# Been Almost 10 Years, Starting at 13, No Progress



## Kristi12 (Nov 2, 2013)

Hi all. I'm Kristi. I just found this group tonight after my most recent attack. I really need to be more proactive about trying to feel better.

Quick Info:

I am 22 years old and this has been going on since I was about 13 years old.

In the past year I have had a plethora of tests done at the gastroenterologist. Nothing has come up. Therefore my GI doc and primary care doc both say I have IBS.

Here is what I go through...

9/10 times this happens in the middle of the night. I will wake up with excruciating pain. I usually lay around for a little while until it's unbearable. That usually happens quick. I have spent countless nights sleeping on the bathroom floor because the cold somehow helps me. My attacks last anywhere from 1-7 hours. Most times 3-5 hours. It starts off with a lot of gas and constipation. This pain is terrible and lasts until I have several bowel movements. During these times, I will get fevers occasionally or cold sweats. They alternate. I have passed out while walking from the bathroom to my room.

It's really just unbearable and no one in my house really understands it. That's why I came here. The worst of it all was probably a few years ago when I couldn't make it to the bathroom. I just felt so helpless and like a baby.

I still live at home with my mom and frequently wake her up in the middle of the night just to sit with me. Even if she's sleeping sitting up, it makes me feel a little better just having someone there.

I have noticed that my attacks happen a lot after eating dairy (although I am officially not lactose intolerance. I do take Lactaid sometimes and it helps.)

In the past 5 years, I have minor attacks throughout the day after eating. However, I am not constipated so as soon as I find a bathroom, I am fine.

I don't even know where to start to get up and running again. I'm moving in with my aunt and uncle in January to be closer to my grad school and I'm afraid of this happening while I'm with them. They don't know about these attacks.

Any help/comments/advice is greatly appreciated.


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## john734 (Nov 2, 2013)

hi Kristi, i'm also new to this forum and ibs (have 1 month with it until now). I know i'm still a newbie on it, but i've found that eating apples, yogurt, and cereals with fiber significantly decreases my symptoms day after day. I can honestly sympathize with your predicament. The excruciating pain that comes with this disease has made me wonder what i did to deserve it! lol. In fact, yesterday was my worst ibs day, especially because it got mixed with food poisoning (ham or juice), and i had intense pain, diarrhea, fever and vomiting. I really hope both of our ibs can be managed eventually because nobody deserves this kind of pain 

Regards,

John


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## Kristi12 (Nov 2, 2013)

Thanks John. Last night was one of my worst nights. I'm going to try the diet that is all over the internet and hopefully that'll work. I woke up this morning feeling like I was hit by a bus that's never happened. Usually I wake up fine after it happens. Good luck to you in finding the best way to treat yours!


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## rmiller1985 (Sep 13, 2011)

Hi Kristi12,

Sorry to hear about your battle with IBS.

I'm curious about "the diet that is all over the internet." Which diet is that? The two that are most common in the treatment of IBS are the low-FODMAP diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (I've been on the latter for almost 5 months). There's quite a bit of information on the low-FODMAP diet on this site as well as many other websites. If you have any questions about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I'd be happy to answer what I can; I'm no expert, but I've learned a lot in the past 5 months. If you have a problem with lactose but don't believe that you are specifically lactose-intolerant, it may be that you are having trouble with ALL complex carbohydrates (lactose is a disaccharide); if that's the case, the SCD is definitely a potential solution. I'd recommend getting a copy of "Breaking The Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall and seeing if her explanation for gut dysfunction seems to fit your situation.

Can you think of anything that happened when you were 13 that may have been the genesis of your problem? A bad case of food poisoning, or a round of antibiotics for an acute illness, or long-term use of antibiotics for acne, or...?

john734, it's interesting that apples seem to work for you. Apples are specifically limited on the low-FODMAP diet because of the high fructose-to-glucose ratio. One of the most important things I've learned in the past 5 months, though, is that Every Body Is Different, and what is a trigger for one person is a safe food for another.

Cheers,

Rich


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## Kristi12 (Nov 2, 2013)

Thanks Rich for the comments. I was talking about the low FODMAP diet but yours seems interesting as well. I will definitely look into that book.

As for when I was 13, nothing specific happened. I'm rarely sick so I doubt it was an antibiotic thing and I don't think I've ever had food poisoning. No one in my family has this either so I don't know what caused it.

I was tested for fructose and lactose intolerance and both came back negative but a lot of dairy bothers me. So does sorbitol and xylitol so I need to stay away from sugar free things.


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