Are these normal symptoms of IBS?

Hi guys I’ve been suffering with IBS for 8 years now and I’ve had every test you can think of to rule out IBD and they all came back negative. My IBS is solely IBS-d with sever bloating, gas, lower abdominal pain (below my belly button), diarrhoea and stomach problems too, my stomach and bowels are very noisy. If I lay on my back, my stomach will make really loud weird noises. It’s always been like this for me since my symptoms started and unfortunately my symptoms are constant. I have been managing it with medication (codeine and loperamide) but I have to take them daily else I will get severe symptoms. Theres no such thing as a flare up for me because my symptoms are constant. I feel it in my sleep, when I’m awake and never get a break. This is just how my gut functions sadly.

I’ve felt extremely discouraged from going for more medical investigations because I’m always told that theres nothing wrong with me and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but its just so frustrating when your physically suffering and your told there’s nothing there and there’s nothing they can do for you.

I just wanted to know if it’s normal to have non-stop chronic bowel issues. My bowels just don’t like the presence of food regardless of what food it is. There are things that definitely make my symptoms much worse like caffeine, sugar, milk and certain take aways but even if I was to eat plain food like bread and rice and avoid all the triggering food I will still have symptoms. I get severe bloating, gas, pain and diarrhoea from food in general. I guess it’s just how my bowels function at this point and it’s got less to do with what I eat and is related to my bowel’s function perhaps. Does anyone else experience something similar and have nonstop symptoms or do you experience symptoms periodically or when something triggers it.

I mentioned before I was taking medication. It’s been helpful but doesn’t always eliminate my symptoms. The pain relief is very effective but I have to take it daily prophylacticly because it only really works at reducing/preventing symptoms rather than treating them when my gut is responding negatively to the presence of food. Most people with IBS who I’ve come across don’t have constant symptoms and can be symptom free for long periods of time and don’t rely on medication for basic gut function.

In the past I’ve had periods of time where my symptoms were more manageable and the efficacy of my medications was improved but it never lasted. During these times I would take probiotics or certain antibiotics which helped but eventually my symptoms would go back to what they were before or get even worse. It was like my gut would override its improved state to go back to being dysfunctional. There’s been times where my symptoms would randomly improve (not disappear but become more manageable with medication) and more predictable. I can’t attribute the improvement to anything specific just woke up one day and my guy decided not to torment me I guess.

Sorry for the long rant I just feel like I’m losing it, I don’t know what it’s like to be symptom free or not have take medication to get semi functional bowels. Is this normal for IBS? Or could it possibly be IBD that hasn’t been detectable or diagnosed. The reason why I ask is because whilst I know IBS symptoms can be severe the pain I end up in is so debilitating and I’m always tired, my gut is irritated constantly regardless of what I eat.

All I want is to be able to manage my condition and be symptom free. It’s extremely difficult and distressing to live like this. I feel no peace and just awful. whenever I have symptoms which sadly is all the time, it significantly impacts my daily life and is the source of all my misery anxiety and depression. I’m always worried about how I’ll manage to get through each day. I honestly feel like I’m living life on survival mode.