What're the best remedies for IBS? All I have prescribed at the moment are peppermint oil capsules.

[arjac26]

[Hidden]

You'll have to give us a bit more info I think, such as what form your IBS takes and what your symptoms are. Have you had any endoscopies or blood tests, tried any elimination diets etc?

[arjac26]

Takes both forms but mostly D. I am still waiting to have my blood tests back. I constantly feel like I need to go (not always true) and have sudden urges to go that at any time and it's seriously getting me down. I have been keeping a food diary and from what I see, there isn't a connection with a certain product and my episodes. After I have been, I still feel as though I need to go for about an hour afterwards. I don't feel safe leaving the house or travelling for any distances where I am unsure of where a toilet is - this is due to me having very near misses in the past. I have tried telling myself that quite a lot of the time when it feels like I'm going to have a disaster, it's not going to happen and it's just my mind playing games but this hasn't helped. It seems the more I think about it, the worse it's getting and from visiting the doctor and her prescribing me the capsules and saying there're ways of managing IBS, I don't feel as though I've made much progress. Last year my brother was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and early this year ,my mum with Chrohn's disease. The doctor says my symptoms are not suggesting I have the same but I just feel that someone who doesn't have these sorts of problems, don't know how it feels.

[Hidden in reply to arjac26]

Yes, couldn't agree more that someone who hasn't had IBS or similar has no idea what it's really like to live with or even understand what it's all about. You've found the right place to come though for both good tips and total empathy.

I think that, as you're awaiting test results, you've just got to be a bit patient until they come through so that you've got a definite diagnosis. If your GP tells you it's IBS (which is really just a general term applied by doctors to cases where they don't know how to remedy a gut/bowel problem), then you must ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist and a dietitian.

Keeping a food diary is a good idea provided you take into account that food can take up to 48+ hours to pass through your system, so it may not be what you ate yesterday that's causing a problem, but what you ate the day before that. Also, it can be food groups rather than individual foods which cause the problem, e.g. cereals/grains, certain carbohydrates, the onion family, etc and this is where a dietitian's input is good to have.

[Hidden in reply to arjac26]

.....continued,

Sorry for the abrupt cut-off of my answer - I hit the reply box without meaning to!

I, too, have IBS-D and am on a low-FODMAP diet which, now I've tweaked it quite a bit, is very successful and a lot of other people on this site do okay on it too. There are other diets, medications and also alternative remedies which you'll be able to try once you get a proper diagnosis.

In the meantime, stay on the site and keep reading all the relative posts and threads as you'll pick up lots of interesting information. Yesterday, for instance, someone posted that aloe vera had benefitted her tremendously and I'm now on the point of giving that a go myself. Anything's worth a try.

Best wishes,

Pagan

[Ibsr]

Oh you sound like I was! I too could not leave the house and felt I had to go to the loo so many times. Really bad tummy pains too.

I then found the FODMAP diet and can leave the house, no pains, no in and out of the loo.

What I did find at the beginning first few days on this diet is that I was still getting some pains and an urge to go to the loo. Keeping a food diary helped me find my triggers.

1) sugar, honey ( was adding to my oats every morning)

2) banana ( was adding to my oats every morning)

3) fruit juices in my daily multi vitamin.

Once I stopped these, pain and loo runs were gone.

Hope you find your triggers and get your life back

[PatV in reply to Ibsr]

interesting--banana is supposed to be binding, but everybody's different!

[garretttowers]

Can def recommend aloe Vera gel . Needs to be a good quality one . My daughter has suffered constantly since October and three weeks after starting aloe Vera her pain has halved and her constipation lessened. It's recommended for all bowel complaints so whatever your results show it should help ! Take a look at forever living website

Good luck

Jo xx

[emster in reply to garretttowers]

Hi garretttowers. Could you please let me know where you get your aloe vera from. Have tried holland and barratt, not very good. Was going to try the one from forever living next? Thanks.

And arjac26 you are not alone. I would wait for your test results and if everything clear ask your doctor to see a dietician as can really help with the foods to avoid. Good luck

[Hidden in reply to emster]

The Forever Living aloe vera contains sorbitol, xanthan gum and other preservatives which don't suit anyone who follows the FODMAP diet successfully. I have just sourced my aloe (for a trial run) from: pukkaherbs.com. It's cold-pressed, organic, made from the inner leaf and the only additive it has is 0.1% of citric acid. At £20.99 a litre, it certainly isn't cheap, but I think getting the purest and best-produced product is essential.

[PatV in reply to garretttowers]

love aloe vera. I find it soothing for IBS-C as well. I use Pure Aloe Force (blue version from health store (green is more laxative). I will check out website.

[garretttowers]

Hiya

Forever living . It's expensive but worth it for the relief she gets x

[garretttowers]

They say you should tAke for 6 weeks to know if it will help . My daughter has 50mls twice a day x

[arjac26]

Thank you all for your replies - so nice to have supportive people out there. I bought a load of stuff from Holland & Barratt yesterday which I'm going to experiment with including, Zinc, Turmeric, Gastro Probiotic pills and the Aloe Vera. So I'll let you know if and what begins to help me!

People with IBS-D, what do you recommend to eat for breakfast (baring in mind the mornings are usually my most sensitive time)?

[sickandsore]

Hi there you sound just like me 8 months ago, I had lived with IBS for most of my teenage into adult years, but my symptoms worsened 3 yrs ago after having my youngest child.

Like you i was scared and indeed often couldnt leave the house til lunchtime, I dreaded waking up in the morning as knew what was to come..there in lies a very viscious circle as anxiety feeds this condition anxiety and IBS go hand in hand

I think the blood tests will only tell them so much and to be honest i think you ought to push for a colonoscopy, just to rule out anything more sinister is going on, hopefully once you get the all clear you can move on and try some dietry changes under the supervision of a dietician, in fact itd be worth suggesting the gp refers you to a dietician even before the colonoscopy as the wait list to see a dietician on the nhs is seveeral months in some areas.

Basically from my own experience the colonoscopy wasnt that scary, the build up and not knowing what to expect was, but trust me the procedure itself was a breeze in comparison to what i was going through like you are every day! I did have some ulcers but they found nothing more serios thank god.My mum and older brother both have diverticular disease and thankfully the colonoscopy ruled that out for me, so please dont panic that you have the same as your family it may not be the case.

I follow the low fodmap diet, it took sveral months before things started to improve for me so be patient if you do go down this road, its been a real help to me in identifying food groups that upset me..i too for the record find bananas upset me!! also I found that by removing these foods I started getting constipated so have found that by taking flaxseed and drinking lots of fluids but no alcohol or caffeine, things have improved immensley.

We are all different what works for one may not work so well for another, so its kind of a process of elimination which takes time..But in all sincerity i really hope you can get thoroughly checked out and that you do manage to find some relief from symptoms. x

[Ibsr]

Hi arjac, I have boiled egg and Nairns gluten free oatcakes.

What are you currently eating for breakfast? Post up here and see if anyone can advise on their experiences of that food.

Have you tried any elimination diets?