Lets get personal......

[chadspad]

I wonder if those of you that suffer from either IBS or some kind of food allergy where it bloats u would share your symptoms and cures please?

I have suffered for about the last 8 months with bouts of gassy stomach, leading to an enormous bloating making me bigger than when I was pregnant! I know that coffee definitely starts it off. I did go to a doctor & had a rectoscopy - he told me that there was a slight inflammation high up and they wanted to do an endoscopy. This, I bottled going ahead with as I am terrified of dying and even tho the anaesthetic is very slight, I couldnt go thru with it - foolish perhaps. He also gave me some suppositories which completely cleared the problem up, my cue to not have to go thru with the endoscopy.
It has since recurred rather annoyingly and having just read some details on the IBS website, I feel it is possibly that.

Have those of you that have been diagnosed as having IBS had endoscopies?
What is done to help the problem?
Does the problem arise and then go away or does it need treatment to be sorted?

Im beginning to realise Im probably going to have to go have the endoscopy after all but am still a scared bunny!

[Thomzo]

Hi Chadspad

I can sympathise. I was diagnosed years ago and have never had any sort of procedure. The doc gave me some antispasmodics but I hated them so stopped taking them.

I find it comes and goes with stress being the major cause. Other triggers include coffee (as you've found) and not eating regularly.

I try to keep mine under control by eating small, regular meals and avoiding coffee (unless I need to get going as it were ).

Garlic is supposed to be good for relieving the symptoms although I gather that it has to be the real thing, not the tablets. I can't say that I've tried it though but I do try to eat plenty of garlic.

Did you know that you can't give blood if you are exhibiting any of the symptoms as you may have high levels of toxins in your blood.

Finally, if the symptoms get worse suddenly then do go back to your doctor. The early symptoms of bowel cancer and Crohns disease are very similar to IBS and often get misdiagnosed.

Good luck

Zoe

[chadspad]

Hi Zoe, thanks for replying. I have read some more on the IBS site and the symptoms seem to differ greatly. I dont suffer from hvaing to get to the loo immediately and I dont get severe stomach cramps but everything else is right - backaches, bloating, headaches, breathless. I did mention to my doctor that could it be IBS but he hadnt heard of it. Do they do the endoscopy in the UK to find out if u have IBS? My doctor hasnt mentioned anything about food intolerance or doing checks for that nor have I had blood tests.

[Russian Doll]

hi hunny i suffer from colitis...i wont go to the docs and get the referral for the endoscpopy i mean the name scares me lol...i do control it with diet and find cutting out spicy foods helps...also plenty of water

[Muddypause]

As it happens, I noticed that yesterday's Radio 4 Check Up programme was about this. Click on the Listen Again button to hear it.

[the.fee.fairy]

I have IBS. I kept getting cramps in my sides, and a desperate need to go NOW, with a feeling that i was going to pass out.

I went to the docs and he gave me antispasmodics and diagnosed IBS.

I don't like taking tablets, so i decided to work out what was causing the problem, so i looked at my diet and kept notes of when, and what i'd eaten.

The things that set mine off are:
Travelling (especially trains for some reason)
Pork and pig products (but organic ones don't cause as many problems for some reason...)
Red meats
and stress.

I think there's something else that does it too, but i haven't isolated it yet.

Now, i take the antispasmodics when i feel like i might have an attack coming, or when i have any of the above things. Other than that, I control it using my diet.

Good luck!

[chadspad]

Thanks all for replies again. Tea690 mentioned colitis - my doc did mention this to me but as he hadnt heard of IBS I thought perhaps it was a similar thing. I have looked at both website and read up some and there are some similarities altho I dont think the colitis has the needing to go so badly. My toilet routine is definitely different but not where I need to go quick-sharp, its just not proper (without going into it too much!).

I will definitely start using a diary from now on - like ive said I know for sure coffee start it off but I need to find out what else is affecting it. To do that tho, ive got to get back to normal and I dont know if thats possible without the aid of medication first.

