Is it all in my head or is there a problem?

Dear Nicola,

It is definitely not all in your head because in the beginning I had the same problems and I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. I had a colonoscopy four X rays and a CT scan but there was nothing physically wrong. The consultant said he was seeing this sort of thing all the time.

It has been suggested that if you have been diagnosed with IBS it could be caused by :-

1) An increase in gut sensitivity.

2) Inflammation of the digestive tract lining.

3) Disturbance of movement in the bowels.

This is all very well but I discovered that I could improve my condition by leaving out weat, rye and dairy products. You said that you feel most sick after breakfast and this is when we eat wheat in the form of cereal and bread and dairy in the form of milk.

You might find you feel better if you don't eat these things, it works for me. You might also like to look at the low FODMAP diet. Tell us what you think

Best wishes

robert

Hi Nicola. I agree with Robert62181. It is not in your head. My doctor told me that stomach problems can cause anxiety. Have some tests done on your stomach for gastritis. George

It's not in your head.. 

Iron absorption from diet is enhanced in the presence of vitamin C and diminished by excess calcium, zinc, or magnesium. Too much Iron can cause other issues, humans have no physiologic regulatory mechanism for excreting iron. Most humans prevent iron overload solely by regulating iron absorption. Those who can't regulate absorption well enough may get disorders of iron overload. In these diseases, the toxicity of iron starts overwhelming the body's ability to bind and store it.

So a change of diet is currently required; tomatos and all those things that have iron in them (spinach, nuts etc) , and then after some months; you may start to feel well again (it does apparently take anemia some months to rectify). Might as well add some antiinflammatory tumeric or ginger to that food too, to give yourself a better chance of recovery..

Hope you get better soon, and all goes well for you.. xx

KT47:Ask your doctor for a test for Vitamin D (our sunshine vitamin ha ha) one of my blood tests came back recently and showed I was anneamic asked me to have another test two weeks later this showed I wasn't anneamic but low on Vitamin D with Lupus (which I have and have to avoid sunshine) tiredness is a constant companion but since taking Vitamin D I'm managing to cope better Now if we can just cure my diarrhea which I've had for over 12 months now my life would be a lot better .Get your problems sorted you are too young to be suffering even if it means seeing a different doctor. Good luck

Hi Nicola. I spent about 2 or 3 weeks during last summer feeling exactly like you. The tiredness was driving me crazy but I had cravings for salt water which suddenly one day turned to sweet. When I had my bloods done my doc asked for everything to be checked and it turned out that I had pernicious anemia....low B12 and very very low iron. The B12 is sort of resolved as I now have to have injections every 2 or 3 months for life and the iron well I have been on a course the last 8 weeks. I have been seen by endosapy unit and had cameras at both ends! Consultant found gastritus and immediately put me on a 4 week course of pump inhibitors. Get FULL bloods done again and ask about endoscapy.....the throat one is horrible so be warned, although you may be able to take the pill with the camera. This is actually about 5 times cheaper than the traditional camera methods but hospitals will do the more expensive procedure rather than the cheaper one first. If your doc still says she/he sees nothing wrong, get a second opinion. Hope some of that helps.....I personally am feeling so much better because it was all caught very quickly and not left.Stay in touch and let us all have your update.Good luck.