Can anyone help with severe IBS symptoms?

[Daisyx]

Does anyone have any tips for the best things to eat during a severe episode of IBS? Even drinking water will make my pain worse, been doubled over in bed for a couple of days now and paracetamol and buscopan haven’t helped and am put off food... any help will be sooo appreciated as am very new to this

[Margie71]

Hi Daisy. Sorry no one else has commented. I know how you feel. I’ve had IBS for many years. The pain is horrible. I’ve had a lot of pain too today. There’s no magical answer, unfortunately. Often, heat may help like a hot water bottle. Also Tylenol. Have you tried IBGard. It’s peppermint oil in a capsule. Some people find that Bentyl helps. As far as good, you should try to eat small amounts. Hot tea, chicken broth, toast, rice, eggs usually are tolerated in small amounts. Try to get enough fluids in, even though you are in pain. Hope you feel better soon. It’s a terrible disorder to have.

[Daisyx in reply to Margie71]

Thank you for those tips I haven’t tried a few of those, fingers crossed something works soon 🤞🏻 hope you start to feel better too!

[Margie71 in reply to Daisyx]

Please post if any of those ideas work. Thank you for saying you hope I feel

Better too. I am up at 3:00 am because of

IBS pain. I’m trying to read, lie down, think calming thoughts. Sometimes I will watch TV, just to distract myself. Most Drs don’t understand how bad the pain can get.

[Daisyx in reply to Margie71]

I will do! No worries I completely get that, that’s all I’ve been doing for going on 3 days now too. I was in tears at the doctors, think it was the same case here as he said “well yes other IBS sufferers have also rated the pain a 10!” Like dude it is a 10.

I am feeling ever so slightly better today though, tried some free-from bread last night and less frequent cramping than normal bread 🍞

[Tarot1234 in reply to Daisyx]

And this wonderful specialist told me to listen to my gut. In other words if i felt i shouldnt eat a particular food then dont...your gut knows whats good for it! Wise words

[Tarot1234 in reply to Margie71]

I went to a specialist at the Royal Free he has since retired tho. He told me to eat gluten free fiid, no packet readymade meals only fresh, buy brown whole linseeds and sprinkle on probiotic yogurt each morning and eat porridge made with oats only. Not ground linseeds by the way. Oh and peppermint capsuls half an hour before a meal. Camomile tea to relax stomach and reduce or stop tea and or coffee ....made a huge difference to my life. Note its all natural and no meds..

[Chrissyx]

Hi daisy sorry to hear you are in a lot of pain I have had ibs for e few years now and nothing worked for me but I take senocalm tablets now and my ibs is a 100 per cent better now I m not suffering the pain that I was in before you can buy them at Superdrug or supermarkets give them a try for a while I am sure they will work for you too take care and stay safe chrissyx

[Daisyx in reply to Chrissyx]

I will definitely look in to those! So glad you’ve found something that’s worked for you so well!

Thank you so much and you take care and stay safe too 🙂

[xjrs]

Here is some information about IBS that I have shared with others in this group which you might find useful to assist with not having these attacks in the first place:

IBS can be due to a number or combination of factors - these can be stress (including stress from early life experiences) which impacts the communication between the brain and the digestive system. There are lots of free webinars online at the moment regarding mindfulness meditation which might help. Plus you can ask to be referred for CBT or something similar to reduce your anxiety - I would have thought online appointments are available. Exercise can play a major role in IBS in terms of reducing stress, helping your gut microbiome and regulating bowel movements.

There is also not absorbing certain types of carbohydrates called FODMAPs very well, the residue ending up in the colon and bacteria feeding off them causing symptoms. Ordinarily feeding gut bacteria is a really good thing - when you feed good gut bacteria these produce by-products that have great health effects in the gut and throughout the body. However, in some people with IBS bad bugs might have the upper hand over good - these bad bugs may cause symptoms such as pain or disordered bowel movements. There is an interesting infographic on this here:

gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/....

This is why it’s worth trying probiotics such as Alflorex (which has been scientifically studied for IBS) or Symprove to crowd out the bad bugs and make their numbers die down. If that doesn't work you can try the FODMAP elimination and reintroduction diet. This is normally under the guidance of a nutritionist via GP referral - this may not be possible at the moment so you can read about it online. If you download the Monash University FODMAP app it will tell you which foods contain FODMAPs and in what quantities. You can eliminate all FODMAPs for 2 weeks and then introduce each type of FODMAP one at a time starting in small quantities, increasing over a 3 day period and wait up to 4 days for symptoms. I go much slower than this - only introducing a small amount (1/4 to 1/3 of a normal portion size) of the same food for 3 days and then increase if tolerable or no symptoms and cut back to the previous amount if symptoms for longer and then try to increment again . I've read your microbiome can adapt to handling a new food if introduced very slowly and your bad bugs are under control with a good probiotic. Ideally you want to eat as many FODMAPs as you can since they are good for your health. Many people with IBS don't have diverse gut bacteria - it has been found that people who lack a diverse microbiome are more prone to diseases in general. In the long run, if you can get your symptoms under control, the ideal situation is to have a very varied diet - lots of different coloured fruits and vegetables, a variety of protein and carbohydrate sources including cereal fibres. This may seem a long way off, but with the right treatment all of this is possible. Last year all I could consume to control my IBS was white rice, protein and limited low fodmap veg. Using the approach above (particularly introducing Alflorex) I am now able to consume far more foods - more than I've ever dreamed of including wholewheat bread which is unheard of for me.

If you are also suffering from pain, you may be suffering from visceral hypersensitivity (functional abdominal pain) - there is info about it here:

iffgd.org/lower-gi-disorder...

It is where the brain interprets the normal activity of the bowel as pain - this is due to a wearing down of neurons in pain control centres of the brain which can be caused by PTSD, neglect or abuse in childhood, extreme stressful events etc. The first line treatment is nerve pain agents such as low dose amitriptyline. There is a theory that being on something like amitriptyline for 6-12 months can help the pain control centre neurons to regenerate. Note that amitriptyline can cause constipation, but this can be helpful in people who are diarrhea dominant. Unfortunately I couldn't tolerate these. Linaclotide (for IBS-C only) & Alflorex have helped me with this intestinal pain.

You may also find assistance with anti-spasmodic medication such as mebeverine (Colofac) or enteric coated peppermint.

You can find some info on self management here:

theibsnetwork.org/the-self-...

[Lumpyannie]

Hi Daisy, I have had this ibs for many years, and I know what dreadful pain it can give you.

The only food I find works with a flare up is porridge, three or four times a day, even the single packs that cook in the microwave, really worth giving them a try.

Hope this helps xx