Is this really just ibs? chronic abdominal pain for 7 months?

  hi,I'm new here! I've had ibs for years,but it wasnt anything I couldnt deal with or tolerate..few times a month get bad cramps,bm's altered,or get bad "gas diarrhea" attacks at night that would wake me from a sound sleep,but usually it was a food that triggered those episodes.Usually having bowel movement relieved pain back then.This severe stabbing pain started in april,never went away totally but in july was pain free.In april was in hospital for 3 days, morphine didnt touch this pain!had many trips to er for this pain,I have had colonscopy,endoscopy (mild acid reflux)ultrasounds,hida scan,catscans,kidney ivp (prone to kidney stones) and laparscopy aug 9 to check for endometriosis,no endo.All test came back good,being tested for toxin poison now.I've lost 50lbs in 4 months,hair loss,appetite loss,cant tolerate most solid food eating makes pain worse,get low grade fever,night sweats or chills and nausea 24/7,even my breast hurt! (not on birth control)Live on ensure,yogurt,apple sauce,rice,juice,crackers,turkey, and vitamins .Pain is belly button area radiates to lower left and right side sometimes upper area too  with severe rectal/pelvic,lower back pain,severe bloating,trapped gas (havent been able to pass gas in months) loud rumbling bowel sounds,BM's are altered,sometimes constipated,prone to fecal impactions or what I think..plug? sorry to be so graphic,but those are rare.In past I managed it with otc meds and careful diet,but NEVER in past have pain like so bad for so long,even after a  bowel movement no relief,and always feel like I'm not "done" with pressure.It isnt crampy pain like in past..bad stabbing pain daily constantly in tears and at my wits end..anyone else experience this and just told its IBS? I fear I'm heading for eating disorder because of pain I dont wanna eat and if I do I'm sorry.I had to leave work (cosmetologist) because I cant stand up for too long,I'm 28,moved back home to help take care of my mom who is handicapped with emphysema ,not under great deal of stress as my dr claims its all just stress..well stress from this pain! duh! was on paxil in past for ibs and it did seem to help with anxiety level,but been off of it,take xanax for anxiety.I'm housebound most of time cuz im afraid of "accidents" (happen few times on the road and now im phobiac about it ) I use to be active,have a social life,work,even during ibs flare -ups,but whatever this is has hit me hard.My family and friends are getting fed up not being understanding,mostly cuz of appetite loss and rapid weight loss which im not doing on purpose,I use to love food and it,showed, lol ,was 200lbs now 150lbs..id give anything to be 200lbs like last yr cuz I felt alot better.My dr refuses anymore testing since all my other test results are normal, i asked for barium studies to see if i had slow gut see how my stomach empty's or check to see if it is small bowel giving me probs. I should be relieved all my test are normal,but im not ,pain is still here getting worse everyday.Any idea's,advice,similar stories would be greatly appreciated,ty,I needed to vent! ~Stephanie

Hey Stephanie, welcome to HealingWell.  Sorry you are having so many problems; sounds pretty rough for you right now.  I do have some advice, though, that may help you weather the storm of your illness.  It is good that all your tests have come back normal, even though that doesn't mean you don't feel cruddy. 

First of all: start a journal.  You will write in this every day - what you eat, in detail (amounts, too); any symptoms you have (how many BMs, pain, etc.); your weight (only weigh yourself once a week); and your mood.  You have to be really introspective to determine your mood adequately!  You might start finding a pattern that wouldn't be apparent otherwise.

Fever is a tricky thing - are you taking your temperature every night?  A fever is defined as 99.5 degrees or above.  You might find that you feel feverish even if you don't have a fever, or that your temperature of 99.2 or whatever might just be a normal variation in your body temperature (which can go from 97-99.5 depending on the time of day).

As far as food goes, you really need to eat.  The reason you have loss of appetite is because you are not eating enough.  Sounds weird, but it's true.  Food will give you energy, and that will help your body heal.  You'll want to eliminate the apple sauce and juice - this can cause diarrhea and cramping in people with sensitive stomachs.  Ensure is good, but also eat things like plain baked potatoes, soups, etc. 

