Sleep problems - new to this

[ChrisDavid]

My problem primarily stems from the moment I go to bed (around 9pm), to the moment I am getting up (around midday).

As soon as I lie down in bed and turn off all distractions, my stomach and abdominal area starts rumbling like crazy. I then feel the need to keep going to the toilet to urinate.

Eventually I stop going to the toilet and actually get to sleep, but usually I wake up only a couple of hours later feeling nauseous and the feeling of needing to poo (my stomach still rumbling). By this point I can't really get back to sleep, or I do very slightly, but it's light and broken sleep - as it feels like I'm waking up every 10 minutes and not actually sleeping. I don't immediately get up to have a poo, because I can tell nothing will happen.

When I do eventually get up to try to have a poo (which can be at around 2-3am) I struggle to get anything to come out, and usually feel hot and dizzy like I'm going to faint. Although what does come out is watery, and in small amounts (I'm on Laxido),, so it's somewhat of a mix of diarrhea and constipation. I certainly feel like I'm not fully emptying my bowels either.

By the time I go back to bed, I still feel very nauseous, and I feel no relief whatsoever in having the poo. And so by this point I usually can't get back to sleep properly at all.

I don't stop feeling sick until about midday when I get up and have an Actimel yogurt.

I'm very new to all this, as I only started feeling sick about 11 days ago. I'd seen a couple of doctors who had assessed me and think it probably is IBS (which I have only just learnt about recently). But this symptom of feeling sick and it effecting my sleep is the worst. I don't really even have any abdominal cramps until the evening. I feel like I haven't fully emptied my bowels in ages.

Can anyone help me understand if this is a common symptom of IBS and if anyone else experiences this? And also some advice?

Many thanks!

[b1b1b1]

You need to see a gastroenterologist. A specialist in GI problems will be able to give you more help, a more definite diagnosis, and a referral to a medical dietician. This is certainly no way to live, even with IBS. Good Luck.

[BlackIsleGirl]

You are having a horrible time, I'm really sorry you're having to deal with this.

IBS has become a bit of a fashionable diagnoses for any stomach issues where there isn't an immediately obvious reason for the issues and I'm afraid that you will need to have a variety of tests to rule out other issues before a firm diagnoses can be made. You really need to request a referral to gastroenterology and to a dietician so that things can be confirmed clinically and you can get the right help. Don't be put off/fobbed of with diet sheets or "go look at this on the Internet" stick to your guns and keep asking.

Mean time, are you keeping a food/symptom diary? You might find that there's a link be tween certain foods and your symptoms. For example if I take lactose I will wake up with the runs but if I take wheat I will be bunged up and doubled up in pain (when I take both life gets really entertaining 🙄).

Honestly, I think you need a bit more help and support than your GP is offering and you need to go back and ask to be appropriately referred. Being absolutely blunt you can't live like you are right now and your GP saying it ibs and sending you away isn't good enough.

Good luck. Keep us posted xx

[3443Ness]

I agree with BlackIsleGirl go back to ur GP and don't leave until they refer u to a gastroenterologist I had to keep going back and I finally got them to refer me even though they didn't want to as all my test kept coming back normal but the gastroenterologist has put me on medication and it is helping with my diarrhoea and stomach cramps u know ur body better than anyone else so if it doesn't feel right don't be fobbed of by ur GP

[Hidden]

Hi Chris, Sorry to hear you are going through this, I suffer exactly the same symptoms as you, and am now due to have a colonoscopy soon, I have severe IBS too.