IBS or What

badgut · March 17, 2006, 1:35am

Can anyone give me some advice. about 7 years ago I became very ill for about a month i had severe cramping, diarria,blood in stool, about 10 to 20 times aday. In hospital for about 3 weeks weight lose. after things settled down doctors said it was a virus. A few months later same thing happened, and about every three to 4 months this would happen. I losted over 30lbs in one year. Things settled down for a while but i have flare up maybe once a year. i've had coloscopies and endoscopes and you name it but now they say its ibs. When i have a flare up the pain is so bad and i do not get any relief even after a bowel movement. The pain usually last for up to 3 hours or more. Now when this happens i can usually expect to be sick for about 3 weeks or more with this and it doesn't matter what i eat it will go right though me. I am not on any meds for this can anyone tell me if this really sounds like IBS cause i really don't think it is.

7Lil · March 17, 2006, 2:01am

Hi badgut,
Welcome to HealingWell!

I must say that your symptoms don't sound like "classic" IBS symptoms. You shouldn't have (extreme) weightloss and you shouldn't see blood. The rest is common with IBS.
Your doctor didn't prescribe any anti-spasmodic for you? Didn't suggest you take probiotics? Maybe you should get a 2nd opinion.
Have you been tested for parasites? Usually Flaglyl is prescribed for that.
Did they test you for Celiacs? How about H.pylori or C. Difficle?
It seems as though your doc gave up on you.... I'm sorry to hear that.
Please give us a bit more info so maybe we can give you good tips.
Take care.

Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

katydid1994 · March 17, 2006, 2:14am

Welcome! You definitely need to see a new GI and get everything checked out and hopefully they can find some things to help you.

badgut · March 17, 2006, 3:16am

thanks so much for the reply. yes i was tested for celiacs and parasites both neg. I think i maybe having another flare up now. Its been about a year since the last time and im really dreading it. having alot of cramping. when the cramps come they feel like my stomach is on fire and the pain is unbearable i usually end up in bed in a fetal position until they ease off. it just terrible.unfortunatly with no answers from any doctors you kind of lose faith in them.

7Lil · March 17, 2006, 3:54am

Maybe you could go back to your doc and ask for an anti-spasmodic. Maybe try taking loads of probiotics too.

Your situation sounds about the same as Sarita's. Maybe she'll be around soon to give some tips.

Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

dbab · March 17, 2006, 5:05am

Hi badgut, I wanted to add my welcome and also I agree with the others that it may be time to get another opinion.

_{Hugs, Des}

_{Co-Moderator ~ IBS Forum}

_{~My reality check bounced}

^{Please help Healing Well continue to help others by donating http://www.healingwell.com/donate}

pb4 · March 17, 2006, 6:49am

I have to agree as well, the only time blood could be involved with someone who has IBS is if they have a bleeding hemheroid otherwise, there is no bleeding involved in IBS...get a second or even 3rd opinion.

take care

Sarita · March 18, 2006, 5:39pm

Hey badgut. I empathize with you. The bewilderment, the second opinions, the insanity of it all. My docs couldn't explain my weight loss, bleeding, severity of my diarrhea, and fevers that I experienced for several months. I saw two GIs and an infectious disease doc in my town, and then went down to the Mayo Clinic to see the super-smartypants, hoping for some reliable news. Some said it could be the result of several parasitic infections I suffered several years ago when I was traveling in Africa; some said it could be Crohn's disease; but no one could tell anything for sure. I wanted to vomit all over them. I found myself in the ER every month or two for IV rehydration and narcotics (for the pain and to stop me up), then in the operating room when my gallbladder finally kicked out on me...I was a pathetic mess (have no idea how my friends put up with me). I tried antispasmodics, Imodium, probiotics, cholestyramine, fiber and calcium supplements, fish oil, narcotics, aloe juice, proton pump inhibitors, you name it. I eventually got so pissed at how much money I was spending on cure-alls that didn't seem to be doing anything for me, so I quit everything altogether. I suffered for a little while longer. Whined and complained to these wonderful people on this website . Tried to get on with life.

HOWEVER...slowly, slowly, I realized that I was starting to improve. Just a little bit, day by day. It took a few months for me to really notice that my diarrhea went from 20x/day to 10, then to 8, then to 5, and then I started having FORMED BMs, which really just blew my mind. I just about plotzed then. I stopped losing weight, and I stopped having 100-degree fevers every day. I haven't visited the ER since November 8, 2005. That is more than four months, a record!

I've had a few "relapses" - last week I had one of my so-called "garden-hose" days where I went 20 times, and I've noticed a bit more bleeding lately, and last night I was on the floor in pain - but really, on the whole, it has improved a lot. "They" may never figure "it" out, and I've gotten beyond the point where I need to have a name for it. I simply have some bad-ass guts. Proper, consistent treatment - instead of my current regimen of whatever I can get my hands on, be it Imodium, Pepcid, Tylenol, or the occasional Vicodin - would be nice, of course. Maybe someday it will be figured out.

This kind of things definitely increases your frustration tolerance, I'll say that.

Here's my advice - get a second opinion, and possibly a third, but don't get discouraged. I think more often than not our bodies will eventually begin to heal themselves, sometimes partially, sometimes fully. I really think that idea is underestimated sometimes. Good luck. You will get through this!