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What were your first symptoms of IBS? Google brought me here...

Posted , 6 users are following.

naihybrid007
naihybrid007

Hi All,

For about a month now I've been having bowel problems. I started intermittent fasting and exercising a great deal. My husband and I went to a fair and I had a funnel cake and some fried oreos to break my fast which I usually break with vegetables and a protein. The next day I had this cramping pain in my stomach that I had never experienced, it felt like my lower intestines were being squeezed and rung out . After passing mounds of gas and going to the bathroom the pain was relieved. Suddenly (literally overnight) I became extremely constipated unable to pass any bowels. I stupidly rammed my finger up there in a frantic effort to pull something out and there was blood on my finger and then finally when I pooped there was mucus. I rushed to my doctors days later and the nurse practitioner looked back there but saw nothing but two huge scratches presumably from my finger. In the past month I've had days with normal bowel movements, diarrhea, and constipation consistently for a month. Some days my bowels are normal, other days their stringy, sometimes their flat, other times their skinny. Its so unpredictable its freaking me out. I got tired of reading about colon cancer and rectum cancer and GOOGLE somehow sent me here. My doctor is a quack and doesn't seemed concerned at all, he actually suggested that I take senna tea daily since that seemed to help. I'm at my wits end with this. I have a new doctor but won't see her until September. Oh and the only time my rectum doesn't feel tensed is when i take an Ativan. Not sure why that is. PLEASE HELP.

0 likes, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • jay57579
    jay57579 naihybrid007

    Posted

    I am so sorry that you are suffering from colon/constipation issues. I have been suffering from IBS-c practically all my life and went to all kinds of doctors. They did various tests and different medications including antibiotics along the way. I also have multiple diverticulosis with discomfort/pain in my sigmoid area but no blood in the stool. For the last 2-3 years I have been using 4-8 ounces of prune juice diluted with equal amount of warm water soon after I get up in the morning. It has helped my constipation better than anything else I tried previously. I still get bloated.

    If you like you can try diluted warm prune juice and see if it works for you. Frequently, I add one table spoon of apple sauce in the prune juice. You need experiment to figure out what works for you.

    Blood in the stool is a serious matter and you seem to be doing the right thing to seek out medical advice. Good luck to you.

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 jay57579

      Posted

      I found prune juice helped me too. Although, I did not dilute it so as not to weaken its effect. Blood in the stool can also be triggered by harmorrhoids or fissures caused by excessive straining for a bowel movement or trying to extract stools manually.

    • naihybrid007
      naihybrid007 jay57579

      Posted

      Thank you for your response. I was actually thinking about trying prune juice. When I eat a few prunes I can go and then I eat something I'm supposing that completely knocks everything out of whack. I don't have any blood in my stool, just saw the blood when I rammed my finger there, which I will NEVER do again. Could I do the prune juice at night? I really don't want to use the bathroom at my job or in public.

  • pippa58442
    pippa58442 naihybrid007

    Posted

    Sounds like IBS. Try for an earlier doctor's appointment and ask for an antispasmodic. Your doctor may run tests to rule out other causes first. The fact that your doctor is unconcerned is good news for you. All my doctors were unconcerned too and i was diagnosed eventually with IBS. Sounds like stress and what you ate triggered your symptoms. Try avoiding these foods, try a food diary and stay as calm as possible because anxiety aggravates gut problems.

    My IBS started with tremendous abdominal pain, constipation, nausea, loose, urgent stools and diarrhoea at times. It took three and a half months of horrendous health anxiety to get an IBS diagnosis. Having a bowel movement temporarily relieved my pain; this is an IBS symptom.

    • naihybrid007
      naihybrid007 pippa58442

      Posted

      Thank you for responding. I am keeping a food diary now, since this happened out of nowhere. The stomach pain isn't constant. It comes and goes. Not sure if that's normal with IBS. Can I purchase an antispasmodic over the counter? I will try to go back to my doctor again. Because I also suffer from mental health issues (anxiety and depression) I often feel like he takes nothing I say serious. What causes IBS? I don't feel like I have been under much stress. I kind of thought I damaged something doing rigorous workouts at the gym and doing ab exercises daily. It felt like my stomach was so cramped up from the exercises, that it effected my intestines as well. I can feel when my stool is moving through my intestines before I go to the bathroom, its so slow. Is that IBS as well?

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 naihybrid007

      Posted

      IBS can be constant or come and go. Mine started as constant, daily pain and then changed to come and go symptoms. This is normal for IBS. There are quite a few causes of IBS, food poisoning, stomach bugs, and stress which is a major cause, Mine was stress related and because I am often anxious, I completely disregarded the six month bout of stress I had had prior to the onset of my IBS. I saw many doctors and had lots of tests but only one doctor asked me about my stress levels and diagnosed IBS. We have such busy lives these days, it is easy to overlook stressful events.

