Hi!
I'm new to the site and don't really know what I'm doing yet but I hope this helps........
I've been suffering with IBS for about 4 years now but was only diagnosed 6 months ago.
My IBS seems to be at it's worst during my period and sometimes a couple of days after and also when I am really stressed. I get the absolutely horrible cramps that you've all described (I sympathise with you all!!) it can start off mild but a lot of the time gets so bad it does feel just like labour. I can't do anything apart from cry, I shake and vomit a lot of the time because the pains so bad and have ended up in hospital on several occasions because my mum and boyfriend have been so worried about the pain I'm in. At worse I can be in bed for up to a week on end.
At first the doctors thought the pain was something to do with my ovaries as the pains were linked with my periods so I've had numerous scans and investigations but they've finally decided it was IBS (which gets worse around the time of my period because your bowels can get even more irritated). My GP at university was great however since I moved back home my new doctor isnt as helpful and really doesnt seem to understand how bad the pain in.
link removed - No advertising. It contains a lot of herbal ingredients that are supposed to aid digestion. I have been taking 3 tablets a day as recommended and have found that my symptoms have eased a hell of a lot so that I can get on with everyday things instead of being bed/sofa ridden!!! Now I only occasionally get the minor pains and they very rarely develop into the horrific labour type pains. If the pains feel like they are going to get worse I find that taking an extra tablet and relaxing either in bed or on the sofa for an hour while the tablet works helps a hell of a lot. The tablets have also made going to the toilet a lot easier and have helped a lot with my bouts of diarreah.
I know a lot of you don't live in the UK but if you can find something similar then I'm sure it could be a lot of help.
Hope this can be of some help to you guys!!
Post Edited By Moderator (LanieG) : 7/27/2010 11:31:22 AM (GMT-6)