Constipation better, but still a bit of lower abdominal pain

Gp said it might be IBS, but as I am a male he said it's u likely to get it as much as women. And the X-ray had proven that I had constipation only. And yes, I have been taking mostly breakfast fibre such as high in fibre cereal, fruits, green juice all in the morning. So idk if that is overdoing it. But I am going to the loo much more now since I have being taking fibre, so yes it has helped in most cases

IBS would not show on XRays or any other scans because it is a functional disorder.  It is a diagnosis of exclusion. Watch with cerals because grains can be irritants.  Constipation would show because the stools are not getting away.

Ok, might be. But I would think if it's IBS, wouldn't it get better another way other than taking laxative and fibre? Because as I mentioned, when I took those two at the same time, it was mostly cured. So wouldn't that maybe just be a constipation issue? As IBS can only be controlled in other ways?

If you had constipation only, the stomach pain would go away completely once your bowel became regular. This is how my doctor explained it to me when I asked him if simple constipation was the entire cause of my pain.  With IBS, the pain is temporarily relieved by a bowel movement but then it comes back again.  IBS can be managed but not cured and it can come back after periods of remission.  It is treated with increasing fibre and or laxatives if constipation is your main IBS symptom followed by an antispasmodic or painkillers to treat the stomach pain. 

Yeah that dowould s make sense. And as you mentioned as it feels better after after a bowel movement what do you posssibly mean by that? Does the abdominal issue feel better? Or something else? Because it seems when I had the seriously painful abdominal pain, when I was emptying it was still in constant cramping no matter what.

Oh yes, and I forgot to mention, when I am in the loo passing stools I get a unusual sense of smell that I wouldn't usually get, is it encropresis? Or is it possibly just something as? Because it's usually I feel a leakage that may be what the smell is, so Idk if that's related more to ibs or constipation alone, or both

Encopresis Is sometimes is related to a condition you have been born with or it can be caused by chronic constipation. It basically means soiling yourself.   If a child soils themelves after the age of four, this is known as encopresis.

I went through a period of loose, urgent stools with IBS and once I got leakage.  However, my sense of smell is not reliable.. Now I am back to constipation.  You can get both with IBS.  If you are very constipated, you can get fecal impaction.  When the bowel is over full, you get bowel overflow which can be very loose and leak out before the harder stools are released.

However, if your stools have an odd smell, first of all keep a food diary to see  if any foods may be causing this.  If your are not digesting your food properly,   you may see fragments of what you have eaten in your stool or maybe your stools might smell of that particular food.  There may be a smell from the bowel gases that have been released while your food is being processed in your large intestine (bowel). Your gut flora feed on your food and fermentation takes place.

If you can identify any problem food, cut it from your diet. Secondly, tell your doctor about this smell if it persists.

When you have IBS, the stomach pain usually reduces temporarily after a bowel movement so you do feel better but the relief is only temporary because the pain slowly comes back. Everyone is different with IBS, but ask your doctor about your pain not improving after a bowel movement.

I don't know if this explanation helps but this is the best way I can explain it.

Yes makes sense indeed, thank you for the information, I will take that in. Also I did mention that smell to him lol, and he had no idea what I was talking about as I didn't know what it was at the time.

I just wish IBS was curable, as I am used to a more normal lifestyle I can't seem to think of having this in my system forever

In the end some boffin will find the solution. When my brother got diagnosed in the 90s, there was no such thing as the Low Fodmap diet.  As a result, it took him a lot longer to find his food trigger.   Fodmap has been a huge step forward for many people so treatment has come along way already.  However, we still have a considerable way to go. 

So you are saying as time goes, it will eventually go away as you age? I hope that's the case. And yes, other services, ways etc may help, so thanks for advice, helps a lot !!!

Whether your IBS goes away completely varies with each individual.  Some get it as a teenager and still have it in later life whereas others get rid of it.  Thank goodness my brother was one of the lucky ones because he is a surgeon.

I don't think u see my IBS symptoms as bad as others though as mentioned, I had all sorts of pains, and stools that I was unable to get out, leading to an Enema which didn't help, then too all sorts of laxatives that didn't help, except the months later when I took osmolax and fibre, it felt like every pain imaginable was gone, but ever since then it wasn't as bad, only for that little bug feeling in the stomach that I can't stand. And when I push on it it feels like I need to go to the bathroom kid of. So I wouldn't consider my symptoms as bad right? Unless all that pain suddenly occurred from that one little but in my stomach, that's what I'm concerned about. And yes the stools are sometimes unusual, but it is much more smoother now, maybe since the laxatives helped.

I just want to know how to control that feeling in the stomach, as all the other pains were much worse, I just feel an urge to find a way to stop it

As it has occurred constantly and is chronic. That's what I felt was the problem from the start, that little bug feeling in my stomach, which then would feel tight unnoticeable, even when I pushed on it, leading to now just a bloating tight feeling at night.

Try a food elimination diet to see if you can find any foods that are causing bloating.  Are you experiencing pain when you feel this little bug feeling in your stomach?  If it is pain, ask your doctor for an antispasmodic.