      I haven't experienced the sensation of my stool moving very slowly through my intestines before going to the bathroom.With my constipation, I had no sensation at all at first of needing to go until it got so bad that I felt it all backing up in my bowel. When I did go, my stools were like tiny pellets of reinforced concrete.People with IBS experience all sorts of sensations with bowel habit change and they are all individual to that person.

      You can get Buscopan over the counter which is a very mild but effective antispasmodic. One of my doctors prescribed Mebeverine at first which really upset my stomach, so I would stay clear of that one I found Buscopan much better. It is designed for IBS with diarrhoea so if you have IBS C, it will make your constipation worse.

  • amandahc
    amandahc naihybrid007

    Posted

    I was about 19 and was referred to a consultant with bowel problems. I was passing stools like rabbit pellets. This was around 1963 and the only advice I got was to include bran in my diet and eat more salad and fruit. I tried this but became much worse and finally I fasted for 3 days on liquids only and then gradually reintroduced food. I was eventually diagnosed with IBS because of periods of agonizing pain from my rectum when I can not expel the gas I feel is building up there. Colofac the anti spasmodic was my salvation. But, I do not take it unless I get symptoms. So I have lived the last 56 years with this problem and in my case:

    1. The attacks dramatically lessened when I stopped eating bread. Any sort of bread except corn bread
    2. Once an attack begins with loose stool movements until it settles down again this alternates with constipation.
    3. I am guaranteed an attack if I get really stressed but can avert this with taking a colofac.
    4. I have been on 3 studies regarding a 3 month monitoring of stools by a research centre and fortunately nothing ever came of it
    5. Certain foodstuffs nowadays irritate my colon and can start an attack. Mushrooms, onions, eggs, chocolate cabbage and beans. However, I do not stop eating these foodstuffs just limit the portions and frequency.
    6. Bread is my biggest enemy and when I try just one slice a day after a couple of weeks I suddenly experience days of severe discomfort as if I have not expelled it. I was told by a specialist that bread can in fact stay inside for many weeks.. sounds revolting but true.
    7. If I carefully control what I eat if I do get loose stool/constipation and allow it to settle down and always carry anti spasmodics with me IBS does not have any really great impact on my life
    • naihybrid007
      naihybrid007 amandahc

      Posted

      Thank you for your response. I noticed pain in my rectum a few times, but it happens as I am passing gas. It almost feels like the pain happens and then the gas comes. When this first happened I started eating Raisin Bran every night and I was able to move a lot better. I do have to get better with fiber. My stool is pellet shaped at times too. I have pellet, normal, soft, stringy, diarrhea, and then constipation where nothing comes out at all. This is so frustrating.

  • sylvia38199
    sylvia38199 naihybrid007

    Posted

    Can you buy colofac in a Pharmacist or us it a prescription drug? is it the same as Buscopan?

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 sylvia38199

      Posted

      Buscopan works differently from Colofac and is a much better antispasmodic and is gentle on the stomach. Mebeverine/Colofac is very harsh on the gut. You can get both Colofac and Buscopan over the counter from your chemist.

  • amandahc
    amandahc naihybrid007

    Posted

    I am not sure about buscopan because I have never taken anything other than colofac. You can buy it without prescription in the pharmacy . If you get it on prescription in UK from the Doctor you will get a generic. Some say it doesn't suit them but I have used it since around 1988 but, I only take it as needed. The dose is one a day and when I feel signs of discomfort of trapped gas and anal spasms I take it. The relief is around 2 minutes away!

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 amandahc

      Posted

      I take Buscopan which is very mild and doesn't upset my stomach the way Mebeverine did. Colofac is Mebeverine based. It is a well known stomach irritant for many people. I had to stop it within four days .

    • amandahc
      amandahc pippa58442

      Posted

      I am not sure why you feel the need to be confrontational. I related my experience with the condition and everyone is free to have their own opinion.

      I thought this is a forum for us to help each other not compete

  • jeremy04366
    jeremy04366 naihybrid007

    Posted

    The dreaded C word..

    ive suffered from the for a very long time. IBS can change your bowel movements constantly. They can be from one extreme to another. The fact that they alternate should put fears of colon cancer away. It doesn't alternate from normal to abnormal back and forth

    I use miralax once a day. It really keeps me regular every day. And it doesn't hurt your digestive system at all

    • naihybrid007
      naihybrid007 jeremy04366

      Posted

      Yes the dreaded C word. I hate it and I hate that my mind goes straight to that. Glad I found this forum. When this first happened I tried Miralax. I may do that again. Trying to decide between that and prune juice. Definitely don't want to do both.

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