Confused.

[larryrob]

I am a 44 year old male, I don't smoke or drink, I don't eat what I am not suppose too. I have had 2 colonoscopy's, 1 endoscopy and a few mri's and a few years ago I had my gallbladder removed, since then I have been diagnosed with ibs and gerd. Can anyone give me some advice, I do believe that it is more than ibs .

[Hidden]

Hi there larryrob , you haven't said what your symptoms are i.e. I get pain in my tummy, mild nausea, pain between my shoulder blades and constipation. I have to say though that I have been under a Dietician and kept a diet sheet for 9 weeks and that has made quite a difference; I am also eating better i.e. I've drastically cut down on sugar, make my own raw fruit bars (it's extremely rare now that I eat chocolate), use my slow cooker a fair bit, make my own sourdough bread. I also have the Clever Guts Diet book and Clever Guts Diet recipe book and am making meals from using the recipe book.

I think what is going to help people here to respond is by you listing what symptoms you have.

All the very best

[ramblingplomer]

IBS is a "catch all" diagnosis which is almost meaningless. It is used to label gastric malfunction which cannot be identified or pinpointed to a specific disease. After 40 months of suffering terrible gastritis and faceal incontinence...I was eventually seen by a specialist. A simple remedy was found....the right anti-biotic which cleared the bacterial overgrowth in my small intestine.... and has left me perfectly healthy for over a year now! This is just one example of conditions which GPs are mostly unaware.

Good luck with your condition

[one-n-den]

It took a long time (2 years +) for my digestion to settle down after having my gall bladder removed at the age of 64. I was diagnosed with IBS in my 20’s, but by 60 (and retirement!) the most severe symptoms had disappeared. I believe that the advice to eat low-fat meals after removal of your gb is possibly flawed - your liver will go on producing bile and, with not enough fat to work on, the bile seemed to cause me diarrhoea type symptoms. I now eat a normal diet, take probiotics and peppermint oil, and exercise more. About 90% successful I’d say.

I’d also recommend Michael Moseley’s book, ‘The Clever Guts Diet’ (note, it’s not a diet, but a way of looking at what you eat)

Hope that helps.

[Eastbourne11]

There is now a blood test for Ibs called IBSchek. If your colonoscopy was without pain, then you probably have not got IBS. Keep a food diary. Look at information sheets on FODMAP on the internet and see if they help. Good luck.

[Maureen1958]

Hi Larryrob, have you heard of bile acid malabsorption. Quite a few people who have their gallbladders removed get it. It is because the bile acid does not get reabsorbed and ends up in your bowel which causes diarrhoea. Might be worth mentioning to your doctor.

[torcol]

Larryrob

I know we all want to believe it is more, I don’t know why but we do. Have you ever kept a weekly diary of food, mood? It can be tedious but if you do it for just one month you may see a pattern that could be food or triggered by mood!