This is really long and I understand if you choose not to read it. I feel like I am writing a novel here ... however I did not find a similiar approach to the disease so far on this board (perhaps just not looking hard enough). Just thought I'd share my own story (possibly purely cathartic .... no matter).

Fellow Ibs ... sufferers :
I normally avoid IBS forums because I find focusing on the problem tends to make it worse. Anyway, I'm giving it another try. I'm a senior in college and I developed ibs after a serious bout of intestinal flu. I had never had a previous problem with my intestines, besides from the occasional stomach ache, up till then. Several days after a night of puking my guts out (pardon the vulgarity, however I literally felt like I was dying), I found myself in the ER because the resulting intestinal inflammation was unbearable. I had no idea what was wrong with me, all I knew was it felt like appendicitis. After a few hours in the ER, the doctors came to no conclusion whatsoever, only that I had recently suffered from stomach flu. Getting to the point, after that my stomach was never the same ... at first it just felt very "bubbly like..." and let's just say ... "didn't quite function properly..." My living situation was horrible, I lived in a dorm w/ one bathroom for the whole floor, my roommate situation was a disaster which I believe to be a major source of the prolongation of my stomach problems. At this point I had not seen any doctors and sort of assumed my problems were "stress related" and would go away when I returned home.
Moving on, I returned home from college and within less than a week I was completely normal again. I had a very exciting/demanding/and challenging summer at a new job and a new city, but my stomach suffered no consequence. I ate and drank and did absolutely anything I desired to do. I completely forgot I had ever had a problem. Long story short (-er), I returned to the same school, with the same roommate, after summer ended. At first things were fine, and then we had a huge blow-out which tormented me (emotionally) severely, and my stomach reacted immediately. The old problems returned (with a vengeance, I might add) and proceeded to increase in intensity as the situation worsened. The smart thing to do would have been to find a new place to live STAT, but I decided to "tough it out." So anyway, after seeing a series of doctors, they finally labeled it. It was not "stress" it was "IBS." So now instead of something I thought would go away, it was something I couldn't handle on my own. The stress had been eliminated, yet the disease would not relinquish. I have visited several doctors, I have tried every thing that I've read about for IBS, to no avail. I'm probably happier than I've been in my life, at a new school I love, etc., yet I suffer daily from alternating IBS with no break in site. I realize that many others have it worse than me, but nevertheless it is quite frustrating to be at such an exciting time in one's life and to be constantly affected by such an illness.
The real point I am trying to make here, without trying to evoke sympathy or anything, is that I have formed my own hypothesis and am fed up with people making suggestions that I a) have laready tried and b) do not believe to be the source of the problem. I have had a colonoscopy, blood and food allergy tests, I have done acupuncture, counseling (currently trying hypotherapy, which doesn't seem to be um, exactly working) and have tried making food, exercise and stress changes to my life, all to no avail.
My primary problem seems to be the very knowledge that I HAVE a chronic, embarassing condition, that there seems to be no answer in sight for. I do not think stress causes IBS, but I believe that knowing about my condition and my resulting frustration has become my stressor. People (doctors, parents, etc) seem to have a problem accepting my own hypothesis, but I mean ... I've had this for roughly 3 years and I know a thing or two about it ... i've done my share of research as well as I'm sure all of you have.
I apologize for the length of this, I am just curious to see if anyone else can see my way of thinking, because everyone seems to have all these dietary/lifestyle suggestions or supplements that I know for a fact do not make any even slight differences for me. The only change I've been able to make is to learn to keep a good attitude (as much as I can) because I am, well, not dying - and can participate in most things I love to do even when I am currently feeling very uncomfortable or in pain. Seriously, sorry again this is so long and detailed - any input, response, whatever, is welcome. *Additionally, I am willing to try out new medicines, etc. Among them I have tried: Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Effexor, Bentyl, and Zelnorm (... I swear there was one more ... hmm), which I stopped because they did not benefit me whatsoever. I was also a little leary of staying on ineffective anti-depressants when I was not in fact depressed. Thanks very much to anyone who read this.

Ashley :wave:

Hi ashfree,

I see you've run through a battery of different means to help yourself to a solution to IBS. Its too bad that people's suggestions on the site don't seem to help you. I'm sure they were suggested more out of ignorance (of your unique situation) than out of spite - I guess people don't keep a log of what other users are going through - I suppose that is what doctors get paid to do and they can't do much either.

What I think you will find is that there are senior veterans (in addition to others) on this site and they are still sharing solutions that they come across on the boards, in spite of the fact that some of the solutions they are sharing may only be temporary or just a fix for a bit here or there or completely ineffective for some.

Certainly, I am sure they would agree with you as do I - none of what any one has shared has resulted in a fixed problem - certainly not in my case (although I am uniquely different from others). Hence the tendency to return to this site. I wish every one could just go home healthy and happy - myself included. What I am saying is that with IBS, your frustration is not new.

Since you had mentioned your problem, and asked if anyone could relate - I guess I can't relate to it. Knowing what my problem is, that it is chronic and that there is no cure has helped rather than hindered me. I can now lead my life knowing that there is some recognition of the fact that what I am going through is "real" and not imagined, and that it will be there for a time to come - hence my motivation to work around the issues I face in a long term fashion.

Additionally, since you seem averse to receiving any one's suggestions without their having referred to a detailed write up of your medical history + your trial history, I doubt anyone will try to give you any suggestions - myself included.

As for my own beliefs - they are quite distinct from anyone else's perhaps - and quite steadfast because of the fact that I've consistently proven to myself that it is true - at least for me. I believe that my IBS is caused by psi-stress and I haven't yet come across something that has proven to me otherwise. I've managed to cure 95% of my IBS with this knowledge that I have. My knowledge is however akin to fishing - I can catch fish for the occasional IBS sufferer with my visual techniques, but only those who I've taught fishing can catch it permanently for themselves (the stress I talk of is not something you can make dissappear on your own without this knowledge - or someone who has it). I did notice that you've tried a number of methods that I've suggested in the past - if you were following my suggestions, then I am stumped as to why you would continue to do so without having seen any benefits regardless of how temporary the benefits may have been. I do recall people who have at some point in time improved due to my suggestions who later on swore that they were completely ineffective. It is true that they are temporary effects - again the fish and fishing analogy applies.

No one has claimed to have found a cure, except some companies trying to sell their products. If one of the suggestions given to you result in a cure, please enlighten us too.

I guess I wrote a novel too...

Cheers, Raju.

Raju,

I sincerely did not mean to offend you or any other posters in any way, and I really hope that I haven't. (I'm often hesitant to post on message boards because they don't always come off the way as meant, anyway..) My frustration is absolutely not with posters offering helpful suggestion/insight to help lighten the load of IBS. What I meant is my frustration with my own doctors, parents, etc. who know my scenario but still keep saying things like "well have you tried exercising?" (yes, yes I have..) and seem inable to accept that I just, sort of don't know what is left to try. I certainly don't expect anyone on this board to have a magic cure for me. I guess just since there's so much left to figure out about IBS, it is a frustration for me because I've been healthy all my life and have never had a health problem which could not be treated directly by medicine. I respect everyone in this message board because we all just want the same thing (which is to be healthy again...), so again my message was not intended to offend.
I understand your acceptance of the disease as chronic has been helpful to you, and I have sort of done the same thing. My only reluctance to completely accept this (personally) is the knowledge that I have in fact beaten it before. It is frustrating to me because I feel like the answer is locked up in my head somewhere, and all I need is that friggin key. (I.e. before I knew what I had was IBS)
Thank you for your kind suggestions (everyone) and I wish you all the best of luck.

Ashley