Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

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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