do i really have IBS?

If you have not had this go back to your GP and request it or a referral to a Gastroenterologist. Below is a useful recent article which may be of help to sufferers of IBS type symptoms (which could also be Coeliac or Crohn's):

"At a recent London conference entitled ‘Mythbusting the Bloat,’ over 70 experts on nutrition and gastrointestinal health got together to discuss bloating, in an attempt to try to clear up some of the theories and myths surrounding this common condition.

So what is bloating, and who gets it?

The conference attendees came up with a good description of bloating – ‘an uncomfortable abdominal sensation of fullness’ - which is something I think we can all relate to. The surprising thing is that over 20% of us regularly suffer from bloating, and it’s twice as likely to happen to women as to men.

While almost anyone can experience bloating at any point in their lives, some factors do seem to increase the likelihood of an episode. These include:

Having an underlying gastrointestinal condition such as coeliac disease or IBS

Being overweight or obese

Being pre-menstrual

Not getting regular exercise

Being constipated

Having anxiety or depression, anorexia or bulimia

Having certain other conditions or diseases, such as ovarian tumours or gallstones

Other influences on our "gut feeling" can be more temporary, like food poisoning, a bacterial infection, or transient lactose intolerance, but the symptoms are the same: an uncomfortable build-up of gas in the intestinal tract that can leave us feeling downright miserable.

Is food the problem?

To a certain degree, yes; certain types of food and food ingredients have been implicated when it comes to bloating. However, no-one actually knows precisely what causes it – mainly because the triggers for it can differ greatly between people. What leads to excess gas build-up in one person may have no effect on another, which could be due to an over-sensitivity of the gut to triggers, a genetic predisposition or something else altogether.

Over the years, researchers have identified many potential food culprits, including:

Wheat (especially bread)

Gluten

Milk (lactose)

Fibre-rich foods

Beans and pulses

Some fruits and vegetables

Onions

Garlic

However, science hasn’t found any simple answers, and no one food is the "smoking gun" that causes bloating in everyone. For example, a recent review by the British Nutrition Foundation, looking specifically at bread, found no evidence that regular consumption of bread caused bloating, nor did the way that bread is produced have any effect.

Scientists are currently looking in more detail at the component ingredients of foods such as bread to see whether it’s something within the food, rather than the food itself, that's causing the problem. Ingredients like yeast, fructans, gluten, wheat and many others are being investigated in-depth to try to get to the bottom of this uncomfortable issue.

Fighting the bloat

Because everyone is so different, the first step toward feeling better is to look at your lifestyle to try to identify your particular triggers.

Clearly, if you've been diagnosed with a condition where bloating is a symptom, such as coeliac disease, you have a clear path of action – remove gluten from your diet completely, and you will hopefully see a big improvement. You will need help with this via the Coeliac UK website.

If you have IBS, on the other hand, your triggers could be more variable - anything from gluten to lactose, beans, legumes, onions, and more. In this case, getting input from a dietitian is imperative to ensure that you're restricting your diet carefully and making sure you still get the nutrition you need.

Make note of everything you eat and what makes your symptoms worse - to take to the GP/Consultant.

(Recent advances in our understanding of IBS have led to the development of the FODMAP diet, which could be a real help if you follow it,,,, under medical supervision.)"

Comments on this last issue would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, I'm a slim and very fit (in all other respects) 71 year old!!

I already had the flu, so that just weakend my immune system..which led to loss of appetite which made my stomach feel even worse.

Then the following day(Monday) I was put into a severe situation which stressed me out so much, I was suffering from extreme stomach pain, dirrahea which followed with severe nasuea..As i was stressing over this "situation" i was in bed starting to have a minor panic attack, my breathing went all over, my hands had pins and neddles through them. 

I drank about 5 cups of peppermint tea which did NOT work, lemon and ginger which increased my "appetite" for food but I felt so sick to the point I couldnt look at food.

The next day (Tuesday) I did NOT have an appetite at all, i drank a electrolyte drink (hydrolyte) and ate 4 crackers throughout the day..

I started talking to my closest friend WORKS!!.. about what i was expericing and it made me feel a little better, Ive found that visiting the Chiropractor WORKS as they massage certain parts of your back which is linked to your digestive system.

Ive tried "Iberogast" which DID NOT work for me at all.

Probiotics DID NOT work for me.

You have to find little ways on how to make yourself feel better, every one is different

You have gone through exactly what I'm going through. Although I've had quite a fee tests. Inc gall bladder, liver, uterus scans. But I haven't had a colonoscopy through all this I have had to practically beg my doctor to do this test for me. It's disgusting that probably the very test that will see what's going on has been denied for me all this time, whilst all this time I've been struggling in my day to day life.

This morning I have had diarreah twice. The diarreah I can handle it's the horrible cramps and hot flashes I get when I'm on the toilet.

I'm very angry I've been made to wait for colonoscopy until mid February. If I took my dog to the vet she would get one quicker than me. I'm treated worse than a dog.

I'm living on immodium and hardly any food while I wait. I'm losing weight as I cannot eat anything. Only white bread dairy free butter and bananas.

I'm scared, unwell and depressed and all I hear is it's IBS and we will do colonoscopy to calm you that's all it is.