I can't take this anymore!!!!

[planetmars]

37 Year old female with a hystory of stomach problems...constipation as a child, 2 upper GI's (while in my 20's) resullts/normal, gallbadder ultrasound/normal.   Isolated incedents of Diarreah with a diagnosis of IBS in my early 30's told to take fibercon, which I have every day for 5 yrs.
I have alway's considered normal for me one solid bowel movement in the AM .  I can't remember the last time that happened, most of the time it is soft, not loose, and never complete.  My diet has alway's been on the not so good side, not too many fruits & vegetables, more starches & carbs & bland.  At times, I would go a week with incomplete bowel movements & sit on the toilet thinking to myself that some day in the near future, I would have a day of diareah, as if to clean out my system since it is not coming out all the way, and this usually happens...I will go a week with constipation, than a day of the runs and then it will be back to what I call normal for a while (Maybe 3 or 4 times a year this had happened)
Here is my dillema... (Also I have mild anxiety)
Day 1 I had eaten 2 meatballs and within an hour started to get that awful gurgling sound & feeling and had to run to the bathroom and had 2 horrible bouts of diarreah.  I took an Immodium and it didn't happen again that day.  (This was following a week of mild constipation).

Day 2  Did not have any Bowel Movement

Day 3  Incomplete, but solid bowel, took a half Immodium for precausionary measures in case of eating during holiday meal & getting diarreah

Day 4 (Christmas), Incomplete Bowel, took another immodium for precautionary measure.

Week following...Some days incomplete, some day's not so bad, some day's none at all,  but normal, A.M Solid or somewhat loose, never watery.

6 Days Ago...Normal A.M., Gas & Diarreah Cramps in Afternoon followed by 4 or 5 Bouts of Diarreah

Since then...Every Day is different, some days I have Soft stool, sometimes in the morning lots of gas (belching & flatulance) followed by mild diarreah. All day long I have EXTREME gurgling, gas noises, feelings of needing to go, but only sit & the toilet & have gas.  Some days I may have a little loose & quick Bowel movement after eating something in the middle of the afternoon or early evening.  Some mornings I wake up & go right to the bathroom because I am overwhelmed with gas pains & the feeling of having  diarreah and then eventually a little bit, whether it is a few "pellets", or some watery stool comes out.  The bottom line is that the norm for the last week has been this...Sporadic Bowels...LOTS OF noises in my stomach...No blood in stool...1 day it was solid, complete, but yellowish green in color.  No fever or chills...No Nasuea or Vomiting...  Should I stick with this being IBS and change my diet?  Should I be taking the immodium, or let it come out?  Could it be Chrons or Colitis?  Do I need to go again to the doctor for him to tell me that it is IBS, nothing is wrong??? It's disabilitating!!!   Thank You!!

[Kevin Pho, MD]

All of the possibilities that you have mentioned are possible, including Crohn's, malabsorption or colitis.  Of course, irritable bowel syndrome can be consistent with the symptoms you have described as well.  

The test to consider would be a colonoscopy - which would evaluate for most of the more serious concerns.  If negative, you can consider stool tests looking for various types of infection, as well as fecal fat content looking for malabsorption.

These options can be considered with your GI specialist.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
Medical Weblog:
kevinmd_b

[yoshi]

have you been taking anti biotics?/

[planetmars]

No yoshi, no Antibiotics...I take Xanax on occasion, but I have for years.  What would antibiotics have to do with it?  Help it or worsen it?  If it was Chrons or Colitis, wouldn't I have more symptoms like fever or blood?

[yoshi]

antibiotics kill bacteria in your body and upset the flora of good bacteria and yeast.
it could cause diarhea (diarrhea) and constipation.
It sounds like you have a lot of gas,have you examined your feces to see if food is well digested or half digested>>
you may want to follow what doc suggested and undergo some testing,IBS,colitis ,having your feces sent to lab .
Have you tried neutralising gas by taking bicarbonate??

[MainMor]

Hey there.

This last year I had the same groin pain, when I went to my doctor and took a urine speciman there was lots of blood in it, but no sign of an infection....

He was a little confused and treated it like an infection anyways... problem went away.

Then I got it a month later and few days later it went away...

This went on and off until a few days after Christmas and I was going to work...I was in so much pain I was near tears and went to the emergency room.

They checked everything and could not find anything wrong, so they did the CAT Scan. Boom... I have what you have friend. It sounds VERY much like what I am going through.

And I am 31... the doctor said I was the youngest he personally diagnosed.

I am SOOOO glad I know what I have now... now I am working to increase fiber so I dont have any more of these flare ups.

So you are in mah thoughts, I know this pain well.

[Med_Writer]

I became sick in my mid-20’s. I was living the bachelor life of beer, cigarettes, and junk food and taking antibiotics for the upper respiratory infections I kept getting. After one particularly nasty sinus infection, for which I took a two-week course of erythromycin, I developed a strange problem: 1 soft bowel movement every day for months. This was accompanied by occasional bouts of diarrhea, constipation, and a persistent feeling of not being well in my gut. I'm somewhat of a nervous-nelly by nature, which also seems to fit your profile.

Missing the good-ol days of normal poop and fearing the worst, I went to my doctor. One doctor visit turned into many. I saw GPs and specialists of all kinds from all over Boston (where I was living), but to no avail. Stool cultures, barium swallows, colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies, and MRIs all found nothing remarkable. The only diagnosis anyone was willing to advance, cautiously I might add, was one of modern medicine’s most recent inventions, IBS.

