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IBS. Nothing seems to work, any ideas from fellow suffers

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richard1962
richard1962

I have diagnosed with IBS for nearly 2 years now and have tried a number of medicines (including Fybogel Mebeverine, Colpermin, Windeze, Buscopan hyscine butylbromide, and VSL#3).  This has been complimented by cutting out gluten and following the Fodmap diet.  Nothing has changed and I’m an in constant discomfort i.e. every day, with peaks of pain (stomach pains, wind, need for toilet etc.) and troughs of just simple discomfort in the stomach.  I have lost count of the amount of times I have gone to the doctors and I’m now being broadly told: “you have IBS, deal with it”.  Does anyone have any similar experience of this and has anyone got any suggestions as to what I can try next?  I feel that I am stuck.

1 like, 47 replies

47 Replies

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  • ned7744
    ned7744 richard1962

    Posted

    Alright Richard.

    I've kind if tried the same things as you and also been given the printout of ibs from my GP with little help. I have however been referred to see a specialist with will hopefully help me.

    How long have u tried each diet etc for? I must admit I told people that I'd tried diets etc and they didn't help... When in fact I wasn't thorough enough with them and didn't stay on then for long enough to see a difference. Classic error I made was neglecting what the obvious. When I cut down on sugar I felt proper rough and my ibs went crazy. Felt awful for about 4 weeks then started to get better. It's improved my ibs massively cutting down sugar and fizzy drinks but took time. I've now started again with vsl3 because I don't think I tried it for long enough to see results. 

    Good luck

    • robin77577
      robin77577 ned7744

      Posted

      Good point Ned. It isn't just about what you DO eat (fruit and veggies, good quality protein etc..) but what you DON"T or SHOULDN'T eat...such as greasy foods, sugars, lots of bread/pasta/pastries, fizzy drinks etc.. Good point indeed.
  • robin77577
    robin77577 richard1962

    Posted

    I agree with Brenda. The probiotics kill the bad bacteria in the gut and add beneficial bacteria. I have been putting them in my family's morning smoothie for years and years. 

    Before going the drug route, it's important to give lifestyle a chance; diet, water++, roughage in the diet, lots of vegetables, a fruit smoothie to start your day on the right foot and magesium before bed. I will all but guarantee that this takes care of your IBS. It sure did me!

    We have been conditioned to think that unless we leave the doctor's office with a prescription in hand, our sickness/condition is not real. 

    We cause so many illnesses by poor lifestyle...so the reverse is true; we can cure so many illnesses through positive lifestyle changes.

    Good luck!

    • carmel83758
      carmel83758 robin77577

      Posted

      Am very glad the biotics helped you. In my case I took some and they made me far worse.
  • claudio80905
    claudio80905 richard1962

    Posted

    HI, THERE ive had this problem for more than 10 yrs +am feed up

    of it, tryed almost every thing had testscameras colonoscopy- and endoscorpy, everything down stairs is normal .

    i suffer with gastric-reflux and on emprosal tab for more then 9 yrs

    some times i can go for months with out any problemthen it strikes with

    vengance-gut feels like a waher-machine noises small intestianes feel

    twisted inside of me bloated all the times. my worst nightmere constipation

    dieareea - runs , tryedaloe verea,probitics ginger,fennal

    busopan copamin malverine windeaseand so onnothing worked

    ive tryed to watch what am eating still no joy, some days i go with out food

    for 2 days try to emty my selfout , did try one thing that calm it down that is

    amoxillan tablets of a week then every thing started to calm bk down for about

    6- months might have to go to doctors again for another course of them

    i think its a germ in the small intestines that is causing all the trouble for all of us, p.s i am 48 yrs old and not happy about living with this problem so

    m8we in all this together am afraid,

    • robin77577
      robin77577 claudio80905

      Posted

      Woah there Claudio! Che stai facendo? 

      The solution is right on your dinner plate. 

