The IBS Thread

[biscuits]

Hi.

Here is a thread for anyone who has IBS or suspected IBS.

Anxiety can also exacerbate or give physical symptoms similar to IBS, so the thread can be used for those sorts of discussions too.

Here are some discussion points you might like to pick up on:

Do you have IBS or suspect that you might?
What are the foods that you struggle with?
Have you sought a diagnosis?
What has your experience been with healthcare professionals?
Are you receiving any therapies or treatments?
Have you found anything useful to help alleviate symptoms?
Does anxiety effect your IBS?
Have you found any useful books or websites?

[humphrey]

I have IBS.

I find that when my IBS flares up my anxiety goes into overdrive. I start worrying about anything and everything. It also seems to trigger very depressive thoughts, eg self harm, suicide etc. Once it settles down I go back to feeling relatively normal for me again, and the anxiety etc disappears into the background.

I also get it the other way round, if something really stressful and anxiety provoking happens, it sets off the IBS, then it seems to start to be a vicious circle. Once the anxiety/stress clears it can take a day or two for the IBS to settle down.

[Amara 94]

Nah I don’t have IBS but I feel the stress at previous jobs brought out IBS like symptoms that lasted a day or a few days.

[Professor Willow]

Does anyone else with IBS find that they feel sort of anxious before they need a poo?
It's not being scared to poo but more like your body releases adrenaline before you poo.
Or am I just weird?

[biscuits]

^ not weird yes, I get what you mean. It’s more when I’m out and about though, or if I need to go out somewhere and have to stay at home for a little bit longer.

I’ve never had a diagnosis but have been to the doctor for other things and both times they said it might be a bit of IBS. They said it in a bit of a not too bothered way, if that makes sense.

I struggled to walk the other day because I was extremely bloated and in pain. I can never work out what the triggers are. For a while I thought it was cabbage or broccoli. Now I think it’s pizza base. It seems to be if I stop eating something for a while and then have it again, whatever it is.

For example, bread. If I don’t have bread for a couple of weeks, I’ll get really bad and painful trapped wind. Pizza, milk and cabbage are the worst ones if I don’t have them for a while and then have some.

But once I’ve had the reaction I can then have milk, pizza, broccoli, cabbage again and be totally fine. It seems to be that reintroduction after a few weeks.

I don’t even know.

[newbs16]

I think some doctors put most things that involve needing the toilet a lot, not going to the toilet, wind down to IBS.

I could talk to you all night about how irritating IBS is.

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[biscuits]

Ah, I had the opposite. They put it down to my reproductive system rather than food related. I had to go to the doctor for almost a year with abdominal pains. They sent me for an ultra sound on my ovaries and that's when they said it must be some sort of digestive issue or IBS, but kind of sent me off without investigating it further.

I had to see a physiotherapist and have a bladder scan at one point too. The physiotherapist told me to take fibogel for a while.

That all sounds really scary and frustrating, Nanuq .

[newbs16]

When I was a teenager I had some investigations as I had diaherra a lot.

They diagnosed IBS and sent me on my way, nearly twenty years later I had other symptoms and ended up having my gallbladder removed, it had probably been like it for years but never had an ultrasound to see, I think anxiety plays a part with the my symptoms and it's pretty rubbish and controls my life a lot .

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[biscuits]

that all sounds awful, newbs

Yes, it does feel like they give you a label then you just have to live with it and research it all for yourself!

[Mr. Nobody]

The order in which

[Mr. Nobody]

Chitty- chitty bang-bang,. or something along those lines?

[biscuits]

^ y'alright there, love?

[Stepford]

I have pancreatic insufficiency (treated with Creon) after pancreatitis which can lead to IBS or IBS like symptoms. I seem to have fare-ups around about two days a week which nearly always start during sleep. If I have a huge burp first thing I know there's trouble. Then I go on a soft-food diet only, no seeds, nuts, sausages, shelled food like pees, beans, sweetcorn and no bread or pastry. I hate the taste of coffee during this time as well. Best thing I've found for me is porridge, mash potato, Heinz spaghetti bolognese stuff like that. For bloating and wind I've found sherbet or bicarbonate helps.

[Mr. Nobody]

Originally Posted by biscuits

^ y'alright there, love?

just trying to bump your thread m'am..

I have piles, so can't contribute unless you change it to IBS / Piles thread,.. then I can let loose.. (so to speak)

[Mr. Nobody]

just saw this article which seems quite interesting.

https://www.newscientist.com/article...-in-six-weeks/

[biscuits]

Oh gosh, yes. Unleash your piles chat upon us. There are very few topics around bodily functions that I won't engage in discussion.

Sorry for not seeing this sooner. Bring on the pile chat!

[biscuits]

I stopped eating pizza (not that I was a regular eater of it) and the problem seems to have stopped. It's definitely just pizza place pizza with the hand stretched dough. I was tempered to try a gluten free one, but the pain, bloating and discomfort means it really isn't worth playing pizza roulette.

[Stepford]

^ Bread and dough-like things are pretty bad for the digestion if you have digestion probs. I had to keep away from beans, peas, sausages (basically anything with a shell), seeds and bread after I had pancreatitis. Taken me some years to get back to eating some of these things however every now and then I have an attack.

[Ronnie_Pickering]

I bloody had an outbreak. Fatigue, mindfog,stomach discomfort. It's awful.

I blame some kidney beans in a red sauce I ate:

'For many IBS community members, favorite trigger foods include red sauces, such as tomato and marinara sauces. Fact: Red sauces often contain garlic, onions, and sugar, making it a high-FODMAP food that is difficult to digest'

Or it could have been sourdough crumpets. If dough is a cause as well.

[biscuits]

^ Anxiety also plays a part. If I'm stressed then guaranteed to BLOAT and explode.

^^ It's good that you know which foods are difficult for you to digest.

I found it helpful to make a mental note of what I'd eaten before. Then it helped to see a pattern. It was stale bread, or hand stretched pizza. I think the trouble is I left it so long between eating pizza again that I'd forget (then soon be reminded) haha. Now I just know one slither of pizza is okay but nothing more.

[Ronnie_Pickering]

stale bread? that's peculiar. At least you can eat some pizza- that's something.
I've had 'attacks' for ages. It's always bugged me. But I'm getting closer, filter out more and more food.

[biscuits]

^ yeah, funny isn't it! I had some stale Italian bread left over so I made some soup to dip it in. Then the next day my stomach bloated up and I was in so much pain. I thought it was appendicitis in the night. The following day I was in Brighton having a weekend away as well and waddling along the beach all bloated haha

The only thing I could put it down to was the stale bread.

That's good that you're slowly getting to the bottom of it.

Sorry if it's insensitive to use the word bottom.

[Ronnie_Pickering]

it's not insensitive....but it is a bit of a cheek....

[biscuits]

I saw a test for intolerances where you post off a strand of your hair and they test it.

Imagine receiving hundreds of strands of hair in the post. Freaky. What do they do with it all when they're finished?

Anyway, it sounds totally bogus.

[Percy]

Bet they make a fortune in wigs

[biscuits]

^ wigs: made from the finest strands of the bloated and the gullible

[Aelwyn]

Just noticed this thread, yes I get IBS too, and here is something for you all to try. It does seem helpful a lot of the time. Good luck.

http://www.santosha.com/pavana.html

[biscuits]

^ ooh thanks

I haven't experience trapped wind since working out what causes it and cutting it out of my diet.

(Betcha I'll get it tomorrow now )

[biscuits]

I dunno what I've had today, but I might as well bring my pillow in here and sleep on the loo.

Bahhhh.

[Aelwyn]

Thanks for sharing ....