# I experiance pain from my ibs 24/7 and it makes me not want to live sometimes



## Lilythewelder (Feb 21, 2013)

I am 21 and i was diognosed with ibs two weeks ago from a colonoscophy. I have been experiancing stomach pain since i was 18 and it has slowly gotten worse. First i was sure it was a gluten issue so i removed gluten From my diet. I have since also removed all dairy or animal produced products (i have always been a vegetarian.) 
I have also been getting migrains since i was around 11, im not sure if it could be related or not. I started smoking cannabis for the migrains around when i was 13 and while using it for migraines i reliazed it helps my stomach and makes eating possable.

I thought i would be relived having an explanation for the frusterating and dibilitating pai, but knowing I have ibs and there isnt a cure is kind of almost worse, depressing. I have been getting pain 24 hours a day 7 days a week no matter how careful i am about what i eat, its awful to think that i might experiance this my whole life.

I dont really have anyone in my life who can in any way relate to me on this.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

What has your Dr suggested to manage the pain?


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## Lilythewelder (Feb 21, 2013)

Any doctor ive seen in the last year have been very unhelpful and only ever want to up my dose on antidepressents
However my current one has me on 25 mg of amitriptilyn, i havent noticed any effect from it.


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## sky512 (Feb 23, 2013)

So.. I want to start by saying thank you for sharing.. because ou aren't alone. Sometimes it's so defeating. Knowing the pain never really goes away, and the anxiety of its persistance is miserable. I don't know about you, but I am so SICK of hearing how I should change this or that, maybe I'm just not tring hard enough, maybe It's all inmy head and I just think I'm eating bad or stressing myself out that makes me in pain. No, I JUST haveIBS. Just IBS. 
I am 23. I have had "stomach pains" all the other usual IBS fun and chest pain with palpitations as far back as I can remember, had blood and mucous and oral ulcerations at one point when under a huge weight of stress so Dr did EGD and colonoscopy. Found a hiatal hernia and said some minor irritation in bowel was all he found so IBS. The past several years has been mounting. Sometimes the bloating so bad i literally couldn't stand upright. Cut all carbonation, caffeine, gradually cut out meat, dairy, all animak products. Have dabbled in GF, but like you said..nothing helps. Iwrote all this to be helpful and I know it just sounds like I'm digging it deeper, but what I hope you see is that you aren't alone. It blows.. it hurts. I mean I like sweat pants, but i'd like to be able to wear jeans or a nice outfit like anyone else without being in pain, right?!

Stay strong, there is so much more than the pain.

XxXx-sky


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## Lilythewelder (Feb 21, 2013)

Thank you Sky your post did make me feel a little better. Its nice to know im not alone. Its so frusterating trying tohang out with old friends who have no idea whatso ever about what im going through. Sweat pants are always my first choice as well! Or most comently PJ pants. Ive been off caffine for awhile and off coffee for over 6 years because it started causeing me pain- i wounder now if that was a symptomnof ibs i hadntnoticed yet since my health just went down from there...
And i hate every person whos said to me "its all in your head." 
Do you evee find yourself resenting "normal" people who complain about a tummy ache that actually goes away? I sometimes find it hard not to.


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## sky512 (Feb 23, 2013)

Aw, great! 
Yeah, I say sweat pants, but the best are super stretchy yoga pants or pj pants that don't have elastic or its loose elastic. . 
On the resentment: Yep.. my poor husband doesn't get much sympathy. I try to just remind myself that we all have struggles and it isn't fair, but I it could be worse. In reality though, it sucks that I had a burger one day that had me in pain andscrewed up for three days.. when other people shovel crap in day in and day ouyt with not so much as a "tummy ache". We're human, it's ok to have some resentment. I just intend to do my best to not be become too bitter.

Did you see the post on alkaline drops? It sounds too easy.. going to have to try it though.


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## sky512 (Feb 23, 2013)

Wow lol it hashmarked cr*p... since when is that a "bad" word?


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## lash (Feb 24, 2013)

Yeah, you're certainly not alone in this. My three elder sisters and myself all suffer from severe cases of IBS like yourselves and at one point my eldest sister was actually hospitalised and put on morphine for 3 weeks, as the pain of IBS cramps etc had become so debilitating. It can be very difficult to maintain friendships and such as many people STILL believe that IBS is a psychosomatic disorder and that 'its all in our head'.

Fortunately, there is hope, and while its easy to feel that you're alone and that you will never be 'normal' this is not the case! IBS is actually very common and establishing a support network (via doctors, the internet, friendship groups or family) is really important when dealing with the condition.

Obviously everyones bodies are so different, so the treatment of IBS differs with each person, but new research in the area of IBS has established some rather groundbreaking stuff.

In Australia where I am from, doctors are fabulous at diagnosing IBS but not so great at establishing a plan to combat the pesky condition and this is where dieticians come into play. Its not secret to anyone that diet, fitness and stress management are all key factors in dealing with IBS, but the problem with diet like you have for mentioned is that you are usually told to just establish your triggers individually and this can be a year long process.

I personally have had AMAZING success with a diet that was established 10 years ago in Melbourne and that has become the number one treatment for IBS in Australia! Its called the low FODMAP diet and if you have not heard of it/tried it I seriously urge you to do so.

http://shepherdworks.com.au/disease-information/low-fodmap-diet

That website provides some information regarding the diet but there are plenty more out there to assist you if you wish to undertake it.

