Why has my ibs got so bad

[pinky987]

I am struggling really badly with my ibs.

I am having to go to the toilet on a good day 2-4 times and on a bad day up to 8 times for a bowel movement. I am experiencing pain in my stomach, wind and bloating.

I have never had it this bad before and I am struggling to carry on with everyday life as I am scared of not being able to go to the toilet.

Dr has prescribed mebeverine which has definitely helped with the stomach pain and said give it 4 weeks then call back.

I have tried doing the low FODMAP diet for the last few weeks and some days I think things are improving and then I’ll have a bad day the next day.

I am looking into seeing a dietician and then I am not sure what else to do.

Hello....just wanted to say I understand and sympathise. Might be worth looking into Bile Acid Malabsorption.....very under diagnosed condition (most GPs don’t know anything about it) with similar IBS symptoms. You’d need a SECHAT test (google is your friend!) to confirm. Do you still have your gall bladder? Can be treated with meds. Mine much more under control now tho still get flare ups. Hot water bottle, peppermint tea or tabs help me or co-codamol (helps with pain and runs) if I can’t just stop. I try hard to limit use of these though. Look
after yourself- hope you can take it easy today!

This might be a bit "out there", but have you tried avoiding rapeseed oil in your diet? My DP suffers really badly from IBS and he's narrowed it down through elimination to rapeseed oil in foods. He's fine until he has some.

It's nightmare because it's in so many things (it's the main ingredient in vegetable oil) and hard to avoid, but I wonder how many other people have an allergy to it and don't know? It's not in the main list of allergens (though I believe there is a campaign online to get it recognised).

Just a thought, My sympathies, IBS is really horrible.

@20poppy14 thank you for replying. Yes I do have my gallbladder and will look into what you have mentioned. I find when I go to the dr they always just say yes classic ibs but then not much in the way of how to help with my symptoms.

I had been looking at the peppermint tea capsules but didn’t know if I could take them with the mebeverine from the drs. Maybe I could check with a pharmacist.

Thanks @BinkyBoinky I have never thought about rapeseed oil only the regular things like gluten and dairy etc. But I have cut them out now for the last 2-3 weeks and whilst I no longer have awful diarreah that I was having I am still having these symptoms. I am now getting so that I am scared to eat anything other than what I normally eat everyday so I don’t set it off.

@pinky987 just thought of another thing - look up Candidiasis - an overgrowth of a yeast/fungus (candida) in your gut. It can cause all sorts of problems and lives on sugar mainly, and other things. You have to go on a special diet and eliminate tons of foods, especially sugar, so it can be a bit of a misery. It's a long-term solution though not an overnight one. But my friend did it and it helped her gut totally x

@BinkyBoinky thank you. Anything is worth me checking at the moment to try and help improve how I’m feeling.

It could be SIBO (Small Intestional Bacterial Overgrowth), it's diagnosed by a specific breath test

@UpTheLaganInABubble thanks I’ll look into that as well.