Ibs diagnosis of exclusion?

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Hi, I am having episodic stomach pains, very severe (agonising..dont use the word lightly....been admitted overnight twice but nothing sinister found on blood tests etc.) which follow a very distinct pattern but do not seem to include either being bunged up or diarrhoea. i have been given IBS as a diagnosis of exclusion (also was told that as i have had multiple abdominal surgeries, nerve entrapment may well be worsening the condition) and as I am essentially disabled and unable to move without severe pain during an episode was told to "make domestic arrangements to assist" (difficult to get up stairs when affected, or sit, or stand up, or anything using stomach muscles no matter how slightly). These episodes started about a year after a gall bladder removal.

I can "feel" an episode coming on long in advance..it starts as a stitch like pain in my lower abdomen , anywhere along the lower pelvic area middle or sides. pains can eventually include radiating back pain and pain in the hips. The pain persists gradually increasing over several days or even weeks, eventually culminating in the agony I have described, which tends to start decreasing after 3 or 4 days being essentially bedridden (I actually need help when this is really bad..just to get up and down out of bed or a chair). So far I have had 3 of these episodes this year with no obvious trigger or reason.....I'm not seeing IBS described like this anywhere..does anyone else experience it like this or should i seek another opinion?? thank you for your help.

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  • Posted

    Sorry to hear you are in such pain, it's horrible! I would definitely get another opinion until you get a decent explanation.

    I had something quite similar. For many years, every year approx I would get this terrible pain in my abdomen/stomach, I would be doubled up and even sick from the pain. I would go to hospital and they would say cramps, gas...whaetever.

    The pain then came closer together, instead of every year it would be every 6 months, then every 3...every time I went to hospital, they would say IBS or whatever. Until the last time I went, I was in agony, couldn't stand up. They tested me and I had a ruptured appendix and had to operate urgently. That's what it was all that time. That was 8 years ago and I have never had any pain since.

    So basically, what I'm saying is only accept IBS as a diagnosis when you have been thoroughly checked.

    Good luck!

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