# New to IBS forum and just looking for support and maybe more advice



## nh1975 (Jan 26, 2017)

Hi, This is my first time writing on this forum and I'm glad to have found it. I am currently going through yet another episode of eating or drinking something 'wrong' yesterday and now 'paying for it' dearly with the typical IBS symptoms: bloating, abdominal pain, gas, burping and the lovely diarrhea. It's 4:30am and I'm just so upset because I feel like this is happening all the time. If I go for 2 weeks without getting sick, it's a miracle! I've lost a lot of weight due to having IBS and other food allergies, which is alarming and I feel hungry all of the time. But like many of you, there are soooo many things that I can't eat so I'm at a loss on what to do. I've been to the gastrologist several times now and they've run a battery of tests. I am going to make another appointment for ASAP because I can't keep dealing with this. I have 3 kids, a busy challenging full-time job and IBS is starting to rule my life in a bad way. I feel very depressed at this moment that I'm dealing with these food issues all the time and alway seems to be getting sick. I tested positive for fructose malabsorption a few months ago but it seems that if Ii eat or drink ANYTHING with high sugar, it goes through me. I hate it. Yesterday I drank one of those fresh juices from Starbucks and ate a few things that maybe I shouldn't like mayonaise, nuts, and rice and yet again, my body is rejecting it. I feel like my body does not absorb much food, in general, since I'm always hungry and never really feel full after meals. And when I do go to the bathroom, my stomach then feels COMPLETELY empty and like I haven't eaten for days. I don't know anyone IRL with this disease (sickness? not sure what to call it) and I feel like I am burdening my husband about it when I talk to him. And honestly, unless you're going through it, you don't truly understand what it feels like. I try so hard to eat IBS safe foods and then once in a while, I mess up and pay dearly for it. Like right now. I am beginning to get very depressed about everything and I don't know what to do anymore. I don't eat enough calories as it is and it seems like when I do eat something out of the ordinary, well forget it. I get sick right away. I'm trying to stay positive and strong, but it's hard when I feel like I'm constantly dealing with this nonstop. I can't keep taking sick days from work. I am going off of 5 hours of sleep, have a full day of work ahead of me and feel like crap. I can't even seem to muster up the appetite to eat anything right now. I just want to cry and curl into a ball which won't help at all but this just sucks. If anyone is reading this, thank you. I could really use some words of support and understanding right now.


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## Tina101090 (Feb 14, 2017)

I am so sorry you are going through this too. I can relate to the depression and feeling like a burden because as you said no one knows what you are going through unless they've experienced it themselves. I was diagnosed at 15 and have struggled with this for 11 years now. I can't go out to dinner or go out somewhere with friends without having anxiety that I will have an attack. My IBS is so bad that I typically end up in the ER because the pain is so severe. My body will start to shake I vomit, sweat, and sometimes even pass out. It is not a way to live and I feel the same way as you just at my wits end. This past month has been terrible for me I've lost 30lbs in a little over a month because of the vomiting and pain. Ive had to take several sick days and I even had to withdraw from my college classes at night because I can't make it in. I know my trigger foods and try to stay away from them but I feel like I am getting worse and nothing is helping. I usually take dilaudid for the pain but since it is such a strong narcotic they only perscribe me like 10 at a time with no refills so when I am out I have to go back to the ER. The pain meds also cause constipation so when I'm in pain I take them then I can't have a bowel movement which causes more pain so I take more meds and it is a vicious cycle. Its also frustrating having all tests come back normal but knowing there is something very wrong with you. I wish my GI would just perscribe the pain meds with refills so I didn't have to pay for ER visits anymore. I am in no way shape or form trying to abuse these meds in literally need them to help treat me and it is so frustrating that because some people abuse drugs the ones that actually need them now have to suffer. I feel your pain trust me! Have you tried low dose antidepressants? Those worked for me for a while to help dull the hypersensitive nerve endings in my colon and intestines. You should ask your dr about getting put on them.


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## gharrison (Mar 1, 2017)

Tina101090 - I totally get your frustration that no one will prescribe you narcotics with refills, but it's actually illegal. It's a drag. You have to keep going back to the doctor and you feel like a drug seeker, but you're not. I learned this last year when I was using Hydrocodone to manage my pain (both for my IBS and the nerve damage I have.) Plus, I could feel myself getting addicted to it. So, I eventually stopped. Unfortunately, there's NOTHING else besides lying about on a heating pad that will make it better. But, as nh1975 said - how are you supposed to have a life with a job and kids and everything else if you're too in pain to cope and nothing takes the pain away? It really is a vicious cycle. I've been reading these posts for the last several hours looking for a solution. But it sounds like there's no known cause and there's no cure and people suffer until they magic upon a solution that works for them, which may not work for someone else. It's so frustrating.

I'm sorry you both suffer with this, too. I get it the whole thing about "people don't understand" and I get the falling into a depression part, too. Good luck to both of you. I hope a solution presents itself sooner than later.


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