Anyone with IBS here- can I swap notes?

[OnThePrarie]

I think I've IBS (let me say I'm quite well-informed as a health journalist and have interviewed consultants for features on this - but not talking about myself of course!)

I notice that wheat, beans and pulses are my worst culprits. I can manage my symptoms (loose stools and wind) by having small amounts.

Recently I ate some chickpeas (maybe a bit more than usual) and spent two days in agony. Loose stools with urgency then 48 hours of severe stomach cramps, bloating and feeling slightly flu-y (all over body aches.)

I am wondering if the latest episode was IBS or a tummy bug (and nothing to do with the chickpeas.)

I have spoken (as part of my work) with a woman who did find her IBS was like flu but I've not experienced it myself before or had it last for 48 hours.

Can anyone share?

Mine is getting worse as I get older, so that's fun. Symptoms are MUCH more severe than they used to be. Sadly, I think the only way to find out is experimentation. I love pulses and I can hardly tolerate them now. I've not had aches but I would say my gastro symptoms are getting closer to a stomach bug as I age. Maybe aches are next! 😭

Oh sorry, but 100% yes to 48 hours of diarrhoea if I have a big helping of lentils for example. That could easily happen.

Have you actually been tested to rule out inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, bile acid malabsorption, motility issues etc?

IBS is just a label for unexplained symptoms after all known possibilities have been excluded. No matter how knowledgeable you are, unless you've had camera tests to rule out other causes then self-diagnosing with IBS is reckless.

No, because I've managed it with diet for years. It's never been severe enough for investigations. I've had the FIT test as I'm in the age bracket for them.

I appreciate what you're saying and I know it's a label etc- as you say.

I'm aware of the other things you mention and have no symptoms associated with them.

My Mum also reacts very badly to pulses- she can't eat baked beans, for example, or anything similar.

Kindly I think 'reckless' is too strong a word. I'm relating my symptoms directly to food.

I managed my IBS for years but avoiding 'trigger' foods. My diet because more limited as the years went by. Referrer to an IBS dietitian who told me I was making it worse by cutting foods out. 6 months ago I tested positive for coeliac disease & am awaiting confirmation via endoscopy. I would advise checking with the GP first for some blood work. Helpful advice form IBS dietician was no processed foods, no reheating of foods, half a teaspoon of flaxseed day/night. No fizzy drinks. It did help for a while

Thank you.

I usually follow the Fodmap (to an extent) and have had long conversations with the gastro experts in the UK who started it here. My DD (adult in her 30s) has similar issues and was treated by one of the UK's top dieticians on Fodmap but with no investigations, just an elimination diet.

I would offer the same advice myself as others are here (ie get tested) but I have no other symptoms of coeliac.

I really just want to know if pain (like colic) is a symptom as this was the first time. Obviously if this appears at any other time rather than directly related to some food I will take further steps.

The loose stools were not diarrhea but more like 5 or 6 on the Bristol stool chart.

Pregnancy is great for IBS! - bit of a drastic solution though!

I have IBS - yes, I've had all the tests and been officially 'diagnosed' in so far as you can be, as having IBS. Cramping pains aren't something I tend to suffer from, but my understanding of watching ads for, or reading the info on, treatments such as Buscopan is that the pain you describe is very much a normal symptom of IBS. Did you try something like Buscopan to see if it helped?

Considering my children are approaching 40, I've left that too late!

Hi Yes, I did. I only took a low dose yesterday ( 1 tablet) as I wasn't sure if it was a real bug or IBS.
To confuse things I also ate some raw mushrooms (not wild ones) so I'm half suspicious they may have had some bugs on them.
I've taken 1 tablet today and it's either helped or it's settling down anyway.

I find baked beans are a killer for my stomach. The last time I ate some, I had a very nasty underwear accident.

I struggle with dried fruits too. At christmas I love a bit of christmas pudding, but I am rolling about in agony for the rest of the day.

That's a positive sign then. I was prescribed Mebeverine years ago for a different IBS pain (a constant, low grade pain rather than the colicky pain I think a lot of others have) and I have to say it was pretty fast working. I know it is hard to know whether a tablet is working or whether the pain is just subsiding anyway, but, to some extent, what does that matter?

My IBS is not so much triggered by food, rather by emotional/anxiety issues. I always wanted doctors to provide me with a cure or effective medication or a diet sheet to follow that would stop all symptoms, but after years of chasing this non existent treatment, I now just accept that any gain, be it a real treatment or just a placebo, is worth having.

If you haven't already have a look at the FODMAP diet - it helped me work out what foods I can eat and how much if them I can eat.

Also as mentioned - stress plays a massive part so if you don't already look into ways to manage this.