wind, bloating, lower intestinal pain

[Robmarriott]

For several years, I've had the above symptoms on and off in the evenings, but more recently it has become a lot worse, to the point where I've been going to bed each night in pain.

I've tried cutting certain things out of my diet one at a time, caffeine, dairy, bread, alcohol, fizzy drinks, spicy food. I've even tried a couple of days of eating nothing but white rice in case it was just a bug, still no different. Nothing seems to cure it. I've tried keeping track of food to see if there's a trigger for it but I can't seem to find one. The only thing which definitely causes me an issue is bell peppers but that's something I've avoided for a while, it's definitely not that.

I know the answer is 'go to the doctors' but I've got a genuine phobia of them since my dad died and I'm not sure if I actually can... doctors mean you're going to die in my brain...

Any suggestions of what I can do to find the problem? (as in, what would the doctors do that I could do myself?)

Edited by Robmarriott on Wednesday 24th April 08:54

[The Ferret]

Robmarriott said:

For several years, I've had the above symptoms on and off in the evenings, but more recently it has become a lot worse, to the point where I've been going to bed each night in pain.

Going to bed each night in pain is your bodys way of telling you something isnt right. If its become worse recently, that's because whatever it is causing the problem is getting worse.

Going to the doctors doesn't automatically mean you're going to die. If the fear of death is holding you back, look at it this way - there is more chance of you dying by not going to the doctor than by going to see him.

Sorry to be blunt, but it's time to get over the irrational fear of the GP and pay him a visit. Chances are it's something as simple as IBS but you won't know until you get checked out. All you do by not knowing is increase worry, which in turn can make these type of gastrointestinal problems worse.

[Lemming Train]

In my experience doctors work off a flow chart these days and are largely a complete waste of time. It goes something like this :

You: Hi doctor, I have x problem.
Doc: Do you smoke?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to quit smoking.
You: No >
Doc Do you drink?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to stop drinking.
You: No >
Doc: Are you overweight?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to eat 5 a day, go on a healthy and balanced calorie controlled diet and exercise more.
You: No >
Doc: Hmm. You are suffering from depression. Here is a prescription for some anti-depressants.

[Robmarriott]

Yep, I know a visit to them is the right answer but it's really not that simple for me. If it was, I'd just go.

What do they test for and how do they test for it? I'm trying to see if I can test things at home in any way so I don't have to go to the doctors really.

[Robmarriott]

Lemming Train said:

In my experience doctors work off a flow chart these days and are largely a complete waste of time. It goes something like this :

You: Hi doctor, I have x problem.
Doc: Do you smoke?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to quit smoking.
You: No >
Doc Do you drink?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to stop drinking.
You: No >
Doc: Are you overweight?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to eat 5 a day, go on a healthy and balanced calorie controlled diet and exercise more.
You: No >
Doc: Hmm. You are suffering from depression. Here is a prescription for some anti-depressants.

This is partly my concern, my previous experience with them is from my own anxiety/depression diagnosis and they took forever to agree with me that was the problem. (I know a lot of GPs don't see mental health problems as real illness so it's not a true comparison).

It's also a massive pain with work. My GP is where I live, my work is 15 miles away and getting an appointment at the GP is nigh on impossible the same as it is countrywide, then negotiating the time off work is difficult too.

Is there such a thing as a private GP so I can book an appointment and be seen without the faff of ringing constantly for an hour to be told there's no chance of being seen?

[The Ferret]

Robmarriott said:

Yep, I know a visit to them is the right answer but it's really not that simple for me. If it was, I'd just go.

What do they test for and how do they test for it? I'm trying to see if I can test things at home in any way so I don't have to go to the doctors really.

Fair enough, as long as you understand you're potentially putting your health at far greater risk by not going.

The chances of working it out at home and getting it right are slim. Ignore the poster above, a decent GP will get to the bottom of what's causing the problem fairly quickly. You aren't going to be put on anti-depressants due to gut pain (unless it's IBS related and you're unable to leave the house without crapping your pants, in which case you'll gladly accept whatever meds they provide if they work)

They'll likely do blood tests, maybe even a nice poo sample too. Not the sort of thing you want to be trying as a DIY, and even if you did who's going to interpret the results for you.

Just book an appointment - seriously stress and worry are often one of the biggest aggravating factors in gut related problems, and by not going all you'll do is make that side of things worse.

[Gameface]

Mate, your long term health is possibly at stake.

Don't fk about. Go to the doctors.

Sorry to be blunt.

[budgie smuggler]

Robmarriott said:

Is there such a thing as a private GP so I can book an appointment and be seen without the faff of ringing constantly for an hour to be told there's no chance of being seen?

Yes there is, google is your friend here but BUPA etc do it (you can pay for it yourself if you're not insured).

[LordGrover]

If the GP is definitely out, you could try an elimination diet for a few weeks.
Eat nothing but beef steak and drink water. Probably sounds extreme, but it can be very effective.
Once you've established a baseline, reintroduce foods if you feel the need.

