Does this sound like anyone else in here?

         Hello ibs???!

             We want to welcome you to the "Chronic Pain Forum"!!

       I'm so sorry about the problems you are suffering! As far as the female problems, I'm afraid as a male I will be of no help to you. Hopefully one of our members will reply back to you shortly as I bump this thread back to the top of the forum page.

      One suggestion I may suggest is to see if you have a Teaching Hospital in your area. They may be able to help you with a DX of your condition.

      Also, please feel free to take a peek at the "Chronic Pain 101" at the top of our home page. It is full of great articles, and I believe there is a directory there for the Teaching Hospitals in your state.

       Again Welcome, and take care!

     SE

I agree with NiNi in that you should probably see your OB/GYN if you haven't yet.

I'm not a woman, so I am not sure if all of the symptoms you details can be as a result of that. However, it sort of seems plausible to me considering the effect mensuration can have on some women's bodies. It seems like it could just be related to that, so seeing a doctor related to that might help.

On IBS in general, however, I have experience with. It is generally triggered for me by anxiety or stress. When I am in a situation where my stress or anxiety is high, I immediately have the same symptoms that you described in your post. Usually however, these events are short lived and only happen once or twice during the entire stressed out time. Maybe your body is similarly responding to what it considers to be the stress of your menstrual period and so its giving you some awful stomach problems. In that way, it would sound like IBS.

Have you tried/gotten any help from over the counter medications that prevent diarrhea? Something like Kaopectate may help.

If your OB/GYN doesn't quite know if it is related to your actual menstrual period, then you should maybe get checked for things like lactose intolerance and Celiac disease, as these both can cause severe problems with your stomach/bowel movements.

Hope you get an answer and feel better!

Hi ibs,

So sorry about the pain and misery you are going through.  I just wanted to discuss what my experiences have been with this issue.  I am much older than you (52) and have dealt with horrible menstrual cycles for many years.  My symptoms pretty much started from the very beginning as a teen.  So I have had plenty of work-ups ordered by my ob/gyns throughout the years.  Diarrhea can, and often does, occur during your cycle.  It has something to do with hormones, as well as uterine contractions and the inflammatory "prostaglandins" that are released at that time.  It tends to co-exist with dysmenorrhea (which is a term for painful menstruation) and in is often diagnosed as IBS, because it has the same physiology. 

From my understanding and personal experiences, endometriosis cannot be diagnosed by ultrasound or any tests, other than surgically.  Uterine fibroids can be viewed by ultrasound.  I was diagnosed with "likely" endometriosis for many years, until it was confirmed by a total abdominal hysterectomy only 5 years ago.  Uterine fibroids were viewed and diagnosed by ultrasound a few years prior.  I also had ovarian cysts for most of my adult life.  Severe cramping, heavy bleeding, and yes, diarrhea were all symptoms of my menstrual cycles.  It was absolutely miserable and I can certainly sympathize with you!   I'm not saying hysterectomy is the answer or cure.  That was just the option I chose because I was 48 yrs old and it was right for me.  

Several years ago, an ob/gyn told me I had IBS.  Her exact words were "People that have Type-A personalities seem to have IBS, endometriosis and other things, including fibromyalgia..."  She told me that none of those conditions caused the other, but that they just tend to co-exist or correlate.  She put me on a high-fiber diet to help with IBS symptoms, Prozac and told me to take ibuprofen 800mg twice daily and start taking the ibuprofen several days to a week before my period was to start.  Other than that, I usually took Immodium for the diarrhea and used a heating pad.

Again, this is not medical advice but just my own personal experiences.  Continue working with your ob/gyn.  She may try different types of bc pills and I have even heard that the IUD called Mirena can help...among many other treatments.  So good luck to you and take care!

Yes I have had a transvag u/s. They did it last Tuesday. Since it has been over a week now with no phone call I'm assuming it came back clear. They said they would only call if the results came back abnormal. Thanks so much for the advice, Sarah! I will make sure to try your tricks =) If you can think of anything else please let me know.