# New Here - Waiting for answers



## 22388 (Feb 24, 2007)

Hello - I am new here and thought I would share my story. I have been in and out of the DR offices for the past few months and I feel we are FINALLY starting to get to the root of the problem. I originally thought my symptoms were all caused by my anxiety. But once my anxiety disorder was under control I still felt sick and had symptoms. I have a horrible pain on my lower left side that comes and goes randomly. I have also had some issues with constipation, diarrea, gas and nausea. First my DR said she thought it was IBS. Then she had blood testing done and stool sample home tests. I am still waiting to hear about the results for that. I am sheduled for a follow up next month for the results. IN the meantime I was referred to a GI specialist but the earliest he could see me was March 22. I went in on Thurs for a CT scan but got scared and upset when I found out I would have to drink the liquid and have IV's put into me. So I rescheduled for March 8 so that my husband could go with me. I have also been to the GYN and everything is normal there. I had a abdominal and pelvic sonogram which came back normal. I guess I will just have to stick it out and wait and deal with my symptoms until I can get see the specialist... I am 32 years old and am a little scared about this being something really serious. People have accused me of it all being in my head and that I have been making it all up just to get attention. I know this is not the case because I have tried to ignore and deal with these symptoms and as soon as I think I am feeling better for a day or two I get hit with either the pain or stomach issues. I have changed my diet and cut out fat and junk (my colesterol was high. I also have been losing some weight. I think this is more due to my diet changes and anxiety. But I am still very worried. The stress behind all this just seems to make the whole thing worse. I get nervous about going out. After reading some of your posts I am feeling better that I am not alone. Any suggestions on coping? This is affecting my personal and professional life. I just want to know whats wrong with me so that I can start hopefully feeling better.


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## 17916 (Aug 31, 2006)

Hi Laff--Your story rings true with so many of us. For a while there I wouldn't go out of the house to run errands because I was affraid of being away from a bathroom. I, too, suffer from anxiety attacks. My doctor recommended that I try Paxil for anxiety and it worked for me and helped with my IBS D. Talk to your doctor, sometimes if you can get the anxiety under control your stomach behaves, too. There's more of a connection to your gut from your brain than you would think!Good luck and keep us informed!!


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## Jannybitt (Oct 13, 2006)

Hi Laff;First, welcome!







Second, if anyone tells you it's all in your head again, you need to do this:







because it is NOT!!!Your symptoms do sound classic of IBS, but it's good you're going through the proper channels to get your diagnosis. If you do have IBS, it is not the end of the world. It will just feel that way sometimes! The sooner you get control of it, though, the better off you will be. This website is filled with all sorts of great information and treatments. You will have to go through trial and error to see what works best for you because everyone is different. You can have quality of life with this. Just read, read, read! I just recently had my ct scan, and yes, you have to drink the contrast, but it's not bad, it's waiting afterward. You have to drink it, then wait about an hour to an hour and a half before they take you back so the drink has time to make it's way through. Plan to go right home after that, because you WILL have diarrhea afterwards. You will be instructed to drink plenty of fluids to get the contrast out of there, plus the injected dye, so do follow that, but my person forgot to mention that you will have diarrhea afterward, so go home! Both my husband and I had to have one of these done, and we both had the same after effects. The ct scan itself is a piece of cake. Hang in there, and we're here for you. If you ever need to talk, you can pm (private message) me anytime. Good luck and keep us updated!


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## Tonya Kay (Aug 2, 2004)

Hello and welcome, Hope that you find this site as helpful as I have. Nobody seems to understand that there is something wrong....I had a very similar experience with "people" thinking that it was all in my head. I had a cousin say "some people will do anything for attention". Needless to say it upset me a lot. I feel for you and you can always vent your frustrations here, we understand.


