What tests did you do to get an IBS diagnosis?

I have been through all these tests and thought I had something seriously wrong with me. The GP told me that there was a 35 week waiting list for a colonoscopy so I paid to go private, what a waste of money £831.00 I wish I had listened now, all that money and then having to go through the examination to be told I had no cancer no divertculitis no inflammation all clear. I went back to the GP who read the report and said "you have ibs, very common, and it does not lead to cancer" . The trouble with you and I is that we worry too much, at the moment I have pain down my left decend colon a bit in my left leg left hand tingles a bit and sometimes I get a headache. You are definitely OK but when you and I worry it gets worse. I feel very sorry for you if you have to work it must be dreadful.

I find giving up wheat and dairy food helped me also avoid tea, coffee, alcohol, fizzy drinks spicy food and anything acidic. Make sure you drink plenty of water.

Some people find the low FODMAP diet helps them, it did for me.

Exercise can help to, I take my cocker spaniel for a walk three times a day. For the cramping pain I take Buscopan some people prefer Mebeverine. You can buy these things at the chemist shop, if they work for you then go to your GP and get them on prescription.

Please don't feel you are on your own, if I can help you as a fellow sufferer please get back to me.

Please take care of yourself and try to relax.

Thinking of you

bobcrachet ( bob )

May I politely suggest you don't eat chocolate or anything with too much fat in it. This will really cause you problems. Chocolate has given me severe pain in the past and so did butter. I thought that if I eat some butter it would lubricate my tubes and cure the constipation, instead I was up all night in pain and could not sleep on either side or my back and stomach. When I told my GP he just shut his eyes and said " it does not work like that, chocolate and butter including fats generally will cause your colon to contract violently giving you lots of pain, you must learn not to eat them " It's amazing how fast pain can educate you. I have never touched chocolate or butter since.

Just keep telling me what you eat and drink and I will tell you which things affect me. This might give you the clues that you need about what to avoid. If you send me a message like this I will always reply. Others on this forum have really helped me so I will certainly help you.

Please relax and take care

bob

Because I retired very early I have had all the time I need to find out all the answers, or as many as we need to stay out of trouble. Your type of IBS is so similar to mine that we could be the same person. Chocolate and coffee are serious triggers for me, I must not consume them at all, and I really did like coffee, I even had my own expresso machine because this would wake me up fast in the morning. I had to get rid of it because of this IBS.

Pain is associated with diarrhoea because your bowel is too active, some doctors beliveve that IBS is caused by an increase in sensitivity to bowel movements. When you are constipated everything has slowed down so pain is minimal. This sensitivity also describes why chocolate and coffee cause us pain, because these things cause our bowel to contract more violently, it also explains why coffee is a laxative for some people, but if you and I use it we will have lots of pain for up to 24 hours.

There is a very recognised link between our bowels and our brains which is why if we get upset our IBS symptoms get worse. This is the reason why a person receiving bad news about a family member or say winning a big prize can can suffer from diarrhoea with either experince.

There is not going to be anything wrong with you, if there was the GP would have put you in for a colonoscopy. More women than men suffer from IBS for some strange reason. GP's get really good at diagnosing what is wrong with you. There are serious signs if you had bowel cancer or something like that, you are 98% sure of having IBS.

This condition is unpleasant but it will not kill you or shorten your life. It can be managed by diet and exercise and doing your best to destress.

You will also find it a help to talk about how you feel to a nice friend if you can find one. Probably another women who just wants to listen to your feelings. I have tried to help many people on this forum just like many people have helped me but sometimes you might require more attention so this is when a good friend can help. Women always seem to be the best at listening and will not try to tell you what to do all the time.

Relaxing will really help you, I know that is difficult today, especially if you have children to look after but you must have a bit of time to yourself. Sleep is also very important to you with this condition.

Please take care of yourself and blog me on this forum if I can be of help, if I am a bit slow in coming back to you it is because I am out with the dog. He is a cocker spaniel called willy.

Best wishes

bob

It does not matter how many times you communicate with me through this forum, I will always come back to you. I know all about the pain and in the begining I was convinced I had something seriously wrong with me.

It is difficult to find a diet which agrees with you but you must try because if you don't IBS will give you absolute hell.

I have never tried Kefir but I do buy LLAETH Y LLAN yogurt in the local spar shop at £1.28 for 450 grams which is a very good probiotic, prebiotics are good as well because they feed the good bacteria in the gut.

I would not touch pancakes ( wheat in the flour ), fish oil ( oil is bad ) or milk ( dairy ). All these will cause you problems.

Look it's going to be a long job but I will give you a write up of my diet which works for me, I will get it done Sunday because that will give me more time to prepare. This will be a long blog but it will help you sort things out. I can see why you dont like to talk to peòple face to face, feel fee to say anything to me, I will never be shocked.

Hope you havè à good niģht

bob

It's bob, I am sending you this from a Samsung galaxy tab 3, it is a bit slow so high hope it gets to you OK.

Bobs diet for IBS

Lean beef, Chicken, Scrambled egg, white fish.

Porridge with milled linseed, Brown rice, potatoes,

Walnuts, Almonds, Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds.

kale, Spinach, green beans, Tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, celery, swede, turnips, olives.

RIPE bananas, grapes, kiwi fruit, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries.

Probiotic yogurt, and a litte olive oil.

I must avoid the following foods as they cause me problems.

Lemon juice, Vinegar, Chilli, onion, garlic, dried fruit, coffee, tea, butter, cheese, animal fats, honey, alcohol, chocolate, fizzy drinks, wheat, rye, fruit juice and ice cream

Make sure you drink plenty of water as this will help your bowel condition.

I hope this helps you kinder, remember to keep in touch as I have more things to tell you.

best wishes

bob

kale,

I know this really gets you stressed up but try to relax. You have all the symptoms I had. For some people they seem to get diarrhoea and constipation all the time but for others it is triggered by something and they get the symptoms intermittently. You say about passing stools with muscous, this is again a classic sign of IBS.

By all means, speak to your GP this week but don't be upset if they don't want to give you a colonoscopy. I think they have already made a diagnosis of IBS.

Please don't drink coffee and eat bread, especially white bread. It's even worse if you do it before you go to bed.

The reason I don't eat wheat s that it contains gluten and this is a real problem for those with IBS.

It will take you time but you really should get you diet right r your symptoms will persist.

Diet, exercise and de-stressing are the best ways of dealing with IBS.

Hope this helps you a bit, keep in touch.

bob

My last message was blocked buy the moderators, so I cannot tell you about a possible cure for IBS. If they delete this message I will close my account and advise my friends what has happened.