Thanks again all

[Jack]

Gidday

I suggest you not only watch your diet but also take some form of pro-biotic to re-stock your livestock.

It's really worth a try.

[Bonniegirl]

Soory Jack, but can you explain? I'm not sure I know what you mean! thanks

[Millymollymandy]

I have suffered from IBS or Spastic Colon as it used to be called since I was about 13!

I get dreadful debilitating stomach aches where the only relief I get is when I lie down.

I was told by my doctor to eat 3 tablespoons of bran a day!!! Actually it didn't make any difference. Anyway that was about 20 years ago. No mention of cameras up the bum back in those days!

Stress does trigger it off but then sometimes it just comes on at any time for no apparent reason. I usually suffer from it in the afternoons or evenings.

If I can fart I get relief so my husband reckons I just suffer from wind! But actually it isn't funny.

[possum]

You are female I assumed (if not ignore this reply) have you ivestigated PCOS? IBS is one of the related symptoms of this in which case a low carbohydrate diet wil help.

[Martin]

I'd agree about endoscopy - usually totally unnecessary, and actually quite dangerous..........do what I did, and go and find some REAL therapy - homoeopathy, herbalism, traditional chinese acupuncture............
I've suffered from various allergies/sensitivities for years, and am really
grateful I found a way to keep things under control that does not involve drugs or invasive treatments.
I had a really stressful winter, and found that I was reacting badly to wheat, so for the meantime am leaving it out of my diet, but I still had "big chief griping gut" after stopping, so sought the advice of my acupuncturist........he asked me "what I'd been up to", and I related the tale of a ghastly winter - he took my pulses (plural - there are 12 of them!), and he asked me if I'd got very cold during the winter. I confirmed that I had (no car heater in the depths of winter, and had got frozen to the marrow several times) - he grinned as I'd confirmed the diagnosis - "invaded by cold"
I was laid on my right side as he "*moxibusted" an acupuncture point on the outside of my ankle "to put warmth back into the meridians"........three days later, not a gripe at all - still 100% ok several weeks later
*moxibustion - the burning of mugwort to put "heat" into the meridians - either achieved by attaching a ball of it to the end of an implanted needle, and lighting, or in my case, a succession of pyramids of it placed on the point - the top is lit, the moment the heat is felt, it is flicked off by the practitioner, and then repeated several times......

[Womblies]

Hi Chadspad,

Just thought I'd add my tuppence worth... I was diagnosed with IBS many years ago, and after some investigating alternative remedies came up with peppermint oil as a natural anti-spasmodic. I saw my then GP who agreed and made out a prescription for peppermint oil capsules,Safer and more accurate dosage than putting essential oil in water, if I think for a while the brand name of the capsules will come back to me.* He wrote the 'script for a few months supply so that made it so much cheaper.

I don't need to take anything now I've changed my lifestyle, but do drink peppermint tea and chamomile tea if there is any feeling of bloating etc which usually does the trick.

*Colpermin...had to do a Google though, it obviously doesn't improve memory

cheers
Julie

[chadspad]

Thanks again everyone. I self-treat myself often with Reiki but it doesnt seem to help at all unfortunately and not so easy to find other therapists in my part of France
I am going to start changing my diet today, go back to basics, keep a diary and see what triggers things. I dont want to go back to the docs if I can help it. Will get some tea and try that for the bloating, thats my main grievance (apart from the blood & mucusy poos ) but Im so large its making me breathless and uncomfortable. Im sure I could cope better if that subsided a little!

[Martin]

I'd go along with the peppermint oil suggestion - France is much better served for the alternatives than the uk in mainstream medicine - most chemists carry ranges of herbal and homoeopathic remedies - and many French doctors offer them as alternatives!
ps, if you can find them, "Altoids" peppermints are very good for this use (contain loads of natural peppermint oil) - you can occasionally find them in confectioners shops, around £1 for a tin (and the tins make excellent baccy tins afterwards)