Hi, Please help, I faint with ibs symptoms and its scary

Posted , 57 users are following.

Hi everyone. I am female and have had ibs since I was 15-16 years old, I am now 35. I get diarrea and bloating mainly but sometimes can get constipation. If I lift something too heavy I feel like I have \"strained\" my stomach and the pain starts. Sometimes I think it is related to food. I have fainted every now and then, sometimes 8-10 months apart since the age of 15. About a month ago I woke in the night with severe pain and usual pattern, I get to the loo but have trouble passing anything. I start to sweat loads, go hot and cold, vision starts to go and next thing I come round on the floor. I get up shaky and cold needing to go to the loo. Last time I hit my head on the sink which scared me but I was lucky that my husband was home at the time. Last night I woke (1.30am) with severe pain, went to the loo, managed to pass something, pain started, hadn't woke my husband so knew i had to get to the bedroom to get help. He is not sure if I fainted. I only remember needing to get to the bedroom and next thing being aware that my head was on the doorstep and my husband asking what I needed, as in medicine/help. I have medicine called Viadil Forte that I use (It relaxes stomach) but I am not getting the warning that I used to so am not always able to use it before I pass out. Some doctors say oh its ibs, another has said no definetely not and yet another says it is the pain that causes me to faint not ibs. Does anyone else pass out with ibs? Please help me, it gets me down so much.

3 likes, 67 replies

67 Replies

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  • Posted

    So 'Viadil Forte' is that Papaverine? Where are you getting this from, off a GP? smile
  • Posted

    I get it in chile from a pharmacy
  • Posted

    Oh I see, you are a long way away smile You need to see a real Doctor soon, you need a Ultrasound (or ideally a CT / MRI scan) to have a look at whats going on in there :?
  • Posted

    I am hoping to see one tomorrow. still getting pain. bad night last night and its been on and off today.
  • Posted

    Yes please see your Doctor, Im concerned that you are really quite ill, your abdomen really does need a thorough going over to exclude any other cause / s for your condition :? Do please tell us how you get on smile
  • Posted

    The dr advised me to try taking the viadil forte more often until the ibs settles again. So I am going to try that for now. I did not realise that I was able to take it 3-5 times a day. I had only been using it when I was close to fainting.
  • Posted

    Lets hope itll all sort itself out :?
  • Posted

    Ok and thanks for your comments. It's nice to think someone took the time to read about my problem and gave me some advice to try and help me.
  • Posted

    Hi

    visited my doctor today and have now started the process of eliminating other gut problems before he will diagnose IBS - however your fainting symptoms are exactly like the attacks I started getting 18 months ago and put down to being associated with my menstrual cycle as it always happened two weeks before my period. Having read a bit more about IBS today I note that a lot of women can link the two together so I may be correct in my thinking except it was a symptom of IBS not my cycle. I agree it is very scary and I now make sure I am lying on the floor before I faint, I also find that taking some pain killers and a heat pad on my stomach make it go away a lot faster. I figure this is just a part of managing our particular symptoms but I hope the fact that I faint with the pain too makes you feel a bit better about it. If I find out more during diagnosis I will try to get back to you. Regards K

  • Edited

    Hi K

    I had not been on this site for a while. I am so glad to have finally found someone else who faints. Sorry for you though. It is horrible. Also I found out since posting that I am pregnant. Now 14 weeks. Suffered terribly with ibs to start with but finally it is starting to improve now. Have not fainted for a while, was close a couple of times early in the pregnancy though with the usual ibs symptoms.

    I have started also using a heat pad or a hot water bottle to help with the pain.

    Look forward to hearing from you. G

    • Posted

      my first attack was when i was pregnant. then it happens maybe once a year. my gastro doc has no explanation! says maybe IBS. the one time i bled so bad i was rushed to ER and i still was given no reason for what happened! i know whens its gonna happen. my ears get hot then the feeling of an anxiety attack runs thru my body with SEVERE abdominal pain! sucks!

  • Edited

    yES i BLACK OUT PAIN SO BAD YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE DYING, PUTTING IT MILDLY.
  • Posted

    Hi. I fainted for the first time with the pain, a couple of days ago. I banged my head on the radiator and was knocked unconscious. I've had diagnosed IBS for 17 years and I am very careful with my diet. I have no idea why it was so severe this time. I am still ina lot of pain 3 days later and have no idea what to do or what to take. I'm frightened to eat. I can't work or leave the house. I ended up in hospital due to the bang on the head but they just gave me pain killers. All of a sudden, something that I thought I had under control, is out of control. No warning, just incredible pain. I'm quite relieved to know other people are also experiencing this. 
  • Edited

    peppermint really helps me stopmy flareups but I also do yoga and live a relaxed lifestyle as I've realized anxiety triggers my flareups too
  • Edited

    I have experienced the same symptoms as you describe many times before. I have had IBS for 28 years,  I have fainted several times and almost fainted many times. It can be quite dangerous when fainting as your head makes contact with the walls or floor.

    For me the bowel pain becomes very extreme to the point where I lose blood pressure from the brain, feel very dizzy in the head, and often hot/cold temp  diarrea and an urgency to expell all my bowel contents. I find that lowering your head as low as possible helps, but this is difficult when on the toilet.

    My pain almost always comes at night and wakes me, and get more severe. When I am woken, I immediately take two peppermint pills. They take at least 15 minutes to dissolve internally and if the pain develops slower than the dissolving pills, the pain usually dissipates. Last night I had an IBS attack which was very severe and from the time on being awoken to me fainting was just 10 minutes. 10 minutes of agony ! My wife discovered my on the bathroom floor after being awoken by a noise. I find peppermint tablets help a lot and they would probaby help more if I took them regularly and before meals - rather than when I am in severe pain.

    I always try to remember the foods that I ate just prior to the attack and there is a trend. For me it is fatty meats. Fatty meats are found in many products including pizzas, poor quality sausages, lamb, fatty steak, etc. I still eat meat but am very selective and careful about what I eat and I always remove the fatty sections of the meat. Sometimes ice-cream and chocolate - coupled with fatty meat - make things worse. Good foods for me are seafood, chicken and bananas. If your symptoms are severe, I would also avoid cheese, chocolate and some fatty dairy products, ice cream, etc.

    Stress is a major factor - I find when I am not stressed, my body will tolerate a wider range of foods and when I am more stressed, the reverse is true. 

    I also have diverticulitis, which I believe can result in internal bowel infections from rotting food being stuck in the bowel "pockets". I have used prescription antibiotics in the past to clear these infections and I find my IBS is more severe during "blocks of time" - probably when there are internal infections. 

    There are some good books written on IBS and you can find the names of many herbs which can help. Peppermint tea taken regularly will also help.

    I hope this helps.

    • Posted

      Thank you for posting about IBS and pain causing faints. I had terrible pain just 5 days ago now and for the first time i felt really faint and managed to lay on the floor in between bouts of diarrhea but i felt really dreadful! I have been worrying whether there might be something other than just IBS and your descrition really helped put things in perspective. 

      The tips you posted will help as well. Really just wanted to let you know how much you taking the time to post has helped.

    • Posted

      I know its been 8 years ago since you've posted this and hope you're still doing well. I just wanted to tell you thank you so much for posting this and the specific details because you described what has been going on with me to a "T" for a few years now. I'm going to try the peppermint tea or tablets and change some eating habits and see if that works for me along with prayer. I'm also wondering how are things going now for you with the IBS?

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