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Do these symptoms sound familiar? At the end of my tether.

Posted , 10 users are following.

sadpanda2033
sadpanda2033

For the past 12 years now I have been dealing with odd symptoms that have always been put down to IBS but in my opinion have never fitted. I've never come across someone else, with or without IBS, who gets the exact same symptoms as I do.

Just a brief bit of context, the following symptoms are sudden and only last for 1-2 hours. After that, apart from physical and mental exhaustion, it goes away as though nothing ever happened. And the frequency at which it happens has been all over the place being anywhere from once a week (at its worst) and twice a year (at its best).

  • Severe lower abdominal pain, the kind you get when you desperately need the toilet (sometimes wakes me up during the night)
  • Sudden, watery (and very rancid smelling) diarrhoea
  • Overwhelming heat - feeling feverish (despite actually having no raised temperature according to a thermometer), pouring with sweat
  • Feeling dizzy and like I'm going to faint
  • Feeling nauseous and sometimes throwing up whilst I am still on the toilet

Up until June of last year these were the symptoms I would get every time it happened. The only relief I get is by taking Imodium right as it happens and just waiting it out for 15-20 minutes before it starts to kick in and the diarrhoea and cramping symptoms ease up. However, in June of last year I developed two new symptoms during one of these episodes that landed me in hospital:

  • Breathing difficulties - I was completely unable to catch my breath
  • An all over body rash

That day it was put down to anaphylaxis and having an allergic reaction to something which is still to this day unknown.

Since then every 'episode' I have had has included an all-over body rash but I haven't experienced the breathing difficulties since.

I've suffered from PTSD since that hospital trip last year which now makes these 'episodes' so much worse because as soon as I develop the pain I start to panic.

I've seen an immunologist who did no food allergy tests and put my rash down to my use of ibuprofen which I have since stopped taking but am still having symptoms. I'm waiting to see another immunologist who hopefully does more in-depth testing.

I'm at a complete loss for what is wrong with me. My symptoms seem to fit relatively well with something like food poisoning except for the fact that they come on so suddenly and disappear so quickly. It's actually quite scary not knowing what is wrong with my body, and it's getting to the point where I am scared to eat in case I'm consuming something that is doing this to me (which, by the way, I have tried to find out for myself by keeping food diaries but have had no luck pinpointing anything).

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • claire71812
    claire71812 sadpanda2033

    Posted

    hello

    sorry you are suffering, all the symptoms apart from rash sound familiar. mine is complicated by menopause symptoms and stress. it could be food intolerances which are much harder to track. i feel like my body has a level of stress - mental and physical and food. once i go over a certain level it reacts. i have tested negative to allergies, despite knowing from experience i have to watch things like wheat, dairy, sugar and fat. As i understand it there can be a 24 hours lag between consuming something and having a reaction. i react to cleaning materials as well , especially anything with bleach in.

    i hope you get some help soon. At the moment my ibs and everything else i have problems with, is playing up. so my whole system is hyper sensitive.

    • sadpanda2033
      sadpanda2033 claire71812

      Posted

      @claire71812 That's exactly how I feel about mine. That my body has a specific level of tolerance for whatever it is causing my issue and once it reaches its threshold it says "no more!" and I have a reaction. Even the episodes themselves feel almost like my body is trying to rid itself of this 'bad' thing through extreme measures (the diarrhoea, vomiting, sweating). Which is why it doesn't sound like a stereotypical allergic reaction because they tend to cause a reaction every time. I also have cut gluten out of my diet and found that it has helped to reduce daily cramping I was getting but has, unfortunately, not had any impact on these episodes.

  • marsh23433
    marsh23433 sadpanda2033

    Posted

    Hi Sadpanda2033/Those side effects that you have mentioned are all part of having IBS.Those 5 side effects that you have mentioned are part of having ibs.Just because you mentioned that know one else has those effects does not mean that they are not because of ibs. You say ibs ,but have your doctor done tests and if so,did he /she confirm that you do have ibs.How old are you.?I get suddenly working and have too dash to the toilet.I also get diarrhoea which is runny and also with ibs it can smell;.It is unusual to get a rash ,but ibs can give you that rare side effects.May i make a suggestion that you have a look at Web Page called The ibs Network which might help to give you answers.IT helped me allot

