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some help please

Posted , 5 users are following.

leeniepie
leeniepie

I have been diagnosed with IBS for about 4 years. At first my sysmptoms were just stomach pain and nausea, then moved to constipation and excessive extremely foul smelling gas. My GP did nothing so i paid to see a private dietician who put me on the low FODMAP diet. this dramaticially reduced the gas but did nothing for the constipation, which i controlled with laxido ( i would only have a bowel movement once a week after taking this). Randomly in august i had diarrhoea which lasted for 2 weeks so i went to the Dr. they did a stool test and said there was nothing wrong and that it was probably IBS, which i found weird as i have never had diarrhoea before.

Since then i have had a few random episodes of diarrhoea, usually just one then i am ok, a few times a month. But i have now been having it again for 2 weeks and it wont stop. I have eaten about 4 meals i the last 2 weeks - i have been either fasting or just eating toast/plain crackers in the hope it will make it stop. i am scared to go out the house. at the moment i am on study leave from work and the commute is an hour by train (with no toilets) so i have been not eating until the evening, and then only toast, just in case. I am tired, my joints ache, i have been snappy with my family, all i want to do is sleep. I tried going to the gym on saturday and ended up shaky and heart racing. I am scared to eat but know i cant go on only eating bread etc (i lost 4 lbs the first week, and probably 2 more since then). I took loperamide last thursday and was ok til today and now i am bad again - it seem all immodium does it 'put a cork in it' for a bit, not turn it back to normal stool which is what i was hoping (it gave me terrible stomach cramp too). I really dont know what to do - i have to go back to work next week and am so nervous. I am a nurse so i cant just go and leave my patients if i have to run off to the loo! I thought of not eating but am scared that being on my feet all day and not eating i will pass out.

Any advice would be really really appreciated.

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • rowel123
    rowel123 leeniepie

    Posted

    Hey there, it's crazy how similar the situation you're in is what I'm having also. I haven't been diagnosed with IBS but I do have the constipation and sometimes diarrhea. I have lost some weight also which really worried me. I went to the doctors for a stool test and it came back negative no blood no parasites! (Recently went on vacation) I did blood tests and they all came normal. I only have one bowel movement a day but they always turn out to be green. I hope you have an answer! I'm still wondering what's wrong with mine. Ugh!
    • leeniepie
      leeniepie rowel123

      Posted

      i have read that green bowel movements can mean something is wrong with your gall bladder?
    • tellitlikeitis
      tellitlikeitis leeniepie

      Posted

      All shades of brown and green are normal for bowel movements. Green happens due to food and many other causes becasue the bile in your system doesn't break down the color green quick enough. The biggest offenders of green bowel movements are green leafy vegetables and anything containing green food coloring. 

      I've never heard of green bowel movements being linked with gallbladder problems. I have heard of them being linked to gas and indigestion however. 

  • tellitlikeitis
    tellitlikeitis leeniepie

    Posted

    I have IBS and similar symptoms. Bread is actually the worst thing you can eat, as it's fiber and will make you have to go. The more fiber in your diet, the more you will go with IBS. You should have a bowel movement every day, diarrhea or otherwise. If you aren't, something is wrong. It could be parasites, or like I once had a bowel obstruction, I was going daily multiple times a day, but always had gas, turns out I had a big obstruction. Have they done a colonoscopy? That's usually step one in confirming any type of diagnosis.
  • leeniepie
    leeniepie

    Posted

    tellitlikeitis - i have never had a bowel movement every day prior to this. even when i was a kid i would go twice a week max, despite a healthy diet.

    my dr wont do any tests,they did the stool test once and that was clear, and a coeliac blood test, but i dont normally eat wheat anyway as its off limits on the FODMAP diet, so dont think that was very accurate (besides, bread has never given me symptoms other than bloating).

    noone seems to care, the answer is always mebeverane and immodium, dont eat spicy food/alcohol/milk - which i dont

    • tellitlikeitis
      tellitlikeitis leeniepie

      Posted

      Yeah, they do give that answer Immodium or Lomotil and to 'deal with it". Twice a week even as a kid is crazy. I only went once a week as a kid, which jumped to 15+ times a day in junior high school.
  • wendy321
    wendy321 leeniepie

    Posted

    I have had many of your symptoms for several years. I saw a specialist who said "Yes, you have IBS". I took his word for it and the tablets he prescribed seemed to settle me down after a while, but never stopped it altogether. Recently I went for a full blood test and the results showed that I had an overactive thyroid (no symptoms), when I saw the specialist for thyroid issues I explained about my IBS he smiled and said "probably not". I then took the tablets that he prescribed and WOW all IBS symptoms have gone. Do not be fobbed off IBS as an explanation for stomach cramps, wind, etc.,  are not always caused by IBS. Ask you Dr for a full blood test.
  • cherice79723
    cherice79723 leeniepie

    Posted

    Take 2 extra strength tums in the morning before your first meal. Eat an hour after taking tums. Takes tums every five hours. Eat smaller meals about 5 during the day. Cut out sugared and caffine Ted pop completely. One cup of coffee in the morning is fine. You will poop normal after taking tums. I eat small meals so I don't have constipation. No greasy foods, limit milk. Maby 1 glass a day. Eat fruit, and vegtables, salmon chicken, Terre a Kyi chicken are good to eat. Torria wraps, instead of processed bread,
    • tellitlikeitis
      tellitlikeitis cherice79723

      Posted

      Glad tums works for you. I was always told not to take them as it makes things worse over the long run. I stopped Rolaids and Tums all together. 
    • leeniepie
      leeniepie tellitlikeitis

      Posted

      yeah, i had chronic dyspepsia for a year and was told to come off the antacids and PPI's can in the long run your body just produces even more acid to conteract them, and they can put you at risk of gastro infections and osteoporosis.
  • leeniepie
    leeniepie

    Posted

    so today i thought i was getting better having had a semi-solid stool, but the 2 hrs later i had diarrohea again. Im really fed up of this, its been 3 weeks now. I saw the practice nurse this week and her advice was dont take immodium and dont eat. well thanks!, so you want me to starve, probably faint, and be stuck in the toilet!

    does anyone have any tips for what i can eat? i have been living off crackers, toast, ricecakes, eggs and the odd bit of chicken/fish/potatoes for the last 3 weeks sad

    • tellitlikeitis
      tellitlikeitis leeniepie

      Posted

      Pretzels, potatoes, crackers, toast, unsweetened applesauce, baked chicken with the skin removed, unbuttered plain popcorn, white rice without any topping, bananas, pasta without sauce, noodles without sauce, fruit cups, steamed carrots, squash, and any lean meats. 
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