A day in the life of an IBS sufferer.

[lucycornwall]

Wake up - breakfast, must be eaten at specific timings before work starts, so as not to have pain when there. Only a very small 'selection' (if it can even be called that!) can be eaten.

Pain - toilet.

Get to work. ahhh feeling fine, 10 mins later, pain, pain, toilet quickly.

Through shift, starving hungry, cant eat will get pain. End of shift, got pain because i havent eaten.

Drive home (really hope i dont have pain on the way).

Get home, finally eat. 10mins later, pain pain, toilet.

2 hours later, upset stomach, can no longer go out.

Go to bed, start the same process over tomorrow.

PLEASE HELP!!! On the odd occasiom my stomach is ok, however most of the time its as described above. What is sure is that it controls every aspect of my life and its exhausting. The anxiety that goes along with having IBS is almost as crippling as the condition itself. Ive tried looking for answers however everything seems to be so contradictary, ive had hospital tests, ive had unsuccessful medication, Cognitive behavioural therapy, hypnotherapy, nothing seems to help. Im still searching for that nugget of information from someone that really marks a change in my life. Im only 22 and have suffered since i was 17, it scares me to think this could be a lifelong condition, im trying my best to learn how to live with it. Some of the things i do to control my IBS are not helpful in the long run, but the fear of alternative consequences (ie eating before an event) are too strong to overcome. I need advice of how to make the first step and more forward with my life.

Thanks

[Hidden]

Hi Lucy,

Apart from medication and therapies, what else have you tried? Have you tried food group elimination, a FODMAP diet or anything else you haven't mentioned?

[lucycornwall]

Hello, thanks for your reply.

Ive tried elimination, however have never been able to identify any triggers, the problem i have is i could eat the same thing everyday for a month and have crippling pain one day and next to none the next.

I did try to find info about the fodmap diet however i found it to be very contradictary and i was unsure what i should and shouldnt have eaten in the end! Any useful websites or book reccomendations would be really appreciated.

I do struggle with food and find myself eating quite a poor diet in terms of nutrition, constantly trying to lose weight but my IBS feels like a constant barrier.

[Hidden in reply to lucycornwall]

Hi Lucy,

I agree that there's an awful lot of contradictory, misleading and out-of-date info out there about the FODMAPs diet, and, of course, it may not work for you, but it worked like a dream for me and completely turned my life around. It can take anything from a few days to 2 weeks to have an effect, I was one of the fortunate ones who got a result in 3 days.

Below is the info I usually post on here for people like you who can't find any answers. (The book that I mention needs reading cover-to-cover so you really understand what you're doing and why.) It isn't an easy regime, but hey, who cares so long as it works?:

Initially, the FODMAPs diet cuts out 5 food groups (all carbs), which you follow for 2 weeks. If you've got a big improvement before or by the end of that period, you know that most, if not all, of your triggers are in one, some, or all of those groups. It’s essential that the diet is followed closely and ingredients’ lists on everything you eat must be studied carefully – you’ll be surprised at what junk gets put into our food! You can then 'challenge' each food group in turn by reintroducing it into your diet, taking careful note of the effects of doing so and, hopefully, reach some accurate conclusions. This worked for me, giving me 90% control over my symptoms and, apart from a restricted diet, I can lead a normal life. I have found a couple of other triggers (rice and oats) outside of the FODMAP group, but these were easily identifiable once I’d solved the initial problem.

As there are a lot of very misleading and just plain wrong items on the web about FODMAPs, my advice is firstly, follow this link: med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/... which takes you to Monash Uni in Australia where the diet was (and still is being) developed. There’s a lot of info on the site plus if you have an iPhone there is an app you can download which is really useful especially when you're out shopping or in a restaurant. Secondly, treat yourself to Patsy Catsos's book 'IBS - Free At Last' (available on Amazon) which is easily the best read on the diet and gives excellent guidance and a plan to follow.

Come back if you need to, only too glad to try and help.

[angbri in reply to lucycornwall]

You sound the same as me!!! Okay so I just found out about SIBO which is a test you can do to see if you have a bacteria in the small intestine. My nautropath Dr. says it goes undiagnosed with IBS patience al the time!!! If you test positive then you would be on an antibiotic, probiotic and do the

SIBO diet. (there are a few different ones) the antibiotics from what I understand work quickly but symptoms return, so thats where the special diet comes.. you have to do for 6months to a year to heal it. Then you can start introducing foods and start living normal. I guess there are certain foods you will probably always stay away from so it wont come back. My Naturopath has treated 35 people so far very successfully!! I'm just getting ready to do the test myself, but I like to share new information for others as it could be a start somewhere! I really really highly suggest getting with a good nautropath dr. she has done more for me than any dumb Gastro specialist! And she says she won't stop til we find exactly what is causing it.

