This is about my wife who is under the care of a doctor (well, several doctors) so I am not looking for medical advice, just the benefit of your experience and knowledge.
My wife has been losing weight for several months. She has pain around her midsection, a little higher than her waist which appears to be aggravated by eating. She calls it a “bracelet of pain” as it starts around 11 and 1 oclock (where the belly button is 12 oclock) and extends continuously around her back. She describes the pain as a ache which sometimes rises to the level of a sharp ache. She does not eat much both because it aggravates the pain and because she says she feels full very quickly. She is occasionally constipated. Here bowel movements are irregular, but no diarrhea She has been tested pretty thoroughly, including a colonoscopy, endoscopy and CAT scan. All tests have been negative although the endoscopy did reveal inflammation in the stomach. She has been on antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds which she came off earlier in the year. She has returned to low doses of Valium. She has also started drinking Lactaid & eliminating other dairy from her diet. She did not think that helped, but she had more pain when she went back to milk, so she is continuing the Lactaid. She is also taking Prevacid.
One thing which has been mentioned by the doctor (though not yet diagnosed) is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I understand that this is in some ways a diagnosis of exclusion in that there is no test for it. I also understand that it presents in various ways. However, it seems unlikely to me because of the constant (not all the time, but every day) nature of the pain and while sometimes the pain is worse, it is not clear that is due to any “trigger foods”, nor has it been possible to control the pain through any special diet, though we certainly haven’t tried everything.
So do any of the IBS sufferers out there recognize anything? Did any of you experience weight loss? How did you control it?
I only recognize a portion of those symptoms. Though, as you said, IBS manifests itself in many ways. I also haven’t noticed any weight loss effects, aside from maybe not wanting to eat due to excruciating pain.
I control it by:
1)Keeping a food journal, which helps me remember trigger foods (mine seem to rotate)
2)Eating slowly
3)Managing my stress
4)Mylanta (I’ve not found anything else that consistently works)
5)Keeping very thick rubber gloves to clean out bathtub after bouts of nausea and diarrhea at the same time.
My pain is directly below my belly button and I present differently (loose then constipated, repeat).
The thing that really makes it bad is stress. Has she undergone any significant changes in her life recently? If so, she should try destressing (we all do this differently, of course).
The other thing I suggest is water. Lots of water. During the constipation parts of the cycle this is critical to clearing it up for me.
Make sure to test for celiac - its often misdiagnosed as IBS. Also, if she hasn’t - Crone’s - also gets misdiagnosed as IBS.
But eventually, they say IBS. I eventually went off wheat and started treating myself like a celiac. Its helped - not perfect, but better. Also exercise. When I jog 3 miles 3x a week, I have FAR fewer symptoms.
Sounds familiar - after a year of constant, daily pain, my doctor and I have pretty much come to the conclusion that mine is caused by IBS, too. I think I’ve mostly figured out my food triggers - mustard, black pepper (thanks to Lynn Bodoni for that suggestion), and too much dairy. I can eat dairy, but can’t go overboard with it. I also take a low dose of ranitidine every day and pepto bismol as needed (I’m not going through a huge bottle every two months any more - yay!). My IBS was hard to diagnose because I have almost no, err, bathroom symptoms - just the pain, some acid reflux, and some bloating.
I didn’t lose any weight, though - I just powered through the pain of eating because the pain of not eating was worse. I can see losing weight with IBS if eating causes you too much pain, though.
I’ll also plump for IBS. I have Crohns disease and it has far worse symptoms, and far greater implications, thank IBS. It is also far more expensive to treat than IBS, so be grateful that she has a lesser illness! I will echo Dangerosa with the exercise: while it hasn’t ‘cured’ me, the effect of biking or swimming (I cant jog or do weight bearing exercise because of joint pain) for an hour, 5 days a week have made the symptoms far less devastating and more manageable. I have cut back on some pain meds because I no longer need them. I have no solid proof, but I believe the exercise has contributed tremendously.
