Dr said its IBS but its 3 years now.

hi alex, does your doctor find this funny? i don't. there is possibly something else a miss, fight for your health, have you been offered a hpylori test? there will be an underlying reason. you say you have had an endoscopy what about a colonoscopy? have you been offered a coeliac screening test, a chrones test, ulcerative colitis etc? doctor's find it easier to say 'oh it's IBS'. it's like saying it's a virus, oh it's a cold! ridiculous, try a different doctor.

It is possible you have IBS if all your tests are negative. Doctors don"t diagnose IBS lightly which affects everyone differently. There is no cure for IBS; it is lifelong and can come and go.

Unfortunately IBS is not something that ever really goes away - symptoms can be controlled and it can come and go however (I myself have been struggling with it for 10 years now). I would suggest going back to the doctor and asking for advice on how to deal with these symptoms - food as well as anxiety are both huge triggers for anxiety so usually controlling these can help.

Hi Alex,

I understand your concern. I was diagnosed with IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) in 1984 when I was in my twenties, and prescribed sulfasalazine . (bear with me!) Decades later and not having many flare-ups, I was gobsmacked when a dietician I was seeing to help me through a FODMAP exclusion diet told me that she believes I am suffering from IBS as well as IBD - and that most of my symptoms are to do with IBS, not the IBD, because every time I've had a blood test or poo test when suffering symptoms, it has come up negative for a flare-up.

I don't know if you have been offered a FODMAP exclusion diet, but if not I would recommend that you ask your GP/Consultant to refer you to your local gastro department (are you in the UK?) or equivalent. It takes a month or two to work through, but I have to say that it was a revelation to me - whilst on the exclusion diet, my stomach really calmed down. It seems most of the bloating, wind etc. was caused by foods high in certain sugars which would basically ferment in the gut, causing bloating, wind, and then 'the trots' . By avoiding certain 'trigger' foods, I rarely have bad bloating, wind or runny stools anymore.

I am two weeks into trying a Low Carb/High Fat 'Keto' way of eating, and because some of the ingredients used in this w.o.e. are 'bad' for my gut, I am having to make adjustments. I have been told that many people with IBS on the Keto w.o.e. have reported a complete lack of IBS symptoms after only being on it for a while - everyone is different, of course (we all have slightly different triggers, though some are common) and it may not work for everyone who has IBS/IBD. But I am going to give it a good go, because i need to lose weight!

I'd be VERY surprised if trying a FODMAP exclusion diet didn't help you. Basically it means cutting out a whole range of food groups altogether, then gradually re-introducing them over a period of time, noting which ones give you the bloating, the runs, etc. You can then safely cross those foods off your shopping list! There are even a number of apps for mobile phones which help you identify and track foods that are good and bad for you, personally. (Same with the Keto diet).

I hope something in what I've said may just be useful for you. Please let us know how you get on, won't you? All the best, Elaine

I've been having similar issues for 2 years now... Doctors always chalk it up to anxiety and IBS.