Anyone else suffer with IBS??

[dm2711]

I have tried almost everything to help my IBS. I've had various tests which all came back normal, except for a bit of inflammation in my stomach. I've tried cutting out dairy, switching protein powders, upping fiber, drinking more water, chewing less gum, limiting artificial sweeteners. I don't know what else to do! My doctor prescribed 'Amitiza' to me which is supposed to help with constipation and also prilosec for any indigestion, heartburn. I mostly get a gnawing/burning pain in my stomach, distended stomach, and gas.

I think maybe I should try cutting out gluten.. Any advice?

[IrishLassie78]

Yep. And it sucks. My experience has been that it's nothing in particular that causes the issues but some things make it worse than others. Dairy is my biggest problem. Although greek yogurt usually doesn't bother me, and cheese in small doses is OK, but ice cream and I don't get along at all and if I even look at milk or cream, there's a disaster waiting to happen. No idea why, it just is the way it is. I tried cutting out gluten thinking that might be the culprit but it isn't. Some days I'm perfectly fine, some days everything I eat makes me feel awful. Although since I've been eating more yogurt (pretty much every day) it's gotten better. I'm considering a pro-biotic supplement because of that. So maybe that's an idea for you too. Right now I just figure anything I eat at any given time could upset my stomach so I just eat what I feel like eating and deal with the consequences as they come. Not a great strategy but at this point, I don't know what else to do either. I can tell you that my mental state and stress level seem to be directly related to my stomach issues. When I'm peaceful mentally and relatively stress-free, I don't have as many issues, but when my stress level is high or I'm feeling not so awesome mentally, my stomach reflects it x10. Wish I had advice to help you but all I can give you at this point is tea and sympathy

[SuperMomx4]

I have tried almost everything to help my IBS. I've had various tests which all came back normal, except for a bit of inflammation in my stomach. I've tried cutting out dairy, switching protein powders, upping fiber, drinking more water, chewing less gum, limiting artificial sweeteners. I don't know what else to do! My doctor prescribed 'Amitiza' to me which is supposed to help with constipation and also prilosec for any indigestion, heartburn. I mostly get a gnawing/burning pain in my stomach, distended stomach, and gas.

I think maybe I should try cutting out gluten.. Any advice?

Did your GI do an endoscopy, and if so, do you know if biopsies were taken? I only ask because my children had similar issues since birth. We chased allergies, intolerance issues, IBS, and were eventually diagnosed with Eosinophilic Eso****itis and Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis. It is often misdiagnosed and but is becoming much more commonly diagnosed. These posts always make me want to drop my public service announcement and mention it. :-). If traditional remedies don't help you, maybe ask the GI if your scope biopsies were stained for eosinophils. I know with kids it is standard when scoped but not sure wth adults.

Good luck. GI issues suck and I really feel for you. Can make things miserable.

[letsgetglam]

Yes i also suffer from IBS.
Like you, I have tried everything and been through various test.
Now I am on this Fodmap diet. Have you heard of it? I can definitely tell a difference, but I am only in week 3. Cant wait to see if this diet will minimize all my symptons.

[KCBiggs]

Yep I've got it. I take a decent probiotic and it has reduced 85-90% of my symptoms though . I don't have a problem with specific food groups, but having a lot of lactose in one sitting can make me feel pretty bad, oh and super noodles go right through me for some reason?

You could try an elimination diet to isolate a particular food that gives you problems. For example, eliminate latose, gluten etc. for a few weeks, then re-introduce them one at a time and see if your symptoms come back.

Good luck OP.

[MyriaK]

I used to have a lot of issues with IBS, but then, about a year and a half ago, I came down with something even funner called C Diff. C Diff is a fairly rare disorder caused by your digestive tract being colonized by a bacteria that emits a toxin that eats your digestive lining. It's extremely painful, very hard to get rid of, and potentially fatal.

