# New to this- my "IBS" story



## TenaciousJ (May 29, 2015)

Hi Guys,
Im new to this forum but I really want to tell you my story because I find it to be unique compared to some others I have read.
It's a little long so I apologise in advance but I hope it's worth reading.

So I guess Ive had IBS all my life really Im 24 now and I am a female, but it's only recently become a little debilitating and I still don't believe it's the answer to all my problems; it's commonly thrown around when your doctor acually has no clue what could be wrong with you.

But anyway, Ive had problems with my digestion most of my life, when I was a little kid I was always constipated, I remember having to take tablets and prune juice, but it never really affected my life until i got much older. 
I remember being 16 and for some reason began having stomach cramps in the morning before and during school, I would have to go to the bathroom a few times (which was always D), and the pain went away. I just put it down to something irritating I was having for breakfast so I adjusted my breakfast and it went away. Throughout the years I would go to the bathroom every third of fourth day which was pretty normal for me, but I would alternate between C and D which my doctor told me is not normal and I need to have more fiber and become more regular. But at this stage, these issues weren't really an issue at all to me and was going about my life normally.

It wasn't until I was about 19 that things started to get a little out of hand. About a year and a half after going on birth control pills (currently trying to determine if it contributed to it) I started to get these what I like to call "omg I think I'm going to vomit" attacks out of no where! I would be feeling fine one minute, then the next I would feel this rush of nausea and what felt like nerves throughout my stomach and I would feel like I needed to spew- this happened the first time at a restaurant so it was a little scary. However, to this day I haven't actually vomited from it, but it feels so bad, but this feeling subsides and all of a sudden would need to go to the bathroom for D. I put it down to something I had eaten and didn't think much of it until it started happening more often. It began to happen more as I was going to sleep, I was get this rush of horrible nausea followed by going several times to the bathroom. There were times where I was up till 4 in the morning with it. But what I began to notice was during these attacks, I would go back into bed and be shaking. After a while I realised that this problem was inducing anxiety (proabaly because I fear throwing up). So I thought it's time to go to the doctors. My doc told me that it's because I'm not going to the toilet enough and my body is trying to rid the stool in my colon as it's building up, and the nausea is from the movement of my system that I'm sensitive to. So I decided to change my diet to increase the fiber...fiber from things like wholegrain wheat. Towards the end of the first week after I increased my fiber, another attack came on (during a movie at the cinema, great timing) and I thought I was going to spew, but ended up just going to the toilet twice. I began to realise that perhaps I was having too much gluten/wheat in my diet and that may be what is making me to constipated and irritating my system, this is now when I was 21 years old. So I slowly made more diet changes, but then another issue raised.

I began feeling extremely fatigued in my legs, almost as though I couldn't hold up my own body weight, this come on with a feeling of lightheadedness. I put it down to maybe I wasn't eating enough to I tried to eat more, but it began a cycle of me always needing to eat just fuel my body to be able to hold myself up. It was a horrible and debilitating feeling which started in July 2013, I had a blood test in August as it got worse, and everything was normal but I was a little low in vitamin B12. I had 6 B12 injections over two months. They helped at first but this feeling soon came back even worse. I couldn't function, I felt weak constantly, I felt like eating was the only thing that would give me some relief to feeling like i was constantly going to pass out. It was a scary experience which was getting worse as the weeks went by. I went back to the doctor in a bid to desperately find out what was wrong, I went with my parents as I was that weak I needed to lean on them. My doctor was baffled, she suggested I go on a 100% gluten free diet incase it was Celiac disease. I started this diet and yes, I began to go to the toilet more regularly, however a few days later I went to emergency, I couldn't take it anymore, I was weak, dizzy, nauseas and felt like my body couldn't function, my parents had to carry me out of the car. I thought I may have had diabetes seeing as food was the only slight relief i had!! 
The doctor did some neurological tests on me which were find, had an ECG which was fine, and a blood test for my Thyroid and Iron. Both came back fine, however, he said I could use some iron tablets. He then said hes organising follow up consultations as an outpatient for further tests then SENT ME HOME! I was so disappointed and I began crying and saying that I wanted to know what was wrong me with and I couldn't take this feeling anymore...to which he replied he thought it was "PSYCHOLOGICAL"! What a joke!! Then my parents were convinced I was mentally ill. I was so frustrated!

This was in November 2013 and I can honestly say it took until May 2014 for me to start feeling back to myself. The weakness was there foe a long time, I was still feeling like I couldn't stand for more than 15 minutes, still feeling dizzy and like I had to eat all the time to not pass out, but I guess it was a little more managable. I still to this day have no idea what was wrong with me, but I can assure you it has something to do with my GI issues. I had follow up tests from diabeties to adrenal diseases to celiac diseas and other digestion tests which were all NEGATIVE!!

Today, in 2015, I am better, however, I suffer from constant anxiety which has been induced by my IBS and from the time I was sick and now knowing what it was. I have IBS sysmptoms everyday, but mainly nausea. I don't have D or C very often, I go everyday thanks to limitaing the amount of wheat and bread in my diet, but I still feel sick and get bloated and have to go several times a day. It's a joke and I hate it, I hate how it's impacting on my life, my anxiety gets out of hand and I have panic attacks when I feel the rush of nauseas come on. I take Colese (Mebvrine(?)) tablets which help but they only mask the symptoms. I have also recently got off the birth control pill after 6 years as my IBS was flaring up during certain times of the month.

I just want my life back! Hope some of you can relate to this!

Thanks for reading.


----------



## ellie82549 (Apr 24, 2016)

I am going through the exact same thing, and the thing that triggered my ibs was my birth control pills I am sure of it .. I suffer with daily nausea and bloating too


----------