      You need to keep REGULAR and ....everything will be fine. When you eat constipating foods and you don't eat enough fruits and vegetables in a day and maybe don't drink enough water...your bowels block up.What one eats obviously affects what what one excretes. To keep your insides working well you can do the following:

      1. Eat 6 - 10 servings of vegetables and fruits per day. (NHS recommendation) No more beige meals! Only delicious, jewel coloured vegetables on your dinner plate. No Italian breakfasts of cookies and coffee. Instead a lovely smoothie; berries and an apple in the blender, add probiotics (very important), non dairy protein powder and almond milk. 

      2. Get some exercise every day to keep things moving...whether it be walking or a sport or an exercise class. 

      3. Limit or better, eliminate constipation causing foods such as white rice, cured meats which are  salty like ham, salami, hot dogs, too much meat in general, salty foods like crisps, under ripe bananas, dairy and tea until you get things under control.

      4. omit dairy products from your diet altogether if you can...or limit them and replace them with delicious almond milk. Milk wreaks havoc with your insides.

      5. Drink plenty of water. (I have a pitcher by my computer so first thing in the morning I drink down 2 full glasses). 

       6. I often take 1 tsp of natural psyllium husks (as in Fybrogel)  in the afternoon in a tall glass of water. 

      7. If you have particularly sluggish bowels, take 2 -3 tablets of the natural mineral magnesium citrate before bed. In the morning you will produce a foot long, soft, stool that passes in 3 seconds. And that's it, no pain, no cramping. Everything should pass easily. You will need to gauge whether to take 2 or 3 tablets of magnesium often depending on how bulky your stool was from the previous day. You should be able to eliminate everything in one fell swoop in the morning. You will learn that you need to be on top of your bowel activity for the rest of your life as I am...and I have no problems anymore, thank God.

      If we all just drank plenty of water, filled our dinner plates with colourful veggies and moved our bodies more, we would be fine. Listen to your body. Lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle! Treat your bowels well and they will thank you. Good luck! In bocca al lupo!

    • carmel83758
      carmel83758 claudio80905

      Posted

      The idea it is a germ in the intestine makes a lot of sense. Some people just do not consider this and go all around the houses looking for other things - all red herrings, all a waste of time and money and all meaning you consider to be ill. Well known naturopaths have said this too.
    • claudio80905
      claudio80905 robin77577

      Posted

      hi, there thanks for advice taken on borad , am italian, i like -

      pasta ive groen up with it i lke veges fruit i likered wine + beer

      at night not every nite but now and again remember what it said in the bible jesus said a little wine is good for the stomach-

      french people drink wine and bread so not all these people

      can be wrong?

      i work as an heating engineneerlifting boilers rads all day long

      walk dogs at nite5 miles a daydrink 4liters of water a day

      take pro boitics tabs every day.

      still end up with unstable bowel movements runny sometimes very

      hard some-days consipatied,? i give up

      am on medication from DR= nexiem tabs for my gastro-reflux

      diesese i had for years,

      the tablets that you mentioned above= magnesium citrate -

      are for bones only so whats that to do with IBS ? or bowels problem ?

      stomach always bloatedfarting all the time gut or small intestines feell like a washer machine knoted up and painfull

      so there you go you know a bit about me thanks once again

      look in forward from hearingfrom yourobin thanks claudio.

    • barb95783
      barb95783 claudio80905

      Posted

      Hi Claudio, Robin was talking about magnesium because it helps your intestines contract so that it cleans out the bowels and does so without cramping.

      Have you ever tried elimination diet to figure out if any type of food is giving you a problem?

      Barb

    • robin77577
      robin77577 claudio80905

      Posted

      Ciao, Claudio!

      Devi prendere il magnesio citrate (che si compra alla farmacia) perché prima di tutto, fa uscire le feci senza difficolta. Si prende 2 pilole la sera prima di andare al letto e la mattina tutto va come si deve, senza sforzo, senza dolore. Te lo prometto. Io avevo la stessa problema e adesso, da parecchie anni, sto benissima. Il magnesio citrate è come il calcio (calcium) e la vitamine D per esempio, molto sicuro. Quello che non si assorbe, va nell'urina. C'è una carenza di magnesium da quasi tutti noi a causa della carenza nel terreno e altre ragioni.  Abbiamo tutti bisogno di aumentare la dieta con il magnesio citrate. Ci sono anche altri benefici; Per il cuore e anche per la mente; la depressione e l'ansia. Puoi 'google' per ne sapere di più.

