Hello everyone. I joined this site because after seeing so many doctors that haven't offered much help I hoped some people with ibs experience might have better answers. I'm 16 years old and developed my problem about a year and a half ago. Basically every time something goes into me whether it's food or drink I immediately feel painfully full and within 5 minutes my stomach will swell like a balloon-both feeling wise and visibly, I have constipation and severe fatigue along with this. ive tried just about all the food restriction diets out there and all that did for me was make me lose so much wait my doctor accused me of being anorexic (promise I'm not) I've been checked for an under active thyroid, been put on anxiety meds to see if it would help but I haven't had a single day of relief for almost 2 years. I miss so much school if affects my social life and my grades. Sorry this is so long but if anyone took the time to read it and has some insight it would be much appreciated!
Thank you all!
-Emily
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EmilyB29
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I don't know if I am going to be of much help cause my ibs is not as bad. My main problems are bloating and painful air in my stomach....but I resolved the issue when I switched to the FODMAP diet. It's not easy to follow - and I often end up making exceptions (then suffering the consequences). However it worked miracles for me.....no harm in giving it a try.
sorry to hear that it has been so difficult! i've some similar problem though not as severe as yours. have you been tested for parasite, food allergy & heavy mental toxicity level via an 6 hours urine collection, stool/saliva biome test?
heavy mental: did you ever have exposures to heavy mental from your environment or amalgam etc? if you have mercury amalgam currently or in the past, you are likely be exposed to it. if you're to remove it with a dentist, please make sure you fine a dentist who practises safe removal procedure, or you risk even more exposure.
colonic:
it is usually very helpful to IBS regardless of heavy mental toxicity. you can search for a natural path doctor (ND) locally who does both heavy mental chelation and colonic. in my opinion, it is best to do both on the same treatment day. i'd not do colonic more than once a week. if you're to do it, make sure you take probiotic afterward and increase mineral/vit supplement. if your ND is good, he/she would have informed you of that.
parasite & biome stool/saliva test:
there is a test your ND can request for you. the biome stool/saliva test look at your mouth & gut flora distribution cuz imbalance could create these symptoms. this same test also look at parasite since parasite can also create these symptoms.
food allergy: can also create these similar symptoms.
gut healing: if you have IBS, don't eat raw food. google gut health, fermenting your own food, Facebook contains a few websites such as "wild fermentation,"where people share info on fermenting own food which is a part of healing your gut. Look up water kefir grain, milk kefir grain etc. bone broth.
hope you will find the help you need! i know doing these tests are not cheap but if your gut is not functioning, your immune system & health will eventually go down. it increases autoimmune disease chances. then, it will cause you even more money and problem is you wait. it is your health, it is worth it.
I had a test for both parasites and food allergy but not heavy metal toxicity. I know my parents are open to any tests that could lead to an answer so ill definitely look into that. Thank you for the help
glad to hear that your parents are helping out! that is wonderful to have support from them! =) i hope this is not overwhelming for you. i've spent a lot of time research for my own health. these are just some information from my years of researching. i hope it'll help you. if it is too overwhelming, perhaps listen to one link at a time. or, one of your parents can listen to it on your behalf. my background training is in nursing and you need to know medical doctors might have only a few lessons on nutrition in their 6-7 years of training. their education are mostly focus on using drugs to 'heal' people. as dr terry wahls, MD, puts it that she didn't get much training in nutrients in medical school. she spent time researching on her own and end up realizing diet reverse her MS symptoms! she was in wheelchair and now she can run again!
in case you don't already know, there is something called, gluten sensitivity and silent celiac which will not show up from colonscopy or food allergy test. if i recall correctly, gluten can cause leaky gut or gut permeability. this speaker spoke of a 30 years blood collections long term study in Finland following thousands of people. they find people with "silent celiac" has reduce blood flow to their brain & autoimmune disease connection etc. i'm tested negative with celiac both in the genetic test as well as gluten challenge, but i'm gluten sensitivity. My GI MD agrees that it is possible for a person to be tested negative with both genetic test and no sign of gut inflammation and still have reaction to gluten. do you have gastric reflux?
