I’m awaiting an endoscopy but my GP has said that he thinks I have IBS-D after all other tests ruled out other conditions.
Been suffering for about 15 years on and off but now it’s got to the point where I’m suffering nearly every day, albeit the diahorrea and pain is less than it used to be.
I’m convinced that anxiety makes my condition worse but it’s not the only factor as I’m sure it’s also diet related. However, I can’t pin point what my trigger foods are. I’ve tried a food diary and eliminating things for weeks on end but there is no correlation between eating certain things and getting symptoms. For example, I tried 2 weeks of eating exactly the same thing every day. For the first 4 days i was fine then on day 5 I had bad cramps and diahorrea which then lasted a few days. It seems to be completely random and I’m fed up with it.
Does anyone suffer like this?
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Djphig
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Yeah I’ve tried so many things over the years, including the 1 at a time method.
I haven’t tried the fodmap diet yet. The Dr said I should but also to wait until after the endoscopy but with everything that’s going on it could be a while yet.
Yeah my doctor thinks it’s IBS but I’m not convinced, might be a bit of that but sure I got a stomach issue as well, been suffering from acid reflux for about 3 years on and off. Took omerprazole and similar, still doesn’t get rid of my stomach issues, I’m not overly keen on staying on drugs either. Hopefully I’ll have a stomach check first and go from there. Gets you down after suffering from pain pretty constant for 3 months, no other critical signs.
I agree with Nifflerluck if you do all the things you need to for IBS and still have diarrhea you should ask for a test for BAM (bile acid malabsorption) - there is separate treatment for it.
Just to cover all bases regarding IBS, here is some information about IBS that I have shared with others in this group:
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:
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:
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.
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