Hi all, firstly I hope everyone had a good Christmas.
Now for the whinge, my Christmas was rotten, just like the rest of the year, I'm so desperate to "feel well", my husband said to me today pull yourself together!, I read a lot of people are on amitriptyline, how does this work with IBS?, I'm on everything else and I'm getting no relief, I get up every morning feeling heady, sick, bloated and very out of sorts, my reflux is crippling me, my doctor is sick of seeing me I think, and my family don't realise how unwell I feel most of the time, it is ruling my life, I've convinced myself it is something serious but I've had every test going, ive also got pain in my upper back on the left side, any suggestion would be so welcome right now, Thankyou for reading my whinge and Happy and healthy new year
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Cimmy
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Hi,if you want to winge you've come to the right place. Amitriptyline, works as a pain killer. ( for some people ) so just may work for you. As for your GP don't worry about him a lot off us have one that don't understand,try putting yourself in other people's shoes and if you don't have what they have how can they understand. Have you had a colonoscopy for your IBS,,if not then your GP wouldn't know. My Husband has had hell of a lot to put up with me,but he would do whatever it takes to help me,( but nevertheless he still don't REALLY know how I feel, so just try to explain as best you can to your husband. As for your GP without people like you he wouldn't have a job,so stamp your feet abit and tell him what you need,feel,or help you want. One more word of advise I have for you from experience if you take any medication if it don't work within a month give up and go back for some other form of help. Take care and if you ever need another winge were all here for you. Good Luck.
Thankyou Gemini for your response, yes I've had a colonoscopy and it showed I have divaticulitus, but he is not very sympathetic when it come to understanding, your reply is of great comfort, sometimes I feel very isolated and just need to let off steam, I think a lot of my triggers is stress, which is like a viscous circle, I just want to feel "normal" thanks again
Ahrr,Diverticlitis that's a different kettle of fish. If your GP can't give you any advise on a problem that they know about, ( IBS can't be seen so it's like an invisible illness ) he wants shooting. If I were you I would try googling your illness and see what you can do to help yourself,or ask your GP to put you in touch with someone who can give you some advise or help. I have a friend with that problem and she's like you she hasn't been told nothing on how to look after herself. No problem still keep posting you may get someone who can give you some advise. Take Care
I also have IBS, Ithink the two together are not good, I had an endoscopy at the begining of Dec, this showed that I had a sliding hiatus hernia and some erosion in the dudeum, they took some biopsies, but I have no results and no information on how to deal with this, thanks again Gemini for listening
There you go cimmy, I said you would get some more help, people on these forums can be of a great help by telling about there experiences. To have IBS,Diverticulitus,and a hernia, I can't even begin to know how you feel. I take Lanzoprazole for acid which I find does the job just fine. Another thought I had was maybe you could also go on the Diverticulitus Forum, combine the two and see if you can get any help that way. I hope that made sense to you as I'm not Haveing a very good day today. Take care and remember you will get nowhere by sitting back make your voice heard. Xx
Hi Gemini, thank you, I will look at the other forum, maybe between the 2 something positive may happen, sorry to hear your having a bad day, I know what they are like, I wish you a Healthy and Happy New Year
I feel for you, Cimmy, it must be very difficult. I really think you need to talk to somebody who can understand what you are going through. I would suggest that you see another GP, if possible. If you can't do that and your GP is unsympathetic, maybe you could ask him for a referral to a gastroenterologist. Tell him exactly how you feel and how this illness is affecting you. Maybe write it all down and put it in front of him. I've seen a gastro for reflux - it's very common with IBS - and he was excellent. You should be getting some help with Diverticulitis, not left to cope on your own.
Take care and I hope that things soon improve for you.
I have had IBS now for 40 years and believe it has caused me to have bouts of diverticulitis. The IBS is constant. I now take amitryptilene at nights and it has helped with the pain. It took a while to get over feeling dopey in the mornings but has been helpful. I also have cut out wheat and use lactose free milk. I take ground flaxseed in porridge and plain yogurt. I still have problems but it is a big improvement on years ago. The other thing I find helpful is to get out and walk every day if possible. Hope this is helpful.
