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Posted 11/14/2007 11:44 AM (GMT 0)
How do people distinguish their IBS symptoms from their IBD symptoms? I realise this is a tough question as both may be related. But leaving the appearance of blood aside which is obviously IBD what symptoms do you associate wih your IBD and what do you classify as IBS?

Thanks,

D

 

Posted 11/14/2007 11:56 AM (GMT 0)
Blood could be just inflammation and not IBD. Blood could also be Hemmoroids or Fissures.

You can't really tell what is causing any symptoms like excess BM's and Diarrhea without a scope.
Posted 11/14/2007 12:06 PM (GMT 0)
This has come up in the past...you may want to do a search at the top of the page to get more info.

IBS for me is caused by eating something I shouldn't. For example if I eat McDonalds I typically have d right afterwards. UC for me is urgency, increased bms, blood and mucous.
Posted 11/14/2007 12:08 PM (GMT 0)
Sure but I'm just interested in how people view their own conditions. For them, what is IBS, what is IBD, what does stress do to them, what does certain food do to them, do people have external triggers for either,does their IBS/D present itself in a seasonal way. Just "normal" things like that. Things that dont warrant a visit for a scope.
Posted 11/14/2007 12:24 PM (GMT 0)
All I know is that even though foods effect how I feel. Stress is my worst enemy. IBD or UC alike.
Posted 11/15/2007 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
Im like Tab, was diagnosed with IBS 20 years ago, and the only time it gave me trouble was eating certain foods, cheese and sweetcorn , lob it down the loo and cut out the middle man lol . Found it quite manageable , completely different to UC .

Tab
Posted 11/15/2007 7:48 PM (GMT 0)
Well the good news is, Probiotics and fibre are both beneficial for IBD and IBS.

Here is a link from the CCFA, you'll have to copy and paste into your browser...

http://www.ccfa.org/about/news/ibsoribd


:)

Posted 11/15/2007 9:21 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sure evryone is a little different, but here is how I tell the difference- though it can be tricky because when IBD is active, I find that IBD is amplified (pain feelings / disocmfort are exagerated) by the IBS. That is, IBS makes us sensitive to what might not be such uncomfortable/painful feelings if it were IBD without IBS.

To answer the question, though, I find that active IBD creates a sharpness and throbbing level of pain that doesn't occur with IBS symptoms. I am sure we all "know" a couple dozen different types of gut pain, our familiar friends (enemies), and most of the time my instincts work well in telling me whether it si IBS vs IBD.
Posted 11/15/2007 9:38 PM (GMT 0)
Am I the only one who has never experienced pain nor cramps nor even had a twinge in my abdominal area even when I had severe pancolitis. I am in no way boasting about this fact and I'm totally grateful for having being 100% pain free. For me its weird that so many people associate pain with IBS and IBD.

Has anyone else never had pain with IBS or IBD?
Posted 11/15/2007 9:48 PM (GMT 0)

damo123 said...
Am I the only one who has never experienced pain nor cramps nor even had a twinge in my abdominal area even when I had severe pancolitis. I am in no way boasting about this fact and I'm totally grateful for having being 100% pain free. For me its weird that so many people associate pain with IBS and IBD.

Has anyone else never had pain with IBS or IBD?

Sometimes I get severe back pain which my GI doctor said was due to cramping and somtimes I get joint pain.  But it's not very often I get these two.

Posted 11/15/2007 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
Damo:

I rarely, rarely have pain. I can sometimes get an awful gas cramp, and I've had the knife stabbing sensation in my rectum, but for the most part, my UC is painless.

Mitz
Posted 11/15/2007 11:04 PM (GMT 0)
Damo123 - Me too, God Willing, I have never had any pain with colitis, only minor bleeding.
Posted 11/15/2007 11:13 PM (GMT 0)
The only pain I've ever really had with having IBS and IBD is lower back pain, which is common for both IBD and IBS, but since taking the bee propolis I no longer have that issue either.

:)
Posted 11/16/2007 1:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hmm, this is very interesting... for me severe pain is probably my biggest complaint with IBD. In fact, even in some clinical remissions (but not the huge 9 year long one that I had- no pain then), according to biopsies, I have had problems with a chronic burning, non-ulcer dyspepsia type pain at times, and in actual flares I get alot of different pains throughout my colon. I was always puzzled reading aco****s of people getting plenty of bleeding and yet little or no pain with their UC. And it's not like I'm a wuss for pain either, as I can subject myself to tons of it (so-called "good" workout pain) on a bike or in the gym.
Posted 11/16/2007 2:31 PM (GMT 0)
I have been dx'd w/UC for almost 8 years now and did not get pain (besides gas cramping - mostly being really uncomfortable at times) until this sept/oct and it was awful, truly awful. Damo, I am happy you have not had pain and hope you never do, that is a really good thing!!!
Posted 11/16/2007 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry about my excessive typos! The auto censor caught one of my typos (honest) for "accounts"... sheesh, I really have to start editing more before hitting 'submit'. :(
Posted 11/16/2007 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
I don't differentiate between IBS and IBD. It's all part of the same continuum of poor digestive health to me, with UC and Crohn's being on the more serious end, obviously. For some reason, it even struck me as kinda funny when my first GI told me, "Now you have ulcerative colitis on top of your irritable bowel syndrome."

Irritable bowel symptoms for me were extreme bloating and discomfort, alternating cycles of D and C, frequent extreme hunger, feeling uncomfortably full after eating very little, bouts of nausea after eating what would be considered a normal amount of food for most people.

UC symptoms were onset of bad abdominal cramping and frequent bloody D upon taking a broad-spectrum antibiotic. I dropped weight quickly, ran a fever, felt weak and had no appetite. I had alot of pain when first diagnosed. I was given morphine in the ER and demerol in the hospital. When I was sent home, I had some high-powered pain pills. Many times, I'd have to sit down and breathe deeply until a bout of cramping passed.
Posted 11/16/2007 6:44 PM (GMT 0)
Be careful with those baked goods/pasteries unless they're home made, store bought can have some of the worst junk in them I heard on the news.

:)
Posted 11/16/2007 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
I have pain on occasion when I am in a flare, but it has never been to the level where I needed to take drugs for it. It's just been more uncomfortable than anything else... crampy.
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