HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

What should I do?

Support Forums
>
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 7/22/2008 12:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi
I am a 20 year old female and am suffering really badly with my stomach. Since last Christmas I have had severe bouts of stomach problems which I will try to describe as best I can...
I suffer with diarrhoea every single day with out fail, diarrhoea that is painful and sometimes containing blood. I also have really bad nausea (even though i have never actually vomited) which makes me not sleep at night, sometimes at not sleep at all, when I am working some weeks up to 50 hours and when Im not doing that I am studying at University. I have been to see numerous doctors and I keep being told there is nothing that can be done, apart from they gave me mebeverine for the diarrhoea (which I have been taking for 3 months and has made no difference) omperazole to take the swelling down in my stomach (taking for 1 month, no difference) and domperidone to ease the nausea which works occasionally if i dont eat anything.
I have lost about 2 stone in weight and was not really that much overweight to begin with. I live off plain toast and mash potato as these seem to be the only foods that dont have me up all night and feeling horrible. My stomach bloats up and goes rock solid and i get really bad indigestion. Some days i dont eat anything at all and just drink bottled water and still get the diarrhoea and the nausea.
My relationship is suffering because of this as I cannot be intimate without feeling ill or being ill. The doctors said that this is just mild IBS and that there is nothing that can be done other than the tablets I am on, but surely there can be other ways to ease the symptoms i am suffering as it is ruining my life. I have had to stop my drama classes because my confidence has just gone way down, and i have not been out with my friends or been for a meal in nearly a year.
I came across this forum and thought that someone might be able to help me and tell me that they suffer similar things to me and might be able to help me in knowing what i can do to stop this or even ease it slightly. I just feel as if i have hit rock bottom now and dont know what else to do to help myself, as the doctors refuse to take my case any further as i am only 20. They tell me to cut out certain foods, and i have done as i dont eat anything anyway!!!!
Thank you for reading, please help if you can
Charlotte
Posted 7/22/2008 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
Have you had your gall bladder checked?
Posted 7/22/2008 12:57 PM (GMT 0)
No I haven't. All I have been given is the tablets that I mentioned. What do u suggest?
Posted 7/22/2008 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Charlotte,
Welcome to HealingWell! :-)
I'm sorry to hear of all your struggles with your gut. Have you been scoped, either EGD or colonoscopy? I think both those would be a good idea considering your severe nausea and occasional bloody D. How about being checked for H.pylori? You might consider being tested for Celiac's and lactose intolerance. All these should have been covered by your doc, no matter your (young) age. Please go back to your doc and/or get a second opinion elsewhere.
Hope you start to feel better real soon.
Posted 7/22/2008 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
OH man... I so feel your pain with the being unable to be intimate. In my opinion, it's the things like THAT that make it unbearable. It's bad enough that you're in pain all the time, but when it starts messing up your personal life it's like "WHY ME????"

I have to echo the suggestions of getting a second opinion. Sounds like your doctor is missing something, to me. I know if I had bloody D that even my negligent, horrible, doesn't-even-believe-I'm-in-pain-or-sick doctor would have done a whole mess of tests and stuff to follow up on that. What you're going through sounds like HELL and if your doc isn't helping you, find someone who will!!

Have you tried meal-replacement shakes, like Ensure, Slim-Fast or Carnation Instant Breakfast? I sometimes resort to these when my stomach won't tollerate solid foods (Ensure is my pick because it's lactose and gluten free so it's easier to digest). They still sometimes make me gassy and/or crampy, but it's a LOT less painful than when I actually eat real food. Plus it helps slow down the weight-loss and keeps me getting some form of nutrition. I find that when I stop eating altogether I end up in this down-ward spiral where I get sick from not eating, so I don't want to eat, so I get sicker from not eating.

Good luck!!
Posted 7/22/2008 8:29 PM (GMT 0)
I also echo the advice suggested. You need another opinion, especially with the bleeding. I discovered by experimenting with my diet that any foods with yeast, added with the processed sugar in foods, made my IBS symptoms out of control. You give a clue when you say you have bloating stomach, hard as a rock, and this makes me think that you may have a yeast/fungus problem. I always get like that if I eat any foods with yeast. You say you eat a lot of bread. What does yeast do to bread?...could it be doing the same to your gut? Or, maybe you have a gluten intolerance. (Were you ever on antibiotics?)

My advice, try an experiment of eliminating yeast foods (read all labels as yeast is disguised in a lot of processed foods), grains and sugar for a bit and see if you notice any improvement. It's tough to suddenly do that, but it will tell you soon enough if your symptoms are fungus related. Eat only whole, natural foods, whatever you can tolerate...nothing processed. This will also start giving you back the important nutrients you have been missing from your diet, if all you've been eating is potatoes and bread. If you start feeling better, you may want to think about probiotics as well, to replace the good bacteria in your gut and squeeze out the yeast. Be mindful of the meal replacement drinks as they have a lot of sugar. If you do have a fungus problem, you will just keep the cycle going by feeding it with the sugar.

