Does anyone know anything about IBS??? Please reply.

[worriedgirl10]

Does anyone know anything about IBS Symptoms?? I've had every test imaginable over the last few months, but I think I may have IBS. I have mucus in my stool and a feeling heaviness in the rectum sometimes. I have already had a CT scan with a barium enema of my colon and I had a colonoscopy on 3-6-07. They were normal. I've also had blood tests done. I have been experiencing extreme stress over the last few months and have been to countless doctors. I've seen a GI doctor, a neurologist and others. Please reply if you can shed any light on this for me. 

Kelly 

[King]

I have had IBS (or at least I thought it was).

I do know a fair amount about the disease area, from what you say it is likely you have it. IBS presents in so many different ways.

Becaiuse it is called a 'syndrome' it means that it is a cluster of symptoms which may differ from someone else with IBS.

With IBS you may have diarrhoea, constipation or alternate between both. You may feel pain, bloatedness, a heavy dragging on your right side, a feeling of relief when you pass a movement, and on and on....

Let me know if I can help further.

King

[worriedgirl10]

Do you know how doctor would diagnose IBS?? The GI doctor didn't make any mention of it at all.

[King]

Its abit like anxiety - you tend to rule other things out first.

Firstly he/she will do bloodwork to check for inflammatory markers (albumin, CRP, etc.) which as you say were normal.

They'll take account of your symptoms and bowel movements and any other co-morbidities including other anxiety symptoms.

Mucous in stools is common in IBS as is the heaviness/draggy feeling.

The GI doctor probably didnt mention IBS as he may actually feel that your symptoms are not serious enough to be IBS per-se. They may feel that you have stomach related anxiety instead for which there is no specific diagnosis. We always expect doctors to give firm labels/diagnoses for conditions but often a group of sypmtoms can be diagnosis-less, ceetainly until other classical symptoms come along.

Do you have abnormal stools (vs. usually), do you have diarrhoea or constipation. Do you get really bloated and full of gas, feel cramps in your stomach and experience churning movements in your lower bowel? If not, then you may not have IBS, just mild stomach-related anxiety.

King

[sanderella]

IBS is a "functional" disorder which means your digestive system is working differently rather than being caused by anything organic. The muscle of your gut tends to go into spasm and stop-and-start rather than working smoothly, which causes cramps, diarrhoea and constipation. It is very common, more so in women, and usually starts in your twenties.

It's not very well understood by medicine despite being so common. But they have established that it's not linked to any serious digestive illnesses.

To diagnose it, having ruled out other illnesses, they then diagnose it using a criteria. This is described in http://www.aboutibs.org/characteristics.html

It can be treated with certain medicines such as Buscopan that relax the muscle of your gut to help it work more smoothly and normally. Quite often you'll be encouraged to find natural solutions first, such as by keeping a food diary and seeing whether certain foods trigger symptoms.

[AYKM]

Its abit like anxiety - you tend to rule other things out first.

Firstly he/she will do bloodwork to check for inflammatory markers (albumin, CRP, etc.) which as you say were normal.

They'll take account of your symptoms and bowel movements and any other co-morbidities including other anxiety symptoms.

Mucous in stools is common in IBS as is the heaviness/draggy feeling.

The GI doctor probably didnt mention IBS as he may actually feel that your symptoms are not serious enough to be IBS per-se. They may feel that you have stomach related anxiety instead for which there is no specific diagnosis. We always expect doctors to give firm labels/diagnoses for conditions but often a group of sypmtoms can be diagnosis-less, ceetainly until other classical symptoms come along.

Do you have abnormal stools (vs. usually), do you have diarrhoea or constipation. Do you get really bloated and full of gas, feel cramps in your stomach and experience churning movements in your lower bowel? If not, then you may not have IBS, just mild stomach-related anxiety.

King

I have had IBS since I was about 10 (stressful life). The last part of this post describes the symptoms I have on a semi-regular basis. IBS can mimick many things also (heart burn, indigestion, stomach bug, etc.). I was diagnosed at the ER when I went in with what I thought was appendicitis. The saw a shadow on my colon, and panicked thinking it was a tumor...yatta yatta yatta. One ultrasound later, they realized that my colon was grossly inflamed and they diagnosed me with IBS. There is actaully an IBS chat board similar to this one that I found slightly helpful. There is really no cure for IBS, all you can do is watch your diet and I do a cleanse 2-3 times a year, just to keep everything moving. Certain foods do irritate more than others, so it is trail and error until you get it down. It is also somewhat hard to diagnose since you have to be having 'an episode' usually for them to determine what it is. That being said, anxiety can certainly mimick IBS and vice versa. Just take care of what you are eating and try to lower the stress level with relaxation exercises.