# Diagnosed with IBS, but I have doubts. Please help!



## bigshorty (Jun 21, 2015)

Hi Everybody

Newbie on this site who is looking for some help and advice, and asking the very common question, 'Do I have IBS?'

My problems started about 10 months ago, when at work. One morning I started to get central back pain whilst at work, which progressively got more intense. My job involved early mornings, lots of lifting of moderate to heavy weights, combined with 2 - 4 hours van driving. At the time the pain occurred I was getting very stressed with my employers, as they almost doubled my workload over the course of a few months, but gave me no additional help. My job also involved me having to get to customers at their required times, so this meant having to do more work, but with hardly any additional time to complete it. I was physically pushing myself to my maximum, until the back pain happened. I went to the doctor that same day and was diagnosed with a popped disc. I was given some time off and put on a course of physiotherapy.

A couple of months past and my back pain wasn't easing enough to allow the physiotherapist to work on my back, so she said I should get the doctor to prescribe Naproxen to help ease the pain and allow her to work on my back. So I called my surgery and left a message with the receptionist saying I was advised to be put on Naproxen, and before I knew it, a prescription was ready for me to collect, without even seeing my doctor.

This is where my problems really kicked off. Within 2 weeks of starting the Naproxen, I almost called an ambulance on a few occasions as I had immense pain right across the top of my abdomen, and it felt like my inners were being torn apart. This was accompanied with constant gurgling, churning of my stomach and bowel, and lots of nausea. I contacted my doctor who advised me to stop taking the Naproxen. The pains eased slightly, but the churning, gurgling and bloating of my stomach continued and was causing a lot of discomfort and nausea. Bowel movements were quite loose, but not frequent, and were always dark and messy, and had been for quite sometime before all this happened. I went back to the doctor who prescribed Omeprazole, and I have been on these since December. This made my symptoms a lot easier to cope with, although I do still get them.

Since taking the Omeprazole, my stools have now gone from being dark and messy, to a very light colour, and can sometimes look very pale, almost white in colour, yet they are more formed and less messy (sorry to be so graphic). I get bouts of stomach gurgling, bloating, sharp random pains anywhere around my upper and lower abdomen and my back. My skin feels itchy at times, I feel tired a lot, I can get dizzy and light headed, I sometimes get the feeling of pressure build up, usually around my upper abdomen, and there seems to be no end for the need to burp. I'm not constantly going to the toilet, but when I wake up, I almost always find myself on the toilet within 10 minutes of being awake, with a sense that I need a bowel movement, and I usually go, but this will be the only time I go during the day. The only time I feel ok is after a nap or when I wake in morning.

Since having all these problems I had had numerous blood tests, which have picked up borderline white blood cell and platelet levels on separate occasions, but then the next test would be fine. I had an upper abdominal ultrasound that said my liver, pancreas, gall bladder, spleen, etc all looked fine. I then had a Sigmoidoscopy which revealed a number of polyps and signs of inflammation and bleeding, which prompted further investigation, so had to have a Colonoscopy. My colonoscopy was fine, other than having a very mobile and long Sigmoid colon, and there was a question mark whether I had a Volvulus in the past, doctor said this shouldn't cause me any problems, but I have an increased likelihood of a volvulus later on in life. The polyps were removed and were found to be completely benign. I also had an Endoscopy, without coming off Omeprazole as advised by the hospital (had a chest infection at the time and didn't want any rebound effect from coming off the PPI, as well as dealing with the chest infection), and my duodenum, stomach and oesophagus were all normal.

Currently, my health is ok, but should be a lot better for a 40 year old man. I've always been quite fit and active, never drank loads of alcohol, I do smoke but again, not much, my diet hasn't been the best, would eat fast food a couple of times a week, and would eat fatty, rich meals (loved my curry's), and quite large portions too. Now, as I said, I get bouts of bloating, burping and associated sharp pains anywhere around my lower and upper abdomen and back, which last a few days to a week, and then I'm usually fine for the same period of time. I have lost around 18 kgs in weight since having these problems, hopefully due to eating a very bland, sugar and fat free diet, but I can't be sure this is the cause of my weight loss, as I have noticed foods I eat for my main evening meal, will be passed the next morning.

Anyway, saw my doctor a few days ago, and she handed my some paperwork to do with IBS and suggested I try the FODMAP diet, from these actions I'm presuming I'm being diagnosed with IBS. Incidentally, about 2 years ago, I saw my doctor as I was getting this weird fluttering in my throat and chest, and she said that it was probably Acid Reflux, so for quite a while my stomach / digestive tract hasn't been 100%. I have had a lot of stress in my life too, which I won't bore you with, but involved aggressive / violent parents, unfaithful wife, etc. I have always been quite a nervy, anxious person, but I have learned to deal with that, and in recent years my life has never been so good, so I find it hard to believe that this would contribute or cause my problems, as stress seems to play a vital role for IBS sufferers.

Well, that's the essay over with, I'm now left wondering if I really do have IBS or whether there is a different, underlying cause for all my symptoms. If there is anyone who has any advice or help they can offer I would be very grateful. Are there any specific tests that could be done to determine if I do in fact have IBS? What can be done to relieve the symptoms when they start to flare up? Should I be tested for malnutrition? Any information would be very much appreciated. My life has been totally turned around by these problems, and I would just like to get back to some normality.


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