Is it IBS?

[GroundEffect]

Stop sniggering at the back.

I have had some symptoms that I'm not used to the last week or so.

I felt extremely bloated an uncomfortable for a few days but this has died down to a 'moderate' level.

I have A LOT of wind.

I have the urge to go #2 all of a sudden. Just out of no-where and it's a rush. And trying to just ignore it causes pain.

I am needing to pee more than normal.

It's sapping my energy - feeling lethargic tonight.

Basically I am normally very regular and predictable in me guts, but the last week or so everything has gone off kilter and it's frustrating.

I'm 29 and pretty fit.

Could it be the onset of IBS? I can't attribute it to anything I've eaten in particular...

[Biglips]

It could be IBS but it doesn't usually come on so abruptly/ dramatically. Definately worth seeing your GP to exclude other things.

[zbc]

Please see your GP. I had almost identical symptoms at a similar age, although I wouldn't describe myself as particularly fit I wasn't unfit or seriously overweight. He arranged some tests and simple treatment and it cleared up easily but the consultant he sent me to explained some of the unlikely but possible causes that it's worth ruling out. It flared up again a few years later and I got similar treatment and I've been fine for the past ten years. But speak to your GP. Even if he says don't worry you're fine. At least when you go back six weeks later and it's no better he knows you're serious.

[fatboy b]

The body's reaction to food changes over the years. I've had IBS for a while, but recently has died down by avoiding certain foods with high fibre content. I also had bad stomach acid, so I turned to apples & grapes. This put my IBS in overdrive, so I stopped those. It's pretty much gone now, but still get a little after a few beers. But get the doc to examine your abdomen.

[zeDuffMan]

There are a lot of causes of changes in bowel habit. Best to get seen by someone who knows what they're doing really.

[rb26]

I've apparently been suffering from IBS too. OP if you're still having discomfort I've found abdominal breathing through the nose and out of the mouth to be really helpful in curving any pain. Do about 10 breaths and you should feel better.

My pain started at the beginning of February and I'm still battling the symptoms today, despite being prescribed Mebeverine.

The symptoms being-

.Constipation
.Throbbing pain
.Lack of 'consistent'/'bodied' bowel movements
.Nausea
.Appetite loss

I've continued to have these symptoms despite drinking 10 glasses of water each day, increasing the fibre in my diet and going for longer walks with my dog (The gym has been missed over this period of time due to the discomfort)

The pain itself started in the abdomen, then my left flank and finally in my left testicle. Which, I'm sure as you can appreciate, prompted a swift visit to my GP! After a physical examination and a urine test (everything normal), the GP confidently diagnosed IBS.

However I'm still not convinced. My pain is worse at night, and apparently IBS symptoms shouldn't be bad during this period of time as the bowels don't 'operate' as efficiently at this time. It's also meant I've only averaged about 90 mins sleep over the past 5 days.

I'm planning on returning to my local practice next week and asking for a second opinion from a different GP. Whilst I'm only 24, I just want to ensure there's not something more sinister at play. If there are any Phers with a medical background, would you say my symptoms are fairly typical or are my plans to return to my GP's well founded?

Edited by rb26 on Wednesday 1st March 19:58

Edited by rb26 on Wednesday 1st March 20:00

[Robertj21a]

GroundEffect said:

Stop sniggering at the back.

I have had some symptoms that I'm not used to the last week or so.

I felt extremely bloated an uncomfortable for a few days but this has died down to a 'moderate' level.

I have A LOT of wind.

I have the urge to go #2 all of a sudden. Just out of no-where and it's a rush. And trying to just ignore it causes pain.

I am needing to pee more than normal.

It's sapping my energy - feeling lethargic tonight.

Basically I am normally very regular and predictable in me guts, but the last week or so everything has gone off kilter and it's frustrating.

I'm 29 and pretty fit.

Could it be the onset of IBS? I can't attribute it to anything I've eaten in particular...

Some of these symptoms can also relate to quite serious problems. You need to see a GP to be on the safe side.

[GroundEffect]

As an update, I am feeling better progressively, the last few days. I am thinking I had something viral. I will be seeing my GP in a couple of weeks anyway so I'll bring it up then if things linger on.

Thanks for the input.

[inabox]

Rb26, sounds like IBS to me. I had something similar and ended up in so much pain I considered suicide. Mebeverine and buscopan helped a little but not so much. I was very fit and 27, I lost 3 stone in a month.

Don't increase your fibre, it can make it a lot worse. The only thing that helped me was going to a FODMAP free diet then slowly introducing foods back. I really recommend googling it, it saved my life.

[grumpy52]

I had this for years and just put it down to unhealthy diet and lack of exercise and irregular work paterns being a lorry driver .
Turned out I had gallstones .
It was triggered by certain foods .
Fatty-oily meat ,lamb,mince ,roast pork etc .
Anything with mayo especially prawn cocktail ,dairy produce like cream and cream cheese ,mashed potatoes.
Still get the odd attack but it's now with loads of pain and trips to A+E for morphine which means I cannot then drive for a few days as I would fail any drugs tests .
They will eventually remove it but are reluctant to give me any anaesthetic because I have had a TIA inthe past .
Go and see your GP ,and look after yourself.

