# Hi! Newbie here, my IBS journey



## rellybug (May 4, 2018)

Hi guys! I'm a 24 year old woman whose IBS symptoms started in January 2016 (in my second year of uni, how fun), but I've suffered on and off with constipation my entire life, sometimes only going to the toilet once a week. I have anxiety and OCD, and am prone to depression .
Looking back I think it could have started with either of two things; two months earlier I had taken antibiotics for a urine infection which I know tend to play havoc with gut flora, apart from that I had been out for a meal on my birthday and had a lot of stomach pain afterwards, which I thought might just be because I had eaten a lot! The symptoms all started after that. A the beginning, I had:


Griping pains in my lower stomach, as if I needed to go to the toilet. I'd go, and the pains would subside a little, but wasn't 100% better. Everything just felt 'off'.
Bloating, especially after I ate certain foods (it took my a long time to work out what they were.
Constipation (which I suffered with anyway)

As time when on, I developed other symptoms such as a frequent need to urinate, and sometimes trouble starting the flow. I thought it might be another urine infection (so more antibiotics). I also developed a deep ache in my bum, especially noticeable when sitting down, and a pain in my right side, just inside my hip. Having anxiety, the symptoms started to really worry me, and I continued going backwards and forwards to doctors trying to figure out what was wrong. No one could really give me a clear answer. Other symptoms included loud grumbling and gurgling noises in my stomach (which haven't been an issue since changing my diet), seeing certain foodstuffs in my stool - i.e 'rolled up tomato skins,' spinach, and red pepper skins (of which I still see today), and mucus in my stool, usually white or yellow and stringy (which I still notice sometimes if I am constipated).

Slowly, I began to cut out certain foods after noticing a pattern. I cut out lactose in June, but my symptoms didn't get better. In September I cut out gluten and wheat and found things a lot easier. Over the next six months I also found out that soya and egg both brought on stomach pains, as well as certain fruits like mango and apple. Strawberries and raspberries both brought out diarrhoea. When doing a lot of research into the FODMAP diet, I discovered that I could, weirdly, eat usual 'no go' foods such as onions and tomatoes, and citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and limes.

While my IBS tended on the side of constipation the first two years, I now feel it's gone slightly the opposite. I no longer suffer from constipation at the moment, and am in fact having a bowel movement everyday - the only issue being that they are mushier than they have been ever, and take a fair amount of wiping (something I've never dealt with before ever!) Right now I don't eat:


gluten/wheat
lactose
egg
soya
fruits like apples (without stewing them), strawberries (they were my favourite fruit! ) raspberries, mango, and have tended away from grapefruits and pears or anything else I think might started me off.
Vegetables like broccolli - which gives me painful fas.
Lecithins (this is a big one - everything I eat with lecithins in starts my stomach pains off, which is a real shame as it's in a lot of free-from foods. no matter what it is soya, or sunflower, it give me pains. better to avoid, although weirdly I don't know anyone with IBS that has this specific issue! I'd be curious to see if anyone else does.
anything with chillies in ( i can stomach mild chilli powder)

I sometimes get the courage to try certain foods but I find it difficult, as I don't want to be stuck inside all day. I'd say my diet in general is better than its ever been in my life however. I eat two portions of red meat a week (usually mince), two portions of chicken, and as many vegetables a day as I can. This usually means things like onion, garlic, peppers, carrots, salad green like lettuce and cucumber, cabbage, and spinach. I try to eat as many greens as I can and a decent amount of red meat as I do have low iron levels (last checked two weeks ago at a 9, although I wasn't prescribed anything). I also recently found out I have low Vitamin D levels, and have been prescribed a high dosage (>20) to see if it helps the joint pain and other issues I have been having (prescribed by Rheumatology doctor). I am still experience deep bum pain, urinary frequency, and the pain in my right side that comes and goes. As of right now, I have seen as least 10-15 different doctors and had about a million blood tests. I've had more people touch my stomach in the last two years than have ever touched it in my life haha, and given up a million different foods and as a result, huge parts of my life such as eating out and socialising as a student. It's been extremely difficult. My anxiety has often made things worse, and my frustration at not being able to speed-eat six toffee crisps in one sitting (yes I know, terrible, but that's who i was before IBS - I have ALWAYS been skinny, I weigh about 6 stone 5! and hardly ever put weight on) has caused me a lot of upset. I often wish I was able to go out and eat a massive macdonalds again, or grab a packet of cookies - just small things that wouldn't mean a lot to more people. I also tell myself however that my diet is a lot better, I don't eat much sugar, and I'm getting by, and hopefully in the future I can enjoy things again. I have extremely glad that this forum exists, and hope to talk to you all more soon.


----------

