I would be interested in any suggestions/experiences regarding ibs. I know this is a tricky one, with lots of possible reasons for suffering/ways of coping with it,treating it, etc, but I'm getting to my wits end and feel I might benefit from the experiences of others. To keep it as short as possible:
I've suffered on and off for about 15 years (now in mid thirties). I suffer mainly from constipation, although every now and then have bouts of the other. Over the past few months, I am suffering ever more excessive wind (sorry!) and seem to pass so much wind after eating, its untrue (its not necessarily smelly, just lots of air!). I am often very bloated and have to sit for a long time on the loo before I've any chance of going. I did take an intolerance test (admittedly it was online) and it came up with cows milk intolerance. Over the years I've noticed a few trigger foods such as white bread and white rice and have found replacing these with wholemeal versions helps.
I'm convinced however, its to do with just how I am - I lead a very busy life, long hours, hectic job and I think this possibly just conflicts with my body. Don't get me wrong - I'm very healthy in other ways. I don't smoke, work out daily, am not overweight and rarely ill, and, even though my job is hectic, I absolutely love it. It just seems that my stomach can't cope with any stress/change of routine at all, and the slightest thing affects it, such as eating a bit later than normal in the evening, or my time of the month, or, eating something that obviously doesn't agree with me (there just seems to be so much that doesn't!)
The other thing is the pain - I am frequently suffering from left side pain in my back and stomach ( I know this is common in ibs) but its now nearly all the time and I'm sometimes taking painkillers.
I've tried lactulose and other natural fibre supplements but get hugely bloated,and , as I've said before, live a very healthy lifestyle. I know there is no magic wand, but would be interested to hear if anybody has any positive experiences of how they dealt with this, and also, whether and how they got their doctors to take this seriously enough to warrant investigation.
Phew, sorry for waffling!