IBS symptoms

[Tish123]

Hey!

So i have recently been very stressed have pretty bad health anxiety. I started having a sharp pain on my left side and gradually got worse over a couple weeks. I’ve been to the doctors and they suspect IBS as I do get bloating, back pain, abdominal pain on left side A LOT, constipation and sometimes diarrhoea. I have another appointment with my doctor in 2 weeks to get stool results and to discuss going forward. I am genuinely worried and scared to eat a lot of the time as I don’t know what the outcome will be.

I have looked in to a FODMAP diet but unsure of how to start, anyone got any tips or recommendations on controlling IBS?

[Kweh123]

Sorry to hear that you are having a terrible time with your health at the moment. I'd start by cutting out onion and garlic from your diet as they are two of the most common triggers. In order to help identify triggers you can keep a food diary to help track when you have attacks to narrow down a cause. Good luck with your test results! X

[bburzycki]

Do you know your trigger foods? Knowing what you can and cannot eat is key. Dealing with the anxiety of any medical issue is hands down almost usually harder than the issue itself. Well any semi chronic or chronic issues.

I have been dealing with "IBS" for almost 20 years, daily. Anxiety and I have come to an agreement that on some days it just wins and on others I kick its butt. You have to be ok with what you have going on and know that others will be ok with it for the most part. Most never truly understand but medical is usually a taboo issue for most to talk about or they cannot handle talking about it with the person having the issues. I talk to everyone about it that wishes to know and hide nothing anymore and it allows me to try to heal better with less stress.

I would highly suggest some kind of plan and a Dr. that is not just going to punch the time card on your case and not truly look at the larger picture. Always rule out the big stuff so that will also help you lower anexity levels.

Plan it out - stick to the plan and solutions can present themselves.

[Neil119]

Try fodmap it does help . FOOD FOR THOUGHT - YES!!

[chloeA3]

Hi there. This sounds very similar to my symptoms at the moment. I seem to be in pain with my stomach and back all of the time which leaves me feeling drained and loss of energy. Maybe the docs will run some test. Blood tests and urine tests. Hope they can help. Im getting no support from the docs at the minute so left suffering.

[Harley1020]

Sorry to hear about your problems which have been similar to mine over the last 5 years. Initially I had my gallbladder removed as they found gall stones. Unfortunately, this did not resolve my issues. Since this time, I have had various tests done which were all clear. Recently, I asked if I could try Amitriptyline, 10 mg (an antidepressant) as I had read online that this has helped people with IBS for anxiety reasons. The good news is, it appears to have worked and I can now eat practically anything I want (not too much fatty food). My previous problems have all disappeared. If you suffer from anxiety, stress, this medication might solve your problems it also helps you to sleep. I take mine at 9 pm, before going to bed at 10 pm. I do not intend to take any higher a dose than 10 mg as apparently you can obtain a higher strength, if needed. The 10 mg is fine for my needs. Hope this helps as it has taken me 5 years to eventually find something that actually works. I had both IBS C and IBS D.