Hi Cimmy, I had bad reflux about 10 years ago. Food would shoot up to my throat when I was going off to sleep in bed. I saw the dr and he gave me omeprazole but it didn't really work. I put bricks (or books - I can't remember) under the bed legs at the head end. And I propped myself up on pillows under my back as I went off to sleep. This helped with reflux but still wasn't ideal for a good nights sleep. I gave up rich food and eating late at night. I would also get heartburn if I drank wine - so I gave this up too. A friend said that she had reflux when she ate the crust of brown bread so I gave up brown bread crusts. (This has just turned on a realisation that eating too much yeast may have caused me to have reflux, because the first time I had 'full-on' reflux was after having 3 pints of real ale/bitter after which I had two slices of marmite on brown bread crusts and a cup of tea. After which I regularly had reflux.)
I asked my yoga teacher if there were any poses that might help and she said to do Supta Virasana - Recling Hero Pose -yogajournal.com/pose/reclin...yogaoutlet.com/guides/how-t... This REALLY helped me. It also helps with constipation. I recommend that you do the pose on a bed and with a pillow under your back and head when you first do the pose.
After 4 months of the meds not working I pointed out to the dr that I might have an ulcer which could be serious so he organised an endoscopy. Things began to improve while I was waiting for the endoscopy but I noticed that I would often wake up with pain on my left lower back ribs, which a friend said could be a gall bladder problem so I started taking milk thistle, flax seed oil, aloe vera and dandelion tea. I had the endoscopy and it didn't find an ulcer but found that I had a hiatus hernia. I continued with my changes and eventually got better. It took at least 6 months.
Back to the 'yeast' thing. I did a 'food and drink' scan 4 months ago, the results showed that I had a definite reaction to yeast and dairy. Maybe if I knew that 10 years ago I might not have developed a Hashimoto's condition and sub-clinical hypothyroidism and have to take 50mcg Levothyroxin
Hi Soldieress,I just like to know how you can have a scan for food and drink,and what does it entail. I also have hypothyroidism cause through a heart tablet I was given after a heart attack I take 100mg Levothyroxine , but I have been getting some good advise on the thyroid forum, I may be wrong but I understood that IBS could become Hashimotos if the thyroid wasn't being looked after properly,not through yeast. Please don't take this post as a insult, I'm just like anyone else I question things to help me get well.
Hi Gemini71, I did the yorktest.com/products/foods... It's not cheap (but it was much easier than I thought it would be to do at home) and neither are the Cyrex tests cheap which are supposed to be the best. How accurate it is I don't know. I don't feel particularly better after giving up the foods and drinks that showed a reaction in the test but my antibodies have gone down, which was one of my main aims. My bowl movements and stools are/look more healthy but that could also be due to recently taking L-glutamine. I've listened to a few webinars over the last year and yeast, candida SIBO can be a problem for IBS and Hashimotos. Chris Kresser (nutritionist) has interesting info on the heart , IBS, SIBO, Hashimotos and loads of other stuff on health. Hope this helps Happy New Year to anyone reading
Thank you for your reply. I will look up Chris Kresser and L-Glutamine as I have an appointment tomorrow with a gastrologist, It might be usefull to go with some of my own information. And a Happy and Healthy New Year to you.