[Fetchez la vache]

Robertj21a said:

Some of these symptoms can also relate to quite serious problems. You need to see a GP to be on the safe side.

The thing with those symptoms is that it could be many many things. As a crohns sufferer I can identify with some of those symptoms, though the chances are it's just viral so nothing to worry about.
Go see a doctor. Doctors don't mind seeing people with genuine worrys so if the symptoms are still with you, just go and have a chat.

[Robertj21a]

Fetchez la vache said:

Robertj21a said:

Some of these symptoms can also relate to quite serious problems. You need to see a GP to be on the safe side.

The thing with those symptoms is that it could be many many things. As a crohns sufferer I can identify with some of those symptoms, though the chances are it's just viral so nothing to worry about.
Go see a doctor. Doctors don't mind seeing people with genuine worrys so if the symptoms are still with you, just go and have a chat.

Yes, that's the whole point. Many men are thought to ignore some of these very same symptoms because they assume them to be just 'routine' issues. That's fine for many/the majority of cases but it also means that the more serious cases that may cause cancer are not being found until much later.

[Mexican cuties]

I was told for years I had ibs, and finally had it diagnosed as coeliac disease, so now finally know what to cut out, what a difference. visit to the gp is a defo

[rb26]

inabox said:

Rb26, sounds like IBS to me. I had something similar and ended up in so much pain I considered suicide. Mebeverine and buscopan helped a little but not so much. I was very fit and 27, I lost 3 stone in a month.

Don't increase your fibre, it can make it a lot worse. The only thing that helped me was going to a FODMAP free diet then slowly introducing foods back. I really recommend googling it, it saved my life.

A big thank you for the advice, after another sleepless night I've decided to declare all out war on this IBS! I've started on the FODMAP diet today and taken; probiotics, buscopan and mebeverine. I'm feeling much better in comparison to the last few weeks but still can't fall asleep due to the ruined body clock. Fingers crossed I'll be as right as rain in the very near future.

[Robertj21a]

rb26 said:

A big thank you for the advice, after another sleepless night I've decided to declare all out war on this IBS! I've started on the FODMAP diet today and taken; probiotics, buscopan and mebeverine. I'm feeling much better in comparison to the last few weeks but still can't fall asleep due to the ruined body clock. Fingers crossed I'll be as right as rain in the very near future.

Except you don't know it is IBS. It could be any of a number of things. You should see a GP.

[Riley Blue]

Robertj21a said:

Except you don't know it is IBS. It could be any of a number of things. You should see a GP.

Definitely. Self diagnosis from a few forum comments is not the way to do it. Call 111 if you're reluctant to see a doctor but your GP is the one you should be consulting. I saw mine because I was peeing frequently - it turned out to be prostate cancer and following on from that I was found to have a heart problem, neither of which I would have known about if I hadn't seen my GP.

[HerrSchnell]

rb26 said:

A big thank you for the advice, after another sleepless night I've decided to declare all out war on this IBS! I've started on the FODMAP diet today and taken; probiotics, buscopan and mebeverine. I'm feeling much better in comparison to the last few weeks but still can't fall asleep due to the ruined body clock. Fingers crossed I'll be as right as rain in the very near future.

As above, you really need to speak to a Doctor as IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion rather than a condition itself. That is to say that IBS is a term applied to a set of symptoms only when no pathological disease is present, the reason for that is that the symptoms of IBS occur due to psychological reasons not physical ones and as such while changes to diet may alleviate symptoms they will not eradicate them.

Put simply IBS is a response to stress, more particularly chronic stress which the individual does not acknowledge and thus does not address in their daily life. The various chemicals produced in response to this affect gut function which results in symptoms with no cause apparent to testing and a diagnosis of IBS is given.

Sounds like bad news? Well it's not as it means if the diagnosis of IBS is given then your body is actually absolutely fine and you can use various strategies to overcome the cause of your symptoms without resorting to altered diets and / or drugs for the rest of your life. This is one area where the NHS have trailed and subsequently adopted hypnotherapy for treatment and many find it to be the most effective treatment for IBS, combine that with looking at what may be causing you to feel stressed and taking steps to address that will make your life better in ways beyond alleviating gut trouble.

Brief overviews can be found on the links below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/andrew-cunningham/...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC30392...

https://www.iffgd.org/research-awards/2005-award-r...

[rb26]

Robertj21a said:

Except you don't know it is IBS. It could be any of a number of things. You should see a GP.

I have seen my GP. They confidently stated it was IBS after a urine test and physical examination. The diet changes and medication I've been taking has helped.

[jammy-git]

You really should need more tests than that to rule out other things before given a diagnos of IBS, blood tests, fecal matter tests, MRI, and possibly colonoscopy and CT scan.

[rb26]

jammy-git said:

You really should need more tests than that to rule out other things before given a diagnos of IBS, blood tests, fecal matter tests, MRI, and possibly colonoscopy and CT scan.

If the symptoms continue to persist I will go back. However as I said above I'm starting to feel better with the changes to diet and medication I've been taking.