Ibs sufferer

[Spargirl1]

Having bad flare ups of ibs at the moment had it for quite a few years any advice is welcome thanks

[Mart100]

Be sure that its IBS and nothing else! Visit your md for a check

[Hidden]

Do you have any particular worries or anxieties at the mo?? That always sets me off!!

[applecat]

I got mine just before starting university and now that I've finished I still have it. I've heard people saying that taking SSRIs help (a type of antidepressant), increasing your vitamin D intake, trying the low FODMAP diet, trying the bland diet, reducing stress, CBT, just to name a few. I'm slowly going through them all. Started making a food diary to check what I'm eating and what makes me feel worse. Hope this helps!

[Kilgh in reply to applecat]

Have you had any tests to rule out the anything else?

[applecat in reply to Kilgh]

Yeah had a colonoscopy, they said it looked perfectly normal. But still awaiting the technical results. Had blood tests to rule out celiac disease etc. Had very slightly slow vitamin D level. It's interesting that approximately 82% of ibs sufferers are deficient in vitamin D!!

[Kilgh in reply to applecat]

Yes. Vitamin D is a very important thing to not be lacking in. Good news on the colonoscopy. When I was about your age I did the SSRI thing and it did seem to work. My symptoms faded away in about 3 weeks. Had 8 years of freedom from it too. So worth a try as they are safe drugs and you will know in a matter of weeks if they are for you or not. Just have to get through any initial side effects. Most people have very few.

[Earthflower]

My IBS is severe constipation and bloating. In the last couple of months i have been taking 50mg Sertraline which is an anti depressant and peppermint capsules from boots. I now 'go' without laxatives about 4 or 5 times a week and bloating gone. Things like Ibuperfen or codein will constipate me so if needed i take a suppository. It's been 2 weeks since i last took one and i had been taking Ibuperfen for couple of days. Hope this helps.

[DRDarnell]

I cannot recommend going vegan just for one month. I've know been complete vegan for just over a month and I am a new women. Every symptom you can think of to the point of thinking my live was over and I would be disabled because I couldn't walk with excruciating pain. It al started about 30 years ago and I had had enough. Drastic I know but I don't look back.

[Fedup25]

The book 'Take Control of Your IBS' by Peter Whorwell who is a gastroenterologist who specialises in IBS is worth reading. It has systematic steps to work through until you find something that gives you more control of your IBS.

[Hidden]

Have you tried Colpermin? Its a bit pricey to buy, but it is the first thing I take with a flare up. Make sure you are not allergic to peppermint oil and check you can take it.

[Hidden]

Like you had stressful events which increased the symptoms - but a year ago had food allergy tests and found I had multi grain dairy egg food intolerances which increased the histamine response in the gut and made the symptoms much worse. When I removed the

the food intolerances completely ignoring advie about re introducing foods such as wheat or egg back into the diet - if I wanted to see if I could cope with them - I have felt much better. I found colofac useful as it targets the intestinal muscle, which is involuntary muscle and is not under your conscious control. When stress hormones rise, your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system go into over drive - this affects your gut may be not the same day as you have the stress but a day later - with spasms.

Do you know what sort of IBS you have? Is it IBD - this can be helped with vitamin D and vitamin D3 supplements. Guess it is difficult to avoid stress but pinpointing other factors such as food intolerances might help reduce your anxiety as you might have to go to the loo more frequently.