Is it IBS? - Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Message Board

QtrHrsMomma · 04-18-2004, 11:42 PM

For a few years now I have suffered with what I think may be IBS. I have seen my doc a few times about it and he 'assumes' by my symptoms that it very well may be but hasnt told me for sure or how to manage it.

It goes in spurts and I am not even sure what triggers it. Sometimes I think its sour cream, and I know that cabbage (like in coleslaw) and salad get my guts wrenching. And it most often happens at night - like at 2 am or so.

Ill wake up with MASSIVE pains in my guts like they are twisted or something, like moan and groan pain. Ill go sit on the stomach bent in half clutching my knees and sweat like mad trying to 'go'. At first it starts with constipation and all of a sudden its severe diahrea (sp?). Then when that is over I am ok to go back to bed. Now if I dont get it all out I will end up back in the bathroom with cramps again. The pain is absolutely horrendous.

Also food goes through me quite quickly after meals most days. Sometimes within minutes after a meal I am in the bathroom. But not everyday.

I just wish I could pin point what is causing it. What are some 'trigger' foods that tend to cause an attack? Are there even certain foods that more often then others cause an attack? What else can you tell me?

Please help.

Tammy

L-Town · 04-19-2004, 09:36 AM

Most of your symptoms sound like IBS except when you get your attacks. Normally attacks don't happen at night. Everyone is different and can have a number of trigger foods. Mine are...chocolate, caffine, and most all processed foods. The only way to tell 100% if you have IBS it to exclude all other diseases by getting a colonoscopy. This will allow a gastroenternologist to view your entire colon. If there is no other cause found for your symptoms then you will be diagnosed with IBS.

L-Town

adso · 04-23-2004, 01:17 AM

QtrHrsMomma, I have your exact symptoms! There is some comfort in that

Some of us have attacks in the morning, some at night. Mine trigger off an hour after lunch, first I feel pale, stomach bulges, sometimes im ill, no more appetite, then around dinner time, I get hit with 6-12 hours of the pain cycle you refer too.

Those many nights spent shivering in the bathroom, has taught me a couple of little tricks for dealing with attacks:
- Avoid stressing out and accept the pain, getting angry and stressed makes it worse.
- Incomplete evacuation is the norm for IBS. Dont force that either! I like to hang close to the bathroom anyway, it feels safer.
- Once youre over the initial period, sit down in the shower, run the hot water over you and try relax/meditate. Ive found this can ease the pain and eventually let me go to bed.
- As you probably know some positions hurt more than others... I have a comfy chair next to my bed, and I lie back in that, put the dunah over me and rest/sleep in the chair, it seems to hurt less than attempting to get into bed.

I know they may sound silly, but they work for me. Luckily I havent had an attack for a while now, but have other Symptoms instead.

Triggers... I kept a Food Diary, Avacado was my worst, Banana on an empty stomach too, and sometimes there was just no obvious trigger at all.

Right now im trying to experiment with diet, Its comforting to know we have 'IBS', but curing it is like an unexplored fronteir! So please let me know if you have/do learn anything more about controlling it!

CrazyCats4 · 04-23-2004, 06:02 AM

Wow, you described my symptoms perfectly. Just this morning I was ripped out of bed by those excrutiating crampy pains, ran to the bathroom where I sat on the toilet gripping my ankles and doing lamaze breathing until my bowels emptied (started out hard, then turned to almost water).

I cannot eat veggies or salad makings of any kind. But a trick I did learn was to always eat a piece of bread or a few bites of rice before (about 10 minutes before) I eat anything else. I guess the complex carbs give my stomach something hard to digest first, or coats my stomach. This works about 75% of the time.

CC