[lucycornwall]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of that, i appreciate it so so much. I will endeavour to try all of those things, and hopefully see some positive results like you have. It is very reassuring to know that we can all help each other when so often IBS is dismissed as such a trivial problem.

[Hidden in reply to lucycornwall]

Yes, unfortunately, 'trivial' and 'all in your head' are both phrases too often heard by IBS sufferers.

If you decide to go down the low FODMAP route, ask your GP or gastroenterologist for a referral to a dietitian who has done the course on it. I saw one recently and, as the diet is now being taken seriously over here, I found her very helpful and was able to add quite a bit to my store of info. You can do the diet on your own though - it's not rocket science.

Keep trying - you know you can always come on this site for a good moan and say whatever you like!

[Louisa12]

Hi Lucy,

Don't despair, i think you can try many things to help!

From my own experience i have tried countless over the counter medecines and gone down the route of homeopaths, Kinesiology, Hypnotheray, colonic irrigation and many more...

But you know what, after suffering for 20 years i have learnt 2 things recently which have really helped me enormously in relieving the symptoms.

Firstly i learnt about food combining.

It has worked for me. I read in my research that a lot of IBS sufferers actually have a food intolerence. I found a nutritional therapist who had a special interest in IBS. She tested my intolerances and found i was intolerant to wheat, Yeast, dairy, sugar and mushrooms. She also highly recommended that i cut red meat out of my diet, but if i really felt the need to eat red meat, limit it to once or twice a week.

I use food combining on a daily basis and it really works for me, of course you have to eat the right foods too. My diet consists of only natural foods, lots of fruit, natural yoghurt, vegetables and salad, fish, organic brown rice, Protein, chicken and nuts and seeds etc. It might sound boring which it did to me at first but there are lots of ways of making meals and making them tasty.

She recommended i look at Sherry Bresicas great taste no pain diet for making meals and making them tasty and easy too. Copy and paste the link in to your browser and you can get free recipe ideas.

greattastenopain.com/cmdt.a...

Secondly and for me very importantly was Candida.

Candida is a parasite which normally lies dormant in the gut and whilst for most people doesnt cause them any problems, for some with an overload of Candida in the system, (especially for people like me who love sugar ) the candida can get out of hand.

A mix of the yeast and sugar cause a lot of the IBS SYMPTOMS FOR EXAMPLE, BLOATING

AND TRAPPED WIND, and diahorrea.

I cut the yeast and sugar out of my diet whilst following the diet by Sherry and together my IBS has really improved. I'm not saying that it will cure IBS but if you stick to the principles Sherry gives you, your symptoms should subside a lot. Try it!

Good Luck,

Louisa

[tansy-ann8]

The one thing that I am learning from this site is that all ibs sufferers are very different indeed. I have had it for many years and about 5 years ago it became so bad that I lost over 10% of my body weight and all the tests started again. That episode over and trying to cut out various foods for elimination purposes I just eat everything in moderation. You can see the GPs eyes glaze over when you try to describe the distress and lifestyle problems. Interestingly Roz, I have found oats in the morning with raspberries helps a lot. I do now take a probiotic every day and multivitamins and minerals. As I said - trial and error and we are all different - but no longer alone.

[Anxiousmike]

Work related stress often brings on IBS attacks, mine started very late at 25 sort of. I have always found work stressful, but Im not work shy, Back in 93 moved to Gloucester from while, hated A machine factory job, only 30 mins, to eat, get something out of the 3 huge self service automated machines. Rushed meals, is a main cause of , sometimes nasty IBS attacks. Work places aren't meant to be nice to people with any sort of stomach condition.... Although your post is quite old, I thought I would just comment on work, because its often the leading causes of anxiety leading to IBS. Always try keep a snack handy, on times you may not be able to eat for 4 hours or more. IBS is also triggered by not keeping to the golden rule, "little and often". if you eat little during the day, and then go home and have a large main meal, especially if your tummy is already groaning, your mornings aren't going to change anytime soon.!!

Issues with other employees ,and over bearing managers also take its toll on sensitive tummy's. But back 2000 before I was laid of the work place with mental health and IBS, plus falling asleep at lunchtimes because of effects of Lorazapam (Ativan), I wouldn't take any bossing from managers, I blame them for my condition since the later eighties really. because I blamed them, I would get into arguments about almost anything in the work place that wasnt fair, including unfounded accusations against other members of staff. So in the end this got me fired from several jobs, and In the end, at the time the Job Centres and the DWP were much more sympathetic, I was taken out of the job market on various medical grounds, so since 2000 I havent worked, Im on DLA because of high mobility need and mid care, which my wife is listed as carer. I dont get so much anxiety now, but IBS attacks still makes life difficult at times. Although work is important its really necessary to try find a job that doesnt involve stressful situations with targets, un social hours, that wont allow you to keep to the 4 hour eating rule. Anyway, just my little bit of input