IBS? I think..

Andrew, sorry you are struggling.

Lactose intolerance is the most common food intolerance. In fact, most adults are lactose intolerant to some degree, This can wax and wane, depending on how much food is in your stomach when you eat some dairy, or whether you've had a stomach virus etc. The easy solution is to avoid lactose. You can do that by buying lactose free dairy products (learn about this online), or buying lactase enzyme (at any grocery or pharmacy) and taking it before you eat some dairy.

Casein intolerance (casein is the protein in milk) is less common but still an option you should consider. To eliminate casein is harder - you really cannot eat anything that has cow dairy in it. Some people with casein intolerance say they can tolerate goat's milk, because there is a slightly different protein in goat's milk. You can also read about this online (look for casein A vs. B information I think).

You are not alone in having trouble with beans and cabbage. These foods cause a lot of intestinal gas. You can try beano. You can learn to prepare your own beans in a way that minimizes the long chain carbohydrates that are causing the gas. You can learn to avoid cabbage.

Basically, it sounds like you have some diet modification to do. You should also consider eating good yogurt with live cultures - look in the "healthy foods" section of your grocery, not on the dairy shelves where the Dannon and Yoplait etc. are found. This will give you some good probiotics without having to buy a separate supplement. You might also consider eating some other fermented foods - you can find some of these now in your grocery store too (look for real pickles, not the ones made with vinegar).

I hope this helps.

I don't agree, pb4, that Andrew needs a colonoscopy. He has seen many DRs and apparently none of them recommended that. He isn't losing weight. He is not anemic. He doesn't have joint pain, eye problems, rashes or any other indication that he has IBD. Blood tests and stool tests are normal.

To me, the idea that you need to pay for a test for lactose intolerance is touching on silly. Almost everyone has some level of lactose intolerance (unless you descend from northern Europeans your production of lactase slows down starting at age 3). You can simply eliminate lactose. If you're curious you can drink a glass of milk on an empty stomach and see what happens, LOL.

Andrew, there is also a newly discovered blood test specifically for IBS, I don't know if it's actually being used widely yet since it was just recently announced that researchers have discovered how to use this blood test to detect IBS specifically so you may want to inquire about that the next time you see your doctor.