I know it can be disheartening when you feel like you have tried everything and nothing works, but you can't give up hope. Before I tried this diet I was feeling worthless and like I would be destined to be house bound for life, but my life has literally changed entirely! I can't stress enough that if you want to do this diet you HAVE to stick to it 100% and for at LEAST 4-8 weeks, or it WILL NOT work. But if you put in the hard yards, you will reap the benefits. On top of the diet, you obviously should avoid fatty foods, all alcohol and for some spicy foods and caffeine, but I cannot stress enough how much my life has changed. I never thought in a million years I would be able to go to sleep soundly without the agony of cramps, and wake up in the morning without doing 16 farts before I even have breakfast, but its happened!

Don't give up hope! The solution is out there, you just have to keep trying!


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Hypnotherapy worked like nothing else ( including narcotics) on my pain. See our CBT/Hypnotherapy Forum for more info.


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## Lilythewelder (Feb 21, 2013)

lash said:


> Yeah, you're certainly not alone in this. My three elder sisters and myself all suffer from severe cases of IBS like yourselves and at one point my eldest sister was actually hospitalised and put on morphine for 3 weeks, as the pain of IBS cramps etc had become so debilitating. It can be very difficult to maintain friendships and such as many people STILL believe that IBS is a psychosomatic disorder and that 'its all in our head'.
> 
> Fortunately, there is hope, and while its easy to feel that you're alone and that you will never be 'normal' this is not the case! IBS is actually very common and establishing a support network (via doctors, the internet, friendship groups or family) is really important when dealing with the condition.
> 
> ...


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## daydreamer123 (Mar 14, 2013)

Lilythewelder said:


> I am 21 and i was diognosed with ibs two weeks ago from a colonoscophy. I have been experiancing stomach pain since i was 18 and it has slowly gotten worse. First i was sure it was a gluten issue so i removed gluten From my diet. I have since also removed all dairy or animal produced products (i have always been a vegetarian.)
> I have also been getting migrains since i was around 11, im not sure if it could be related or not. I started smoking cannabis for the migrains around when i was 13 and while using it for migraines i reliazed it helps my stomach and makes eating possable.
> 
> I thought i would be relived having an explanation for the frusterating and dibilitating pai, but knowing I have ibs and there isnt a cure is kind of almost worse, depressing. I have been getting pain 24 hours a day 7 days a week no matter how careful i am about what i eat, its awful to think that i might experiance this my whole life.
> ...


I feel your pain. Whenever I have a bout of IBS (like today) I think that I'm the only 20-something going through it. We may not be able to cure it, but we can lessen our chances of episodes. My GI doctor told me it's stress (I do stress out and worry--in fact I'm waiting on grad school decisions right now) and not enough fiber. I still have to take his advice.

I also suffer from acid reflux (GERD), and before my first GI appointment, I kept a log on what triggered the heartburn. Maybe you can do that with your ibs: for two weeks or so log down what you eat, the pain you feel (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being extremely painful), where the pain is, and what makes it feel better. Doing this not only helps you in finding triggers, but it helps your GI in further examining you. When I showed my log to my GI he was happy with it.

Good luck, and you're not alone!


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## K30 (Apr 13, 2013)

That is exactly how I was for about 4 years -- it didn't matter if I ate a freaking carrot (and only one!) I'd surely be sick and down with stomach pain afterward. Only thing that got me back to normal was eating aloe vera. I was totally fine for about 2 years I think until this past month & am suffering again. I haven't really eaten any aloe & I think the crap IBS comes back if you don't keep on top of it about once a year. What I had been doing was eating a small piece of the plant (only the inner gel) daily for about a month, then I'd slack off and every once in a while, tear off a piece just to stay on top of things. I haven't had any in hmm... 9 months? Maybe even longer and tonight has been a seriously horrrible one.  I just keep wanting to cry. I know exactly what you mean. Mine used to be 24/7 too. I think there are just some of us who no matter what types of food changes we make, we're going to suffer unless we do something to really, truly stop the IBS and I never knew that was possible until studying deeper & finding the aloe ordeal. I've read garlic will do the trick, but it's not cutting it for me. I don't think I'm eating enough of the cloves though as I can't even handle a full clove a day. I like to keep a very, very healthy diet since I made it out of the IBS corner, but for some weird reason, I'm back in it right now. Good thing is it's new, so I might be able to stop it even quicker than that last time -- when I'd been suffering for 4-5 years. Mine started at 15. I'm 23 now. I do know that taking antibiotics always makes it come back for me, but I haven't taken any. Also extreme levels of stress, which I am kind of guilty of this week. Still. This is so much pain I can hardly breathe enough to type! I have to take breaks. I even quit seeing my dr. back when I got all better from it. He was happy for me & I was able to completely stop the meds I was given without trouble.


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## carlsw (May 7, 2013)

As you might've noticed you're not alone!

The bad news are that you're probably right - IBS will be a part of your life. How ever the good news are that you'll probably have better periods in your life also.

My recommendations would be that no matter what cures you'll try or books you'll read, try to keep close track of what's really helping you.

Send me a pm if you'd like some more recommendations.

Good luck!


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