# Newly diagnosed, a little reluctant?



## kyle121 (Apr 29, 2013)

*Hello,*

*To start off I've been dealing with intestinal issues for almost 1 year now (1 year in July) and just recently got somewhat of a diagnosis of IBS-D.*

*My symptoms tend to usually revolve around the morning hours, and after meals. If I have to wake up to get to school, work, anything I have to allow myself an hour and a half to 2 hours to get myself ready for the day. As soon as I wake up I experience extreme urgency requiring up to 5 trips to the bathroom. After I go outside, and smoked a cigarette I usually have to vomit. Throughout the morning from the second I wake up I'm very very nauseous. *

*After I vomit (which is usually only stomach acid/bile) I feel fine, I get some stomach pains but less nauseous.*

*My list of symptoms is as such:*

*-Nausea*

*-Vomiting*

*-Diarrhea*

*-Constipated diarrhea (some urgency, but thin, small stools.)*

*-Appetite loss (has gotten better with reglan and MMJ)*

*-Stomach pains that are usually in the lower left region and also a burning pain around my naval*

*-Weight loss. Roughly 40lbs in 8 months. It has began to even out though.*

*The following tests I have had:*

*-Barium x-ray (normal)*

*-Blood work (lots and lots of bloods all normal)*

*-Stool tests (normal)*

*-24hr urine test (normal)*

*-CT with contrast of abdomin and pelvis (normal)*

*-CT of head (normal, presumably)*

*-Endoscopy (gastritis)*

*-Pill cam (normal)*

*-Colonoscopy (showed small nodules around ascending colon, all biopsies were inconclusive)*



*I am having another colonoscopy and endoscopy in early June.*

*Current medications:*

*-Prevacid 2 15mg, twice a day*

*-Bentyl 2 10mg, twice a day*

*-Promethazine for nausea as needed*

*-Zofran for nausea as needed.*

The Bentyl only helps with diarrhea, I'm down to 4 stools or less a day, usually very soft/hard. The medicine does absolutely nothing for the pains, does anyone else get morning nausea or burning pain around the naval?

Also do I really have IBS? Or may IBD still be a factor?


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## czygyny (Apr 29, 2013)

If your medical tests point to no obvious physical problem, then you will need to focus on your diet and the way you handle stress and anxiety. There is no easy short-cut to solve this problem. Once your digestive system gets hypersensitive you need to find the triggers; food, drink, anxiety, nervousness, even things like it being an overly hot day. Look inside to how you cope with life. If you are not good at dealing with the stress that life hands you the stress will pop up somewhere else, and the digestive tract seems to be a common place for it to affect. You may not even feel like you are having trouble with your emotional health but your guts may be screaming that you do.

I use Zofran, too, but I use it to stop the painful and extended spasms that I'm experiencing after abdominal surgery. It works wonders for me.

I've suffered from IBS for most of my mid-50s life. Be thankful there are support groups with bountiful information on coping. I wandered the IBS wilderness alone and unaided for most of my life.

You can get a handle on your suffering but it will be a journey of discovery.


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## Getnbetter (Nov 20, 2013)

My entire life I had normal bowel movements, once a day, every day. My IBS-D started when I started taking Prevacid for GERD. After a couple years I weened myself off Prevacid and am controlling my GERD with diet. It's not completely gone but much better now.

The bummer is, the IBS-D has stayed. It's a constant daily struggle that I try to control with diet (avoiding most of the foods I love) and twice daily Metamucil. The Metamucil acts like jello and keeps my watery burning diarrhea in semi solid form. Still have bad cramping and lots of urgent toilet time, but I can live with it better.

The best I can offer is to identify which foods/drinks/activity are triggers for you personally, and steer clear. If your willpower gives out and you indulge in a trigger food, be prepared for several days of consequences.

Feel free to write me if you wanna chat more!


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## cjal813 (Dec 14, 2013)

Hi,

I have had IBS-D for a couple years now but the past few months have become increasingly debilitating. It has been seven months since I have been able to do anything. I am pretty much a prisoner in my house. Even a trip to the grocery store is a hassle because sometimes I end up spending an hour in the bathroom. Two GI doctors told me there was nothing wrong with me (don't even bother going to one because they have no clue about IBS). I had every test done and everything came back completely normal. I mean I had everything from gallbladder function test to a colonoscopy and endoscopy and everything came back normal but I felt like I was dying because everything I ate went right through me and the pain and discomfort was horrendous. I am like you that when I had an "episode" which i like to to call it. I would have to run to the bathroom and the pain was so bad I felt like vomiting. My hands got clammy and I had to take all my clothes off because I couldn't have anything touching me. I had explained all these symptoms to both GI doctors and the second GI doctor offered to give me an antidepressant (that made me so angry so I stopped seeing him).

I ended up going to a Naturopathic doctor. Please research if there is one in your area because everything that the GI doctors ignored she highlighted. Turns out I had two vitamin deficiencies (vitamin D and vitamin B1) and one was very rare (vitamin B1). The naturopath tested me for SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and did a comprehensive stool test, both were ordered from Genova Diagnostics and physicians can easily order those tests. The SIBO test for me was negative for me but the stool test revealed that I had no growth of an entire beneficial species of bacteria (Lactobacillus species). This told my naturopath that my gut flora was out of whack so I am starting VSL #3 but VERY slowly because I am super sensitive. I would definitely look into meeting with a naturopath because they know what to do to actually treat IBS and they won't just dismiss you and tell you to deal with it. It is important to for you to know that even if traditional tests come back negative it doesn't mean that nothing is wrong with you. The tests I mention above, especially the stool test, can tell you an incredible amount about your digestive system and it is a test that you do in the convenience of your own home.

I am not sure how much research you have done on IBS but I came across an article that really gave me hope when the GI doctors were telling me nothing was wrong with me. The article is "5 Simple Steps to Cure IBS without Drugs" by Dr. Mark Hyman. Dr. Hyman makes it VERY clear that IBS is not idiopathic which made me feel ten times better. Also, my naturopath recommended a book called The Inside Tract: The Good Gut Guide to Great Digestive Health by Gerard Mullin and Kathie Madonna Swift. The book has a lot of info about the role of diet on symptoms and can give you a lot of good insight.

I strongly encourage you to get in touch with a naturopathic physician. Good luck. Feel free to write.


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