      Scrivimi se funziona bene. Sono sicura che ti aiuterà e anche di più, risoverà il tuo problema.

      A proposito del vino... va aprire le arterie e fa diluire il sangue che impediscono gli attacco di cuore e gli ictus. Continua pure a bere il vino e la birra! Salute!

      In bocca al lupo, Claudio!

      P.S. Sono una studentessa canadese in Canada di italiano da 5 anni. Ho cominciato ad imparare l'italiano nella mia pensione. Mi è piacciuto moltissimo avere l'occasione di 'parlare' nella 'bella lingua' con te. 

    • claudio80905
      claudio80905 barb95783

      Posted

      thank you going to buy some this weekend give it a try nothing

      to lose let you know how i get on thank - you.

    • claudio80905
      claudio80905 robin77577

      Posted

      grazie. robin77577, i give them i try this week end grazie,

      let you how i get on , p.s not very good in writing in

      italian , xxx

  • ned7744
    ned7744 richard1962

    Posted

    Everyone gets down about IBS and everyone feels the frustrations of it. I've had it for 4 years, has affected my life massively... But I don't go on about it.

    Put the frustration back into analysing and understanding IBS. I used to get p*ssed off with it all the time when Id 'finally thought I'd found the culprit' causing my symptoms... 4 years later and I'm still looking lol.

    Richard the doctor told me to do a food

    Diary... I pretty much dismissed this as I couldn't see what I could gain from it... How wrong I was. Looking back over a 6 week period I could see my diet wasn't great and started to see patterns in habits such as eating times etc. It helped me identify triggers and also allowed me to slowly start and modify my diet whilst monitoring the results. I recommend it.

    My job at work is fault finding, I try to apply this to my ibs... Change 1 thing at a time and monitor, make notes, trend diet...etc. It's pointless going gluten free, taking probiotics, taking buscopan and all that other stuff at the same time. The shock to your digestive system alone will probably

    Make your ibs go crazy!

    • robin77577
      robin77577 ned7744

      Posted

      Hi Ned,

      I started having terribly painful bouts...attacks!...of diarrhea when I was about 14 years old. I was too embarrassed to even tell my mother, afraid she would take me to a doctor and he would examine me 'where the sun don't shine'. So I suffered with this condition which really was caused by constipation. When I was in my late twenties, I FINALLY figured it out. It was my colon's way of getting rid of hard packed stool... It HAD to cramp in order to move things along. When I realized this, I started taking psyllium and eating more fruits and vegetables. Things were SO MUCH better...but I still had very occasional bouts of what I now know was IBS. That happened when I became even constipated for 2 successive days. THen I discovered the 'miracle' of magnesium citrate. You take 2 tablets of this mineral at bedtime and in the morning, you are as right as rain. I have been taking this for years now and I might have an attack once or twice a year, usually after dairy...which I can't tolerate well. 

      I have just read recently on the internet from reliable sources that after vitamin D, we in the western world are most deficient in magnesium. It is very hard to get it from your diet..,.unless you are part squirrel and eat lots of nuts....lots! Not only is magnesium good at keeping you regular but it is a natural brain food and combats anxiety and depression. I don't have either problem but I have to say I am always in a good mood; very optimistic. Maybe it's the magnesium. My naturopath who is also a pharmacist, recommended magnesium for my daughter in high school to help her with her concentration since she had ADHD. Her marks not only shot up but she became highly organized and studious!...but still had loads of drive and energy. Another thing magnesium is good for is sleep! Taken bedore bed helps you feel sleepy and sleep a deeper more restorative sleep.

      I hope you do try it. If you find it works, pass on the word.

  • richard1962
    richard1962

    Posted

    Thank you everyone for telling me about your experiences and advice.  I follow a healthy diet , have plenty of could on my plate in the form of vegetables, have cut out red meat, gluten, drink plenty of water (I don’t have fizzy drinks), eliminated dairy and take plenty of exercise.  I will be trying apple cider vinegar and magnesium citrate and seeing what affect that has on my system. 
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