IBS???

Hello all. I'm hoping somebody here can answer my question. I've been having difficulties for the past three months. Irregular bowel movements....change in frequency and consistency. (No problems with diarrhea, though it's looser and ribbon like). Occasionally feel like I have to go and can't or will go three times in as many hours. Biggest annoyance is the bloating and discomfort. The discomfort is typically in the upper abdomen, both right and left side. When bloated, it sometimes feels like I'm not getting enough air to breathe. It's getting pretty frustrating because, it's a daily occurrence with maybe a total of ten OK days during the last three months. Does this sound like IBS?? Thanks in advance for any information you all can give me.

Thanks for the response.  During a recent physical, I spoke with my doctor about this issue.  She said it sounds like IBS and add more fiber to my diet.  It does nothing for the discomfort or feeling of fullness.  I haven't tried beano yet...worth a shot and certainly couldn't hurt.  The thing I'm curious about is feeling like I'm not pulling in enough air at times.  (I only feel like this when I'm feeling overly full).  Has anyone else ever mentioned this; I haven't seen somebody mentioning having that as an issue associated with their IBS.  Thanks for the input...I'm a newbie here and appreciate having this forum.  This isn't the sort of everyday conversation that you can discuss with your friends. 

I'm guessing you have a hard time drawing a deep breath because the bloating is pressing up on your diaphram and making it hard to expand it and your lungs.

I too have heard that doctors recommend walking as a treatment for constipation and gas since this helps make the intestines move and jars the gas lose when it gets stuck in one place. Someone on here mentioned that when cows get bad gas pains, farmers will load them up on a truck and drive them around (those trailers don't have shocks most of the time, so that's a lot of jarring) and that helps relieve their pain. I've also heard you should lay a colicy baby on top of a dryer and run it (no heat!) because the vibrations make them feel better. So maybe you need to walk after your meals in addition to the gas medicine to see if that doesn't help relieve your gas problems.

Also, have you tried probiotics? Stool problems along with gas are sometimes helped by them.

You can get them at a health food store or at a regular chain drug store. I happen to know that Walgreens carries Culturelle and Digestive Advantage both. You can also pick up just acidophillus at the drug store or most large grocery stores. You can also try eating yogurt. Walgreen's keeps the Digestive Advantage and Culturelle in the section with the other bowel products and the acidophillus is in with the herbal remedies.

And you're right in suspecting gas--it can cause bloating and pain both, but you don't necessarily have to have both together. I rarely bloat; if I have gas problems, I have the pain only. So it's not strange for you to have just bloating. You definitely have the lesser of the two evils there.