# New to group, just looking for some guidance, insight and empathy



## Willyscott22 (Jul 31, 2017)

Hi - I'm Scott, 51 years old. I'm joining the group because I just need to talk to some folks who get it. Up until January of 2015, I was the healthiest I had ever been in my life. I had been on a Paleo Diet for about 4 years, lost about 50 pounds (I was overweight), had a religious Crossfit workout routine, and felt great. I'm a musician and after gig one night while driving home, I was starving so I figured I would cheat and run through the Taco Bell drive through at about 2:00 a.m. I went to bed afterwards but woke up a few hours later with the most intense heartburn and gas I had ever experienced. This went on constantly for a few days so I went to my GP who thought i got some sort of bug at the Taco Bell. He prescribed Cipro. The heartburn went away, but then I woke up the next night with gas, pain, and diarrhea. I figured that it would pas, but didn't. This went on for a year. After the first year, the diarrhea turned to constipation. It's now been 2 and 1/2 years and the pain never subsides. Ever. I've got the constipation regulated through Citrucel, Magnesium, and MiriLax, but the pain and bloating just will not stop.

I've been to 3 different Gastroenterologists since I got this. They all try the typical stuff, but nothing touches the pain. It starts in the morning when I wake up on my right side just above my hip. It then gradually radiates across my abdomen and into my back and groin. By evening, it's usually at about an 8 on a 10 scale.

I have post-infectious IBS-C. I've tried every diet (FODMAP, Heather's Diet, etc.), every suppliment (L-Glutamine, LVS#3, fish oil, various probiotics, etc.), hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and every prescription that applies. Nothing helps the bloating and pain.

Of course, everything a read treats ibs as a "minor inconvenience" compared to IBD or Crohns. I can't live the rest of my life like this.

Questions:

(1) Is it normal to be in CONSTANT pain with ibs-c?

(2) Have you ever heard of this just eventually going away?

(3) How does a person live their life in constant pain?

Anybody have any insight?


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## Lovewinnie1 (Aug 2, 2017)

Your symptoms are very similar to mine. I have IBS-A. I also have leaky gut and small intestinal bacteria overgrowth. 
I have a lot of pain, but usually it's because I can't get everything out of my system. Is this severe pain possibly gas pain? Sometimes I get severe pain and I know it seems that it's more than gas, but most times for me it's often gas I feel like my pain radiates everywhere sometimes because my nerves are damaged because of all the inflammation!!. I drink ginger tea at night to help with this.

I've had my pain for 6 years and it might never go away. I have small intestine bacteria overgrowth, so I took some antibiotics and it helped get rid of it for a few months but it eventually came back. Sounds to me like the best thing to do to get rid of any bacteria is to starve the bacteria by eating a strict sugarless, low carb diet.

Are you positively sure that you don't have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth???

Also, living in constant pain is really tough, but I feel like I've grown as a person (which sounds cliche but it's true). It's really hard for me because I want to go to college but this I know will hold me back from having as much fun as possible. The best thing to do is sometimes to just try and forget about it, or just think of how you grow as a person because of it. Also, talking about it to other people helps sometimes, except to my family because they just don't understand.
Hope this helps.


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## Willyscott22 (Jul 31, 2017)

Also do ginger tea. Helps a little sometimes. Had a SIBO test a while back and came back negative. Need to try and go back to Paleo/Primal (no sugar, no grain), but have difficulty because of all of the problems insoluble fiber gives me.


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