Symptoms

[Bowels1]

HiMy son has been told his symptoms are that of IBS after being tested for Crohns and Colitis three years ago which was negative.

His symptoms consist of the following

Normal poo then followed by what he has described as

Constipation

Poo that is wet and soggy and white fluffy mucus which I have also seen described on here.

Stringy look bits

Feels better after a poo

Sometimes abdominal discomfort

Sometimes poo looks mucusy

Growling belly that sounds like a dishwasher.

It is draining him he said he just wants his poo to look normal.

He also said when he wipes it feels all sort of wet I think that's when he has the soft type poo.

Stomach has been felt they said all feels normal.

Been given movical however did ask to be referred to a dietician as was wondering apart from stress can food be a cause of IBS if so then we could eliminate that from his diet.

[MountainHare1]

Hi.

So sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis. Yes there may be some food types that will aggravate your son's IBS and should be eliminated. However as someone who has had to manage IBS for about six years, there may be other symptoms (including stress) that will contribute to a flare up.

I am not sure if you are familiar with the 'Gut brain axis' but the brain and gut are constantly 'talking to each other' and if one experiences any kind stress or anxiety it can cause the IBS to flare up and your son's experience in having normal poo on good days and the others that he has mentioned is completely normal. I too experience this and quite often at a loss to why I have normal poo some days and not others.

Please have a look at the symptoms that I experience when I have a flare up. I don't experience all of them at the same time and they come and go.

Always here to chat further if you want any other IBS related questions answered. Take care.

[Bowels1 in reply to MountainHare1]

Thank you so much its good to know that there are other people out there that are experiencing the same symptoms as my son and can say they are the same.Not that you want to be like this my have an insight to how IBS works.I can see where you symptoms are listed

Take care too

[MountainHare1 in reply to Bowels1]

Thank you.

Managing IBS can be quite difficult at times and I would certainly recommend that you learn as much about IBS as possible, so to there for him when he needs you.

Whilst I do not wish to sound 'stereotypical', us blokes aren't always good at opening at about how we are feeling, I would encourage him to continue to talk about how he is feeling and what he is experiencing.

From my own experience, just being heard can make a real difference as don't always expect my wife to have the answer as that would be putting unnecessary pressure on her.

Good luck.

[Ummlulu]

Hi, sorry to hear of your son’s problems. I was told to treat my gut symptoms as ibs a couple of years ago after tests eliminated other diagnoses. My gp told me to look into low FODMAP diet but when I asked for help from dietician she said I could look on the internet! So I did and found the resources from Monash University, Australia, who are the global experts on IBS. monashfodmap.com/

I purchased their app for a very small one off fee and used it for the first year to really control my diet. It helped a lot.

I also found an American site that is very helpful, fodmapeveryday.com/

I believe some health trusts support patients better than others with this condition and some give leaflets with info about IBS/low FODMAP diets. My local health trust is rather poor in this respect but where your son lives he might get more support.

Hope this helps your son.

[Edgar77 in reply to Ummlulu]

Has he been tested for celiac disease?

[Bowels1 in reply to Edgar77]

Yes he was three years ago

[OldTimer74]

Sounds like he is on the roller coaster that many of us are going through. I do tend to think that anxiety has a big part to play in all of this.

[Bowels1 in reply to OldTimer74]

Oh yes I do agree