if you do, you might want to consider trying gluten & diary free at the same time. this PhD pharmacist spoke of how has to take so many medication for her gastric reflux. she tried going off gluten, no difference. then, she goes off dairy, no difference. finally, she has to stop both gluten & dairy at the same time, then her gastric reflux gone completed. i tested negative with both gluten & diary allergy, but my body tells me i have problem with both. so, i stop and it helps a great deal. i think it is quite possible that one can be allergic to the chemical that is added to both the gluten & diary and one can react to those things. process food makes me sick. so, i eat food that is the least process possible. for example, instead of eating apple sauce from the store, i just eat apple or make my own apple sauce.
also, dr terry wahls uses diet to heal her MS and saturated fat is one of the major component. author of "mitochondria diet." i know you don't have MS. after listening to her and done some of my own research, i try using saturated fat from organic 'grass-fed only' butter & organic coconut oil/milk. that makes such a big different in my energy level and it awaken my brain for i suffer from severe brain frog due to my many conditions! in research, it shows that your brain actually need ketone diet as a fuel which cannot happen without 'healthy' saturated fat. in USA, there are at least 2 'grass-fed only' butter available. i don't know where you are, you might have to do some google search. if you're scare of butter, you can always start with with organic coconut oil.
dr D’Agostino treats patient using ketone diet involving saturated fat. he himself do not have the health condition his patients had, but he himself is on ketone diet: bulletproofexec.com/transcr...
Nina Teicholz's research on history and scientific document on how the whole 'saturated fat' is bad for you recommendation begin: bulletproofexec.com/transcr...
in a research study, GMO food causes stomach & uterus inflammation in pigs fed with GMO. it is a double blind study which has 3 groups of pigs on three different diet. I'd recommend you to be off all GMO food: articles.mercola.com/sites/...
Wow thank you so much for all the help and info! I haven't tried a whole lot diet wise to try and relieve pain since i didn't test positive for any food sensitivities. Hopefully something in there or on the websites can lead to some relief. thank you again, its much appreciated : )
Wow if I read some of the replies I would probably being panicking even more which won't help. Stress is a big contributer to ibs. Stress relief is a good starting point trying yoga, Pilates, meditation etc will help you feel better, not all the time but some times. Swelling and fullness are also very normal and it's about finding what your triggers are and avoiding them. The way to do that is removing one food at a time. This will help you to see what helps and what makes no difference. The main culprits are usually wheat, spicy food, fried food, dairy, some fruits and veg, alcohol and smoking. Because of the extensiveness of this list you can see why it's important to eliminate only one at a time. It's important to try to stay healthy which if you remove everything at once won't be beneficial to you and u won't know for sure what your triggers are. I would suggest taking a daily multi vitamin and a probiotic such as acidophilus which you can get from Holland and Barrett or a local health store. Drinking lots of water and a few cups of hot water and lemon may help you to go to toilet easier. Hope this helps a little if your doc isn't helpful find a new one and don't give in badgering them for help. Good luck and hang on in there, once you figure out you and your restrictions things should get easier
Hi Emily From what you say it sounds like you need to get your stomach working again? When I have constipation I drink plenry of water. I soak 3tablespoons of lineeds in orange juice for 2 to 3 hours and take before bed. This gently gets the gut working and helps to relieve bloating. I also mix 2tablespoons cider apple vinegar with 2 teaspoons runny honey in mug of warm water and sip it. It is really good for getting rid of bloating and seems to help loosen stools.these are simple measures and natural.. If your gp is not listening talk to another gp and get referred ro a dietitician? They will.probably advise you to eat only non soluble fibre. (Except linseeds ) along with a varied fruit ( peeled) diet and root veg.This works for me along with relaxation to clear the mind. Hope I have helped a little
I heard that Cider vinigar is good for IBS I use it as a salad dressing, but I'm not too keen to make a drink of it, but does it help with IBS/C and D do you know? I also have some linseed too I might try that.
It sounds like your bloating is in your upper abdomen? Is that correct? Then adding cider vinigar to your diet will help. Also drinking lemon water. No sugar or very little. Helps me. Also kefir.
I don't get a lot of bloating, but terrible wind. I used to have lemon in hot water in the mornings. Don't have sugar in drinks or on fruit, but I do like the odd biscuit.
Hi Emily, I agree with hazel1969. You need to get the system working. In addition I take magnesium citrate before bed on an empty stomach with lots of water and this is a good natural way to get things moving. I take the capsules about 500 to 800mg. I have had problems for many years. Since about your age and I am now 52. I have tried the foodmap diet. It works for bloating but not constipation, so you need to take additional measures. You can also take activated charcoal. It is cheap and you get it in boots or H&b. Another natural way to combat wind and bloating. Good luck.