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## 17391 (Mar 4, 2007)

hi laff - i have been suffering from IBS since 2000. i went through everything you stated (mulitple doctors and tests) and was even out of work for 4 months... after all that, i basically gave up on doctors and just dealt with the attacks; put myself on a high-fiber, low-fat diet and like i said, i dealt with the attacks. but any quality of life did not exist for me. when my ibs began, the previous year was consumed with ending a destructive relationship and loosing my grandmother. months later, all the symptoms appeared and being out of work, weekly doctor appt's and tests began.i lived with the pain for about 3 years. then, through word-of-mouth, i made an appointment with the female director of the woman's gastroentorology group from my local hospital. i wish i went to her sooner. alot of the healing process includes a positive doctor-patient relationship. in explanation to people saying it's all in your head (i heard the same) it _is_ a psycho-somatic disorder, literally meaning the mind-gut connection. i'll explain:my doctor approaches her treatment this way: 90% of our serentonin levels are in our gut; people who are clinically depressed are put on large doses of anti-depressants because only 10% of our body's serentonin lies within the brain. she put me on a low dosage of zoloft (since 90% is in the gut, one doesn't need a high dosage) as well as librax, an intestinal anti-spasmodic. in about 3 months with this form of treatment my attacks diminished. here i am 3 years later and i no longer get attacks; i'll have a couple of days every couple of months of being 'off', but the debilitating pain is gone (for me, it felt like a sword going through my lower left torso and the pain just radiated throughout). after about a year into this treatment my doc suggested that i go into therapy, to see a psychiatrist. i was reluctant at first and it took me about 4 months to actually call. now i'm going on 2 years of being in therapy and it really helps. some people, like those of us with ibs, seem to be able to internalize our emotional pain, and the result is physical pain. all i can say it 'let it out'... otherwise, your body will 'let it out' for you, _literally_!i know you feel hopeless and lost and in pain, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel... you _will_ beat this... stay positive, find a compassionate doctor and i know it's hard, but have _hope_.you know, i just joined this forum because i am going for my 3-year colonoscopy and since i am using the new miralax concoction, i wanted to read up on it. i am so glad i came across your post; i really hope that i have given you hope.my best to you and all of you!


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## 20730 (Feb 26, 2007)

JW137, everything you said rings very true to me. I had a bit of a dysfunctional childhood where I was forced to internalize alot of hurt. When I "grew up" I started to get brain-gut problems which were always either diagnosed as IBS (with no invasive tests) or anxiety. Zoloft treatment for anxiety always helped. This past fall, I started to have the stomach problems again so I went to my new doctor. He referred me to a GI doctor just to be sure and after doing the upper endoscopy and the colonoscopy, I now know that I have mild gastritis and nothing else organic which I suppose means that I have IBS. When I see my doctor for the follow-up, I will discuss going back on Zoloft as it is the only thing that has ever worked for me.By the way, I posted here earlier today about my colonoscopy experience with the Mirilax. It isn't too bad (although I have nothing to compare it with) but do not make the mistake I made of not drinking enough fluids after finishing the mirilax. I was very dehydrated when I showed up for the test and felt horrible as a result.


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## 22388 (Feb 24, 2007)

Thank you all for your encouraging posts. I actually went BACK to get the CT today but I woke up with really bad D. SO I was kinda dehydraited when I went in. Then when I started to drink the contrast I felt drowsy and dizzy so the nurse told me to stop. She also gave me the option of not having the dye and I decided that would be best. So I might have to go back and do it again. I will wait to hear from the DR. I went in earlier this week because my D was getting worse and I noticed there was some blood. Not alot, but it still alarmed me. They said they had not found any blood in the home tests that I did and all of my lab blood work came back normal. I know this is good news. But they told me they didn't want to give me any meds until I saw the GI and got the colonoscopy. They think it might be IBS but want to rule out colitis and inflammatory bowel disease. I guess I will have to grin and bear it until I can get in to see the GI. I am a little worried though. My D is now turning yellow and green. I have been drinking gatorade to stay hydraited but I am starting to wonder it that might be making it worse. So I am going to stick to water for now. Thanks again for all of your posts. I have been taking effexor and remeron which has my anxiety under control. I tried zoloft a few years back but that didn't do anything for me. I recently had my meds adjusted because me anxiety over all this was getting worse. This seems to be working. I am also starting therapy with a new DR.


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## Jannybitt (Oct 13, 2006)

Laff;What color gatorade are you drinking?


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## 22388 (Feb 24, 2007)

I drank a big thing of blue gatorade and then some lemon-lime yellow. I had ALOT because I thought that it would help me. I am running out of things to drink other than plain water. I have cut out soda and alot of juices are too acidic and cause problems...so I thought the gatorade would restore my system but perhaps it might have actually been causing some um...problems!


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## 22388 (Feb 24, 2007)

I have also been eating alot of red jello..


