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Constipation everyday

Posted , 6 users are following.

ana_nonato74138
ana_nonato74138

Hi, I’m a 45 year old female. Lately I’ve been having pain in my lower left side and sometimes goes to the right side. For the last few weeks when I go to the bathroom I feel like I can’t empty my bowels completely. Also my stools are hard and sometimes followed by mucus. I went to the gastro and after a few questions he said I have IBS. I asked if I could have a colonoscopy and he said didn’t recomend because I had no family history. I have another appointment wit another gastro next week, but I’m really scared. A year ago I felt the same pain which went away by itself. But since maybe 2 months ago my bowels changed and that is driving me crazy. Do you guys have similar experiences ? Oh, I also have back pain that irradiates to my leg. 

0 likes, 27 replies

27 Replies

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  • camham1111
    camham1111 ana_nonato74138

    Posted

    Wow. I didn't know IBS can be diagnosed just like that. I thought you have to go through blood tests and all that. If you are convinced you should probably continue to push them to do more tests. 

    I have really similar symptoms. Alternations between diarrhea and constipation, abdominal pain (ugh), bloating, mucus in stool, thin/flat stools, pebble-like stool, watery, etc. My pain is primarily on the left. Occasionally on the right. I have lower left pain the most but the pain has been felt everywhere or almost everywhere in my abdomen. I'm 16. And I don't think I have a family history of colon cancer either! My anxiety has been crazy which I think is making everything worse, especially my bowels. I do feel like I haven't completely emptied my bowels a lot, usually when constipated. I rarely get back pain but it does happen. Not trying to scare you or anything but you should get a colonoscopy since, apparently, colon cancer is rising in people in the 30's, 40's and maybe 20's? I don't know. I'm realllllllllllllly scared to go to the docs myself so I know how you feel. 

    • camham1111
      camham1111

      Posted

      typo   *aren't convinced*

    • ana_nonato74138
      ana_nonato74138 camham1111

      Posted

      I know right? I don’t understand how can a doctor can diagnose a patient with so little information. Thanks for replying this late. And try to relax. I  don’t remember having IBS symptoms when I was your age but I do remember being a little hypochondriac since I was very young which brings a lot of anxiety.  As I grew older I got better. Remember being young is the greatest advantage you have on your side. 
    • martin31040
      martin31040 camham1111

      Posted

      Hi, there is no tests to diagnose IBS, they give you a load of test to exclude anything else, a syndrome has known cause really, with IBS it's just symptoms with specific cause.

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 camham1111

      Posted

      IBS can be diagnosed based only on your symptoms if your doctor recognises them immediately and is confident nothing else is causing them.  They only do tests if there is any doubt about the cause. A lot depends on that.  My brother only needed a fecal calprotectin test after his IBS diagnosis just to rule out IBD and a few visits to his doctors.  

      With me, I had to see several doctors who were mostly clueless and I had to have a lot of tests over a period of three and a half months before my symptoms were finally recognised.

  • paul75665
    paul75665 ana_nonato74138

    Posted

    If you want to guarantee a colonoscopy, say you’ve noticed some blood the last couple of times you’ve had a bowel movement (even if you hadn’t). Say that you noticed some on your stools, and that although you can’t be sure, you think you saw it in your stools as well. That should get you a colonoscopy.

    IBS is a different experience for everybody who suffered with it. Pain for me isn’t so much of an issue, however when I get pain, it’s generally more frequent around my belly button area. My worst symptoms are severe bloating which leads to associated pain, nausea, dizziness and feeling faint, and I also get a lot of lower back ache and pain.

    I do hope you get the treatment you deserve and obviously need, all the best for the future.

    • ana_nonato74138
      ana_nonato74138 paul75665

      Posted

      Thanks Paul, I’m gonna have very an honest conversation with the next doctor. I’m gonna ask for a colonoscopy even if I have to exaggerate on the symptoms to get one.

    • camham1111
      camham1111 ana_nonato74138

      Posted

      I say you SHOULDNT say you have blood. Exaggerate your symptoms, maybe, sure. But don't lie about blood or something serious like that because it would cause more hassle on your diagnosis. They would have to try and figure out where the blood came from and all that. It will probably gaurantee you a colonsocopy but a lot more hassle. My uncle lied about his symptoms because he so desperately want a test or something like that and it costed more money, and a waste of time. It took a long time because theyou couldn't find the source of his "symptom". Be honest is best. I might be a young teen but trust me.

    • paul75665
      paul75665 camham1111

      Posted

      If you have to pay for treatment then yes, saying there is blood present probably isn't wise. Here in the UK, NHS health care is free, so it was easy for me to exaggerate my symptoms to get the treatment I needed quicker. I assumed the OP might have been entitled to free health treatment, hence why I mentioned exaggerating symptoms, obviously depending on where you come from then this policy might not be the best one.

      Sorry for any confusion.