  • layna68454
    layna68454 sadpanda2033

    Posted

    I'm posting this because I hope that everyone here gets properly tested -insist on getting properly tested, before getting labeled with " IBS" and told to go home and relax. So many people come to this forum asking other people whether their symptoms sound like an" IBS" because they are worried sick and wish to be reassured but in reality so many other issues with your digestive system can be wrong and produce symptoms similar to IBS. So here's my story. I'm a 39 year-old female and never had any health issues prior to March of 2019. Then, I started having "IBS"-like symptoms out of nowhere. Constant urge to use the bathroom, loose and oddly- shaped -stools, sweating, abdominal discomfort, etc. Went to a doctor who ran stool tests, blood works, infection and everything came back normal but the fecal fat-it was elevated. He didn't think much about it, I insisted that he checked my pancreas and when it came back normal, he just said that the fecal test must have been a "fluke" and a false positive. So, he never diagnosed me with anything, including IBS, and my symptoms just continued up until now. I just suffered and did typical IBS diet and remedies but nothing seemed to really work. So, last month I went back to the doctor determined to really find out what is going on because my undiagnosed "IBS" never went away. At this point I started getting an uncomfortable upper-right-side pain that radiated into my back with every meal and nausea, which I never had before. I literally had to fight with the doctor to get a visual on what is going on inside of me and scheduled an abdominal ultrasound, (he never did one before even though it's pretty standard to do so!). He called me himself after the ultrasound and said they discovered that I had a gallbladder and a liver issue! The gallbladder and liver were causing my symptoms all along but because everyone kept focusing on so-called- "IBS" it was dismissed and never diagnosed properly until now! It took him 14 months to figure this out! So, please go with your gut feeling, if you feel that "IBS" does really fit with your symptoms, insist on more testing, especially imaging tests like an abdominal ultrasound or an MRI which can really give you an ultimate answer on what is going on inside of you because many digestive issues don't really show up in the blood work until the issues escalate. Be proactive and be your own advocate, because the doctors can be pretty useless unless you push them to investigate. Best of luck to you!

    • sadpanda2033
      sadpanda2033 layna68454

      Posted

      @layna68454 It does feel like I've been fobbed off with the easy diagnosis. The only test I've had done is to rule out coeliac disease and am now awaiting allergy testing for the second time. I am actually scheduled to have an ultrasound to check my gallbladder after this pandemic starts to get better and the hospitals start accepting referrals again. I'm just wondering though, now you know what has been causing your problems are you on any kind of treatment to stop the issues you were getting? I'm more concerned about whether there's anything I'll ever be able to do to stop these episodes from happening because with the way they have been lately I don't feel able to even function and live a normal life because I'm constantly worried about having an episode while I'm out.

  • sam18386
    sam18386 sadpanda2033

    Posted

    a rash and sickness and breathing difficulties? hmm stinks oy COELIAC disease, beg to be tested ! is it certain foods that set this all off? failing that or you could have a vitamin deficiency. i wish you luck and not to alarm you. find some information from a website called coeliac UK then you'll know whether you have it or not; whatever it is i hope you get to the bottom of this (oh no sorry whoops that came out wrong!) as it doesn't sound very much fun!

  • Marina_Dee
    Marina_Dee sadpanda2033

    Posted

    This is exactly what I get if I have any dairy products, eg milk,yoghurt,cheese, etc. I have to examine all the ingredients on packet food to make sure there is no milk in it. Luckily milk is a known allergen so is printed in bold type in the list of ingredients. Just the slightest amount and I am very ill....shivering,pale,sweating,weak and diarrhoea for 2-3 hours.

  • rob2000
    rob2000 sadpanda2033

    Posted

    I have experienced these symptoms but no rash and this all developed after i caught a nasty virus and got post infectious ibs. It has calmed down a lot in the past two years though.

    I found certain foods would cause some kind kind of episode with those symptoms. i followed the fodmap diet and it gradually improved but certain foods like peppers or tomatoes would give me grief. Skins of vegetables which are tough seem to be an issue. I got hot feeling, nausea, fowl smelling bowl movements, sweaty and then once it got out of my system i felt fine.

    Interestingly, i know someone with crohns who gets a temperature when he has a flare up so i started to wonder if i was getting something worse but dr said it was just ibs as no inflammatory markers.

    Ibs is beet strange but obvs worth checking with dr if you feel its something more.

  • Lj1028
    Lj1028 sadpanda2033

    Posted

    I have those exact same symptoms and it scares me so much! the rash I get looks like red blotches and I get them on my arms and chest but not noticed them anywhere else, I'm usually in far too much pain to look anywhere else. I get very painful cramps like I am in labour (I've had 2 children with no pain relief) usually straight after eating. it comes and goes in excruciating waves where my whole stomach goes rock solid, I get all hot and burn up, my heart starts pounding and I go dizzy and these blotches come up. I've tried posting a pic but it won't let me! I get these cramps for about 10/15 minutes then I'll get explosive watery diarhea and then all the pain is gone and the blotches go away and I'm back to normal for another week or 2. funny thing is I don't have any triggers, I've literally been sat eating my dinner and had to run to the toilet half way through with one of these attacks, then not felt like eating the rest so leave it a few hours and finish my dinner off later and I've been fine. this all started 8 years ago for me when I was 8 weeks pregnant with my 2nd daughter, that was the first time I had one of these attacks and I thought i was having a miscarriage but the diarhea came and it went away. I went to my doctors about 5 years ago about it and he gave me mebeverine and it didn't do a thing, I felt like he was robbing me off so I didn't go back. but I changed doctors a couple of years ago and thought I'd ask him about it, he said the previous doctor shouldn't of diagnosed ibs without testing so when covid 19s over with I've got to go in for a blood and still test. in the mean time I'm on buscopan and Lazio which seems to be working well I've only had 1 attack this month and it wasn't as painful and there was no blotchy skin! I've been searching for weeks to find someone else who gets a skin rash during these God awful attacks so I hope your still around on this site I know it was a few weeks ago.

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