Desperate for relief from the pain...
#364747 - 05/14/11 08:34 PM
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magpan
Reged: 05/14/11
Posts: 1
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Hello… I am not sure if this is the right place to post this but I can't seem to find the right category.
Anyway, I am a 26-year-old IBS sufferer who has dealt with varying degrees of IBS symptoms since I was a child. I am getting desperate for help, answers, and treatment that actually works. I have gone to multiple Gastro docs and no one ever seems to have any answers for me other than yes I have IBS…
I am getting desperate and I must admit at times I just want to give up on everything… work, school, family, life… I don't often "talk" to anyone about my IBS because, well, let's face it; it's embarrassing… However I am tired of hiding and I don't know how much more pain I can handle.
Let me give you a little background on my medical history… I am a 26 year old overweight female with a history of hypertension, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, lactose intolerance, hiatal hernia, GERD, anorexia nervosa (in teens), panic/anxiety disorder, and am currently seeing a rheumatologist for a bizarre joint condition that suddenly emerged two years ago that we think may be some sort of hereditary immune disorder as two immediate blood relatives are having similar joint issues.
My medications are:
Birth control
Aciphex
Celexa
Nadolol
Allegra
These are my embarrassing symptoms that I must talk about though it is highly embarrassing…
I call what happens to me "attacks" because I can't think of any other word to describe it. Anywhere from 10 minutes – 2 hours after I eat I get this intense feeling of hunger as if I have not eaten anything at all which quickly progresses to some very sharp pains in my mid stomach area. Within minutes the sharp pains intensify and spread to my intestines and the lower part of my stomach. At this point I get the urge to defecate and go to the bathroom with diarrhea. After defecating the pain subsides for a few minutes and then comes back again even more intense than the first time. This continues in what I refer to as "waves" for anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours. During this time my mouth becomes completely dried out. I get terribly exhausted and am barely able to keep my head up. I have intense cramping in my thighs. I get extremely nauseous and very rarely I also through up. Additionally, I get bladder spasms which make me have to urinate tiny little bits every 2-3 minutes. The pain during a "wave" is so intense that I frequently lose consciousness. I have hit my head several times from passing out during these one of these "attacks". After a while the "attack" slows down so that the "waves" become farther and farther apart and I defecate less and less at each "wave". When I think the attack is over, I usually head to bed where I use a heating pad on my stomach. During this time I continue to have the urge to defecate and urinate, however, when I try, nothing comes out. It's like my entire digestive tract and everything "down there" is just spasming I guess you could say. I cannot eat or drink ANYTHING for at least 8 hours after or it will happen all over again. I usually take little sips of water and that's about it.
I have tried pain killers, pepto bismol, muscle relaxants, and am even on anti-anxiety medication. Usually during an attack I don't bother taking anything because I know it won't help. Though sometimes I do take 800mg of Ibuprofen because it is partly an anti-inflammatory and in my mind I think that has to help somehow with the inflammation and spasming going on.
One thing I will point out is that I do not have constipation ever and have had multiple gastro tell me to use fiber. All I can tell you is that this does NOT help me, this makes everything worse. Every time I try a fiber regimen I just have attack after attack.
As those of you with IBS know, this interferes with EVERY aspect of my life. It is hard to keep a job, it is hard to go to college, it is hard to maintain relationships because people just don't understand that this happens sometimes without any notice and that there is no way you can go to whatever it is you were supposed to attend when one of these attacks occur. Not to mention, it's hard to want to discuss your exact symptoms with say… your boss…
I have tried tracking my eating habits with a food diary and I do know certain foods trigger them but sometimes I have them even when I'm not eating something I shouldn't or even when I don't think I am stressed out. I really honestly don't know why these attacks happen or how to stop them or how to help ease the pain once they start. I am really at my last attempt for help here… I am open to any suggestion as long as you are really trying to help me…
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"Magpan",
It sounds like you need somebody, particularly a doctor who really understands and believes in the reality of IBS. I sympathize with your pain because I have struggled with IBS-Constipation symptoms on-going for the past 5 years. Only recently I have developed the really painful symptoms of bloating and what my doctor called "spasms" (maybe that's the 'wave' you're talking about?) The spasms feel like really sharp pains, like something chewing my insides out! The doctor I saw last month prescribed me "Dicyclomine", an anti-spasmatic medication which helps take away that sharp pain.
I can totally relate to the emotions that come with the condition IBS as well. I often have moments where I feel down, like nothing I try or do is good enough... next day I'm still suffering! I've always felt so embarassed and secretive about it. But I think I'm learning, little by little as far as what foods I can and can't eat. I can't eat cheese or fried foods especially. The high fat content takes way too long and is so hard to digest. It sounds like you've learned a little bit, too.
I've always had this hope that someday these problems will be gone, somehow. I found this book, just yesterday, that has really encouraged me-- I've read a ton of it already and I can really relate to it. There's so many little things that make a big difference-- like your medications could even be aggravators to you! The book seems to cover just about anything you and I might want to know. "IBS for Dummies" by Carolyn Dean, MD, ND and L. Christine Wheeler, MA.
Please don't give up hope. You deserve to be healthy and happy . Praying you feel better.
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magpan,
one mechanism possibly causing your symptoms is rapid gastric emptying resulting in a "dumping syndrome". When from some reason (weak pyloric muscles at the stomach exit) a large amount of food moves rapidly from the stomach in the small intestine, it drags water from the surrounding tissues and causes dehydration resulting in low blood pressure, fainting, dry mouth, abdominal cramps, diarrhea.
You haven't said how extensive your endometriosis is (was) and was it treated. I strongly recommend you to consider visiting a gastroenterologist. What happens to you is way beyond the IBS.
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I don't have IBS.
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