Arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic
I’ve given up trying to even treat this condition at this stage. As I have alluded to in the past, my official diagnosis from a Gastroenterologist is “Non-Functional Dyspepsia”, a type of IBS of the stomach he says, not of the intestines. Has anyone else received this particular diagnosis?
Either way, the diagnosis means very little to mean because anything I do to try and ameliorate the condition, doesn’t work. Some people here are troubled with Bloating, some with constipation, some diarrhoea and some with all three. My sympathy to you people that are affected by all three, I probably should count my blessings I don’t have all these complaints. My only presenting complaint is solely BLOATING & all the pain and discomfort associated with that. I do, very, very occasionally get a feeling of extreme bowel urgency if I’m not near a toilet in the morning time (ie stuck in traffic, and I begin to panic) but this is a relatively minor problem. What comes out of me even then isn’t diarrhoea, it’s regular, run of the mill poop.
I read a lot of about what you eat & how supplements like probiotics help this condition. From my own experience, neither of them make a jot of difference to the condition. For 36 years of my life I hadn’t a single problem with my gut until I took a panic attack one day after coming off Sertraline. The panic spiralled & spiralled into terror & the problems with my gut started instantly from that episode. Up until that point I could have eaten & drank absolutely ANYTHING & I never once took a probiotic of any description. I didn’t suddenly wake up one day & have “dysbiosis” in my gut or an intolerance to things I could previous eat no problem.
This brings to my main point, I think IBS is down solely to STRESS & TRAUMA experienced in life & damn all to do with the bugs your gut. It’s maybe possible that the stress alters your gut bacteria to some degree but this is an effect not a cause. I think Probiotics are solely a marketing ploy, anything they do is probably nothing more than a placebo effect.
Sorry for the rant, just wanted to give my 2 pence worth.
I hear you. I have IBS-d which seemed to start out of the blue with no cause I can understand. I always ate healthy food, exercised, was fit as heck. My gut microbiota hadn't been compromised by anything I can think of. I'd only taken antibiotics many years ago (WAY before the IBS) and had been fine in the years since then.
So -no obvious cause....except possibly terrible grief? For a lost loved one. In fact a number of lost family members over a few years. I did suffer awful night time anxiety attacks on and off for years (though my gut was fine at those times.)
My gut microbiota should have been tip top condition considering my lifestyle. No, something else brought IBS on. It's an absolute rabbit hole of a mystery
There seem to be many people whose IBS started after some sort of trauma or a very stressful time.
It can't be the only cause though, since not everyone who experiences these things develops IBS... Maybe it's some sort of genetic predisposition that gets triggered by external factors? Who knows!
Karina (team member)I agree with you. Not a chance a course of antibiotics a a few years before you started having symptoms of IBS, causes the condition. It wouldnt make logical sense. My Ma takes antibiotic after antibiotic for recurring chest infections and she doesn’t have IBS. I might also add that her diet is atrocious into the bargain. No, it’s stress related in the vast majority of cases IMO. That’s not to say some people don’t have intolerances to foods & have had things like food poisoning in the past that may have kicked off IBS.
I feel you. For several years, I was convinced that my IBS triggered my anxiety, yet I came to understand that it was actually the other way around. I just never realized that I was suffering from anxiety since I was a child and my digestion got worse and worse over time until I ended up with IBS.
I was wondering if gut-directed hypnotherapy might be something for you? I recently decided to try it and I've found that it helped a lot with relaxation and the vicious cycle between IBS symptoms and anxiety.
I'm going to share two articles on the topic in case you're interested.
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/clinical/hypnotherapy
https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/gut-brain-connection
As for your diagnosis, I know several people who have it, too, and they've been told that it's related to stress as well. Not that it helps much, but you're definitely not alone!
Karina (team member)Thanks Karina. I’ve actually looked at hypnotherapy as a treatment but I’m sceptical of it if I’m honest. I might give it a go at some stage. I totally understand, you have to do what feels right for you! I just wanted to suggest it in case you hadn't thought about that type of treatment. Hugs, Karina (team member)
For me, the extreme dread of explosions far from toilet is what's stressful and it's happened. Diagnosis of Functional Diarrhea is not at all helpful. Is stressful, in fact, b/c it comes w/o any intervention. I recently found a homeopathic blog that described different kinds of diarrhea - a first. Aloe Socratina has been very effective. Still trying the others. When stomach is quiet no stress. Nothing else bothers me.
Homeopathy is something I have tried, and am still working with a practitioner. I was making real positive headway. There were different remedies each month after an hour and a half consultation monthly.
I had begun to feel so much improved and had weeks sometimes without symptoms.
Return of flares especially bad ones though are very discouraging and slam me right back.
I hear you about what you said; "when stomach is quiet no stress".
I feel the same. Not my stomach, but the lower gut in my case. The whole day and evening feels better then.Over the time I have been given many different remedies, and can't remember what they all are now. All different potencies too. They all seemed to be having a slow subtle effect over some months, and I was improving generally.
But there has been a sudden setback this last two weeks.
My best time was last summer, from May to August when I felt quite normal and stronger.So sorry to hear that. Maybe it's just a temporary setback and you'll get back to feeling better soon? I really hope so! Wishing you quick relief, Karina (team member)
