# Struggling with pain 24/7 IBS -My story



## alrmo12 (May 24, 2017)

Hi Everyone.

I am a 23 year old female and i have been struggling with a severe gnawing/burning pain in my stomach and acid reflux for over 6 years now.

After years of doctors appointments and various different medications, I do not feel I am any further forward than when I first started!

I will start from the beginning, like i said, it has been over 6 years now and i really cannot pinpoint when the pain started.

A general description of my pain is that i am in pain 24 hours a day. There is no break in the pain from morning to night. Sometimes it flares up and is incredibly painful, however other times it can be a dull pain, but one i can still feel and is uncomfortable.

At first i was convinced i had an ulcer in my stomach or GERD. I experience a lot of painful acid burn pain from the upper stomach to my throat, a burning pain is the only way i can describe the pain, it is as if i have a fire inside of my stomach. I am on omeprazole for the acid, and while it helps with the actual acid reflux i have, it does not seem to touch the pain.

However I have had mutiple blood tests and scans of my stomach, and most recently a Gastroscopy.

They all came out clear.

So now, 6 years on after many tests coming back clear, i have been told that i have IBS. My doctor has told me that it is the function of my bowels, therefore there isn't necessarily any medication that can help with it.

When i was told this i was very confused, as i presumed that IBS would be more of an issue with going to the toilet, which i wouldn't say is a huge issue of mine. However if anything i would say im more in the IBS -D category, but i do not need to rush to the loo or even go more than once a day.

I have been told to make a food diary and to come back to the doctors in 4 weeks, which i guess is a good place to start. However in the past haven't noticed that any specific foods can make the pain worse or better.

So i have started to do the low FODMAP diet, as i have seen a lot of success cases online. I have been doing this for 2 1/2 weeks now and i have noticed that my bloating and gas have lowered signifigantly, however the pain is still the same as it always has been.

I know i need to give the diet a lot more time for my body to get used to it, and for it to make a difference. But i just wanted to come on here to see if anyone else has anything similar to what i am experiencing and if you have any advice on IBS or low FODMAP diets, i would be very grateful as i am very new to this whole thing and i am coming to the end of my patience with this pain!

Thanks

Alice


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## SadJoe (May 30, 2017)

Hello there and sorry to hear about your struggles.

I'm having a somewhat similar situation as you but my main pain IBS trigger(what changes it from dull pain to 'real' pain) is stress. Is that the case for you too?

I've found that yoghurt helps a lot with the pain. But again, foods don't really make my situation much worse. It's just yoghurt which makes it liveable for me.


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