thread: Anyone with IBS?

  1. #1
    Registered User

    Dec 2006
    In the Angelic Realm
    1,675

    Anyone with IBS?

    Hi,

    I have severe bloating and cramping where my tummy would expand to looking like 9 months pregnant all of a sudden. I have been diagnosed with IBS a few years ago after a colonoscopy and also discovered myself that i have become lactose intolerant after having Devrim.

    The bloating and cramps have started to flare up again and right now i sit here in agony, the crampiness is unbelievable having had no dairy foods at all today.

    Just wondering what your IBS symptoms are like.

  2. #2
    Registered User

    Dec 2006
    In my own private paradise
    15,272

    i go from one extreme to the other - either i can't go to the loo, or i'm running there flat out. the cramping is horrific, bloating really ordinary. i also get nauseous regularly, which one dr said is related to the IBS.

    i find certain foods trigger the symptoms - and if i've been having trouble going to the loo for a day or three, i'll deliberately eat the trigger foods to help me out!

    it's bloody uncomfortable, and i HATE it - but i've learnt to live with it

  3. #3
    Registered User

    Dec 2006
    In the Angelic Realm
    1,675

    Hey BG,

    I am always clogged IYKWIM. I don't have any foods which cause the opposite. I eat grains, fruit, drink at least 1.5l of water per day, exercise and still no action in my bowels (TMI).

    I hate it too. I stay off the dairy as i know it triggers it but on days when i have no dairy and am bloated with cramps, i wonder what else causes it. Emotions can trigger mine too. Can't be too happy or sad as i start bloating!

    i just wish i could let the gas out from back there IYKNWIM BUT I CAN'T

  4. #4
    Registered User

    Dec 2006
    In my own private paradise
    15,272

    yeah i know what you mean. i think a lot of mine is from the meds i'm on for the PCOS - i have to take a diabetes medication that sends me running to the loo. it's horrible!!

    i would increase your water intake - try and double it if you can...

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Add Beatrix on Facebook

    May 2007
    within a puff of pink
    3,315

    I have IBS as well

    I find it more affects me more as im running to the toilet constantly..
    I feel so sick at times, hot flusehes and cold shakes plus nausea when i have a bad day.

    Dairy is def my trigger as well

  6. #6
    Registered User

    Dec 2007
    Melbourne
    294

    Hi! I have IBS too, and I'm always clogged.

    I've found I have been heaps better since I've been drinking 3-4 litres a day (this sounds like a lot, but goes quickly if you sip all day), and doing at least a little exercise most days. Enough to make me sweat.

    I HATE metamucil because of the bloating it causes me. Have you tried normacol?

    Something I had found really helpful was a big strong cup of coffee first thing in the morning. I think because it's a stimulant it gets the muscles moving....

    I don't know what my triggers are. Seems like even when I'm behaving I'll have really bad days.

    I was on prepulsid for a while which was wonderful and seemed to help a lot, until they discovered it causes heart attack!!! Doh!

  7. #7
    Registered User

    Dec 2006
    In the Angelic Realm
    1,675

    I have an appt with a bowel specialist this morning. I can't wait to see her.

    I was thinking about when was the last time i went to loo and i can't remember! I was thinking at least last week sometime, i guess.

    Normacol, never heard of it. I shall ask about it as well as the strong cup of coffee. Anything to get me regular but drinking 3-4 litres of water per day...i'd be struggling there!

  8. #8
    Registered User

    Dec 2006
    In the Angelic Realm
    1,675

    Went to the specialist who says its normal for women our age (i'm 31) to get chronic constipation, Plus having 2 c/s's didn't help either as the incisions can tighten the bowels at that particular spot making it harder for the stools to move through. Great!

    She wants me to have an u/s as well as xray to determine how much poop (TMI) i have in there which i'll be having done today and then gave me some picoprep solution to empty me out fully over the weekend. Honestly can't wait. I am so full of sh*t (no pun intended )

    She is also getting me to have some bloods done to fully determine if i am lactose intolerant and suspects that i might be coeliac too. She gave me some IBS Support tablets which controls IBS and helps with regularity. May be give this a go?

  9. #9
    Registered User
    Add Beatrix on Facebook

    May 2007
    within a puff of pink
    3,315

    TD- there is a product called lacteeze... if your IBS is triggered by dairy this product is meant to be a life saver.. just google it

  10. #10
    Enchanted Guest

    TD- I just had a colonoscopy and had to drink Picoprep... make sure you have the softest toilet paper possible!! Baby wipes are also great for your bottom when drinking that stuff!

