Will i ever feel better

[Waiting_for_godo]

i havr IBS-D. Last 8 monthd ive had relentless poking in lower left abdomen. Im a mess. Cut myself off from the world. Dont know what to do

[Hidden]

I get poking in lower left ab sometimes but i thnik it is only trapped wind.

[Waiting_for_godo in reply to Hidden]

it is constant. I try everything. Apple cider. L glutamine. Digestive enzymrs. Nothing happens. Pain and ibs D is constant

[Hidden in reply to Waiting_for_godo]

it comes and goes, ginger tea usually helps me or a banana.

[Waiting_for_godo in reply to Hidden]

thanks. Banana doesnt help me. I will try ginger tea

[Hidden in reply to Waiting_for_godo]

Hope it helps.

[winfong]

It can be pretty awful sometimes. What are you doing for it? What medical professionals have you seen?

[Waiting_for_godo in reply to winfong]

ive seen several doctors ive had all the tests. My gut aches constantly and poking pain on the left is debilitating.

[Luisa22]

I am sorry. You must be feeling so low with it all. IBS can get us all down. I guess what you mean by poking, is some pain or discomfort on lower left? I get that too, and it seems to go in phases. Sometimes I won't get it for ages, and sometimes every evening about 4 hours after I've had dinner (never in the day though after breakfast. I don't know why. Perhaps because the only time I eat veg. is at dinner.) My lower tummy just aches like wind needs to come out but not much happens and the lower left swells up a bit. Then after about 5 hours it all goes away.

Don't give up hope because if you get some solutions, such as a medication that works to help, or a good response to the low FODMAP diet, it is possible to get times of remission, and things can go a bit easier.

I actually had times during the summer when I felt quite normal and like my old self. IBS came back a bit but it wasn't so bad. Seasonal changes often affect me. You might find yours starts to come and go too. Are you getting any medical help?

[Waiting_for_godo in reply to Luisa22]

thank you. Tryinh the fodmap but the pain is constant. Theres been no remission last 8 months.

[Mgt8]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear of your problem. Constant pain can be so wearing and make you feel down after a while. Maybe there is something you can take for it.

I have ibs and diverticulitis too. The fodmap diet has helped me to determine which foods set off the pain. (Lactose, caffeine and red meat for me so far) When I get pain in my lower left abdomen, my doctor gives me antibiotics and they work in 2 to 3 days. (Amoxycillan)

It's great to know there is something there to make the pain go away.

Has your doctor offered any medication for you?

Best wishes

Mgt

[Waiting_for_godo in reply to Mgt8]

hi I've been through several antobiotics but no respite from the pain and gut clenching . Good to hear you get relief from antibiotics

[xjrs]

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, difficult childhoods, 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 probiotic have helped me with this intestinal pain.

The reason why Alflorex probiotic helped me with the pain, is that the pain can additionally be due to a gut bacterial imbalance. A dominance of bad bugs in the gut can over sensitise the nerve endings in the gut causing pain. In fact, it might be worth trialling Alflorex in the first instance.

Good luck.

[Waiting_for_godo]

this makes so much sense. Ive been on amitriptyline but didnt relieve me of the pain

[Iesgobdafydd]

If low FODMAP doesn't help you, another option is a Few Foods diet where you cut back to a very few foods that are as nutritionally balanced and digestible as possible for a few days - I think I saw turkey, white rice and pear suggested - and gradually reintroduce others to try and work out which other foods are causing problems. Unless you're confident you know a lot about nutrition, it's better to get a dietitian to supervise you on that. But if it happens that your digestive system doesn't like one of the few foods you pick (and there are people who have difficulty digesting particular types of white rice for example) it won't work. Or if your diet isn't even a partial cause of your IBS then it won't help. Having said that, my diet really wasn't a cause of my IBS, but even so, trying the few foods approach did help me figure out which foods were the absolute easiest for me to digest, and eating those frequently may have helped settle my system down.

My IBS was caused by TMJD, I thought it would be with me for the rest of my life but the IBS is gone now. Keep looking - there are so many possible answers out there, I hope you find one that works for you.

[Luisa22]

That's more or less what I did. The Few Foods diet thing. I hadn't ever heard of it. I'd only just heard of IBS. But I worked out that just a few foods seemed safe for me to eat. My few at first were white rice, hard boiled eggs, spinach, green beans, white toast and butter, so I started with that. It would be different foods I imagine for different people.

I worked out that those foods weren't so bad nuritionally, but I also added a multivitamin and mineral tablet and a B complex daily. I stayed on that for a few days until I found my gut stabilised, then I added something else. Just one thing, waited 2 or 3 days to see if it would cause a reaction. If it didn't -great. Sometimes it did, so when I'd stabilised again, tried something else, and so on. I can now eat quite a lot of foods, and 18 vegetables and three, sometimes four fruits

Weird I know, but I also found some things that should have been complete no-no's were okay for me too.

I had to do that alone as I wasn't referred to a dietician, and couldn't afford a private one. So I used my brain like it hadn't been used for ages researching, looking up vitamin and mineral contents of foods, checking signs of deficiencies etc.

And listened to my body.

(edit...there are days when I can't eat some of the things on my list. I just pull back a bit and eat very plain for a day or two until things settle. But then I can go back to including the others again.)

[Flyonawall]

what do you eat?

[Waiting_for_godo]

ive just got done gut microbes test. Enzyne test and vitamin deficency test. Im shooting in the dark here because i don't know whats causing the poking pain on the left. Is it intestinal muscle that aches gut motility or food

[Waiting_for_godo]

hi ive had amino acids profile testdons there are increased levels of glycine;hydroproline; nithene; asparagine.

Does anyone know what this means and could this be related to my gut pain?

[ThisIsMe87]

Have you ever tried Enterosgel? It really helps with my IBS-D and has given me my life back. I used to feel so panicked going out of the house but now I take some before I go out and I'm fine. It's so hard thought I know. I used to have panic attacks just walking to the end of my road 😖

[stephersb]

This is exactly what I get but my pain is right side. Im at a loss on what to do. Peppermint oil helps loads with gas. Ive done low fodmap, been prescribed every tablet under the sun that could help and still no luck

[Waiting_for_godo in reply to stephersb]

Sorry to hear this. Its very debilitating. Im finding slight improvement with fodmap but pain is still erratic. Im realising doc are not interested in sorting something that doesnt show up. In tests.