I had IBS for a while several years ago (main causes probably stress and excessive caffeine); I recognize several of the symptoms you describe. I had several pains of different locations and types, multiple types of irregular stool, malaise/fatigue, severe reflux pain.
Prilosec helped me very much. (It was then a brand-new “miracle” drug, but might be over-the-counter by now.) I don’t think Prilosec (or its equivalent) is particularly dangerous. Try some!
Yeah, but that didn’t keep a friend of mine from an IBS diagnosis for three years before someone said “hey, wait…maybe you have Crohns” (and I knew I was spelling that wrong.)
IBS is a very normal symptoms of Valium withdrawal, and often lasts past the acute withdrawal phase. And the withdrawal can make the symptoms feel worse than they are, since, while you were on the drug, your senses are dulled a bit.
I’m not saying she has a true withdrawal syndrome, but it could be a subclinical withdrawal symptom. You really have to be careful for at least a year in diagnosing anything new after withdrawal from a benzodiazepine.
Plus, the rebound anxiety probably doesn’t help, either.
If you’re wondering about the mechanism: there are GABA receptors in the stomach, which act as nerve impulse inhibitors, and Valium makes their effects stronger. After your body gets used to it, taking the Valium away can make the stomach hyperactive, and that hyperactivity can cause inflammation over time. Throw in rebound anxiety, which can cause IBS and heartburn in and of itself, and you’ve got a breeding ground stomach problems.
She can try an elimination diet. No beef, pork, onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, insoluble fiber, corn, raw fruit, raw vegetables, greasy foods, wheat, alcohol, caffeine, dairy, mustard, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, juice, or anything acidic, caustic, bitter, or spicy. Small meals 6-8 times a day instead of 3 meals a day. No beverages except water (cool, not cold).
If it’s IBS, it will probably respond to this, but it can take a few weeks or months. Then foods can be added in until she figures out if it’s one thing or a combination of things. Obviously, this should not be done in lieu of a doctor’s attention and diagnosis.
As long as I don’t eat any of the foods that give me symptoms (all grains, more than a little fruit, and most raw veg) I am fine these days. No more severe bloating, nausea, uncontrollable gas, constant shitting, loose stools, and stomach pains.
I have it, and it’s easier to live with if I don’t eat my trigger foods. MY triggers (and everyone’s triggers are different) are black pepper, any raw allium (onion, garlic, shallot, etc.) (but cooked is fine), and coffee. I can tolerate tea, and in fact it seems to calm my innards, but even decaf coffee is a trigger. Also, my guts will be in an uproar if I eat a lot of raw veggies of any kind, so this means that I can no longer munch out on carrot and celery sticks.
I take fiber therapy (Metamucil, the sugar free kind) and Imodium when I’m constipated or having diarrhea. When I take an antibiotic, I also start taking a probiotic as well. Sometimes I just take a probiotic for a while, if I’m having too much diarrhea.
If I’m having a particularly bad time, I sometimes only consume chicken broth, SlimFast, oatmeal, and Cream of Wheat. These products don’t cause me any problems. The longest I’ve been on that diet is about three and a half months, and I was heartily sick of it.
I have had IBS for over 30 years (formally diagnosed in 2005) and yes, the pain can be constant. Or intermittent. Very bad, or mild. Triggered by foods or, as in my case, stress related. I take a prescription med (dicyclomine) if I have a bad or protacted attacked, or when I know I am going to be in a stressful situation, I take it in advance.
I have it right now. Haven’t had an attack in years and yeah, it sucks majorly.
I have no idea what triggered it this time but that is something I’ll be discussing with my specialist. I have the usual symptoms only this time, I’m sweating an awful lot. I suspect that goes hand in hand with the weight loss and lack of appetite.
The usual meds aren’t touching it - including an old-school anti-depressant, so I’m due to undergo a colonoscopy in early December after quite a few years of not getting one. Oh joy. :rolleyes:
