I am fed up can someone offer advice?

Question

In the last few months ive been ill. Firstly it started as a bit of toilet trouble. I am quite regular when it comes to going to the toilet usually once or twice a day but sometimes when i do its like diarrhea, however, i still only go one/twice a day and not excessively. I then started having stomach pains that lasted a while and got worse when i ate but they were in my stomach and no where else then they went down to my intestine area but it was more like an ache down there. Then i got given something by the doctor to reduce the stomach acid i had because she thought i had too much as id lost my appetite and had the pains. They seemed to work yet since i stopped taking them ive had a terrible gurgling pain in my stomach and sometimes still get the aches in my intestine area but its mostly my stomach that is so uncomfortable. Ive lost my appetite again and still only go to the toilet once or twice a day (this fact is relevant eventully). My doctor told me the other day i have IBS and she gave me something called mebeverine. ive only taken it twice so far and so far no difference. My question is (to anyone who has experience or medical background) does it seem like i have IBS cos im not convinced. I dont get constipated or have excessive diarrhea (some days im perfectly healthy in that department too) the pain seems more like a gurgling uncomfortableness in my actual stomach (above belly button) rather than lower down and i think it could be food intolerance but when i suggested dairy she dismissed it really quickly and said it wouldnt be that. Can anyone help me please?!

Answer 1

Lactose intolerence could be the cause, usually it causes diarrhea, but can present with pain alone. The most common diagnosie is IBS, but the temporary improvement with the acid suppression medication ( PPI?) raises the possibility of stomach or duodenal ulcer. I assume one of the blood tests may be for infection with H. Pylori, but an upper endoscopy would be a reasonable next step. Good luck and continue to experiment with diet.

Answer 2

if you are unhappy with a doctors decision then see a different one and explain it to them , if you think it might be a food intolerance then keep a diary of food you eat and when you are in pain write it next to it do this for a couple of weeks I'm sure if this is the problem then a pattern will show

hope you start to feel better soon

Answer 3

Be honest I have similar.   Made worse by hiatus hernia allowing acid reflux ,, However  have been told also  about IBS  and diverticular disease,   Also take a proton  pump inhibitor once a day to stop stomach being so acid...  it helps,   Also had Mebeverine  (colofac),   Supposed to stop cramp and is an antispasmodic.Don't take it regularly though.   There is also alverine citrate(spasmonal forte) which does much the same thing..IBS  does not always cause constipation or diarrhoea  ,  just  pain in soft tissues of intestines.  I only usually need to go once a day ,  soon after I get up.  Consistency varies from day to day   Bit also due to diet I think..  I just live with it

Answer 4

What you are experiencing sounds like what I experienced a few years ago, which went on to develop into colitis, which is inflammatory bowel disease, not IBS, although it sounds as if you are having problems higher up in the gut than I have. The blood tests may well help; if they show raised inflammation, then it's likely that you may have some form of inflammatory bowel disease, which can affect any part of the gut. I sincerely hope you don't have this, but if you do, you need to get started on treatment. Usually a single drug can control this, but it needs to be taken for the rest of your life. I have been told by my consultant that he sees most people once a year, and they might need some steroids occasionally but that's all.

If you think it might be food intolerance, then cut out one food group, eg. dairy, for a couple of weeks and then reintroduce it slowly. If you react as soon as you reintroduce the food, then it probably is intolerance.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck with the blood tests.

Answer 5

why don't you go and get food allergy testing done, they do them in most health food shops, at least then you can start ruling out something!

Answer 6

theres a condition thats called twisted colon,that can give trouble like you state,i know that with ibs certain foods can agrivate the problem,try keeping a list of when your bad and recap on what you ate before that happened

Answer 7

It does sound like IBS to me, it can make you have diarrhea somedays and be fine others. Some people get constipation as well, and some don't at all.

There are lots of theories behind what causes IBS, some studies show that certain foods set it off. Other research has involved genetic factors, allergies, psychological factors and stress, bacterial overgrowth and involvement of the endocrine system. Some people think that it can result from a combination of all these factors.

Treatments can include drugs, alternative therapies (herbal medicine, acupuncture, hypnotherapy etc), or dietary alterations.

My advice is, keep taking the drugs, you need to give them more of a chance. After a few weeks if your symptoms still persist then go back to the doctor, ask to try another medication and see a dietician. They may be able to advise you which foods might be more likely to set it off.

Hope that helps.  

Answer 8

U may,first of all, go in for ur stool examination in a local but reputed diagnostic centre for correct results and then visit www.saioam.com  for proper evaluation by experts in alternative medicine and with treatment options.Please, do't worry.

Answer 9

Have you considered gluten intolerance / celiac disease?

Gluten is the protein in wheat, oats and rye and is found in lots of sauces and thickenings as well as bread products.

The symptoms of gluten intolerance include:

diarrhea, constipation, excessive wind (pain), bloating, acid reflux, leg cramps, nose bleeds, weight gain, weight loss, tooth enamel problems - to name just a few.

Some people have no symptoms, some many and no two exactly the same.

Gluten intolerance can "develop" at any age - it is an inherited condition that will often lie dormant until a stressful event or illness trigger it.

Untreated gluten intolerance affects the villi in the stomach by covering them with anti-bodies to protect them from what the body perceives as a poison. The enzyme that converts lactose lives on the end of the villi and are often the first bit affected by this protective mechanism of the body.

If you have suddenly become lactose intolerant - insist your doctor get your blood tested for the gluten reaction. (You must be consuming gluten for it to register.)

The "cure" is to never eat anything with gluten in it ever again. So it is worthwhile confirming you have the condition before restricting your diet.

If the doctors wont listen and you get to your wits end, you could do an elimination diet to see how your body responds. But doing this before diagnosis will compromise the accuracy of the diagnosis.

IBS is *never* a diagnosis - it is a set of symptoms only. It indicates they haven't found the underlying cause yet. Usually it is one or more food intolerances  or a condition like chrones disease.

Answer 10

im not a doctor but my advice is go for some blood tests and have a full medical checkout thats the best thing todo