Morning Emma - poor you and well done for following your symptoms up to the stage you have and SOOOO sorry you've had no luck so far. I can only relate to my daughter in law whose symptoms were as yours are. She suffered what was diagnosed as IBS from a very young age like you & it's definitely life changing has it's embarrassing moments. My son eventually went with her to the Drs - she was referred and found to have ulcerative colitis. Definitely NOT saying you have but I would push for a referral. All you say to the Dr is that because of your symptoms you are unable to live your life like your friends do - you've tried everything to manage it yourself (I can see loads of excellent advice given here on this site) and you'd like a referral as you need to know it's nothing else. Good luck Emily
Ive never looked into ulcerative colitis but i just started seeing a new doctor who is a bit more sympathetic to my issues so perhaps i could ask her. Thanks!
Brill - sounds exactly what the Dr ordered - A change - I would hope it wasn't as I know there are some not nice meds involved with unpleasant side effects. Good luck Emily - Hope your Dr listens to you.
Morning Emma - poor you and well done for following your symptoms up to the stage you have and SOOOO sorry you've had no luck so far. I can only relate to my daughter in law whose symptoms were as yours are. She suffered what was diagnosed as IBS from a very young age like you & it's definitely life changing has it's embarrassing moments. My son eventually went with her to the Drs - she was referred and found to have ulcerative colitis. Definitely NOT saying you have but I would push for a referral. All you say to the Dr is that because of your symptoms you are unable to live your life like your friends do - you've tried everything to manage it yourself (I can see loads of excellent advice given here on this site) and you'd like a referral as you need to know it's nothing else. Good luck Emily
Hi EmilyB idont know who's told you,you have IBS,but after suffering 12yrs with chronic IBS,I don't want you to make my mistakes.Firstly if you haven't already done it,I would get your Gp to refer you to a gastrologist,then get him to refer you for a colonoscopy.Its the only test that can tell you for sure its IBS.You then may be able to get some help.But unless you know for sure its IBS,you may be wasting time.By that I mean I've only had a colonoscopy over the last year,and I was told by my Gastrologist it was the ultimate test. I've been put though all sorts of tests,blood tests,diets,and umpteen Gastrolergist,some private,over the last12yrs,just to be told they can only tell if it's IBS by a colonoscopy. So don't waste time see if you can get this done.You will probably have to push,but I feel I've been put through the mill over the last 12yrs when one test would have told all. Sorry to have gone on so long but I don't want you to do the suffering I've done. Good Luck
Sorry to hear you've struggled with this for so long. Surprisingly enough I actually had a colonoscopy done a few months ago which yes certainly took a lot of pushing because of my age. They said they were sure it was ibs after that so I'm hoping I'm headed in the right direction. Thank you and hope you find relief eventually!
Great Emily you are heading in the right direction.Im going to see a Gastrolergist Hypnotherepy in December ,so I'm holding all my hopes on him.But one thing I have learned over the years is at the end of the day you i responsible for your own health,and Beleive me when I say to you keep pushing sweetheart until you get some satisfaction.In the meantime hears a Big HUG
It sounds like acid reflux take zantac and if you drink a glass of water before bed it will help also if you take meltolane every night before bed that will also help but stop eating 2 hours before bed hope that helps you
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I joined this site because after seeing so many doctors that haven't offered much help I hoped some people with ibs experience might have better answers. I'm 16 years old and developed my problem about a year and a half ago. Basically every time something goes into me whether it's food or drink I immediately feel painfully full and within 5 minutes my stomach will swell like a balloon-both feeling wise and visibly, I have constipation and severe fatigue along with this. ive tried just about all the food restriction diets out there and all that did for me was make me lose so much wait my doctor accused me of being anorexic (promise I'm not) I've been checked for an under active thyroid, been put on anxiety meds to see if it would help but I haven't had a single day of relief for almost 2 years. I miss so much school if affects my social life and my grades. Sorry this is so long but if anyone took the time to read it and has some insight it would be much appreciated!
New member - symptoms??
New to this... advice and help? 
Newly-diagnosed IBS-D and feeling a bit lost...
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