Is this really IBS?
#37958 - 01/16/04 10:47 AM
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I know that nobody can diagnose me on here, so that's not what I'm asking.
In 2001, I weighed 200 lbs. I started taking Metabolife 356 to lose weight, and it worked. My symptoms started in March 2002 which would be about 6 months after I started taking the Metabolife. I had gone out to dinner with friends, we had pizza, and my stomach started feeling kind of funny that night, almost constipated. The next morning I couldn't go at all. So, I took 2 Correctol laxatives. Nothing. Later that evening I took 1 more. Nothing. Next day, still nothing. Finally, 3 days after taking laxatives, I was able to kind of go. Constipation seemed to be the only problem. A few months later my lower abdomen started to bloat, starting right underneath my navel. My upper abdomen would only bloat up if I had eaten ALOT, and would usually go down in a few days. Now, my entire stomach is distended, starting from right underneath my and going all the way down. My clothes do not fit; I usually wear a size 10, today I'm wearing a size 11 and the waistband is digging painfully into my stomach as I speak.
I guess my question is this - do IBS symptoms change and get worse over time? The pain is the worst on my lower left side but has been steadily working its way up the left hand side. There's times that my whole entire abdomen hurts, actually most of the time, but it's always worse on the left side.
I now weigh 125 and look like I'm 6 months pregnant. I'm not so much upset by my appearance (though I'm not crazy about the fact that after losing almost 80 pounds, I still look chubby in the gut), I'm more upset at the fact that I have not gone one day in almost 2 years without feeling horrible. I got married July 12, 2003, and the happiest day of my life was still a bit marred by the fact that I was in pain and uncomfortably bloated.
I know that my problems are not worse than anyone else's. I still have not gotten an official diagnosis of IBS; my first doctor tried to say I had it within 5 minutes of speaking to me - he hadn't run any tests, done any bloodwork, ANYTHING. He gave me a "prescription" to eat 2 bowls of 100% bran flakes every day. Gee, wonder why THAT didn't work (Thank you, Heather, for pointing out that bran and raw veggies/fruit are NOT helpful when it comes to IBS!). I am going on January 28 to the University of Washington GI clinic and hopefully will be taken seriously there; I've already been to 3 doctors and one specialist - had a colonoscopy that didn't go into the small intestine and only showed 1 diverticuli (sp?); everything else was "normal".
Again, I know my problems are not worse than anyone else's. My heart goes out to each and every one of you - nobody should have to be in pain all the time, for any reason. I guess that I am just depressed and frustrated, scared because I've been sick for almost 2 years and still don't know what's wrong with me. I know that there are other conditions/diseases that mimic IBS... I just don't know what to do at this point.
I'm sorry that I sound so negative; I'm just at the end of my rope and feeling like I'm losing my mind. Thanks for letting me vent.
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Hi, don't worry about whining, everyone does it here occasionally. As near as I can tell, IBS is what they diagnose you with when they've ruled out everything else. Don't listen to the doctors who just tell you to eat more Fiber. I think I went to that guy, he was a jerk. 
Are you still taking the Metabolife? What's in it?
It sounds like it could be IBS... but you should wait until you talk to someone professional. Make sure you get tested for allergies, the constant bloating could be a sign of a wheat allergy.
Bear with it... hopefully something will get figured out to make it more manageable for you.
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Could Be
#37973 - 01/16/04 11:20 AM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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Becca, in answer to the question in your third paragraph, in my case it's yes. But -- for me -- the syptoms changed according to my stress and level of anxiety. Other factors that influenced my symptoms were my diet, my degree of (or lack of) exercise, and the fact that I was cheating by having my beloved coffee.
Also, I'm a "D" -- so I don't know if I'm of much help to you. However, I will say this -- the pain and bloating in your abdomen, especially how you described it on your left side, mimics mine to a "T". I haven't been able to wear anything with a waistband in 3 years. Even pants with elastic bothers me. For awhile, I was wearing moo-moos.
