Hi,
I'm new to the forum, but I've been given a preliminary diagnosis of IBS by my doctor. I'm an 18-year-old female and I don't believe I have typical symptoms, although I suppose it might just be too early to tell. I was hoping somebody might recognize something or have ideas about
diet/medication etc.
My problems started about
a year ago when I became completely vegan. I've been vegetarian my whole life, and cutting out dairy and eggs didn't seem like a huge transition at the time, and I expected that eliminating dairy would be digestively beneficial, but apparently my digestive tract disagreed. For the first month or so, I had problems with diarrhea, which I attributed to increased fiber. This eventually went away, and I had normal (if frequent and slightly soft) stools for the next 8 or so months, but with frequent, uncontrollable, very smelly gas. For the last one or two months now I've been slightly constipated--small, hard, dry stools much less frequently, and with what feels like incomplete evacuation. Citrucel and ground flax seeds helped temporarily, but came with even more gas. The bloating and constipation I can deal with--the pain is definitely not as bad as many of the stories I've read on here, which makes me question whether IBS is the right diagnosis. It's the near-constant gas which is the real problem. Basically, it's made me consider becoming a hermit. Does this seem familiar to anybody? I've tried to cut out most cruciferous vegetables, dried fruit, soy, etc., but haven't made the serious effort of an elimination diet. Is that my only hope to find a dietary cause at this point?
ETA: I've also been experiencing some nausea--nothing disabling, but I expect it's connected. I haven't taken a multivitamin in months because it does cause severe nausea--could a B-12 or iron deficiency have something to do with digestive problems? (I was anemic at age 6 or so.) I've also been on fluoxetine (Prozac) for three years for anxiety--which needless to say is only being made worse by this--and have read that gas is a possible side effect.
Thanks!
Post Edited (greykitty) : 1/26/2011 10:18:39 PM (GMT-7)