Magnesium

I find it interesting. So many people are diagnosed with IBS without any proper investigations done at all. I was diagnosed with it years ago. While I was seeing gastro for the issues I was having I was seeing an oral immunoligist at the same time.

She suggested I had a type of vasculitis. It took a year after this to get a full diagnosis. One of the key symptoms is the kind of gut disturbances I was experiencing. When I asked the gastroenterologist treating me why he had never considered it he looked embarrassed and said he had never seen anyone with that type of disorder.

Sadly the diagnosis of IBS is made constantly without a full investigation of symptoms or looking at the defficiencies you describe.

Yes margaret it is very unfortunate and comes close to malpractice, IMO. The docs seem to use IBS as an umbrella word for they-don't-know-what-the-heck-you-have and they look no further, unless you are well informed and insist on certain test to rule out underlying causes.  I had colonoscopy and endoscopy and was told to eat more fiber and lower stress (sure it's so easy to lower stress especially these days).

When I started to feel a terrible burn in my lower abd running almost from hiip to and hip and like someone took a blow torch to my anus after every bm, I know I had something that needed to be treated, instead of just diet changes. 

I did a lot of research and finally found an article in the British Medical Journal that addressed BAM (bile acid mal absorption).  Messaged the article to my doc and told him I needed a bile acid sequester.  His reply was pick one of three meds he mentioned and get back to him.  So then I had to research the meds.  All this is beginning to pay off. 

I now take Questran (generic powder form) and the diarrhea that was causing all my distress, weight loss, and chaining me to the bathroom, has almost been eliminated.  Now, all I have to do is experiment in order to find the correct dose for me and I'll take it from there.  I do not want to spend the last 1/4 or more of my life afraid to leave the house for fear I will embarrass myself or live in constant pain because of constipation.

Human anatomy and physiology should be taught beginning in the lower grades and every person should be a part of their health care treatments.  Most people don't know where their gall bladder is.  And one last comment to my long rant is I read that 1 in 3 people diagnosed with IBS actually suffer from BAM.  Nice, huh.

Be well !!

God yes. Couldn't agree more. People are so misinformed on this subject by their doctors and specialists it is scary. I reckon that they don't want to spend money investigating chronic conditions because they cost too much to investigate and treat. Easier to tell us we are stressed or eating the wrong stuff blah blah blah. So annoying.