PLEASE HELP! Constant pain-bloating

[ness23]

Im really hoping that someone out there knows what to do I CANT take much more of this!! Im a 22 year old female with chronic abdominal pain. There is never ANY relief. My stomach is also always bloated out uncomfortably far. I'm constipated the majority of the time. During the morning hours I feel gassy. It hurts most after I eat to the point where I feel nausiated. In addition to that I've gained about 50 lbs in 3 to four months, and that is not normal for me. Im on a diet of low fat foods and exercise regularly and am not making any difference. The doctor i've visited told me I have IBS but the medications given to me aren't helping. He seems to be giving me medication to try to cover up the pain and thats the end. I've had a colonoscopy and been checked for celiacs. Im in pain and am tired all the time. If someone can give me some sort of direction on what to do next I would appreciate it. I'm frustrated the people around me are as well and quite frankly getting scared. Please Help!!

[ness23]

Our doctor senario sounds much the same as well as some of our symptoms. I went to the ER recently because I woke up and I looked like I was 6 months pregnant with bloating. Spent a bunch of money on a CAT scan to hear I'm sorry theres nothing we could find to do surgery on and follow up with your doctor. I'm going to a specialist in a couple weeks. If I find out anything that may be helpful for you I will try to let you know. If you find anything please let me know. I'm not going to give up! Theres no reason to live like this...hang it there!

[Andika]

You may have gallbladder problems. Go to a GI doctor.

[Jaybay]

Have you consulted your gynecologist?  Many "female" problems can cause pain, bloating and IBS-like symptoms.  Also, IBS is supposed to be a diagnosis of exclusion, which means a whole lot of tests should be run to rule out more obvious problems.  IMO, any doc who simply listens to your story, maybe runs a few blood tests and diagnoses IBS is a quack.

[spunkyred]

I have very similar problems. I have been through all the tests, and they all say nothing is wrong with me. Hence, I have been labeled as having IBS. The thing I don't like about that is IBS is just something they use to give someone a "diagnosis" when really it means, "we can't find anything wrong that shows up on our tests, so we are going to call it IBS by process of elimination".  Not too comforting to someone who is suffering with cronic pain, and embarassing gas.

Almost daily, I am very bloated. I get so much pressure built up in my stomach. I too wish I could just cut a whole in my gut to let the pressure out. It hurts in my back, and in my abdomen. I am usually only able to pass the gas if I am laying down. Sometimes, when the gas is released, I feel the bubbing in my stomach as everything shifts around. It reminds me of taking a full liter bottle of liquid, and turning it upside down to empty it. I get the "glub, glub, glub" that would happen with the bottle.

I also vary between constipation, and loose, very large, and very urgent BM's. I have had them so large that it made me bleed, and it clogged the toilet! I don't usually have much warning when I have to go. It hits me like a ton of bricks. Wherever I go, I have to know where the bathroom is if I know that it may be time for me to go soon. I don't have much time to make it there if the urge hits.

Of course, whenever I try to talk to a doctor about it, they look at my chart, see that I have IBS, and they blame it on that. They have given me medication for the pain, but it doesn't work. Personally, I don't really like to take meds that only mask the problem anyway. I tried to do a detox, and that helped while I was doing it, but a week later I was back to the same old thing. I take fiber, drink lots of water, exercise, eat right. I cut out dairy in case it was lactose. I even tried cutting out gluten to see if that helped. Nothing.

[ggreg]

What medications are you on besides the ones for your tummy?  While it sounds like you have something major going on, some meds can cause your exact symptoms.  And what exactly is the doc giving you for your IBS?  Really and truly, gaining that much weight that quick ought to alert your doctor to work on another diagnosis.  There are other tests to find out if something is seriously amiss, and he should be educated enough to know what direction to go in next.  Until then, being constipated can be helped by adding more fiber slowly to your food and drinking more water.  

[IndianIrishJosie]

I had problems similar to you and found out I had Ulcerative Colitis when I was 22 yrs old.  I am 37 now.  I had test after test.  Long story.  You need to go to an OB/GYN doctor too and get checked out.  Don't give up.  You are your own best doctor.  You know when something isn't right.  I suffered from the time I was 15 to 22 before anyone figured out what was wrong.  I had a colonoscopy at age 18 and was told I had a spastic colon when all along I had Ulcerative colitis which is completely different.  I wasn't properly diagnosed until I started internally bleeding from my colon at age 22.  Deep down I knew something bad was wrong with for years but I took the doctor's word and started thinking I was crazy until I started losing a lot of blood.  Please keep trying to find out what you have and bug the **** out of the doctors!!!!!!

[April2]

You need to go back to the doctor and insist on more tests. I have a friend who for months had simular symptoms, and I don't mean to scare you, but they finally found out she had a tumor and cervical cancer. Please keep going back until you find out what's going on. Keep us in touch and let us know how you are doing.