Upper left twinges occasional...gas? Anxiety? Ibs?

I have regular bowel movements at least one a day and usually at the same time. They are generally normal but sometimes like maybe once every couple of weeks they can be a little loose but I've had this all my life. I have booked another appointment with doc next week but not really sure what going to say as nothing has got worse it's just pretty much the same as it was when I first noticed.

I'm not sure if perhaps my anxiety is making me more aware of every sensation in my body. But I also heard that you can get ibs in your upper abdo and it can be linked to stress and so on.

I've had tests for h pylori as well and that came back negative.

I've also kept a food diary and can not see any correlation between what I eat and the twinges. I did wonder if perhaps onions might be the culprit, I avoided them all last week and felt a little better but then had them by accident on Monday and I guess thinking about it the twinges did return the following day. Who knows I've got no idea!

If you felt better when you cut out onions and your symptoms came back when you ate them again, onions may be a trigger food.  Onions are often a problem with IBS.  IBS pain moves all over your stomach.  Anxiety and stress are also is part of it. I waited three and a half months for an IBS diagnosis and my symptoms got no better or worse during that time.  

When you see your doctor again, say that your symptoms are no better but no worse, mention the possible reaction to onions and that you are getting health anxiety.

On my eighth visit to the doctor, I mentioned my health anxiety which was through the roof and he asked about any recent stress.  I suddenly remembered I had had several months of strain  but I hadn't connected it to my symptoms. For the first time my symptoms were recognised. No other doctor had asked me about stress before.

I told my dad I was consumed with anxiety and he told me to tell the doctor in the hope it would help him to diagnose me.  Sometimes, it is the things we don't think are important that help to identify our health problems.

Thanks Pippa. If I didn't have health anxiety it's the kind of symptom that I think most would not notice or would just ignore.

I think my frustration is that this has always been put down to stress but not given me any ideas on how to get rid of it, I almost wish the drs could say to me it is IBS due to stress then I can start to deal with it.

Ive been having counselling, think it's useful but the twinges are still here.

How do you manage your IBS is it like twinges or is it lower down? I have had lower down IBS before and one bout that lasted a few weeks but this is on and off for much longer and not the same as lower down.

I have had four different types of pain: dull, deep grinding, stabbing and sore to touch pain over all areas of my lower stomach.  I have also had twiching sensations. Occasionally, the pain has been severe and has made me feel sick.  I have had constipation and loose stools too but no food reactions.

The length of flare ups can change too from days, weeks or months.  Sometimes. I have a dull, mild pain all the time which can be ignored and other times I can be pain free for months.  I am an anxious person so I try to avoid stress triggers.  However, there are times when stress cannot be avoided and I take Buscopan and Nurofen to control symptoms.

 

Thanks Pippa

Glad to hear you are managing to keep on top of yours now. I wish you all the best for the future and not too many flare ups!

Stress management I feel is key here and something I need to get much better at.

I'm hoping my drs appointment goes well next week and I don't come away feeling like I've wasted their time.

Thanks for your good wishes and I hope you get some answers at the doctor.