Abdominal pain - possibly IBS. Anyone have experience

[Hypo32]

I am hypo and take 75mcg Thyroxine daily. I have started to supplement with vitamins and feel a lot better in general although still suffer some symptoms (mainly dry skin and constipation). I

I have recently started to get a lot of sharp abdominal pain (and bloating). Had a gynae check and all OK, had colonoscopy and no problems and tested negative for Coeliac so the conclusion is IBS.

Does anyone have any guidance on how to eliminate symptoms, find out trigger foods etc or what to take when it flares.

Does increase in Thyroxine ever help with this? I am new to this problem so don't know how related to the thyroid it could be.

[Hidden]

Hi,

You might find Dr. Myhill's site helpful regarding gut problems:

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Gut_dys...

particularly regarding making Kefir which is very easy. It is delicious.

It also has interesting information regarding supplementation with L-Glutamine which you may wish to investigate.

Jane x

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Useful link - thank you Jane.

[Marz]

....excellent advice above - the website is so informative. IBS is an umbrella term and is a syndrome - a diagnosis often given when they do not know what to say/do ! How are you converting your T4 tablet into the ACTIVE T3. The gut has the second highest call on T3 - the brain needing the most. So maybe it would help if you had your FT4 and FT3 tested to see how the conversion is. T3 needed in every cell of your body - so when T3 is low things begin to be less efficient. Both FT4 and FT3 should be near the top of the range. If you are not converting then introducing a small dose of T3 may just help.

I have Crohns and was diagnosed at 27 - now 67. A recent colonoscopy revealed a healthy gut apart from low to medium Crohns lesions. No polyps or anything else. During my 30's it was quite a different story with endless surgery. I attribute this gut health to VitD. Until recently I was taking 10,000 IU's a day - now 5,000. I also moved to T3 only last October....which I also feel benefits the gut. Of course eating simply - is important as we all know - no processed foods.

Also remember there is a strong connection between the brain and the gut via the Vagus nerve. Spasms in the gut can happen with anxious moments or stressful situations. Have you tried yoga ? There are several moves/asanas that massage the gut. Lying on your back - draw the knees up gently to the chest and wrap your hands around the legs. Squeeze downwards with the arms and gently roll from side to side.....not only will it massage internal bits and pieces but also massage nerves leaving the spine that work with the gut/lower abdomen. Also gives the kidneys a gentle work out.

Hope all will soon be well.........

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

I found this interesting on the gut/T3 link Marz. I noticed when I started to show hypo symptoms again a few weeks ago I also had a very sensitive gut/IBS - bread/wheat seemed to trigger it for me. All this has now settled with a small increase of T4 (increase of 12.5mcg per day).Thank you for the info.

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

...good to hear you are improving. Please - I am not a medical person - they are just my experiences. Sometimes things just make sense and other times I read things and they don't !!

Keep on feeling better..........

[Hidden]

Just one further thought. I am currently visiting my daughter in Italy. On Sunday we made a brief visit to a local herb festival in the countryside near her. We were introduced to the "miracle" of bee pollen. It has a very interesting taste and texture. We have since googled it and discovered lots of information including that it has loads of digestive enzymes. You might want to check it out. Here's a start: foodmatters.tv/articles-1/1...

As a side issue we also discovered perilla which can be used as an antioxidant and cleanser.

There are so many things out there that have the potential to be useful, and I find it fascinating to investigate them. Of course they should always be carefully checked out before ingesting them.

Jane x

[marram]

"Does increase in thyroxine ever help with this" - In a word, yes. I was kept on far too low a dose for seven years and was diagnosed with IBS. Since my thyroxine was increased from 100 back to 150 it is much, much better.

Of course occasionally I still have some bother - but then again, that is not unusual even for people who have never had any hint of thyroid disease. If I eat too many eggs, or I neglect my diet a bit and eat junk food for a while, I get constipation, but when you can see an actual cause, at least you can put it right.

What used to really drive me mad was that I was eating a really good, healthy diet with plenty of fruit and veg and no junk food, yet was always either constipated or, as at one time, diarrhoea (in fact total loss of bowel control) for nearly three months. All gone now.

Hypo32, if you are still suffering hypo symptoms, then you are under-medicated, no matter what your TSH says.

Marie XX