IBS, Colitis etc. - Symptoms and experiences

[Dizzieblonde]

*probably best not to read if you're eating...*

Bit of a personal question, I know, but have any ABers experienced IBS, Crohn's Disease or Colitis at all...? Had the runs for about 3 weeks now, but a stool sample shows it's not an infection, but for the past week it's been...ew...yellow, and very loose. As well as feeling shattered all the while (probably not surprising!), my appetite is pretty poor, but so far I've had no serious stomach pains or aches. I've booked in to see my G.P. end of this week, as it's getting unbearable now and doesn't seem to be easing up, but until then...

A few people have mentioned Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and I wondered if anyone on here experience similar symptoms, and what the cause was found to be in the end? Did you have any investigations, or find your G.P. pretty dismissive of the whole idea? It's all a bit terrifying as thoughts of things like bowel cancer, stoma bags etc. start running through your mind, but at 26 I'm probably a wee bit young for anything that serious yet.

[Kozmic Blues]

Dont no if its any help!

I have been having the runs after i eat anything with wheat flour in it.have not gone too see my GP yet will go for a visit by the end of the week.I think I may have celiac disease or IBS.

Have a look at your diet and what you normaly eat you may have a gluten intolerance.

Kozmic

[Dizzieblonde]

Been reading up around it, and gluten intolerance seems to be a sign of Celiac Disease - I don't eat much gluten anyway though, so I doubt it's that. If you see anyone stood in front of you in the queue at the G.P. on Friday clutching their stomach, it's probably me! See you there! lol

[Kozmic Blues]

HeHe!!!
Might see you there!

Hope the doc can help you.Its bad when there is nothing you can do that will help the pain.

Best of luck at the docs!!

HUGS...

[Litchick]

Same thing happened to me about two years ago. It turned out (after testing) that it was simply a bit of gastritis. Felt much worse than that! After a six week round of medicine called Aciphex (same type of med as Prilosec, Pepcid, etc.) hasn't happened since. Good luck hun. XX

[Dizzieblonde]

Good luck to you too Kozmic - Earliest I could get in the docs was Friday evening so I'll catch up with you after that. Hoping it's just something like IBS or colitis - even gallbladder problems (hence the yellow colour) - it'd just be nice to know what it is for definite, at least to stop all nasty thoughts of God-knows-what running through my mind :(

[Dizzieblonde]

There is hope then Litchick! Bet it was such a relief to know what it was and to ease it off. Did you have the same...er...yellow business then, if you don't mind me asking? :os

[mimififi]

I have had a similar problem and have since cut out all wheat and gluten in my diet and the problem clears up. Doc is not sure as to whether it is specifically coeliac disease, but it is certainly intolerence to. You can have both, so I'm told.

You have said you don't have much gluten in your diet, however wheat and gluten are in the most bizarre of foods stuffs such as stock cubes for example and even some flavourings are gluten based. It might be worth checking carefully.

Have you tried reducing your dairy intake? Dairy intolerence can start at any time and cause exactly these symptons anothe biggy in the intolerable foods would be soya. Do you have lots of soya in your diet as this can also cause this problem which is why in countries were soya and their products are staple foods, dissentry (sp) is such a problem as most people have the runs anyway...

hope you begin to feel better soon

[Dizzieblonde]

My diet is pretty shoddy to be honest; up until recently, I used to drink waaaaay too much very strong coffee (although I've gone onto a Green Tea fad now! lol), although I've never been keen on milk or anything with milk in it, so I don't think I have much of a dairy intake. I'm just hoping my doc doesn't fob me off with IBS as an excuse, rather than sorting out what it is for definite.

[Litchick]

Yes I did...and constant, er, runs. Bloated feeling, stomach pains, etc......and yes, it was a relief that it was such a tiny thing causing all that discomfort. Good luck to you. XX

[pessimist]

Are you stressed or worried or under pressure at work. I get similar symptoms under these conditions, took two years to convince me I wasn't imagining it as no doctor could find anything wrong. Hope the Doc says your'e ok,Does get easier once you know what your'e dealing with.

[Dizzieblonde]

Yup Pessimist - recently redeployed to a new, much more stressful post when my ward closed (I'm a nurse - not in gastroenterology, you'll be glad to know! lol), which meant completely overhawling my shift patterns too. The problem started when I started my new post - it might just be coincidence, I'm not sure, as I'm on annual leave this week and it's been worse than ever.

[petes_dragon]

Hi,

if it is very yellowy and loose, it could also be a dairy intolerance.

Last year my son had a stomach bug and I took him to see the docs, as even after the sickness cleared up he still had the runs for ages - the doc found no infection but did tell us that after a tummy bug you can develop a 'temporary' intolorance to dairy products - he suggested that we change to soya fo a couple of weeks and then slowly re-introduce dairy........It worked, the diarrhoea cleared up within a few days and we kept up with the dairy for about 3 weeks then slowly started dairy again and everythings been fine since.

hope this helps

A xXx

[Kozmic Blues]

Hi Dizzieblonde!

Just wondering how the docs went.

Went to the docs today she is sending me in a few weeks to get checked for Celiac Disease.I am going that late because i have epilepsy and my levels will have to be checked so they can check for it then.

[Dizzieblonde]

Hey Hey Kozmic! Only checked on here by chance to ask you the same!

Read a bit around Celiac Disease and it doesn't seem tooo bad - just a bit awkward changing your dietary habits, and having to keep an even closer eye on what you eat. Let's hope it's not that though, and just something simple and obvious they've overlooked :)

As for mine, no infection, parasites or bacteria, and all he kept saying was "There's definitely something wrong here" after testing my blood, stool and examining me - Came out more terrified than when I went in! He signed me off work for a fortnight as he's concerned my ITU patients might catch it if it is anything contagious (although this looks unlikely), and I've got to send off another sample before I go back next week for a referral to a G.I. specialist. Sounds like it might be the camera for me :o(

[Kozmic Blues]

I hope everything works out ok for you!
Try not to worry to much, i no its not easy but the more you worry the sicker you will feel.

I wish you the best!!
I will keep a lookout on this thread for any updates.

HUGS & XXX

Kozmic

[Dizzieblonde]

Hi Kozmic - Had my second sample results yesterday, and definitely no infection or parasites, so heading back to the G.P. again in an hour to see what he says *fingers crossed* x