Posted 7/4/2013 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
You could have one or more food intolerances which are commonly associated with IBS. The first thing you could do is try going off of lactose for a while to see if your symptoms improve, allowing up to 3 months before you see improvement; although I saw improvement within about a week of not having lactose (I'm lactose intolerant). If that doesn't fix it, then you may be intolerant to other FODMAPs and you could try an elimination diet, preferably under the guidance of a dietition, to figure out your food intolerances. I'm intolerant to four of the five FODMAPs, so I have to watch my diet carefully.
In the last year or so, despite following my low-FODMAP diet, I have been experiencing similar symptoms (plus more) and my doctor suspects I may have developed an inflammatory bowel disorder and/or celiac, so he has booked me in to get an endoscopy and colonscopy to find out. You may have an IBD such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease - have you had a colonscopy or sigmoidoscopy to find out?
You could pop over to the UC and Crohn's and Celiac forums on this website to repeat your questions there.