I am revisiting the issue of my diagnosis some 9 years ago of IBS. I became sick one night while at work with stomach cramping and diarrhea. I continued to have flare ups with this same sign and symptom so I went to the doctor. My doctor ran a few tests and referred me to a gastrointerologist and they did a colonoscopy. Nothing was found in the colonoscopy and he ruled that I had IBS, the only thing left he could come up with. He prescribed Dicyclomine (Bentyl) and I have taken it on a needed basis since then.

I work a somewhat stressful job and requires me to work 24 hours and 48 hours off. I have had several episodes of gastrointeritis over these 9 years too, which I have never had before. It is like this thing just hit me one night and I have not been the same since. I hate it. It also seems that I have more occurrances while at work usually at night. If I get up in the middle of the night and run a call, I can usually bet that I'll have a flare up and be praying that I do not get another call. I take my medicine and it usually takes about 30 minutes and the cramping feeling goes away, but now I am so gun shy that I still hope for no more calls.
This IBS has left me no option except to leave the field and take an office job (still with the fire service I work for), but now I am having to work in an area that I really do not want to be in. I want so badly to be on a truck running calls and helping people and doing what I have been doing for the last 17 years. Can anyone provide me any suggestions, offer any encouragement, or tell me what I should do? I feel strange about this because I am usually on the other end, but this thing has hit home now and my way of life is being affected and I need some help.

Maybe I should have test redone, more tests and screenings. The medicine seems to work, but I want something to prevent it so I don't have to wait for a flareup to deal with it.

Going Crazy...

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Georgia Medic

Oh yea, one more thing...it is the IBS-D that I have, or think I have.



[This message has been edited by GeorgiaMedic (edited 07-09-2003).]

I have IBS and whenever I get nervous or have alot of stress it acts up big time. I currently take a antidepressent for my anxiety and it has helped my IBS symtoms.

Good luck.

If you do not mind, can you tell me the name of the antidepressant you are taking. My doctor gave me a script for Clidinium/CPD (generic for Librax), but I have been afraid to take it. I have never had to take such meds before and reluctant to take it. Thanks for you reply, I appreciate it.



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Georgia Medic

I had attacks of cramping for almost 40 years, so i always had to have a job where the john was nearby. Now i have to take a beta blocker ( Toprol) for high blood pressure and it has prevented any attacks. No cramping, only one BM per day.

One thing you mentioned that makes me suspicious that you might want to further investigate your condition is the fact that you have had problems at night. Bowel problems during the night is not a symptom of IBS and IBS experts usually use that as one symptom to rule out IBS and investigate for other things.

Has your gall bladder been looked at? And, have you investigated the mind/gut connecton (your are under alot of stress and instead of biting your fingernails your churning your gut?)

Hope today is a good one for you and that you get some answers soon.

Sounds like you all could be canidates for Crohn's disease. Cause Crohn's is what mine symptoms turned out to be after a few years of cramping and fast bowel movements, always having to be by a bathroom.
A doctor will have to do a colonoscopy and do a biopsy to diagnose Crohn's. I was told I had IBS for a few years and when I ended up at the hospital for emergency surgery after years of pain, diarhea, frequently and feeling weak....that's when they took the biopsy and found out it had been Crohn's all along, it just doesn't register as Crohn's until it becomes chronic. Get a second opinion and educate yourself about Bowel disease. I have been in remission for about 8 years. By doing alturnative medicine. The conventional drugs like to have killed me and they do not cure anything...only make it worst.
Here is a list of what I take to stay in remission. It has given me a new lease on life. These things also are for IBS except you will not able to get the B12 injections unless a Doctor does it for you.
Injections of B12 every month...I give them to myself, your doctor can prescribe this for you to do from home as well. It is very important to keep your red blood cell count up in order for the healing and remission to take place. 96% of all Crohns patients are aniemic.
Flaxseed oil caps
Gyco Green tablets
Green Magma by Green Foods Powder
Ester C caps
Primal Defense tablets
folic acid pills
Omega-3 softgels
L-Glutamine
Reuteri Enteric coated Primadophilus
Always take capsules or powder when ever possible this ensures absorbtion. Hard tablet supplements do not dissovle in Crohn's patients. Always take Primmal defense and Reuteri on an empty stomach with water.

Dee865...don't be so quick to think that all of those expensive complementary medicines have "cured" you, or that the conventional medicines "made things worse". Crohn's disease is one whose natural history often includes remission. No one knows why or when remission will occur, but your emotional state has a lot to do with it. One thing with naturopathic medicine that bothers me is that, a lot of the time, the remission would have occurred anyway regardless of whether any of that herbal stuff was taken, but the naturopath will keep you believing that (s)he "cured" you. There is no cure for inflammatory bowel disease whether alternative medicine OR conventional medicine--it can only be controlled.

Also, I was thinking that the original poster of this thread might've had Crohn's as well, but he did mention that he had a colonoscopy done. If they were thinking crohn's or ulcerative colitis, they probably would've biopsied already. Ulcerative colitis almost always involves the distal colon and evenly works its way proximally so it is pretty easy to diagnose with a colonoscopy....Crohn's usually has a cobblestone apperance and can affect anywhere from the mouth to the anus. It is possible that the Crohn's is higher up in the intestine (say the small intestine) which is an area that is not readily accessible by the colonoscope.

