Recently diagnosed witth IBS. Have underactive thyroid on 100mg thyroxine daily, i also take ferrous fumarate and folate. Adivce if you can.

[Hammers]

I am also on 20mg citalopram.

To be honest i'm not convinced my symptoms are IBS so thought i'd see what the experts (the patients!!!) thought.

My main symptom is abdominal bloating which can occur within 5 minutes of eating any wheat gluten or dairy...hence i have cut these items from my diet, further more i am trying to limit my fruit intake and resistant starch intake as i'm told can make my symptoms worse. i',m drinking plenty.... It happens every day...so something is still irritating me but t not too sure what...i have done food diaries and probably need to go back to them but to be honest with a 2 and 3.5 year old and working part time i;m findinf finding the right type of food to eat time consuming as it is without having to write about it too.....

at its worst the abdominal bloating gets so bad that i then feel sick but never am sick. i probably suffer more from constipation than anything else, though this has improved since W, G and D free. I can also become puffy particuarly hands and face and wake feeling very unrested, lack concentration / focus and so on

i have had tests for coeliac disease which were negative but they found incedental mild chronic dueodinitis which my consultant told me nothing to worry about and said no more.

I have a rectocele (bowel) prolapse and my digestive problems really bother me. I appreciate that stress anxiety etc can have a HUGE impact on IBS but i am far less stressed depressed anxious now than i was 1,2,3,4 years ago when all of this seemed to start. I am only 33 and i'm really keen to get this under my belt so i know best how to deal with it and before i decided if i should have a repair or not.....

[Pat1]

I have exactly the same problem (a rectocele) and general bowel dysfunction and have constipation predominantly. I do not believe you should have a repair unless it is really serious. I have a moderate rectocele and my Colorectal surgeon has suggested that I try and manage my condition in other ways and operating is a last resort which I do not take lightly. He has done extensive tests. I have been prescribed a new drug called Resolor or Prucalopride and it has made an enormous difference in my life. Look it up and see all the positives. I have had my problem for a long time and I am now 50. I have also been on the low FODMAP diet under a dietician (see my other blog). This has helped so much with the bloating. Certain fruits which I also have so much of are quite a problem. You should look it up as it gives you foods to avoid and then reintroduce. Another thing for constipation is to take higher doses of magnesium citrate of oxide first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This is great natural way to get water in the bowels and get things moving.