What helped me the most were: following the diet, CUTTING OUT THE COFFEE AND STOPPING THE CHEATING, exercising more, and the hypnosis program.
Becca, I'm so sorry you are frustrated and scared. If it were me, I'd seek another doctor. I'm real glad you're going to the GI Clinic at U. Dubb. I have a feeling you'll get your answers there. Let us know the results, won't you?
Bev.
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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Thanks for your reply. Metabolife has quite a few different ingredients...when I first started taking it they were still making it with ephedra. Now it's ephedra-free (ephedra is pretty much legalized speed and NOT good for you at all). I think too that the both kinds (356 and ephedra free) all have TONS off caffeine (sp?) in them, as well as chromium picolinate (sp?)...there's tons of herbal ingredients, but I don't have the bottle in front of me. I actually stopped taking the pills over the Christmas holiday for good. When these symptoms first started I went off the Metabolife for a while because I thought they might be the problem; went off for a month, still in pain, so got back on them.
I went to Robert Thompson in Seattle. He's an internal medicine specialist, and while I don't like bad-mouthing people, he is NOT the person to go to; he got quite a few irate letters from me, lol.
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Yeah, don't take that stuff! As for your Doctor, maybe we should start a list of quacks? Or could that get us sued?
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LOL...I was thinking the same thing, about the list of quacks.  Thanks for making me smile.
In all seriousness, though, maybe the DOCTORS are the ones who should worry about getting sued. For all I know, his diagnosis of IBS may have been right, but it was TOTALLY irresponsible and shady of him to make that kind of "snap" diagnosis without running the battery of tests necessary to do so. Same with anyone else who has seen a doctor like that - how do we know that potentially life-threatening health problems are being overlooked, because a doctor hears "chronic D" or "chronic C" and just chalks it up to IBS? When I first went to see him (Dr. Thompson), I hadn't even been having the symptoms long enough for him to say IBS - at that point I'd only had the symptoms for 3 weeks.
If a doctor doesn't know what's wrong, then he should say so, you know? I don't know about anyone else but I'd be alot happier if a doctor said "No, I don't know what this is, I'll send you to someone who knows more about this stuff", than one who couldn't give a darn (I'd love to use stronger language at the moment as I'm cranky as all get-out, but will refrain, lol) and just wants to get you out of his office ASAP.
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hI becca; that is what we are here for. I am sorry you are feeling so bad.
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Yeah, I don't really like Doctors in general. Although there are exceptions, for the most part I find them unbareably arrogant. They're always right. They don't care to spend enough time to talk to you to find out what's going on. My Dad did PR for a group of doctors that you paid a subscription fee to be able to attend... they charged extra so they could keep their practice really small, actually talk to the patients, and have some stupid bed side manners. Makes me wish I had the money to join such a thing!
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Bev, thanks so much for your response. I wish I could say that there was a correlation between stress and the pain for me, but there doesn't seem to be. I'd mentioned in a previous post that all this didn't start until I was actually HAPPY. I don't understand.
You've had to wear stretchy stuff for 3 years? Gawd, I'm sorry  It's reassuring in some ways to know that I'm not alone in some of these symptoms - does your stomach just feel hard as a rock?
I will definitely let you know how the appointment at UWMC GI clinic goes; I will also stop cheating with the coffee - living in Seattle that's hard to do, I'm sure you can relate.
Thanks again for your response, Bev, you're a sweetheart. I really enjoy your posts and your positive attitude. You're a dolly.
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I'm not sure what all is in the Metabolife that could possibly do this, but if there are ingredients that upset your GI tract, the chronic use could become an "insult to the gut", which can lead to IBS. You can do search for past posts on this, or check the First Year IBS. It's a possibility, and the laxatives could have exacerbated the GI upset and started the IBS ball rolling too. And your symptoms do fit the Rome Criteria, info about that is here web page
Good luck at UW - let me know what happens there, and what you think of them.
Best,
Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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