Aside from three courses of antibiotics -- it took three months to get rid of it, the last course of antibiotics was six weeks -- my doctor told me to take a probiotic called "Saccharomyces boulardii", as clinical studies have shown that it helps with C Diff where more standard probiotics don't or have minimal effect. The stuff was annoying to find, I couldn't find it anywhere locally and ended up getting it from Amazon, but did seem to help.

In any event, for the most part I've been taking Saccharomyces boulardii ever since. Oddly I've not had any of my old run-ins with IBS, except for the one time I wasn't paying attention and ran out of the probiotic. At this point I intend to continue to take it indefinitely, both because I worry about a relapse of C Diff and because it seems to help my digestive issues at least some,

Whether it'd help anyone else, I can't say, and how much of the improvement in lack of frequency of IBS symptoms may be a side effect of the C Diff and have nothing to do with the probiotic, I don't think there's any way to know. But, for whatever it's worth that's my experience and it may be something that's worth trying.

[dm2711]

Did your GI do an endoscopy, and if so, do you know if biopsies were taken? I only ask because my children had similar issues since birth. We chased allergies, intolerance issues, IBS, and were eventually diagnosed with Eosinophilic Eso****itis and Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis. It is often misdiagnosed and but is becoming much more commonly diagnosed. These posts always make me want to drop my public service announcement and mention it. :-). If traditional remedies don't help you, maybe ask the GI if your scope biopsies were stained for eosinophils. I know with kids it is standard when scoped but not sure wth adults.

Good luck. GI issues suck and I really feel for you. Can make things miserable.

Yes I've had a colonoscopy and endoscopy and everything came back normal except for the inflammation in my stomach. He also did a biopsy in the small intestine, so I'm guessing I would know if something was up.

Yes i also suffer from IBS.
Like you, I have tried everything and been through various test.
Now I am on this Fodmap diet. Have you heard of it? I can definitely tell a difference, but I am only in week 3. Cant wait to see if this diet will minimize all my symptons.

I have heard of this and I also found a website called www.helpforibs.com

It talks about soluble fiber and insoluble fiber and the foods to eat/avoid. Most of the 'trigger' foods for IBS are ones I eat! She talks a great deal about how insoluble fiber is hard to digest and can cause major IBS symptoms. So I'm going to follow a similar diet to the Fodmap diet. No dairy, no artificial sweeteners, etc...

Hopefully this works! It is definitely frustrating!

[CajunSpecial]

I have to follow a low FODMAP diet also and it helps me a lot. Also, I cannot eat anything with a lot of fiber or I will suffer horribly. Doctors are so quick to prescribe high fiber to those with constipation and/or digestive issues but it's not the answer for everyone. Fiber just makes things worse for me and that took me years to figure out.

[ktb007]

I have tried almost everything to help my IBS. I've had various tests which all came back normal, except for a bit of inflammation in my stomach. I've tried cutting out dairy, switching protein powders, upping fiber, drinking more water, chewing less gum, limiting artificial sweeteners. I don't know what else to do! My doctor prescribed 'Amitiza' to me which is supposed to help with constipation and also prilosec for any indigestion, heartburn. I mostly get a gnawing/burning pain in my stomach, distended stomach, and gas.

I think maybe I should try cutting out gluten.. Any advice?

I developed my right after I had my son. After 2 years of trying different meds, food mapping, and all sorts of natural remedies I found Lonox. It has made all the difference. Been taking it for 3 years and I have "issues" maybe once a month compared to everyday. I don't have to worry about what I eat anymore!! I take 1-2 pills a day. So to all you who are having issues ask your Dr. about Lonox. That s**t is wonderful lol

[thehobbes]

Have suffered from this for like 15yrs. Have had all the tests too and nothing shows up, have tried a bunch of meds as well. I've found in general the healthier I eat the better off I am (not always but most of the time) and regularily exercising has made it better overall. I do still go through periods of time where dairy or something will specifically bother me for a while.

It's really amazing how many people have this nowadays. With all the weird stuff that's put into processed food I guess that's not surprising. Like I said it really helps me out if I switch to a strict diet of chicken breast, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, oatmeal, and eggs. Can't always do that though when I'm at work all the time and generally busy.

Good luck OP.