Could this be IBS?
Posted , 9 users are following.
I have for a few months, gurgling stomach, and some stomach pains over the summer, and have been to my GP.
Long story short, he did a series of blood tests, inc Coeliac screen and all came back negative which was good.
I should point out that I did lose a parent at the start of the Summer, which has been quite stressful with other family members, and am still greiving, even though I feel fine in myself.
However, over the past couple of weeks, I have had a gurgling stomach a lot of the time, and sometimes the urge to go to the toilet (stool) for a 2nd time in the day, after tea, when I always used to just go in the morning.
No blood in stool, no Diarrhea, no loose stool, no pains, but a lot of gas and wind, so sometimes an explosion on the toilet with some mucus.
I have never experienced any IBS before, but with my bereavement etc, does this sound like IBS?
I have spoken to my GP again who has given me perscription to take for IBS.
Also he has said that as I only had a full screen of bloods, and they are all completely normal, that he's confident its nothing sinister.
As I've never had any IBS, i just wanted to check with other sufferers that this is normal for an IBS diagnosis?
0 likes, 16 replies
marsh23433 sid42302
Posted
Hi Sid42302,these signs suggest that you may have Ibs.How old are youi ,as age can come into this .Toilet problems will always happens just after eating and you may get stomach problems which happens with ibs.However go back to doctor and askled for tests in stomach,this will rule out other problems which these signs can give you.
sid42302 marsh23433
Posted
Hi, i am 46
What sort of tests can i expect if i ask for tests in the stomach??
pippa58442 marsh23433
Posted
Toilet problems don't always happen after eating with IBS. My bowel habit change was not connected to what I ate; my trigger was stress. I didn't need any stomach or bowel scopes either.
martin31040 sid42302
Posted
Hi, if you take milk or yogurt, you could try avoiding ordinary milk which contains lactose which can cause gut issues, try lactose free milk and yogurt etc. many people lack the enzyme lactase which digests lactose.
pippa58442 sid42302
Posted
It very much depends on your doctor how he diagnoses IBS. There is no normal with this condition. Since your doctor has done all the tests he thinks are necessary and can confidently diagnose IBS, then accept the diagnosis and leave it at that. Your doctor is the expert. Some doctors can diagnose irritable bowel syndrome based on patient history alone. Every case is different. It took me three and a half months to get my IBS diagnosis because no one knew what was wrong and so I had to see many doctors and have lots of tests which told them what I didn't have but not what I did have. Doctors only do lots of tests when they cannot identify the cause.
You are lucky to have been diagnosed fairly quickly. One doctor wanted to rerun all my tests because they were inconclusive and on top of that run new ones to look for physical causes. Fortunately, I found a new doctor who said repeat tests were unnecessary since I was no worse and had developed no new symptoms over the three months I had been in pain. He diagnosed me based on my six month bout of stress that had proceeded the onset of my symptoms. I hadn't mentioned this stress to any of my other doctors because it seemed so insignificant at the time. In the end, I was so desperate and despairing, that I told my final doctor about my anxiety and stress as a last resort.
The onset of your IBS seems like the way mine started: a bout of stress and then the bowel disturbance. This is common with IBS. Everyone experiences it differently. I started with moving, generalised abdominal pain, nausea, constipation and loose stools with intense health anxiety.
undisclosed sid42302
Posted
It sounds like a mild form of ibs for sure. Gurgling for me is definitely brought on from stress. it happens to me when when changing jobs and not so much diet related. Its annoying but a common stress marker or the body telling me that hey something sucks right now even tho my mind is trying to ignore it.
Get sleep, slow down, drink plenty of water but dont gulp down air.
sid42302
Posted
This is all great advice thank you, as I have never had anything like this before. But as I mentioned I suppose I have been under great stress without knowing.
Some days are absolutely fine and no symptoms at all, so it maybe a bout of something i'm going through at this current time.
Like I said, my main symptoms were gurgling stomach, some changed bowel habits, and some mucus.. I have had no real stomach pain, no cramps, no blood in stool, no diarrhea, no discoloured or black stools etc.
My Dr did suggest Buscopan IBS relief or maybe Senocalm or SenoKot (not sure of the difference) as they are all over-the-counter aids.
pippa58442 sid42302
Posted
Senocalm is for relief of IBS symptoms whereas Senokot is a standard laxative to relieve constipation.
sam18386 sid42302
Posted
hi sid, ibs can be triggered where it wasn't there before due to stress and losing a parent would do it. ask your chemist for sheets on ibs and go from there. check there is nothing else amiss 1st. good luck!
han90045 sid42302
Posted
hey your symptoms are exactly the same as mine for the past few months i've been having the gurgling noises and lost of wind and also the same urges to go sometimes even constipation (dont know if you also suffer with that) anyway ive been dealing with loads of stress too just lately and also have never felt like this before so i went to multiple different doctors and even the gastro clinic and everyone said the same thing that i have ibs because stress and that hopefully it should ease when the stress starts to fade right now im on fybogel which is quite good but ive only just been recently diagnosed and trying to find ways of improving my symptoms because they dont know a lot about it it can a lot of trial and error but if you have any other questions feel free to ask even though im not a doctor it can help to talk
pippa58442 han90045
Posted
My IBS started with stress and began to improve straight after diagnosis when my health anxiety started to get better. My symptoms are now in remission.
sid42302 han90045
Posted
Thank you.
Yes I have never had anything like this ever, and now suddenly in my mid 40's this has occurred.
Just lately it has been a lot better, and the urge to go twice a day has ceased completely if im honest. Its just that as I have never ever experienced anything like this previously, you think this must be something really bad, as we are not used to it.
It turns out it must be IBS as the symptoms are beginning to fade, although they could be back at anytime i guess
pippa58442 sid42302
Posted
I got IBS at 42 and I thought I had something bad at first because no one could help me.
han90045 sid42302
Posted
yeah i get exactly what you mean its unexpected and then you stress what it could be which does not help the problem but yeah with ibs it can come back
maria47829 sid42302
Posted
Hi - sounds like a mild case - help to keep it that way! Don't stress over this - look for possible trigger foods, exercise and keep calm!