Would people agree that every doctor is different in how they treat IBS?

[ttrojen]

Having recently had another bout of IBS my worst yet and by far the scariest i went back to the doctors and saw my third different doctor!! Yet again all they did was feel my tummy and say that was fine and said no need for blood tests or anything else as i had only had them done about a year ago. They gave me another different medication, which i have since stopped taking such a large dose as it made me feel worse. I sometimes think it is better to come on here and read the posts you get more advice and support then you can from the doctor anyway. After reading posts on here i started keeping a food diary and as a result started cutting things out and finally although i have not yet got rid of all the pain it is a lot better and now at the moment is just an irritant.

[PatV]

yes, I agree, you have to take charge. My GI doctor does not def say I have IBS-C but I have pain! \o/ !

[Hidden]

Yes, I would agree that doctors have differing views on how to treat IBS, but the problem is that most of them are not very good at it anyway! If you want to get further with investigations, you really do have to stand your ground and insist on more being done. Ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist and also to a dietitian, you're much more likely to get some tests/answers from either or both of them.

A food diary is a good idea, provided you bear in mind that it can take up to 48+ hours for food to pass through your system, so it may not be what you ate yesterday that's giving you today's problem. You don't say what you've cut out so far, but the usual suspects are wheat, barley, rye, onions, leeks, garlic, apples, pears and all fruit with stones in (rather than pips) except for olives which are okay as a rule.

If cutting out odd items of food doesn't give you much relief, you could try looking up the low FODMAP diet at: med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/... this works for a lot of people on this site including me. The NHS has just trained its dietitians in it too so, all the more reason for you to insist on seeing one.

Hope this helps.

Pagan

[ttrojen in reply to Hidden]

thanks for the advice. I have cut out all wheat whilst it seemed to help for a while it hasnt cured the problem altogether. I am currently changing my doctors when i can go and see them i am going to ask to see a gastro and a dietician. AM currently looking at different diets.

[Hidden]

As you may have to wait quite a while to see a specialist and/or dietitian, you can do the FODMAP diet under your own steam (as I did initially) - it's not rocket science. Be careful where you get your info about it from though as some of the stuff on the web is confusing and just plain wrong. The www address I gave you previously is where the diet was developed and is, therefore absolutely reliable. You can download a good app for iPhone from that site too. There's also an excellent book about it by Patsy Catsos called 'IBS - Free At Last'