  11. #11
    Registered User

    Aug 2006
    Terrace BC, Canada
    1,004

    My doctor thinks I have IBS as well. It started years ago with severe stomach cramps and chronic heartburn. I also had hot flashes, nausea, dizzy spells and frequent trips to the loo. They did blood work, an U/S, a barium swallow, and they put a camera down my throat to look at my stomach, but they couldn't find anything. They were going to do a colonoscopy when my symptoms finally went away. The reason they went away though was I took a course in food allergies and intolerance and did a food diary to find my triggers (sugar and caffeine). When I gave up the triggers I got better.

    Since having a baby though my symptoms have returned. I get really bad bloating and gas and still get some stomach cramps and heartburn. I take prescription antacids which help with the cramps and heartburn, but nothing seems to help with the bloating and gas, and I can't seem to pinpoint any other triggers. My naturalpath looked at my food diary and asked me to give up a bunch of things (like bananas) but my symptoms persist.

    I'm interested in the IBS support tablets, I saw some at he health food store and was wondering if they would help or not.

  12. #12
    Registered User

    Dec 2006
    In the Angelic Realm
    1,675

    I've been told that our bodies can change dramatically after childbirth. That is how i developed lactose intoleranceness.

    The colerectal surgeon recommended the IBS Support so they must be worth it. I've only taken one capsule so i really can't comment on the effectiveness as yet. May be just give it a go.

    I hope they don't find sugar as a trigger for me as i love sugar but then end up with thrush!

    Right now, my tummy is soooo big but i am sooo hungry as i need to fast for this abdominal u/s and xray this afternoon.

    I find nothing helps with the gas and bloating. It is only relieved overnight, when the gas magically disappears. I just wish i could let go of the gas sometimes through great big f*rts

  13. #13
    Registered User

    Aug 2006
    Terrace BC, Canada
    1,004

    Yeah mine is only relieved overnight too. I am able to "release" some of mine but it really doesn't help at all, it's just embarassing LOL

    I think I'm going to go pick up some of the tablets and see if they help :)

  14. #14
    Registered User
    Add Footsteps on Facebook

    Mar 2008
    Waterloo, Merseyside, UK
    2,543

    Question

    im not sure what to describe what iv got i have adhesions on the bowel and had bowel obstructions im just wondering really anyones what to call it.
    im on a low fibre diet (surgeons orders)
    i can sometimes go for 2 weeks without going (im taking lactulose and movicol to go more regulary)
    have severe bloating and chronic pain.
    iam on buscopan 8 a day to relieve the spasms.
    can anyone think of what name to describe this?????
    sorry to babble.
    tia take care
    rach xxx
    to all i understand your pain xxxx

  15. #15
    Registered User

    May 2008
    Sydney, Australia
    333

    Wow, I've finally found some people who suffer the same symptoms as me! I have kep food diaries etc but can't seem to find a trigger. I don't get the runs, but SEVERE bloating with pain, that just doesn't quit. only if I go to sleep does it go away.

    The food diaries don't really tell me anything, although I suspect the bloating happens after eating white bread or cakes - refined flour, that kind of thing. I am better if I take metamucil 3 times per week - I know this can bloat some people, but there are other products like agiofibe etc.

    The pain is horrific and I look 6 months pg when it happens. Makes me cry it is so bad. Only seemed to happen after a laparoscopy for endo many years ago.

    Rachel - I would be questioning the low fibre diet? That can't be helping if you don't go for 2 weeks. I was always told with IBS, you should increase the bulk of your stool (sorry TMI) , so a bulking agent such as metamucil should in theory help.

    I really think it comes down to individual experience tho - what works for one person, may not work for everyone!

  16. #16
    BellyBelly Member

    Mar 2005
    Limestone Coast, SA
    2,671

    Another one here who suffers with the dreaded IBS! I have suffered with it since i was 14, but it only got worse when i was about 21. It used to be food that were my triggers, dairy, mushrooms, sugar, alcohol, soft drink, late nights. From 12 weeks pregnant til i stopped bfing i didn't get it at all though. Nowadays, my trigger isn't so much food any more, though alcohol, soft drink and late nights still do it, now my IBS is totally controlled by my anxiety levels. Now that i am on antidepressants for my anxiety i rarely get IBS, though i have had it for the last 2 days due to high levels of anxiety. My symptoms are terrible bloating, cramps and diahorrea and wind, indigestion, sweaty, hot and cold flushes, exhaustion, nausea. When i was getting IBS several times a week i started taking IBS Support tablets which seemed to help, and i also had a bottle of Aloe Vera Juice in the fridge and when i would feel the cramps coming on I'd have a siwg of the juice and things would settle down nicely. I don't think Aloe Vera juice is any good for pregnancy though.