IBS or NO IBS ???
I am 65 since July 2023 and I was not officially diagnosed with IBS because until 3 days ago I did not talk to my Dr regarding the symptoms since I was only feeling this bad since about 7 days now.
I am 6ft tall and currently 244lbs (came down from 262lbs within last 3 months) and trying not lose more weight. Typical American male type with beer belly (even though I don't drink) with skinny legs and arms.
Since I stop smoking almost 20 yrs ago I put on at least 60 lbs. So with that weight in the last 10 yrs or so my indigestion issues always bothered me. I always had a sensitive tummy anyways. If I eat certain foods that my tummy doesn't agree it always gone thru me within minutes. But then I always felt ok either within either hours later or next morning.
This last week's discomfort seems like not going away. Intermittent diarrhea or loose stool followed by regular bowel movement the next time and next BM is again turns out to be Diarrhea, then followed by a loose one and back to oje regular BM again and so on and on...
Even though I am eating right and very little amount of food, drinking a lot of water, herbal tea etc, my tummy feels like over inflated soccer ball at times with a subtle pain and cramping.
Cramping moves towards my lower abdomen (intestinal region) and I know what is coming next. again infamous D follows it and right after bathroom run intestinal area cramping goes away.
At times cramping moves towards my mid abdomen region and upwards towards my diaphragm.
If I press and swipe my hand across my diaphragm it makes me belch over and over when I have this pressured feeling in that region.
At some moments pain radiates towards my upper back between my shoulder blades but few hrs later diminishes before it comes back again the next day or 6-8 hrs later.
I am sleeping ok without any interruption.
But I have no idea why I am not feeling any better since day after day even though I am resting and doing everything right as I read and advised by my Dr. ????
He thinks it is indigestion related and told me to take Imodium to manage my D and Gas-X for bloating and of course follow a healthy diet which I am doing it all...
It all started about 10 days ago when I felt a little cramp on my abdominal area and bloated and since years when that happens to me it only lasts for a few hrs and goes away I did not worry about it but since this symptoms going on and off on a daily basis I am worried a little.
Also I wonder if this is a typical IBS flare up or what?
Do you guys have these symptoms for a week or longer ever?
Bloating - Gas - D - Abdominal Pain - Upper Back Pain...
Last 2 weeks I was really stressful before all this symptoms started and I wonder if that contributed to it ast any degree or not.
No idea at the moment.
It will be great to hear from you if you also experience the similar issue as long as I am having!
Thanks and take care of yourselves!
I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. In my personal experience, new and worsening symptoms like this have often meant that something else was going on besides my usual IBS. I'm going to share some ideas that come to mind, although I'm obviously not a doctor:
- Could you have some sort of infection? Since your symptoms appeared 10 days ago and have come and gone, it could very well be a virus/bacteria/... I had a bacterial infection once and it lasted until I took antibiotics. The symptoms would also alternate between diarrhea and seemingly normal stools. Then I had some type of virus (I think) not long ago and it also lasted for 2 weeks. I also had lots of bloating, cramping and diarrhea, with random normal bowel movements in between. I didn't take anything for it but ate mostly white rice and chicken for the entire time. You could ask for a stool test, but my doctor explained to me that many things won't show up on tests, which was the case for me.
- Speaking of testing, did your doctor do a stool test and blood work before diagnosing you? If not, I would definitely ask for that if your symptoms persist.
- Could you have developed some type of food intolerance that got worse over time? This happened to me with gluten, I went from being fine with it to having mild symptoms after eating too much to not being able to eat it at all without getting terribly bloated and uncomfortable. Since you have had some troubles in the past couple of years as well, this might be worth exploring. Maybe you could try cutting out common triggers like gluten and dairy for a week and see if that helps at all?
I'm also going to link an article about the Low FODMAP diet that might be worth trying (https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/ibs-diet) and our free food journal (https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/food-journal-download) that can be helpful for pinpointing potential trigger foods.
I hope that this helps a bit. Wishing you quick relief, Karina (team member)Hi Karina... Thank you for your response. I am in CA, USA and my Dr told me that my symptoms didn't indicate him anything serious that needs immediate action but instead told me to follow FODMAP diet and see if symptoms go on their own. He said if in 2 to 3 weeks if you still feel the same then we will do some tests and go deeper to search what's going on.
I am Type 2 Diabetic and my glucose test numbers were a little high (A1c 6.9). So after I talk to my Dr I started FODMAP diet and reduced the portions I am eating so I continue to lose weight (my main goal) and as of this morning I am 242 lbs. and my glucose numbers dropped dramatically now I am daily below 100 and even after meals it goes up to only 120. Diarrhea and cramping with belching still going on intermittently but at a much less intensity. Last week 80% of my time I was experiencing this discomfort.
But since I started FODMAP diet and reduced my portion sizes the level of discomfort went down to probably 40-50% of my days.
So I'll wait for a week or few days more and if it is not 100% gone away on its own, I'll contact my Dr again for further testing and diagnosing this ongoing issue.
Thanks again...I'm glad to hear that you're experiencing a little less discomfort since starting the Low FODMAP diet. Hopefully, the symptoms will resolve on their own and you won't need to do any further testing. Did you notice any further improvement in the past 2 days? Please keep us updated on your situation! Karina (team member)
When may issues were going on and off since over 3 weeks now I consulted to my Dr again and he ordered all types of blood work done and also a CT scan...
All blood work came back ok and CT scan report I saw didn't find any problem to be looked at more carefully.
I still don't know what it is to be sure. IBS or not, I have no idea. Today is Sunday and Tuesday I'll talk to my Dr again. He may refer me to a gastroenterologist to look at what may be causing this issue.
Time to time pain hits me between my shoulder blades then radiates to back off my both arms and back of my neck and then an anxiety attack comes over me, sometimes even it becomes a panic attack... Then either 1hr later or 3 hr later I feel perfectly OK again.
These is the weirdest experience I've had in my whole life of 65 years. It started almost 3 weeks ago and on and off going on.
During the conversations we had my Dr was mentioning that if it was something serious it'll be there all the time and not feeling horrible for a few hrs and then few hrs later I'll be perfectly ok again. So something seems triggering these symptoms. But what??? It is a mystery so far!
I am type II diabetic but my blood glucose numbers are almost perfect than ever before since I lost 20 lbs recently. I am constantly within the range of 90 to 115...
Blood Pressure 125/75 range... Blood Oxygen 98%.... Resting pulse 67... Body Temp 98.2
and yet with vital numbers like that I still feel horrible for few hrs almost daily and then go back to normal again.
When and where it hits is never predictable. Sometimes before, sometimes during and sometimes after eating. Sometimes while I am driving. Sometimes when I didn't eat for 6-7 hrs. No idea what triggered it and no idea why or how it goes away?
I began to wonder if it is all stress related since I heard IBS & Anxiety Disorder are very closely related issues.
Oh well, let's see what Tuesday going to be like with my Dr.I'm so sorry that your symptoms are continuing and the tests didn't provide any answers. Have you done a stool test as well? If you feel like things aren't right, I would push for more tests to be done, just to be sure.
In my personal experience, I also never had any conclusive test results, but my IBS is very much stress related. I do have anxiety, and it triggers my IBS in always 90% of cases. If that's the case for you, maybe you could try a technique like hypnotherapy, meditation, EFT, either in person or online? I personally find that to be very helpful.
You could also try keeping a food diary where you write down everything you eat, but also your stress levels etc. to see if that helps.
We were just talking about the vagus nerve and how it can impact the digestive system here: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums/vagus-nerve-pathology-could-cause-ibs. Maybe you could mention this to your doctor as well?
I really hope you'll get some answers soon. Karina (team member)
Stool test will be done today and in 72 hrs I'll get the results of that too... Fingers crossed!
That's great! I hope you'll get some answers from it. Please keep us updated after you receive the results! Sending positive thoughts, Karina (team member)