Knowing that IBS isn't really a disease but a constellation of symptoms with an unknown cause, and feeling that allopathic (conventional) medicine had let me down once too often, I took matters into my own hands.

I started burning the midnight oil at two medical school libraries (Harvard and U. Penn - where I worked and eventually went off to grad. school respectively) reading everything I could on the subject of diarrhea. For the stuff I needed help with, I sought the help of an M.D. who actually had time to listen to what I was saying. (Sadly, such doctors have been hunted to extinction, which is why discussion boards like this one are so popular...Ever notice how much insurance company buildings look like trophy cases?)

I managed to scrape up enough “out-of-pocket” money for a special stool analysis my doctor ordered. It revealed an overgrowth of bacteria in my gut. This made sense to me because it seemed to fit my symptoms--watery poop and diarrhea are the body's ham-handed attempt at ridding itself of unwanted intestinal guests. This imbalance of intestinal bacteria was known as dysbiosis. Armed with a new term to Google, I and my doctor developed a treatment plan that changed my life.

Somewhat paradoxically, I did require another course of antibiotic to knock off the bad bacteria that had taken over my gut. But unlike the other drugs I’d been given, this one was not one notorious for causing diarrhea problems (erythromycin, it turns out, is one of the worst offenders). While taking the new antibiotic, I drank lots of green tea (which prevent many types of bad bacteria from infecting your gut) and ate a lot of yogurt (Stonyfield Farm or Brown Cow brand, which have health-giving bacteria. You can also try Natren's brand probiotics from your local healthfood store). I also swore off alcohol (they don’t call it rot gut for nothing) and ate a lot more fruits and veggies (which act like compost for good bacteria in your gut).

It worked! My poop is 100 percent back to normal! And, although you might not be able to get the stool analysis I got, you could still try the green tea, yogurt, and fruits-and-veggie regimen. I bet you a million dollars it will help.

Best of luck,
MW

[planetmars]

Thanks so much for your advice...I do take acidopholous, which is just like eating yogurt...it is the good bacteria for your stomach.  I also found worlds of information online...a woman named Heather Van Vorous is a great lady for diet tips on IBS.  For my symptoms, I am advised to eat everything I always thought was bad for me, white breads, pasta, white rice, banana's, no dairy, no red meat, no gassy veggies like broccoli, etc...I also drink green tea.  I don't drink alcohol anymore.

This is still annoying me though even with the changes in diet.  I also take the fibercon every morning.  What is worse than the diarreah is the constant noises, growling & gurgling in my tummy with the occasional toots.  I have started to only poop once in the morning but very soft, sometimes liquid & explosive after I wake up.  Usually when I first get out of bed I am extremely gassy as if it built up while I slept & just wants out as soon as I get up.  I don't poop after EVERYTIME I eat, but I do get the noises & gas instantly.  Some times I might have a soft but not wattery stool in the early evening after I eat.  

This IBS thing has been apart of my whole life.  I can remember isolated incidences of diarreah, but usually they subside after a day or so...this one is lasting for 4 weeks now.  It is overcoming me.  I alway's had problems with the gassy feelings, but now I am afraid of those noises since lately at times they are not just gas, but a running trip to the bathroom.  

Every day I take 2 Fibercon, 1 Acidopholous, .25 of Xanax (because I am so worked up about this) and 1/2 immodium (just in case).  This can't be good.  I also have a nervous tendancy and I have been extremely stressful for various reasons over the last 2 months, so maybe it is just taking its toll.  

I am going to try & see a GI doc within the next 2 weeks.  Hopefully he can help me.  I dread getting any "probing" tests done, but maybe since I don't have any other symptoms like blood, fever, chills etc...he will help me with the IBS.  We will see!!!  And yes, the insurance thing is a big joke...I am in the US, self employed, pay a fortune for the bare minimums, and our doctors treat us according to our health plans!

Thanks for the info on the bacteria, it wouldn't suprise me if that could be a cause.  I also wonder if it could be a gallbladder thing, I had an ultrasound 11 years ago, but it had come back normal.  Oh well, hope it gets better soon!!!

[planetmars]

Hey guys, thanks for your input.  Yoshi, what does bicarbonate (is that what you said) do?   Is there any side effects to it?  I have more problems with the gas than I do the poops.  Does anyone think this could be in the gallbladder area instead?  Oh, I need to see a doctor!!!
Thanks for all your help & advice!

[yoshi]

do as this guy from Boston suggested,take the yogurt not the acid pills,the yogurt has the culture where the good bacteria resides and thrive.
Baking soda is bicarbonate,if you can stomach it,mix it in water and drink it,or you can chew gum,your own saliva contains bicarbonate.
Extra strength Gas-x which is over the counter,will neutralise gas in your body,alka selzer does too,but contain sodium.
But all these will make symptoms go away but does not solve the problem why your body is producing so much gas,so you need to see a doctor and find out why??

[arivera]

I empathasize with you and your pain.  I've had an intractable hiccups for about two weeks and all tests have came back negative (CT scan, upper GI).  I am so frustrated and angry that they can't find anything wrong.  I've also lost 25 lbs the hard way.

I am so depressed about this that I don't know what else to do.

[mamaschwab]

What about Celiac Disease?  Have you tried to cut out gluten (wheat products) and see what happens????

Many of your symptoms sound similar to Celiac and it is often misdiagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and such.

www.celiac.com
is one website I know of also try www.mayoclinic.com
or www.medformation.com

It takes just a simple blood test to find out if you have it....however, they have to know to test the blood for Celiac Disease to find it!
Good luck.

[Jane8733]

A related discussion, Why? was started.