My Doc thinks it's IBS

Hello!

I have alot of anxiety which began a few months back and started having stomach aches and bathroom urges with loose stools/diarrhea.  I've had colonoscopy, upper endoscopy, barium swallow xrays, stool cultures, CT scan of pelvis, gyno exam, endometrial biopsy, ultrasound of abdomen, ultrasound of pelvis, tons of bloodwork, all normal.  Still having the stomach gurgles, bathroom races and weird loose stools.  My doctor and I agree that I do have anxiety/panic disorder and he thinks this has brought on the IBS.  Two odd parts are that I wake up in the morning and before I can even get out of bed I start to panic and this causes me to have to go to the bathroom.  Other thing is that I have lost almost 25 pounds which I guess IBS doesn't usually make that happen. Is it plausible that I've lost weight from being anxious and actually do have IBS?  What do you all think??? 

Thanks for any input!

Sami

Hi sami-jo,
I have IBS and I have lost about 15-20lbs. It's like what dbab mentioned... having D and not eating as much, due to fear, will cause that.
Did your doc give you anything for the anxiety (which might, in turn, help with the IBS)?

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Sami,
Yes, it is common for people with IBS to be sensitive to dairy (and caffeine). Although, calcium does help with D. It seems sort of contradicting.
Anyway, your best bet is to stay away from dairy and any food prior to going to bed. I have noticed that anytime I eat within 3 hours of going to bed I wake up at 3am with D (unless it's yogurt - Activia). More so if that food is junk... like dessert.
When you're up in the middle of the night try drinking some tea and using a heating pad. If it gets really bad try taking a 1/2 dose of Imodium. I do that as my last resort.
Let us know how the trip to the GI goes tomorrow. Good luck!

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Hi Sami,
Glad you are feeling better today.
I think it's a good idea that you are reconsidering yogurt. The dairy in yogurt normally doesn't bother IBSers, nor does it bother people who are lactose intolerant.
Good luck!

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If you're unsure about the bullion cube you can always use chicken broth (or whatever broth) instead of water. Yummy!

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Welcome to the club! 

Feel free to ask any questions... There is bound to be someone here who can help / give ideas.

Is Questran like Welchol?  There are a few member here who take Welchol to help control bile.  Hopefully they'll be around shortly....

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It's true--I'm the Welchol spokeswoman! It's the reason why I don't have diarrhea every day.

A couple of people on here have been on Questran after their gall bladder surgery and they complained that it made them gassy. If you suddenly get gas cramps after you start it, then call your doctor and tell him; you may want to swtich. I take Welchol to regulate my bile flow since I too don't have a gall bladder and it's never given me any side affects. I think the only side affect that it does have is constipation; when you start getting constipated, take a bit less. It too is a cholestrol medicine; using it for bile soppage (it soaks up the excess) is an off-label use for both meds and you kind of have to play using them by ear. My doctor told me to start with one a day and to up it as needed. Some people who have come on here have said their doctors have just given them a presciption and told them to figure it out. A couple of people take upwards of 6 a day. So, at least with the Welchol, it's a take-it-as-you-need-it sort of a thing. I do not know about how to use the Questran, however. If you find that it's not stopping your diarrhea, tell your doctor and see if you can up the doseage or switch.

If your gall bladder is good, I wonder why you are producing too much bile? Did they check your gall bladder function with a hida scan? Just doing an ultrasound is not enough. But then a lot of people with IBS have some yellowy stools that burn and seem to have an okay gall bladder, so it may just be that the transit time in the intestines is so quick, the bile doesn't get absorbed like it should and out it comes. You may also try to control your bile output with diet. Bile is there to break down fat--the more fat you consume, the more bile you produce. When I went on a low fat diet after I had my gall bladder out, I was able to stop taking the Welchol for almost a year. Of course I also had to deal with bad constipation--it's a real balancing act. But, if you have a functioning gall bladder, you shouldn't have so much trouble regulating your bile; it should drop off in natural proportions as you decrease your fat.

Acidophilus can make you gassy when you first start using it, so just try one pill a day for a week or two before upping it to the recommended dosage. All probiotics can cause a little initial gas, but you almost always adapt to it within a week and quit having gas. I and a few other people have found that acidophilus makes us gassier than other multi-strain probiotic products like yogurt and Digestive Advantage, so if you have trouble with it, you might want to try some other probiotic. You might want to ask your doctor if there was any reason why he wanted acidophilus specifically, or if yogurt or mult-strain products will work just as well (really no reason why you can't take yogurt along with the acidophilus if you want, unless you can't handle yogurt). Acidophilus is usually just the most commonly known probiotic and it can be found in the herbs section of most any pharmacy; it's also cheaper to use than the multi-strain products. You can also get acidophilus from milk which is fortified with it (it will be in big words on the label). It's not as concentrated in milk as in pill form, but that can be a good form of maintanence--provided milk doesn't bother you. It's all my mother would buy when I was growing up (come to think of it, I just about never had diarrhea).

I am not that lactose intolerant but yogurt really bothers me if I don't take a Lactaid with it. Dairy was the first thing my Dr. took me off of and red meat, fresh fruit and uncooked veggies. I am pretty much back to normal now and can eat most anything but still try to limit these things. we are all different though but most the websites will mention dairy. I think the IBD advantage did the best for me. Doesn't yogurt have acidophalous in it. Maybe better to take Activa as that has bifuda(probiotic) in it and then you are getting both.