Sounds like you need a referral to a consultant gastro . I have hiatus hernia and diverticulitis and IBSC which the gastro told me the most recent thinking on this is that diverticulitis can be the result of the straining associated with IBSC . For the hiatus hernia I sleep on a wedge pillow which has helped a great deal with reducing acid reflux . I also limit wheat only eat the fruit and veg on the fod maps diet ,no onions ,lactose free milk ,not much caffeine ,daily exercise ,regular use of lactulose virtually no alcohol ,very little fatty food .if I stick to this regime I live a virtually normal life . I have come to this regime after years of experimenting with various food combinations and medications . Apart from lactulose and blood pressure meds I now take nothing for my IBSC .for the occasional flare ups of diverticulitis I take a short course of antibiotics ( one this year ) Not suggesting this will suit you as we are all different but might give one or two pointers on helping to manage things . Cheers
Sounds like you need a referral to a consultant gastro . I have hiatus hernia and diverticulitis and IBSC which the gastro told me the most recent thinking on this is that diverticulitis can be the result of the straining associated with IBSC . For the hiatus hernia I sleep on a wedge pillow which has helped a great deal with reducing acid reflux . I also limit wheat only eat the fruit and veg on the fod maps diet ,no onions ,lactose free milk ,not much caffeine ,daily exercise ,regular use of lactulose virtually no alcohol ,very little fatty food .if I stick to this regime I live a virtually normal life . I have come to this regime after years of experimenting with various food combinations and medications . Apart from lactulose and blood pressure meds I now take nothing for my IBSC .for the occasional flare ups of diverticulitis I take a short course of antibiotics ( one this year ) Not suggesting this will suit you as we are all different but might give one or two pointers on helping to manage things . Cheers
Hi Cimmy, I too was offered amiitriptyline for I.B.S and never took any at all! Ask for c.b.t, it will help you more than any drugs I think. Drugs just make your stomach ill and bugger up your immunity! Good luck - if you're nerves are shot like mine are and you've everything else then beg until you get what you want!
Hi foxkennedy, I seem to be on a lot of medication, lanzaprozole, meberiven, stemitil and co dryad ol, I feel sometimes these drugs just upset my stomach more, but I'm frightened to stop them, it feels like a catch 22 situation, just want to feel normal. Thank you for your reply. Happy New Year
Hi Cimmy, it's fine. Good luck getting the support you need in the New Year, I hope they stop giving you medicines and find the underlying cause instead. Have you tried some Pilates or yoga instead? Have a happy a New Year as you dare!
Thank you Kerry, I will certainly give the cider vinegar a try, I've had an endoscopy, this showed some erosions but no ulcers, I'm on lanzaprozole and mevbererine, but only little relief from symthoms, just want to feel "normal", forgot what it's like to be honest. Wishing you a healthy and happy new year
Have you tried leaving wheat out of your diet and also dairy is a well known aggravator of IBS
Try a dairy free diet for at least 3 weeks - keeping a diary of your food intake and bowel movements to see what changes there might be.
Only try elliminating one food group at a time.
If you try a dairy free diet - try using Alpro and Pure spread - these can be used in all your cooking as you would normal dairy products
I've cut out cheese and milk,but still eat bread, is there a good probiotic I could take?, I've looked in Holland and Barrett but was a bit overwhelmed by which to buy. Thankyou for your response, it has been very helpful. Happy new year
hi happy new year to u hun i have had ibs for ten year and still no further forword with it going for more tests next tue i am sick of it take buscopan 8 a day codine phoshate 5 a day and till reacently loperamide every day but then was ill none stop runs couldent go out i will become a hermit thats what worrys me sorry to moan but you do get down
Hi duke, I can relate to being down, I just want to get up and feel well, instead of dreading getting up, hope your tests go well on Tuesday. Healthy and Happy New Year, let me know how your test goes good luck
Hi, I have the same problems re. reflux, particularly at night, feeling food sticks in my upper stomach (I too have a sliding hiatus hernia) bloating and IBS C. My question when I have tried digestive enzymes they bring on gastritis which has been another symptom over the years. Is there a way around this problem please?
Hi gardener, I've been taking lanzaprozole for acid, but they are not very effective when I have a flare up, which is more often than not, I can't answer your question because I don't know myself, but there are many people on this forum that have answers, and they are always willing to help as they understand what we are going through. I hope you find the answer your looking for. I wish you a healthy and happy new year
Hi Kerry, that would be fantastic if you could send me the link about probiotics, I need to start taking control, instead of it controlling me, many thanks for your support
Thanks for your reply. I have had all the tests, including h-pylori and was under a hospital dietician last year for FODMAP diet, which really made no difference.
I discovered myself that eating anything during the evening makes it much worse once lying down.I suspect that I do have low stomach acid but found years ago that any enzymes aggravated gastritis and wouldn't risk taking anything acidic as that increases the discomfort. Feels as though my digestion is very slow generally, hence the IBS as well. Appreciate any more advice.
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Has anyone tried alternative therapies to try to manager their IBS symptoms? And has anyone been prescribed low dose anti-depressants?
Ibs + Citalopram - advice needed 
Nausea at night
Really struggling to carry on