    • camham1111
      camham1111 paul75665

      Posted

      Oh sorry. I live in the USA and Healthcare is not free. Some people don't have insurance and those tests like that cost money and lying about those "red flag" symptoms can mean even more investigating=tests=possibly more money to pay

  • martin31040
    martin31040 ana_nonato74138

    Posted

    Hi, get some Chia Seeds, 1 tablespoon full soaked in a glass of water for at least 20 minutes stir well a few times add some orange juice etc for taste juice is optional, and drink, repeat maybe 3 times per day, Chia seeds will go glutinous when soaked, very easy to drink and packed full of fibre and a probiotic, worth a try.
    • martin31040
      martin31040

      Posted

      Hi, should have been fibre and a prebiotic.
  • pippa58442
    pippa58442 ana_nonato74138

    Posted

    I am the same age as you and I have IBS.  I began with the same symptoms minus the mucus. I had nausea with mine.  I have had back pain on top of a back injury.

    Symptoms come and go and can go away on its own. Everyone has different symptoms. Try to stay as calm as possible because anxiety makes IBS far worse. I was not offered a colonoscopy either; doctors only offer them if you have red flag symptoms or a family history that warrants the procedure.   If you have no red flags or a family history of bowel disease, you have nothing to worry about.  Accept what your first gastro told you and ask for an antispasmodic like Buscopan.  Try lots of fruit for constipation and Imodium for diarrhoea if your bowel goes to the other extreme.  Distraction techniques such as a hobby or light exercise like walking will help to reduce your symptoms.  Try a food diary to see if any foods trigger pain and bowel habit change.

  • ana_nonato74138
    ana_nonato74138

    Posted

    You guys are best therapy group I ever had. Lol. I’m glad I found this forum. Paul, I’m in US and here they charge you for everything even if you health insurance you a responsible for part of the bill, at least mine is. Camham 1111 is right about that. Martin I’m going out now to buy chia, thanks. Pippa, I’m sorry about you back injury I know. Thank you for you response. Did your IBS symptoms started all the sudden or you have them for a long time?
    • martin31040
      martin31040 ana_nonato74138

      Posted

      Hi, I hope very much the Chia seeds help, I am great believer that things to help are out there in nature.
    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 ana_nonato74138

      Posted

      My IBS started suddenly three years ago.  One day I was fine and the next day I woke with raging stomach pain that was constant for three and a half months.  The constipation came first and kept coming back no matter what I did to treat it.  I had six months of constant stress before symptoms began. The final straw was a badly done blood test which left me with permanent neuralgia.  After that my bowel was never the same.
    • camham1111
      camham1111 ana_nonato74138

      Posted

      My symptoms started to show slowly. My anxiety was probably making me notice more and more symptoms and the symptoms are getting more noticeable and...worse? Days that I feel best is when I'm not burying myself under those what-ifs questions. I'm scared to go the doctors. They scare me. I've been to the docs enough time in 2017 (approx.9 times). I don't want to go there and come back with a long bill and 50000 diagnoses. My therapist said my symptoms are not severe but that doesn't mean I should not keep an eye on it. I've been keeping an eye on my symptoms CONSTANTLY, which makes me more stressed, which I think is making my symptoms worse. Im going back to therapy in about 2 weeks. Get my mental health back on track and hopefully, my problems would subside or be gone totally. I do really think this either IBS or my anxiety. I don't have any alarming symptoms, so that's good. I do feel really happy and good when my anxiety clears up, even if its just a day or a short amount of time.

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 camham1111

      Posted

      I went to my doctor eight times before getting an IBS diagnosis.  Don't be afraid of going back to your doctor.  You will get a diagnosis in the end.  It is very important to get your symptoms medically confirmed.

    • camham1111
      camham1111 pippa58442

      Posted

      I did go to a doctor. He asked so so so many question and it took a really long time. Almost like I was in therapy instead of a doctor's office. In the end, he told me he gather enough information for now and sent me home. Recommended me to a therapy. Said I need to go to therapy, possibly take some pills for a while and if nothing is changed, go back and get more tests done. I did go to therapy for some time. It helped, my symptoms slowly started to get better and I started to feel better but I stopped going to therapy and something happened and I went back into the anxiety mode. Symptoms got worse. Now I'm not this website, trying to get some comforting because the what ifs keeps coming in.

    • ana_nonato74138
      ana_nonato74138 camham1111

      Posted

      I think for all of us with IBS symptoms the anxiety is the main trigger. I always been a very anxious kid and turned out being an adult that worries about everything. Exercise and friends helped me to control for a while. I really hope you find something to  keep your mind at easy. Good Luck. And if you need to talk just send me a message. 
    • sam18386
      sam18386 camham1111

      Posted

      Go back to your doctors and insist on seeing someone else.
    • camham1111
      camham1111 sam18386

      Posted

      Yeah. I called my doctor about 3 weetks ago? My doctor recommended me another therapist whos work place is even closer to my home! Still one week away before my first therapy session since end of January and I'm very excited and extremely ready for all of these horrible thoughts to stop. 😊

      But one full week of more constant worry 😑

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