Projap...I already know everything you just said about crohn's...there is not anything you can tell me I don't know! What you don't know is a colonoscopy can be given and not identify crohn's at that time and then months later it shows to be crohn's or some other intestional disease. I know this first hand! And my brother is a Gastro Doctor...so don't tell me your jargan! I have studied this disease and alturnative medicine for 18 yrs and I do know about this disease. Oh by the way?? You wouldn't happen to have crohn's I guess....didn't think so....you need to think again about becoming a doctor. It might not be the profession for you!

Please no personal attacks. This is a support / sharing forum.
moderator4

[This message has been edited by moderator4 (edited 07-28-2003).]

Projap...I already know everything you just said about crohn's...there is not anything you can tell me I don't know!
You do eh?
What you don't know is a colonoscopy can be given and not identify crohn's at that time and then months later it shows to be crohn's or some other intestional disease.
I see.
I know this first hand! And my brother is a Gastro Doctor...so don't tell me your jargan!
If expect me to believe that you "know everything" about Crohn's, and you consider the language I used as "jargon", it shows me you clearly some of the words I'm using...in other words, you don't know as much as you say you do. And by the way, my sister is a CA, so what? It doesn't mean that I know a lot about business, and it DEFINITELY doesn't mean that you know a lot about gastroenterology.
I have studied this disease and alturnative medicine for 18 yrs and I do know about this disease.
...and yet, you spew opinions about physicians doing what they do just for the money. Not a very mature thing to do for a person who has been part of the "nedical" field studying for 18 years.
Oh by the way?? You wouldn't happen to have crohn's I guess....didn't think so....you need to think again about becoming a narrow minded doctor. It might not be the profession for you!
I assure you perhaps there are many doctors that actually DO try to help people and are not just "in it for the money". And I'll tell you another thing, I'm giving up the best years of my life going through med school so that one day I can be a good doctor. People who trash the medical profession with all conspiracy theories ---- irritate me.


Please---- no personal abuse. This is a sharing / support forum !!!
moderator4



[This message has been edited by moderator4 (edited 07-28-2003).]

Wow, hey guys,

I have to say that having worked on both sides of the fence here, having trained and worked in the conventional medical field and the alternatives, I think that both have their uses and can be very effective and they should be used side by side.

I have to say that I do use alternative therapies a lot more than the conventional these days, however, if I got hit by a truck in the road, I would be much happier in the ER knowing that I would get the best care there. So that is what I mean about living side by side. There is a need for both and I really think that this should be recognised.

Also, the body does have an inate power to heal itself and as much as you say that an ND might say that his herbal remedies have cured you, you could also turn this argument on its head to say that a conventional doctor may give a patient a prescription for meds and could also say that these will cure you. Surely, this is exactly the same thing and I cannot see the difference? A prescripton med has a physical effect on the body, in exactly the same way that a herbal med does. No difference there. Also, which ever med you are taking may lead to a spontaneous remission of symptoms. The body will take what it needs and use it to heal. This can be done with conventional medicine and the alternatives.

It is great that you have invested so much time in going to med school, but once you get into practice, please try to be as open minded as possible and if you remain like that, I am sure that you will be a good and caring doctor and will always try to do the best for your patients, whether this turns out to be use of conventional medications or referring them to alternative practitioners.

TO THE ORIGINAL POSTER

I really think that you need to listen to the messages that your body is giving you. You say that your job is very stressful? Well, giving you these symptoms of stomach pain and diarrhea are a way of your body letting you know that it is too stressful and that you actually need to slow down.

There is a concept known as somatisation. This is when something psychological that you are not coping with is suppressed and by suppressing it and not dealing with it, you can start to feel physical symptoms, such as stomach pains and diarrhea, however, test reveal no organic basis for your symptoms.

I think this could be the case for you and I do think you need to explore and sort out the deeper issues behind this before you start to feel better. I think that you could probably benefit from some counselling or psychotherapy. It does sound as if the job you have been doing is too stressful for you. However, I do understand that a desk job will not fulfill a need to help others in quite the same way and this is making you unhappy too. Is there no happy medium that you can take, where you would still be helping others, but where you can cut down your working hours, thereby making things less stressful for you? The other alternative is to look for different kind of employment, possibly in a related field, whereby you can still help others, but where the environment would be less stressful?

I think in your case, you probably need to treat the cause of this rather than just the symptoms and then you will be able to achieve a cure.

By all means get tests done again and I agree, that unless you have had an endoscopy done previously, then it would be hard to detect if you have Crohns Disease. If you have not had one done, then it might be worth it.

Anyway, there are natural alternatives that can help you with anxiety that are just as effective as antidepressants and also with the stomach cramps and diarrhea. You can look into these.

However, I would suggest that you have some psychotherapy. Also, I would suggest that you could also have some CranioSacral Therapy. Another term for this is also Body Psychotherapy.

If you want to read more about CranioSacral Therapy, then a good introductory book to read is CranioSacral Therapy Touchstone for Natural Healing by Dr John Upledger DO.

He has an institue in Palm Springs in Florida and you can get more info from looking at the website.

Good luck