# my miserable life.



## CwinnyCwinCwin

Hi guys, I just wanted to share my story and get a little help and support. (its quite a long one)

Okay, so January 2012 I started slimming world to lose weight and it was all going amazing, I lost over 2 stone in 3 months, but then I started getting diarrhoea. It was only a few times a month so I put it down to what I eaten, but then I started to get blood in my poo. Since my dad has ulcerative colitis I went to the doctor to get checked out where I was referee to a specialist. While waiting for an appointment, I carried on with my diet but all the healthy changes I was making didn't agree with me and I started to get diarrhoea more and more often, and before i knew it every day I was on the toilet.

When I finally got my appointment with the consultant, he referred me to have a colonoscopy due to the family history of colitis, which luckily came back normal, apart from having polyps removed. I had blood tests done to check for any other problems and a sensitivity to gluten, which all came back normal, except for being anaemic. The consultant put it my bowel habits down to ibs and my anaemia down to being a vegetarian and not eating enough red meat. He explained it was a very common condition and it would settle down after taking nortryptaline. (excuse my spelling if its wrong) he then discharged me and told me to get referred back again if it gets worse, and it did.

I was having diarrhoea every day, and sometimes I would go to the toilet 10 times a day, and be stuck there for as long as half an hour. There was a lot of blood and a lot of mucus and I went back and forth to the doctors. Each time I was given a new set of medication or I got told to eat more fibre even though I explained to them countless times that a high fibre intake made me stomach worse.

After a couple of months I noticed a few new symptoms of my ibs. The pain in my stomach was terrible, it was shopping me from going out and living life like a normal 17 year old would and I spent virtually every night curled in a ball with a hot water bottle on my stomach crying in pain, and then there was the bloating. The minute I ate something I didn't like I'd know about it. My stomach would swell like a balloon and I can't even count the times I've been asked in the street by a complete stranger when my baby is due or when I find out if its a boy or girl. It would be really sweet if I was actually pregnant instead of being a 17 year old virgin with a horrible stomach that is determined to ruin my life.

During this time, I went through a bad patch and suffered depression and anxiety. My friends stopped talking to me because I could never go out with them because I was stuck on the loo. I could no longer go to my local belly dancing class that I loved to pieces because my stomach was that swollen and i was in that much pain. I put on over 3 stone in less than a year because if my stomach was going to play up anyway, I might as well just eat whatever I and stuff my face.

I went to my doctors again, and I was referred back to the consultant who referred me for lactose intolerance tests and an endoscopy. My endoscopy was normal, I never got my lactose intolerant results back, but I'm presuming there wasn't an issue because I actually went vegan for 2 weeks and there wasn't a change.

Since putting on so much weight, he told me my ibs would settle if I lost the weight and discharged me.

As bizarre as it sounds, I've currently found the only thing that doesn't affect my stomach is spicy chilli and plain pasta, even though they say avoid spicy food at all costs if you have a bowel problem.

I'm currently seeing a counsellor to help me come to terms with my ibs, I'm taking 20mg of nortryptaline a day, 3 loperamide tablets a day, 3 mebeverine tablets a day, and 3 dicycloverine tablets a day. I have a radar key to let me use a disabled toilet if the queue is too long and I have a toilet card that gives me access to toilets in offices, pubs, hotels, the lot. It is my life saver and actually allows me to go out once in a while because I know I'll always find a toilet.

I'm 18 now, and still unable to live a normal life. I'm slowly starting to lose the weight, and get my old life back, but every time my stomach flares up I take 5 steps backwards again.

If anyone has any tips or advice, I'd be extremely grateful.

Thanks for reading


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## rmiller1985

Hi CwinnyCwinCwin,

Sorry to hear about your stumble down into the IBS rabbit hole. I had very mild problems back in my teens, I can't imagine how much more difficult life would have been with the more serious problems you're describing.

Blood in the stool is certainly common with IBDs like UC, so it's good that you were checked for that, especially given the family history. Do you have hemorrhoids that might be the source of the blood?

Since your symptoms started after starting Slimming World, it would be interesting to analyze what changes you made when you started that program. Were they just dietary changes, or were there medications/supplements involved?

Cheers,

Rich


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## Shade711

Additionally, the type of fiber you take matters very strongly. For most people, insoluble fiber increases gut pain very much, while soluble fiber tends to significantly reduce most gut symptoms(though for most it doesn't completely eliminate it). Rather than me explaining the difference between the two, you'll find google to be much more helpful. By the way, most pastas have a lot of soluble fiber rather than insoluble fiber, which is probably why it doesn't bother you very much.

Also finally, look into an anti-depressant. My symptoms were drastically reduced(though not eliminated) after I started taking Prozac(but people differ as to which is effective). There is strong evidence of a brain-gut connection, though the relationship isn't well understood. What is known is that depression significantly increases the symptoms of IBS, though the reason again is not well understood. For example it's unknown whether the gut is making you (clinically)depressed, or the depression is hurting your gut. Either way, cheap antidepressants like Prozac can do wonders for a lot of people.

Good luck.


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## CwinnyCwinCwin

Rich, I don't have haemorrhoids, the doctors don't have a clue where its coming from either since every test comes back normal. It confuses every person I see about it, and the changes were literally just dietary, like having brown bread instead of white bread and eating more veg (never really been a fruity person). Its so weird, most of the time I regret starting the diet but I would have probably still got ibs anyway.

Thanks for the reply!


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## CwinnyCwinCwin

Shade711, thanks for the information about the fibre, I only thought there was one type haha, and I tried anti-depressants, but the side effects was crazy and it didn't work out. I'm not sure whether it was the one you recommended but I'll look it up!

Thanks for the advice!


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## Shade711

CwinnyCwinCwin said:


> Shade711, thanks for the information about the fibre, I only thought there was one type haha, and I tried anti-depressants, but the side effects was crazy and it didn't work out. I'm not sure whether it was the one you recommended but I'll look it up!
> 
> Thanks for the advice!


Try more than one(just not at the same time)! The more expensive anti-depressants(SNRI's) tend to have more initial side effects, while cheaper ones like Prozac and citalopram(SSRI's) tend to be more gradual. Every person is different and what works amazing for one person causes effects in another. For example Prozac did wonders for me, and Effexor made me feel terrible, but my step mother had Prozac make her feel miserable while Effexor made her feel much better.

Though it's possible that an anti-depressant might not be the answer for you, don't be too quick to judge if the first one or two don't do it.

They changed my life and brought me tons of relief but the initial ones I tried didn't work or had side effects that I couldn't deal with. You can read about it in my own story: http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/166880-my-story-precursor-to-fecal-bacteriotherapy/


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## CwinnyCwinCwin

Hi Shade711, I wouldn't have a clue about the prices since I'm in England and I get them for free on the nhs, but I'll ask my doctor about the Prozac one in a few weeks when I'm better (been lucky enough to catch a bug) and I'll definitely check out your post!

Once again, thanks for the advice!


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