Again, get a second opinion and ask for some of the tests that were mentioned by the others. I hope you feel better soon.
Posted 7/25/2008 4:43 PM (GMT 0)
Wow…sounds all too familiar.   I had diarrhea (sometimes with alternating constipation), bloody BMs, constant nausea, painful bloating, gas coming out my ears, couldn’t find anything to eat that didn’t make me suffer…I demanded a colonoscopy – turns out I had colitis with some minor ulceration starting.   I had both dark and bright blood, the bright red was from fissures and hemmies and polyps from the constant diarrhea and inflammation.   And I had the same story as you, nothing they gave me helped, in fact sometimes it made it worse.   So, I started “experimenting” on myself first with diet and some simple supplements.   I researched yeast issues and used that diet as a guideline, tweeking by listening to my body.   Steamed veggies and rice for a few weeks, and avocados.   No “white” food, processed flour, sugar, yeast, etc… Nothing with a preservative in it at all.   No bread.   Didn’t do potatoes for a while either, but eventually added them back in.   Avocados are a super food, high calorie, higher “fat”, and high vitamin and minerals.   The other thing to try is beans (navy, kidney, black, etc).   Try eating a ¼-1/2 cup beans 3-4 times per day.   The soluble fiber will help the diarrhea and if you have a gall bladder issue, it will help remove bile.   Don't worry about the beans and gas issue - I was worried at first too but it ended up being ok - I cook mine with some seaweed or onion which helps with the gas.  Also, if you’ve had diarrhea for a long time – maybe get a really good probiotic.   Your intestinal flora are most likely way out of balance – and you may have a yeast issue which they will help with also.   I eat pretty normally now – mostly organic, local food – nothing out of a box, but a wide variety diet – and can even have sugar again in moderation.   And most importantly, I’d say I’m 80% better.   Got a clean bill of health on the colitis issue (2 nd colonoscopy), but I’m still working on the side effects off that (hemmies, occasional nausea).     get a colonoscopy just to be safe. My mom almost died from Crohn’s because they told her it was all in her head and there was nothing they could do.   That was when she was 29 –she’s 62 now. and whatever they find – wouldn’t hurt to try to build your diet as above, just make sure you listen to your body’s reactions because everyone is different.   Good luck
Posted 7/26/2008 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Hi welcome to Healing Well and the IBS forum I'm sorry to hear about what you go through I can relate it's been really hard for me to deal with my issues.I started getting stomach problems in 02-03 really in 03 after I drank bad water which gave me five different parisites and bacteria in my gut it was really bad had to take a lot of anti-biotics to get rid of them.I did get rid of them but the anti-biotics striped me of the good bacteria in my stomach and digestive system that started bad stomach problems like real bad cramping then diharrea then real bad constipation for weeks I was to the point where I wanted to commit suicide I went three and a half years not knowing what was going on.In 05 I finally was able to make it to a G.I. doctor where I told them all my symptoms and they diagnosed me with IBS I was like **** how the hell why did this have to happen to me because of IBS I lost my job and a freedom to go out when I feel.My G.I. doctor put me on Zelnorm the only symptoms that it help me with was the cramping and excessive gas but I was still feeling constipated and having occasional diharrea and I was having issues when I was able to have a bm they would be frequent.Then my G.I. doctor put me on Amitiza and finally some relief I was able to have bm's was not feeling constipated I was so happy for that.My bms were frequent and not the healthy formed ones that you should be having they would come out thin loose or not formed at all.I ended up having to go see a nutritionist and she told me I should eat more and eat more cooked veggies so that my bms would be formed and I would have less of them.I was not eating much cause I was afraid of my symptoms acting up and I was having a lot of diharrea cause I would not eat in the morning and when I ate it would be a big meal and would end up with the dreaded D.So my nutritionist said I should always eat breakfast to have something in my stomach then eat smaller meals during the day then when I had my dinner with the cooked veggies eat half of it then the rest at night.That was doing me good for awhile then my symptoms came back and things were just bad the only thing that's gotten better is I'm able to have bms I really hate IBS with a passion.I'm working hard with my G.I doctor to get my IBS under control so that I can get back to living my life and enjoying it again I'm not going to let IBS get the best of me.It feels like I have more bad days then good but I'm really thankful for my good days I will be the winner over IBS believe that I'm thankful for this forum cause I know I'm not alone in this fight against IBS.I wish you good digestive health and hope you get your symptoms under control you can read some of my other post to see what I've been going through and believe that you have a new friend in me for support and advice. :-)

Post Edited (jtaurus) : 7/25/2008 7:36:14 PM (GMT-6)

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply