Is this İBS ?
First of all, I'm sorry about my English. My problems started two months ago. I couldn't breathe and went to the emergency room. The necessary tests were performed and I was told that I had gas in my stomach. I didn't have any other problems at the beginning. but then I fell on the subject a lot and I was very worried about it. I went to fifteen different doctors, to the hospital at least twenty times. endoscopy and colonoscopy were not performed. The gastroenterology professor said I HAD IBS. Blood tests, secret blood test in gaita, urine test, ultrasonography were performed. Everything looks normal.
I have pain on the right side of my belly button that sometimes does not go away. It's causing pain all the way up to my kidneys and liver. The doctors said it was gas pain. Blood values are normal. My stomach is also bloating. When I have stomach bloating, it's like someone is squeezing my throat.
I didn't experience a lot of diarrhea. I have no complaints of constipation, but the poop is soft, sometimes like mud. Sometimes it's normal. The smell is different from usual, but I think it's starting to improve. It's been bothering me all day. I don't eat anything all day in case it bothers me anymore. That's why I can't use prescription drugs either. I feel dizzy from time to time. My vitamin b12 is very low. I think it might be related to this. When I have bloating, I feel pain, especially on my right side and up to the kidney.
I'm having indigestion problems. I can't digest some things. Fruit peels, etc. Is it possible to give an idea about my symptoms? I use probiotics. The doctor gave me medicine for gas. He also gave me a drug called pankeroflat to use with food. It contained anti-gas and pancreatic enzymes. I have very severe abdominal rumbling, especially when I lie down on the sofa in the evening.
My pains have decreased somewhat, but they haven't completely gone away. I've stopped all medication, but there's no difference between when I was using them and now. A doctor recommended a probiotic called Bactobliss, which he said colonizes in the mouth and then moves to the throat, stomach, and intestines, but I haven't taken it.
Meanwhile, I found out I have kidney stones. Last Saturday, I went to the ER with high fever and lower back pain. They took blood and urine samples, did an ultrasound and an abdominal CT scan, but they didn't find any stones. My urologist looked at the results and said there's no problem, and recommended that I use magnesium citrate for my kidneys and muscles. However, online it says that magnesium citrate is effective for constipation-predominant IBS, and I'm not sure how it would affect me since I have soft bowel movements and gas pain. The last gastroenterologist I saw told me to see a psychiatrist. I'm not sure if it's because I shouldn't forget to mention my symptoms, but I'm seriously considering going to psychiatry.
I'm so sorry you're dealing with these symptoms. I have a couple of questions:
1 - Did you also do a stool test, and if yes, were you tested for infections and parasites?
2 - Did you do a SIBO breath test? Bloating is a common symptom of SIBO (https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/getting-tested-for-sibo), so it might be worth getting tested for it if you haven't already.
Regarding what you said about seeing the psychiatrist: Stress and anxiety can absolutely make digestive issues worse. I have IBS that is primarily triggered by my anxiety, and it also appeared during a very stressful time. It does sound like you're very stressed about the problems you're experiencing, so, seeing a therapist can definitely be very beneficial.
However, doctors also like to tell people with digestive issues that the symptoms are all in their head. I'm speaking from experience... That's not true, and at least for IBS, a mixture of diet and lifestyle changes, medication/remedies and stress management are often necessary, even for those of us who have anxiety-related IBS.
Did your gas pains start during/after a stressful time?
Have you tried adjusting your diet yet? Sometimes, excessive gas and strange bowel movements can be caused by food triggers. I've had that happen with gluten, where it suddenly started affecting me a lot and making me painfully bloated all the time. Dairy, caffeine and fatty foods are also common triggers. Those of us with IBS-D (the type with diarrhea) often have to be careful with fiber as well and do best with plain, bland foods. Of course, triggers are very individual and you might very well be fine with all of these foods!
Regarding magnesium citrate, it's indeed a "saline laxative" (Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/20745-magnesium-citrate-solution) so it might be an issue if you're already having soft bowel movements. There are other types of magnesium however that don't have such a strong laxative effect.
I also wanted to mention, just in case, that some probiotics can make bloating worse for some people. This had happened to me in the past. Other times, I have found probiotics very helpful, and it also greatly depends on the type of probiotic... Do you feel better on your current probiotic?
Karina (team member)Have they checked your gallbladder?
Thank you for your message. A calprotectin test was performed on the stool and the results were normal. Additionally, tests for occult blood in the stool and conditions resembling indigestion were done, and all were normal. No doctor requested a test related to SIBO. Helicobacter pylori in the stool was checked and it was clean. This started about a month after I found out I was going to be a father. A close doctor friend mentioned that there is an excessive fear related to health in our family. This process had been going on like this for eight months, and I stopped going to the doctor a few months ago. I'm tired of this process. I didn't have a chance to try a diet during this period because of our new baby. I am currently researching to find a psychiatrist and a dietitian I can go to. It seems to me that no medication has worked for me, I don't know. I only consume kefir and probiotics. I'm not following a specific diet. I also had an abdominal CT scan and three abdominal ultrasounds, and they said there were no problems with the kidneys, liver, gallbladder, and other organs.
Congratulations on your baby! I completely understand the difficulty of trying any diet during the first few months. I have 2 toddlers, so I went through that phase not too long ago...
Could your partner's pregnancy have triggered a stress response for you? I'm asking because I had really bad anxiety after giving birth to my first, and it affected my IBS so much. It took a while to calm down, too...
As for medication not working, I had the same experience. Nothing doctors prescribed has ever helped, which, in my case, is mostly due to the fact that my symptoms are anxiety-related. I also stopped going to doctors and started managing my symptoms through diet and lifestyle.
In case you're interested, what helped me first was the Low FODMAP diet (https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/ibs-diet), although I did later find out that many high FODMAP foods work for me and some supposedly "safe" ones don't. It was a good base though. Cutting out gluten completely helped me a lot, but this isn't necessary for everyone. Other common triggers are dairy, caffeine, greasy foods...
Limiting processed and eating a more balanced diet was very beneficial, too, although for me that means only small portions of vegetables, as my IBS-D doesn't love them.
I hope you'll soon find a dietitian and psychiatrist!
Regarding the SIBO test, it seems that many doctors don't prescribe it. We've just had this discussion: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums/naturopathic-healing about the SIBO test and the community member received it from a naturopathic doctor.
Karina (team member)
Thank you for your response. I have a few questions. 1- Do you ever experience occasional pain in the upper part of your back, kidney, or hips? 2- When I eat something late at night, my mouth feels terrible in the morning.
I personally don't get pain very often, but many people do. We have a whole article collection about pain here: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/chronic-pain. As for your mouth feeling terrible, what do you mean exactly?
Karina (team member)
