Finding out I have IBS

[Cet93]

Well for the past 6 months I had been dealing with some pretty unsettling bathroom habits. One day after eating breakfast I suddenly felt my stomach swell up and begin to cramp really bad. I had a sudden urge and had to run to the bathroom. Explosive diarrhea. Well at first I didn't think anything of it and went on with life. A few days later for no apparent reason I was extremely gassy. Letting go every five minutes and I had no idea why. Well when i had a bowel movement that day I found that I was having to strain a lot to go. And not only was I having to strain, I noticed that my stools were narrower than usual and just didn't look like what I was used to. So again I ignored it and thought it was something I had been eating that was causing it all. Well some more time went by and my bathroom habits still weren't right. They were constantly swinging back and forth between explosive diarrhea, constipation or hard to pass stools, and occasionally I would have normal movements. But not often. I also started to notice that I was getting these terrible cramps and horrible lower abdominal pain that would last for days on end. Well that was enough for me so I decided to look on Google (which was the worst thing I could have ever done) and see what my symptoms could mean. Well first thing I saw was bowel cancer. And symptoms of it included Narrow or pencil thin stools, diarrhea, constipation, or alternation of the two, excessive flatulence, rectal bleeding, and stomach pain. Almost the same symptoms of ibs. ( I didn't know at the time) I never experienced any bleeding whatsoever. Anyways, I decided to go to the doctor to get checked out and when I told my gp about it he acted like he didn't have a clue what it could be. He automatically redirected me to a gastroenterologist who was actually in the hospital that day. So i went to him and told him my symptoms and he began naming off things that it could be. He mentioned Diverticulitis, Irritable Bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer. Yet, he was skeptical about cancer because of my age and that I appeared to be in good shape. So the first thing he recommended was a colonoscopy which was scheduled a week later. All week long I was dreadingit because I had never been put to sleep before and I was worried what he was going to find. Well, the day before the procedure I mixed a total of 72 ounces of Miralax with two huge bottles of Gatorade that I had to drink within a short amount of time. I also wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything with milk or any solid foods the day before the procedure. I also had to take 4 tablets of Dulcolax and it made me feel terrible. I spent over half the day running back and forth to the bathroom. All I had to eat that day was two bowls of chicken broth, a few lifesavers, and two cups of jello. Anyways the next morning I was up at 5 am taking a bath and preparing for my procedure. My grandpa and my mother came and took me to the hospital because they don't allow you to drive because of the anesthesia. Well when i got to the hospital they immediately signed me in and lead me to the outpatient surgery room where they had me take off all my clothes and put on this gown thing that tied in the back. They had me lay in bed and began to insert ivs into my hands. ( It hurt like no other because they kept blowing my veins and having to restick needle over and over) After about an hour and a half the surgery crew came in and wheeled me into the surgery room. I was nervous as can be. The room was filled with nurses, and all sorts of machines and lights. And just the look of it all made me feel very uneasy. They told me to state my name and date of birth and to verify why I was there. I said I was there for a colonoscopy and they confirmed it. Next thing I knew they put a mask over my face and began to administer the anesthesia. After that I don't recall a single thing and next thing I knew i was waking up in the recovering area and the doctor was telling me the results. He looked at me and said I didn't find one single thing out of the ordinary. There's no polyps, no hemorrhoids, no diverticulitis, no chrohn's disease, no inflammation, no obstruction, and no cancer anywhere. And my mouth dropped and I asked him how that's possible? He said that my symptoms point to irritable bowel syndrome and told me there is no cure and not much that can be done about it. He told me it was mainly up to me to try and manage it. He also said that he did take a couple random samples of my colon just to test for colitis but he highly doubted there was any colitis present. So in conclusion I learned that I have IBS which sucks terribly, but I also learned that it wasn't anything life threatening or dangerous. Thank God above. And so far I have been doing okay with it. I eat more fiber, although it seems to aggravate my ibs and other times it seems to help. What I've learned about my ibs is that it has a mind of its own. There are days I can eat like crap and not have any problems, then there are days I can eat healthy as a horse and be sick with symptoms and bathroom trips. I've just tried my best to learn and accept it. Good luck to everyone.

[mithical]

That is IBS. Eat one thing one day, no problem, eat the same thing another day, every symptom going!

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