It is a pain, but it isn't as painful as it was back when I had all sorts of pain that would occur in all parts of abdomen (except for right side), now it's more of a feeling like, it's hard to explain, but yes it feels like a little pain, but that pain bothers me even though it's not extremely bad. I would say it is cramping, bbut cause I just had a high fibre porridge with 7.8 percent per sachet, and my stomach pain has decreased, but I still feel that feeling of something inside and it's about to strike again.

Sure will do so, I have tried buscopan ( idk if you's have that within the U.K.) for cramping, but this was a long time back when I had the pain, and it didn't really help.

Buscopan is available in the UK over the counter and it helps me. There are other antispasmodics which have to be prescribed by your doctor.  However, you may have to try several to find one that works.  Some people say that pure aloe vera juice and peppermint oil works but both can cause heartburn if you have acid reflux.

Yes, there are more. The first thing I tried was ibrupofen, but the go didn't know exactly what it was at the time, he thought it was just an "upset stomach". But yes, I'll try others, just used so much medication recently, it's a hassle. Also i will try those, but yes, I was said to have acid reflux when I was at the GP also so might not be a good idea. But thanks

Did Ibruprofen work?  It helps me.

The first time I took it, no. It wasnt doing much. I am concerned if it's something serious now, as I don't believe I'm constipated anymore as I go to the toilet everyday. Is it recommended to get a colonoscopy? Idk, it gets really tight at night, and then I pass a lot of flatulence arghhhh. Idk what to do, I hope it's not related to a bowel obstruction or something

And that's tight as I realised was diarrhoea. Man idk if a colonoscopy is the way to go, but All gps think I'm too young for it, and it's not recommended for my age. I am started to think maybe a blockage

When you have IBS, stressing about your symptoms will make them worse.  Health anxiety is also very common.   I constantly worried that my symptoms were serious and had been missed and it was too late to treat them. Every day brought a new health worry.

Constipation or diarrhoea can come and go so you may not have change of bowel habit all the time.  I have periods of normal stools and then constipation again with no bowel movements at all. If you had a bowel obstruction, you would be very constipated all the time and would not be going to the toilet every day and having normal bowel movements.

Lots of gas is also an IBS symptom. Try eliminating gassy foods from your diet such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cabbage.  I was not offered a colonoscopy because I had no alarm symptoms such as unintended weight loss or bleeding.  It really depends on what your doctor suggests.  

Some people ask for this test simply for reassurance. However, having lots of tests can cause increased anxiety before, during and while waiting for the results.  If the tests come back normal, this can cause even more worry.  Some start to question the reliability of the procedures they have had done.

Having tests made my anxiety a lot worse because normal results gave me no answers and I have a phobia of medical appointments.

At one point, one of my doctors suggested doing all my tests all over again.  The prospect terrified me so I went for an eighth opinion.  I wss then told  that I didn't need to repeat any tests or have any new ones because my symptoms were no better but no worse for three and a half months with no new symptoms appearing.  It felt like a dream hearing that I had IBS.

The thing to remember with IBS is that in the end you will have accept it and trust your doctor.  Controlling your anxiety really helps with flare ups.  Diagnosis cleared my anxiety and reduced my symptoms.  Most of the time I can largely forget about my IBS.

Yeah, it's just hard to forget, ask I am constantly thinking that these flare ups will never go, and is apart of ibs. I am basically thinking that as its ibs, the pain won't have "off days" and will continue forever. That's probably what stresses me the most. And the pain is just so noticeable it's hard to forget. I will go to my GP tommorow, as he simply said I had ibs without any exams etc, and told me to come back within 3 weeks (it's been three weeks now) and he will have another plan, and it's not a colonoscopy so I hope his plan works. He seems like a great doctor, and when I mentioned that most doctors didn't know he simply said "ofcoarse none of them will ever know exactly what u have, as stomach disorders are what doctors cannot simply know the exact problem" it is a hard diagnoses gut issue I believe.

I would tell your doctor all your concerns and ask him or her to explain why you may or may not have the conditions you are worrying about.   I made lists of everything that was panicking me and I found this very helpful.  It is really up to you whether or not you push for a colonoscopy. If several GPS are not recommending it, maybe just leave it. 

Gut problems are hard to diagnose.  Another thing that helps IBS, is distraction techniques like exercise or a hobby.  This helps you to forget about your stomach.  When I am relaxed, I have no symptoms.  My brother had very few tests to diagnose him.  A physical examination showed nothing because the doctor felt his stomach when he had no pain.  He was diagnosed on his symptoms alone.  When he was diagnosed, he had a routine fecal calprotectin test to rule out IBD in case he had both, but this was negative.

Yeah, no I a modded way to young for a colonoscopy I believe, it's probably wise and might see everything, but it's useless if it's nothing. That is a good idea, as I usually forget to mention everything to most gps lol. So yes, I will keep that in mind.

Hopefully you can get your worries resolved.

Thanks, really appreciate your time to help me out, it means a lot esp especially in these situations, so thank you again, really helped me out a lot

Glad to have helped.