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## 22388 (Feb 24, 2007)

Great now I have C. I can't seem to win here. I don't know what's worse! Having D for a couple of days and then D for a couple of days. Keeps going back and forth. Ugh. crazy.


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## Jannybitt (Oct 13, 2006)

The color dyes in the Gatorade could be causing your stools to turn color. I know from experience that when I drank these purple drink supplements, my poo turned green! Nothing to worry about with those colors, as a general rule! Black, tarry stool, and stool with red throughout should be checked, just to make sure there's nothing going on. I'm glad you're getting testing done and hope you find answers. I had my colonoscopy yesterday and the results were great. No polyps, the colon and intestines looked great. Unless there is bacteria from the swab of tissue he took, I won't get another colonoscopy for 10 years! Yipee! I was so worried about not being sedated enough, because I have a problem with that. He made darn sure I was sedated, I remember NOTHING!!!!







Hang in there, ok?!


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## 17391 (Mar 4, 2007)

hey laff - keep with the water; alot of the back-and-forth of D and C is attributed to an uneven water balance in the intestines... i gave up anything carbonated for years... it just adds to the bloating, gas and discomfort.hey DJ KYOSTI - it always feels good to get some validation! i found the miralax prep 'a bit' better than the fizzy lemon drink, but my body didn't expel what i was ingesting fast enough. on my last glass, i was so bloated and full i looked 5 months pregnant... then it kicked-in but by that time not enough moved out of my stomach... so i had both ends going at once.... it was a horrible experience; almost like an allergic reaction... i was questioning taking the 4 dulcalax pills but went for it anyway... it ended up being too much for me and for the remainder of colonoscopy day and the next day, within a half hour of ingesting anything, it came right out. and since then all i can handle is pretzels and flat ginger ale. i haven't had coffee in a week (!) but just decided to try some out... as it was brewing just the smell of it had me running to the bathroom. and to all - the process of the colonscopy was fantastic as i have no idea what happened (love sedation in this type of situation) but i've been 'sick' all week... the cramping is starting to subside (5 days after the procedure) but still nervous to eat 'real' food... taking the librax every 5 hours since the procedure and i'm not even sure if it's working. i had stopped taking levsin about 2 years ago b/c i didn't need it anymore, but feel i could've used some.my test results weren't so great... more test to come, yay! (sarcasm). had no polyps this time (yay!-seriously) but there were erosions; she said it looked like the beginning of either colitis or chrohns disease so now i have to have more intensive blood work (easy enough) and then go to the radiologist for a small bowel series (not easy!)... not looking fwd to it but it must be done... anyone else progress to these other issues?thank you!


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## 22388 (Feb 24, 2007)

Jannybit - thats great news. I'm glad you got it over with and don't need any more testing for a while. I have been better the past few days and the color seems to be back to normal again. I have actually been avoiding corn syrup just to see if maybe that was making the D worse. I have an appointment with GI on 3/22 and my PCP doesn't want to give me any meds for my problems until I have the colonoscopy done. So I will have to wait until then.


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## Jannybitt (Oct 13, 2006)

Good luck with your appt. and I'm glad things have evened out a bit. Hopefully, the date will get here quickly for you, so you can get something to help you out! Hang in there!


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## 22388 (Feb 24, 2007)

Well, I had my colonoscopy done today. It wasn't the greatest experience but once it was over I felt 10 million times better. I was partially sedated and remember all of it. It wasn't bad until they pumped the air up there - ouch!! Then it hurt for about a minute or so and went away after. I think I remember the Dr telling me that things looked good but I am a little confused. The nurse said the DR was gonna come talk to my hubby and I when I was in recovery but they she came back and said the Dr had to go and I would have to come back to the office next week for a follow up. The she gave me a diagnosis paper that the nurse gave me says this: "The DR took some biopsies and says the following: - The Terminal ileum is normal. That was biopsied. - The colon appeared normal and biopsies were taken. stool aspirate was sent for stool cultures"HUH??? I don't know what this means but I think this means it looks good. I guess I will just have to wait for a follow up appointment next week. I feel a little groggy now. I took a nap after coming home. I have been having some gas and ab discomfort. I am also a little bit soar down there and have had some bleeding. But on that same paper it says that a little bleeding is normal and should go away in a day or so. Anyhow I am glad it is over. I feel tired. The PREP was not fun but I got through it.


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