IBS... have I tried everything?

Obviously, like many of you, my IBS story is a long one. It mostly involves various doctors telling me the various tests they have performed came out great and that eventhough I had this pain, nausea, and stomach rumbling, I was in perfect health...

last doctor I saw was a Cedar Sinai, cost me tons and tons of money, and after he performed various tests he told me that nothing was wrong with me, and this if I did have any sort of pain or lump in my abdomen, that meerly staying in good health would make it go away. He also reccomended walking more... lol

I was never officially diagnosed, yet I was prescribed all kinds of stuff
I have taken all kinds of different medicine, with little to no help


since seeing all the doctors I decided to give up on them
then I went on to have the most success with various natural medicine
I started a very strict diet
but I am constantly hearing different info as to the foods I shoudl avoid
also I have proceeded to try approach after approach
aloe vera juice helped but not enough
the all natural detox diet was helpfull but didn't cure me
the best stuff I have used is a series of medicine from a guy named Dr. Dahlman
it worked almost perfectly as long as I followed the instructions to the letter, every day without any error
then they changed the blend on one of the pills and now I can't seem to get anywhere near the happy medium I had found

although I was happy with the way I felt on the meds, the prices were just insane... so now I come to you
I would REALLY like to find some sort of help
do you have any ideas?

also, I sometimes think I may have a lump or something in my abdomen, because when I sit in certain positions and I slightly move my ribs, I can feel something slipping back and forth under my bottom left rib...

I have a PPO w/ Blue Cross and it seems to cost me an arma and a leg when I go to see any doctor
ideas?
suggestions?
any help you can give would be great
I did try and read some of the other posts but they didn't really help

thanks
J

Post Edited By Moderator (7Lil) : 12/20/2005 2:03:56 PM (GMT-7)

With that said, I'd like to welcome you to HealingWell...
You mentioned you have had many tests done. Does that mean you have been scoped, both upper and lower?
Sometimes, usually in the morning, I can feel a lump almost right under my left rib cage. My doc once told me that it is my stomach contracted. I wasn't told why that happens though. It doesn't hurt, and I've been scoped, so I haven't pushed it (mainly because it goes away).
I have the same health plan you do. It sucks, huh? I had hit my deductible ($2K) so I stopped paying (except for rx meds). I kept getting billed but I kept pushing back to my insurance.. "I hit my deductible so these bills are now yours." So far so good. Sadly though, the new year is coming and I will start paying again. :(
Do you suffer from C (constipation) or D (diarrhea) or both? This might help people help you.
Take care.

thanks to both of you
I am a "legal" MM patient, but understand the need for the edit

I really am not that experienced with medicine and what not, so I don't really know if I have tried any probiotics or not, it doesn't sound familiar

the stuff I take now is from www.drdahlman.com
I did his IBS program w/ his personal help...
he has good medicine, and I was happy with the way I felt taking it
but now it has somewhat failed me
if I ever took any probiotics, it would be in this program
as for what I suffer from, well I guess I am a bit constipated but really I don't have much trouble with my BMs
my main problem is my stomach
I can't eat most things and when I do it results in either horrible pain or vomit, or sometimes both
chocolate, soda, alcohol and things ilke this all make me really hurt

I don't like most food, and I have pain when I eat most food I do like, sometimes it just results in gas other times it is more painful

I have had MRI, Upper GI, Colonostamy and many other tests as well
all resulted in no answers whatsoever

I have been told I have a variety of different things, everything from plain stress to gluten intolerance... which is 99% unlikely now that I have tested it

ideas?

no anti nausea medicine, I just stick to avoiding the foods that most hurt me
(as well as the medicine I cannot speak of)

had the endoscopy, found nada

and if I am not mistaken, these medicines I take now are probiotics
www.drdahlman.com
LactoViden and BifoViden

but I don't think this is exactly what you were talking about
still it says 15 billion cultures etc etc
I take them 2 times a day

It's important to make sure they are the kind that reach beyond the stomach, going into the intestines, not all of them do, the primadophilus reuteri does.

The best brand is by Natures way, see if your local health food store carries it or if they can special order it for you, otherwise I think you can buy it online...it must be kept cold, so make sure your source is aware of that. i use the powder but it comes in pill form as well (either way, it has to be kept cold to keep the active bacteria alive).

Good luck! and keep us posted if you try it.

yeah, for me I guess I do get constipated, but it doesn't cause me pain or discomfort, my main problem is 1 of 2 problems, either abdominal pain or nausea/sickness etc

going to try and find the probiotics this week, I'll let you know how it goes
thanks to all
J

I think when it comes to probiotics, the results are very slow and that it can be a month or more before you see any improvement and longer than that before you can get back to normal (provided bad bacteria was your only problem).

there is this Yogurt with Acidophilus in it (usually found in organic sections). that shoould help, i use to take the acidophilus pills but like 5 a day in the morning on an empty stomach. Try eating those metamucil cookies those are suppose to relieve your constipation.
I have tried everything but since i have a case of D, its diff but some things do help. I do know a friend of mine that had the C case and has been good for oner a year and a half.She drinks that Goji juice im now trying n has helped me. i posted another post on that if u want to read more about it.

hope it helps
:)

JBIG, Its nice to hear that you are making some progress. I know its frustrating getting there but once you find your regimine, it will be so worth it. Thanks for the update :)

is your IBS C or D?  if it is C, have you tried  Zelnorm?

JBIG,
IBS-C just means that you have IBS with prodominant constipation symptoms and IBS-D is prodominant diarrhea symptoms. There is also an IBS-A (alternating) when you commonly go back and forth.

I"m more a regular to the UC clan, but I suffer from IBS also. 

My nerves trigger my IBS.  Try to stay cool, calm and collective as much as possible.  Have fun and stay positive.  When IBS acts up, it's usually for a short time.  I just try to keep my body full of vitamin and nutriments, and that helps.  If interested, you can contact me for info on what I use  for vitamins and or check out my story at

4. No advertising or links to advertising or "Spam" is permited (including signatures). 

• Advertising or Spam is defined as posting a link for the purpose of selling products, or soliciting by someone that has ownership or other "vested interest" to the web site involved, including efforts to promote other online forums or web sites by web site owners. 
• If you are a web site owner and have a link that fits into this category that you want to share, please submit it to our resource directory and we will review your submission. 
• Posts and links about fundraising (including nonprofit) are NOT permitted. 
• Only links to personal home pages are allowed in signatures and member profiles. 
• Links to helpful web sites (commercial or otherwise) are allowed when they are posted by someone without any "vested interest" AND whose purpose is NOT to solicit, advertise, promote, fundraise, etc.

Post Edited By Moderator (dbab) : 2/2/2006 5:40:45 AM (GMT-7)