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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 4/24/2013 11:00 PM (GMT 0)

(If this is in the wrong place, feel free to move it!)

Hey everyone, just registered. I've been reading these message boards for a while, but I finally caved and decided to ask for peoples advice/ideas, just on the off chance that anybody has the faintest idea what the hell is wrong with me! It's (most likely) not a case of IBS as far as I can tell, but this is probably the most appropriate forum to post it in.

Basically, I've been suffering from constant constipation for the past 6 months now. It was weird in that it was a sudden thing; I went for a meal out and got probable food poisoning (as far as I can tell) - I was throwing up and on the toilet with diarrhea for a day or two, and felt ill for almost a week.

Since then, I haven't been able to have a proper bowel movement (not even once  shakehead ). I can still 'go' with the aid of laxatives, but it's almost always either thin stools or basically just diarrhea (sorry for the graphic descriptions!). I've tried every laxatives I can find, and I'm currently on movicol sachets long term, though I tend to have to take about 3 of them, or a couple with a bisacodyl. It's been a crapty (no pun intended) 6 months, and what makes it worse is that I had a groin hernia surgery a few years back, so I can't strain too much or I could tear it again.

I did first leap to the IBS conclusion, but I don't think it is. I don't have any other side effects such as stomach pain. I do get excess gas - it makes me feel full and burp a lot to the extent where I sometimes throw up, and that's been getting worse in the past few weeks, but I can't tell whether that's just a side-effect of the movicol or not.

My doctor has been pretty stumped so far, he did the normal tests (like those fun examinations) but couldn't find anything. Also he prescribed me mebeverine on the off-chance that it might help, but it didn't. I have an appointment with the gastro in a few months, so hopefully he could shed some light on it, but untill then I was wondering if anyone else had ever experienced similar problems, or whether I'm just a strange case.

Cheers!

Posted 4/25/2013 12:16 AM (GMT 0)
Hi sorry your feeling so poorly. I don't know what is worse having to go too much or not going often enough. Have you tried adding in a fiber supplement? If you haven't I would add one in but slowly as they can cause more gas and you don't want that. I personally wouldn't want to be doing laxatives because you don't want to become dependent on them. Usually think stools mean there is inflammation somewhere. Constipation can be a symptom of an IBD and inflammation so its good you will be seeing a GI.

You mention your burping alot. Does it strictly feel gassy like or is it feeling like reflux? I would try an OTC acid med like Prilosec. Neither the fiber or the prilosec are going to hurt you trying them. I'm sorry but I haven't heard of the two meds you are currently taking.

Hopefully someone else may have some ideas for you. Let us know how things go.
Posted 4/25/2013 9:51 AM (GMT 0)
Hey, thanks for the response :-)   Yeah, sadly I tried fibre supplements, but they didn't seem to help at all, unless used with a stimulant laxative. I feel is is strictly gassy, but I did have a little bit of reflux a year or so ago, and still have some of the medication left, so I might try one of them anyway just on the off chance that it helps with that.

The whole thing has been pretty worrying, because I know you can become overly reliant on laxatives, but at the same time I can't go without them, so it's a no-win situation. I try and avoid using stimulant laxatives as long as I can help it. At least Movicol is slightly better for long term use (it's an osmotic laxative that I just mix with water and drink) but even then that can't be great for the body to be taking almost daily.

Posted 4/25/2013 11:52 AM (GMT 0)
Have you tried Colace? It's very, very mild. You can buy it in two strength's - 50 and 100 mg. If you try it, be sure to buy name brand, not generic (generic contains sennasides, which is an irritant to the lining of the colon, for me generic created so much gut rumbling but named brand Colace is very gentle on my system).
Posted 4/28/2013 9:59 AM (GMT 0)
I've tried Ducoease tablets (which I think is the UK version) - and to be fair, they're not bad, and certainly more convinient to take then most stuff, but I do end up taking quite a lot of them :/
Posted 4/29/2013 11:51 PM (GMT 0)
I've had IBS for 15 years now. At first it was just the D all the time. Now in the last year i've constipated off and on. The only thing that helps me feel better is an antidepressant prescribed by my dr. Its crazy that its the only thing that works. AJ91 give it a try. I know that i worry sub-consiously about having an attack of the D so that causes anxiety which causes the D. Zoloft has worked best so far.
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