If you were on Paxil in the past and it helped, you should go back on it.  You are living with your mother who has a difficult chronic illness herself and even if you don't "feel" stressed emotionally, it is a stressful situation.  Do you have a good support network of friends/family?  That is very important in your situation.

If your doctor is not paying attention to your pain, you might want to try another physician or a nurse practitioner.  Have you heard of osteopathic medicine?  D.O.s are equivalent to M.D.s (same length/content of medical education, with added musculoskeletal emphasis) and they are trained to look at the body systems as truly integrated, not independentally functional.  There are some neat techniques they have to alleviate pain.  Or you could call a local pain clinic to see if they may be able to help you.

 

I had alot of the same problems as you.. Bad cramps (finally ended up in the ER which gave me th dx of crohn's disease), d (very explosive), in the potty every 10-15 mins or so so I was there pretty much all day.. Did have an accident on the way to work.. Luckily it was not bad.. I was diagnosed with no doubt after sbft. And they could see inflamation in the colonoscopy. Hope this helps.
TCCIC

Ty you all for your advice! it really helps to talk to other ppl going through same thing.This is something I dont feel comfortable to discuss with my friends or family even though they know what is going on and that I'am in pain.Today was rough ended up in er again,they think its ovarian cyst causing pelvic pain.Just wondering on my colonoscopy few months ago biopsy did show some inflammation,but gi never mentioned chrons or colitis? is inflammation common for ibs too?
I'm trying to eat more,on and off since april been on ensure,I would have 3 a day and crackers seems its all i could tolerate.Havent had real food since end of July.I relize now I'm just making it worse,and now I have to get use to food again and my gut is rebelling,and after few bites I'm stuffed,found taking few bites every 2-3 hrs is working out,gradually working soild food back in diet,and fiber,I feel the worst for it,but I brought it on myself going on ensure.I was having jaw problems (tmj) and jaw would lock couldnt chew so at times I had no choice to have a ensure or slim fast for some nourishment.I have the loudest stomach and bowel noises..sometimes keeps me awake at night.I go to store and ppl stare ..lol,is that my stomach getting use to food again ? it is just annoying!
Time to try some chicken now,this is gonna be a fun night! lol

Tummyblogger
Ty for your advice,I'm gonna try those idea's.I have no doubt I have ibs but I also have gut feeling something else is going on too,I'm not going to give up finding out yet,like you said ,this pain may not be just ibs.It acts up like appendicitis,but then again ibs can mimic so many things too.Today is bad..severe lower left and right pain,right is worst,and those area's are swollen and feel really hot plus i have fever,pelvic pain, and bad nausea,sounds like some kind of infection? I see my new dr tues so I'm gonna tough out and see what he thinks this could be.I dont remember running high fever in past episodes of ibs,so I think my body is trying to tell me something.

Stephanie, you may want to see your gyno and tell her you want to go on birth control that will stop you from having a period. A lot of doctors now will prescribe low-dose BC pills and give you enough so that you can skip that placebo week and skip having a period if you ask them. I'm on Depo Provera injections which stop mine. Scientists are finally coming around to the decision that 1, there's no real reason why a woman who doesn't want to get pregnant should have a period and 2, it's actually not natural to have as many periods as modern women have. Back in the cave man days (and up until the middle ages or so), most women started having babies soon after starting their period and between that and breastfeeding, periods were kept to a minimum.

Anyways, if your IBS is unbearable because of your period, then try eliminating it and see if you at least quit vacillating between bad and even worse.

Of course someone--I think Lil--found that her BC actually made her IBS symptoms worse and that when she went off it, her IBS symptoms, including during her monthly, weren't nearly so bad.

hey there...
hopefully, you've figured out what's going on by now. if not, and i don't want to alarm you, have you been tested for ovarian cancer? i have had a lot of the same experiences, and i've been to the doctor 5 times over the last 7 months and they have yet to do an ultrasound. two different doctors at that. so i've been searching the internet...i may be overly paranoid...but you may want to check into it.
katie