NB You may think you're constipated as pooping reduces dramatically, but that's simply because there's very little waste to eliminate.

[227bhp]

It's a Psychiatrist you need to see followed by a doctor.

[Peanut Gallery]

Lemming Train said:

In my experience doctors work off a flow chart these days and are largely a complete waste of time. It goes something like this :

You: Hi doctor, I have x problem.
Doc: Do you smoke?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to quit smoking.
You: No >
Doc Do you drink?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to stop drinking.
You: No >
Doc: Are you overweight?
You: Yes > Doc: Ah, that's the cause. You need to eat 5 a day, go on a healthy and balanced calorie controlled diet and exercise more.
You: No >
Doc: Hmm. You are suffering from depression. Here is a prescription for some anti-depressants.

You forgot one >
You: My knee has been really sore for ages, I have tried painkillers, different shoes, different knee braces, resting it, but it is still really sore and stopping me doing stuff.
Doc: Here is a prescription for more painkillers, come back in 2 weeks if it has not cleared up.

Sorry, back to the OP, going to bed in pain is your body telling something is wrong.
As you can no doubt guess, I do not have much spare time for docs, however please talk to one - 111 would be a place to start, or my work offers private medical phone call to a doctor.

[Robmarriott]

227bhp said:

It's a Psychiatrist you need to see followed by a doctor.

Thanks for the excellent mental health help as always.

[Robmarriott]

LordGrover said:

If the GP is definitely out, you could try an elimination diet for a few weeks.
Eat nothing but beef steak and drink water. Probably sounds extreme, but it can be very effective.
Once you've established a baseline, reintroduce foods if you feel the need.

NB You may think you're constipated as pooping reduces dramatically, but that's simply because there's very little waste to eliminate.

I'm already only drinking water and have been for a while, I'm hoping it's something diet related so this may be an option.

[Robmarriott]

Peanut Gallery said:

Sorry, back to the OP, going to bed in pain is your body telling something is wrong.
As you can no doubt guess, I do not have much spare time for docs, however please talk to one - 111 would be a place to start, or my work offers private medical phone call to a doctor.

Hadn't thought of that, I might speak to our HR dept and see if we offer something similar.

[ozzuk]

you could try probiotics - not the crappy supermarket drinks but proper tablets. from a health store or amazon (can't remember what mine are called but will check later). Really help reduce bloating etc, I get them for when IBS flares up.

My stomach issues are linked to stress but certainly worth getting checked out - I went private with BUPA, and just a heads up at best its a finger up the bum, worst case it could be a camera. Enjoy!

[Robmarriott]

ozzuk said:

you could try probiotics - not the crappy supermarket drinks but proper tablets. from a health store or amazon (can't remember what mine are called but will check later). Really help reduce bloating etc, I get them for when IBS flares up.

My stomach issues are linked to stress but certainly worth getting checked out - I went private with BUPA, and just a heads up at best its a finger up the bum, worst case it could be a camera. Enjoy!

Could be stress I suppose but I had symptoms last week and I was on holiday (for reference, the symptoms were there long before the holiday so it's not something I've caught last week....)

I'll check BUPA out, see if it's suitable for me.

[Lemming Train]

Robmarriott said:

I'm already only drinking water and have been for a while, I'm hoping it's something diet related so this may be an option.

Is it tap water you're drinking? If so cut it out and try drinking spring water instead. The tap water here gives me terrible gut ache and bloating fyi. Drinking bottled spring water - even bottled "table" water sold by Tesco for a few pence - gives me none of those issues. Try it.

[Robmarriott]

Lemming Train said:

Is it tap water you're drinking? If so cut it out and try drinking spring water instead. The tap water here gives me terrible gut ache and bloating fyi. Drinking bottled spring water - even bottled "table" water sold by Tesco for a few pence - gives me none of those issues. Try it.

Nope, bottled. Cut out tap water a while ago to see if that was the issue. Tried different brands of bottled water too just in case one had more or some mineral in it which was causing a problem.

The only time I use tap water is if it's for cooking pasta or rice.

I'm ruining the environment with single use plastics but I'm avoiding tap water

[yellowtr]

Robmarriott said:

Is there such a thing as a private GP so I can book an appointment and be seen without the faff of ringing constantly for an hour to be told there's no chance of being seen?

Where in the UK are you based? There are generally private GP's available in most major towns. I can see my Private GP generally within the hour, sometimes within 30 minutes or sometimes I call and they say come in an see him. He is contactable via email and responds and also he will always call back or answer if I ring up

[anonymous-user]

Robmarriott said:

It's also a massive pain with work. My GP is where I live, my work is 15 miles away and getting an appointment at the GP is nigh on impossible the same as it is countrywide, then negotiating the time off work is difficult too.

Phone and book an appointment and then tell work, don't 'negotiate', just tell them you'll be off on that day and hopefully back in the next but it's a medical issue that needs attention. You don't need to say anymore than that. Don't pay for a GP because you're worried about work FFS.