IBS pain, can anyone help me

Hello,
I wanted to welcome to the HW chronic pain forum. My first suggestion would be to post on the IBS section of the Healing Well forum. It's easy to switch using the quick jump menu at the top of the page. Second, I think you need to have a serious talk with your doctor about possible options for you. I don't know a lot about IBS, but I do know stress makes it worse. I know you may not want to hear it, but managing stress becomes a critical part of life for everyone at some point, but for those of us with chronic pain and other chronic health conditions, it's critical. So you may need to make lifestyle adjustments you won't like, but that doens't mean you need to stop doing everything.

A woman named Belleruth Naparstek, LISW, produces a number of excellent relaxation and related CD's/MP3 downloads and she has one designed for IBS. I don't have any financial connection with her, so I think it's ok to say her website is healthjourneys.com. I would also recommend you consider going to a counselor or psychologist who specializes in chronic health conditions, and he/she could maybe help you assess your life and make a plan in conjunction with your doctors. Also, I know the forum frowns on putting your e-mail right in your post, as spammers can access it easily that way. You can put it in your profile, and people can e-mail you that way.

Hope this helps some. Please do try the IBS part of the forum. And remember we're not doctors, but can offer a lot of wonderful support and share our experiences.

PaLady

I agree with the above posters.  If after having all the standard tests (colonoscopy, small bowel follow through, bloodwork, etc) they find nothing then and ONLY then can they diagnose you with IBS.  Also, not sure if you're male or female but endometriosis is another thing worth considering and the pain can be severe.  After testing depending on the diagnosis there are medications to help deal with chronic pain (amitriptyline comes to mind) ... either way you need to have a conversation with your dr. and go from there.  Good luck and hope you find an answer

I would strongly suggest you not do any running. That is very hard on the joints, and unless you're instructed by a physical therapist I wouldn't just try exercises on your own. See if you can get a referral to a physical therapist if you think it will help and get some guidance.

You're never going to get rid of stress in life. it just comes in different packages. But if you expect to feel any better (and I'm not saying cured, just better) you will need to be willing to learn how to manage the stress. And a good therapist can help you with that. There are skills you can learn, but it sounds like you're trying to do it all on your own.

PaLady

You are correct in that exercise is a great pain reliever and stress reducer.  I'm glad to see that your dr. tested you for more serious things and they came up negative.  I'm still concerned though that the pain you deal with on a daily basis is "unbelievable".  Is it cyclical?  I personally don't believe stress can cause daily recurrent physical pain but that's just my opinion.  My suggestion would be to go back to your dr. and explain to him how it is affecting your quality of life and perhaps he'll have some suggestions for you.  Good luck

Just wanted to point out that there is also an IBS Forum (click on Diseases & Conditions in the light blue bar near the top of this page) & that you might be able to find additional ideas there that are more specific to your illness. You have a well worded question; it just might be better to post the same ? to the IBS section to get more responses. It sounds like you've gotten some good suggestions & are already doing a lot of the right things so hang in there.

One site that might be a little helpful, if you haven't already found it, is:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/irritable-bowel-syndrome/DS00106

As for exercises, try to be creative. You can always run in place indoors. If you're looking for more ideas, maybe you could check with a coach or phys ed teacher for recommendations on how-to websites for stretching/strengthening/aerobics.