IBS or something else?

Hi all

I am a 31 year old male. Since August of last year I have been suffering from symptoms of IBS. The condition started with a bout of diarrhea when my wife was giving birth through an emergency c-section. Most people think that it was the event that triggered the condition since it was a stressful situation. Basically during the day I have slight to mild abdominal pains, the consistency of the stool varies from formed to bitty, at times I have nausea, and I feel/hear noises and rumbling in my stomach and intestines. For some time this had stopped - I had been taking ERCEFLORA/CLINFLOR probiotics and COLOFAC/NO-SPA anti spasmodic (either one or the other). In fact from February to May of June of this year my bowels were trouble free. Unfortunately by the end of June I went to Spain and had a paella which was not fresh - the morning after I had a very bad bout of diarrhea once again and this seems to have once again awakened the condition. By mid July I had started experiencing the symptoms again.

I ve been to several different doctors and they all suggested IBS: Celiac test, blood tests are always OK, blood pressure ok too, never saw any blood in my BMs except for some transparent mucus. I had even a rectal test last year which resulted negative. I never suffer from constipation and my BMs are usually trouble free except for the discomfort they cause me before. I ve been as well to a therapist who tested me for food intolerance through bio-electronic resonance - she told me to stay away from egg yolk/white, yeast, all dairy products, wine and even chocolate. Due to this diet and to the daily exercises I lost some weight as well - but its 100% due to the diet I am doing nothing alarming.

ERCEFLORA/CLINFLOR probiotics and COLOFAC/NO-SPA anti spasmodic seem to work however I am still not living comfortably. The discomfort is really annoying. Sometimes I feel like something is tightening up in my stomach...probably its acid reflux. I am at a point where I have to decide whether to do further tests - I was planning to do a FOBT test but my doctor suggested to wait a bit for the intestines to calm as the result might give positive results and I will be 'forced' to do a colonoscopy. I was told that at my age, without family history of colorectal cancer and polyps, a colonoscopy is not recommended - there are risks involved and in my circumstances they outweigh the benefits. May I remind you that I rarely have diarrhea, never saw blood in my stool (not sure about occult) and I am not loosing weight for nothing. Regarding weight I lost 7.7Kgs in 215 days - I don't consume junk food, no pizzas, no dairy products, no fats, no sodas, no cakes...nothing just vegetables, chicken, fish and fruit. I also removed coffee from my diet - I used to take quite a lot and now I am taking herbal tea.

What do you think about my situation? should I keep taking the probiotics and the anti spasmodic and that's it or I go for further tests? if yes, which tests should I do?

Thanks a lot guys

I have found about 90% benefit to my symptoms of IBS by using a tincture of cannabis, or more commonly known as marijuana.

I process the MJ with alcohol, vodka or other 80 proof or higher.

Then I put this tincture under my tongue at bed time.

This puts the active ingredient directly into the digestive system which according to my doctor is a location of many nerves. Somehow, these nerves respond well to the tincture and this lessens my issues greatly but not completely. I will up my dose from 3 droppers to 4 when I know I have a hard day ahead. I will also rarely do a dropper in the day time. I don't think that this is as effective. It is important to be prepared ahead of time and to have the digestion proceed in a calm fashion. Once it all goes crazy then it is a matter of bringing myself back into balance.

There are about 180 chemical similar to the one we associate with marijuana. Some of them may be much better at treating illnesses than just the THC. There are groups working to perfect high CBD varieties that will give the medical benefit without the high. This would be especially helpful if you have to work and don't want to be dingy and giggly. If you have seen some of the work being done to help severely impacted children they are making an effort to develop the low THC and high CBD varieties.

Also, it is being reported that people are juicing the vegetative leaves of marijuana for their symptoms. I have not yet tried this but it is on my list.

(Note: I am a legal card holder for marijuana in the state I am in. It is not suggested that anyone in a state that does not allow for medical use attempt to use marijuana due to the legal and financial situations you may be drawn into.)

FYI, it took me about 6 to 9 months after getting my card to find the dosage and treatment method that worked best with marijuana. One issue was that I would find a strain at the dispensary/club and maybe it was good but then when I went back it was all new strains again. I am working to produce a strain that is effective specifically for my conditions. I started with a strain called Vortex as it is known as one that is good with digestive issues. From that I have made crosses and developed my own strain but it is still a work in progress. Due to the restrictions on plant numbers I have a limited ability to test many plants for their effectiveness. I have more seeds now than I could plant if I had 10 acres.

I also have a list of foods that I have found to be problematic. This would include:
- high sugar foods
- fast foods
- high fat foods
- milk and milk products (yogurt is okay in moderation)
- soy (according to a test I am supposedly allergic to soy...but my in the moment effects don't seem to support that, but I have switched from soy milk to rice milk)

Your foods that trigger you may be different than mine though. I do find that Oatmeal is my food of choice when I am out of balance.

I did a test through a clinical trial on a antidiarrheal drug that was being considered for a IBS treatment. Good news is that the drug companies are aware of the target market. But from my understanding there is not much treatment options in the traditional medical tool box. I did get to realize how much my digestion was off on a daily basis. The trial also had a test of stool forms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Stool_Scale

Bottom line the MJ moved me 1 or 2 steps closer to the middle and when my symptoms get out of control they come back sooner. Having raging IBS for weeks at time is no longer my situation. I may also be getting some benefit from the placebo effect. If this is working though I will let it keep working.

It could be food intolerances as well. You should keep track of what foods are causing you pain/gas etc. Like I said though, you will not know until you get testing done.