wasn't suffering any more.

To be honest, if you're overweight already, then I'd definitely recommend low carbing anyway.

Why don't you come and join us on the current low carb Bootcamp? It doesn't matter that we've already started - you can just jump in and join us!

Go gluten free for 4-6wks then slowly add it back in. I can now only cope with a slice of toast or a biscuit max per day but even then a week or two of that and I've overdosed and need to come back off gluten.
Fruit and veg can make it worse as its acidic but you need them so follow the FODMAP diet.

@Longwhiskers14 I am so glad you have managed to turn things around and I am going to try this from tomorrow.

I find it hard to lose weight, I am more constipation for most of the time, urgency then lose bowels not pleasant

Yes, I bet tummy ache after a meal if I dont take my tablet. I dont miss too many as I'm scared of the really bad ongoing pain coming back. Stress is also a factor. I do have flare ups if I've eaten something I shouldn't or if I'm stressed but it's much more manageable as I take the mebeverine every day.

@BIWI I have low carbed in the past and then after a year I had carbs and was really ill.

But I think I had to much to quickly this is worth doing again I think i did feel good while doing it and lost weight

@Really123456 thank you good idea.

Life with out fruit and veg seems a very sad affair

Thank you all for osme great tips. I have really felt alone these past few days.

And feel like my GP and consultant has found nothing sinister so I should just live with pain.

I used to have IBS. It was diagnosed by my doctor who suggested I am allergic to wheat. I cut out wheat but still had the IBS so learnt to live with it. My stomach used to blow up like I was hugely pregnant and it was agony.

Then when I went vegan, all symptoms disappeared. I still don't know why that is, I eat pasta, bread, etc. and NEVER get the symptoms anymore. All I can think is that I was allergic to dairy or something in the meat, I don't know for sure though.

I have low carbed in the past and then after a year I had carbs and was really ill.

What do you mean? How ill? Did this not make you realise that it was the carbs that were making you ill, and therefore you should keep avoiding them?!

Low FODMAP has really changed my life. The monash app is great and helps you understand it better, yes it's complicated and hard to follow but has honestly changed my life, I'm pretty much symptom free now!

I suffered for years with it and it was horrendous, I didn't want to go places because I didn't know if my stomach would get upset and I was constantly thinking of where the closest bathroom was. Peppermint tea helps, I used to drink it in the evenings and I found it eased the cramps a bit, also try not to get too stressed this causes the nerve endings in your bowel to over work and cause a sore stomach, maybe try kalms if you find it flares up with stress

@HermioneMakepeace interesting I am giving up meat for lent so will see if this helps. I eat very little dairy

@BIWI I went away with my family and decided not to low carb. I was in bed for 2 days with se ere diarrhoea, dizziness, feeling awful in general all I had changed was eating carbs.

I have been to preoccupied with this IBS to focus on going back to it.

I trying lots of things for short periods of time unsuccessfully which I am sure isn't helping me. I jusfgeg preoccupied with feeling awful.

I need to low carb again I know its helps

TMI TMI TMI!
I have ibs, this wk I'm really constipated, lots of lower back pain and wind. Two wks ago I had Dioreah so bad I shit myself twice. It's miserable and scary at times. I've been so constipated I've had to go to the toilet in a hot bath like a bloody water birth. Whilst clutching the sides and crying.
Yeah ibs can be that bad. Sorry hun x

Sounds like you change your diet a lot. Any change causes my problems to worsen. Change of food, being more healthy less healthy, cutting out carbs, eating too many... rubbish. X

Yep. Eating a lot of carbs, suddenly, will do that to you.

Come over to the dark side!

I was going to mention a sehcat scan until I got further down your post ☺️. It's good that that has been mentioned as a lot of doctors and specialists haven't heard of that scan. It's basically a radio active tablet you swallow. You wait I can't remember if it's 1-3 hours then they scan you. You then go home and they tell you to come back in a weeks time and they do another scan. It's basically to see how the pill has gone through your system. They work out a percentage from the results I think of how it's been absorbed into the body. A normal healthy person should have a percentage of 15% upwards. Anything below that is abnormal. Basically they are testing you for Bile Acid Malabsorption. You can google it to find out more. I have been through all this and I have it. You said you suffer from constipation though so I'm not sure as the main symptom for BAM is chronic diarrhoea. Have you had your gallbladder out or any type of stomach/bowel surgery or could you possibly have gallstones? It took me 10, years to get diagnosed as it's a very little known chronic condition. Sound like you have a good gp or consultant. ☺️