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Your experiences with IBS
It would really be helpful for me to hear from others about what they're going through and how they cope with their IBS issues. I've never had this problem and could always pretty much eat what I wanted without any ill effect. Now if I accidentally eat even the smallest amount of gluten or anything with dairy I am sick for 2 to 5 days and I feel totally exhausted the entire time. First starts belching, then painful bloating and cramping and I become constipated. My upper abdomen hurts as if I had been hit with something hard, my gut feels raw inside and often unremitting nausea also sometimes happens. Once the bloating calms back down, out of the blue I experience urgent diarrhea that can come even if I eat even a few bites of "approved" food. (I've been on FODMAP since Feb). My appetite has gone away and I've lost 19 lbs since I started eliminating foods on the list. The diarrhea can last the entire day and by the time it stops my body is weak, i'm very tired and my abdomen feels tender for the next few days. I've become hesitant to eat, although I'm falling woefully short of calories nearly every single day. Food has lost it's appeal to me and feels more trouble than it's worth. My social life has been totally impacted by these problems and I pass up on fun activities that have been a part of my life forever. Going out to a restaurant is mostly a nightmare now. My GI dr prescribed Bentyl and Omeprozole, which didn't help much, and basically sent me on my way telling me that I need to work on reducing my stress levels. I have dealt with major depression and an anxiety disorder for going on 25 years, which is currently well managed with the exception of the anxiety that being this ill can trigger. I'm getting acupuncture twice a week and that does seem to help. The D.O. that is doing this for me also has me on a regime of Digestive Enzymes. He's also given me a recipe for a "gut healing smoothie" that contains several holistic ingredients, including probiotics with acidophilus/bifidus. I'm currently waiting for these things to come in the mail so I can't speak to its effectiveness yet. At this point I'm willing to try just about anything to get my life back. I feel that I am constantly complaining to my friends and family when they ask how things are going, The only thing that I can point to as what brought this all on, although my GI dr wouldn't agree, is that I had two colonoscopies within 6 months (March and August of last year) as a result of numerous polyps, one of which was difficult to fully remove in one session. None were cancerous but all were of the type that will eventually turn into cancer. Because of this she now wants to start doing colonoscopies every 3 years, which I totally dread just it case it triggers my IBS to become worse. If its not related to those procedures and their prep, can and did your IBS just come on suddenly with no warning and nothing particularly prompting it? Do you feel, or have you been told that this illness will be something that you have to live around forever? Have you ever heard of it going into remission and/or going away entirely? I've done a lot of reading on this subject but really need to hear from those of you who understand and can relate to what I am talking about. I feel alone in this and am afraid that this is my new normal. Thank you for reading this and for hopefully sharing a bit about your experience with IBS.
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Hello , im sorry that u are suffering from this , but i gotta ask , did u try Probiotic 50 Billion ? give it a Try - And also Try to Diet
Hope u will be better soon
I have IBS and found probiotics were useless. Tried several kinds recommended by GI and integrative medicine MD. All probiotics did for me was to produce more gas—just what I don’t need!! Have you seen a registered nutritionist? I am on the Low Fodmap diet which has really helped control my symptoms. Almost never have that”gotta go right now” urge. This diet is VERY restrictive and you need to work with a nutritionist to implement it and see if it works for you. I also saw an integrative medicine doctor. She recommended some supplements which have helped stabilize my weight. I have lost 40 lbs—too much but at least I feel human again. Going out to eat is a real challenge (especially with both IBS and GERD limitations)but I now have found some restaurants that offer a few things I can have. I sure miss my Mexican and Italian favorites, though!
Life Gordon. Good luck to you!
hello , sometimes any medicine not just the probiotic may not work with u .. but with someone else they do and i think u know that
so she should Try the probiotic , and u know she is 69 so she need the good bactiria in the gut ..
my Mom and Father they tried the probiotic , they had iBS problem and after 3 month from using it .. they were Happy!
good luck !
I have a good probiotic that is refrigerated. I don’t take it on a regular basis because it always seems someone has pushed it in the back of the fridge even though I put it in the same place. So I don’t see this don’t take it. I’ll have to think of a new solution!
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much!!!!
Hi crj @crj
Have you by any chance tried a gluten free diet? That has worked relatively well for me for about 6 years and it has been quite easy to follow.
Best of luck.
Hi,
I've been suffering from IBS from the past 20 years. I'm on Probiotics now(25 billion CFU). Prior to this I had visited all types of doctors and had enough antibiotics. I was tired of the same medicines being prescribed again and again by different doctors. After a little research on the Internet , I checked the availability of Probiotics on Amazon. From last 5 years I've been on this. However at times the symptoms do get aggravated in spite of diet control and medication. I was wondering if anyone has been facing the same issue and what would be the strength of the probiotic to be consumed and if Keto Diet is good for me. I've put on a good many kilos especially after the lockdown has started in March.
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1 ReactionHello @junita and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.
I am sorry to hear about your 20 years of dealing with IBS. That is certainly a difficult disorder to live with, isn't it? If you've had IBS for that long of a time your GI doctor has probably already informed you of the Fodmap eating plan. If not, here is a discussion that I started about this eating plan about a month ago. It has helped me a great deal, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/fodmap-eating-plan/.
Here is a video from a registered dietician at Mayo Clinic regarding this eating plan, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/gastroenterology-and-gi-surgery/newsfeed-post/what-exactly-is-the-fodmap-diet-dr-wang-explains/
As my main symptom was abdominal pain and discomfort, I'm wondering what your main symptoms are. If you are comfortable sharing more, junita, is diarrhea your most difficult symptom or are there other symptoms as well?
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1 ReactionHi @junita, you'll notice that I moved your message to this existing discussion called "Your experiences with IBS." I did this so you can connect with other members like @hopeful33250 @crj @jackiem95 @baz10 and others. Like @hopeful33250, I'd be interested in hearing more about what symptoms you find most challenging.
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4 ReactionsHi Teresa,
Thanks for getting in touch. My symptoms currently plaguing me are diarrhoea, stomach cramps and flatulence not to omit weight gain. Here, in India,doctors only suggest you a food list . They do not share any eating plan as such.
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