Just wondering if anyone else on here suffers with irritable bowel,Im lucky that i dont have it too bad and only get a couple of attacks a year, but ive got a particularly bad episode at the moment and am suffering with dreadful spasms, that are just like having contrractions. I was told by the GP to use the breathing technique to get thru them and i also take Buscopan but nothing seems to be helping at the moment.

I just wondered if any of you have any remedies that you use that may be of some help to me

Thanks for your replies. I have a reasonable diet and eat veggies and fruit, but ive also been told that stress aggravates it. As i suffer with bipolar disorder and am on meds for that plus antidepressants at the moment. So suppose that may be the reason its happening i spose

Hi, I have been suffering from the same trouble. I've had sore tummy pains, toilet problems and I've seen my doctor alot. I was given 2 blood tests, both normal, a ultascan which was normal, Im having a CT scan at the end of the month and a camera into my bowels. I have been told it could be IBS but I am worried its something worse. Ive been told its unlikely to be cancer but I cant help but worry.

Hi there, just by chance I noticed your message while hunting down a feature my sister was interested in.

I have suffered IBS all my life. But in past 10 years found the triggers to it. Stress is definitely one. :-) But diet is another. If I eat bread or potatoes I get it bad. So watch what you eat and remember if it triggered an attack. I fancied some toast half an hour ago, as I wasnt going out I had some :-/ Bad decision. :-) So try that. Oh I also found out that 10 years ago when I was put on anti depressants that helped a lot. To the point I didnt want to come off them. But eventually did. Hope this helps you. I also lived on pain killers. The medication prescibed didnt seem to work (Colofac and Spazmodem) Steer clear of tinned and processed foods too. Its all trial and error.

Good luck

Rose

i am a suffer of ibs and i have had it for 6 years.

i also take buscopan but just when i have spasams which is almost every month. i find it works but also i have given up smoking and i only drink  at weekends because the wheat in the alcohol also triggers it. i find that if i have had a nite out that i am bad the next 2 days. my diet excludes potatoe products dairy and wheat i found that i lost weight also with cutting out these products. i love cheese and eggs and home made chips but i cant have them now and i hate pasta. so i live on salads and pizza and stirfry veg. anyone who wants to bet this is helping with any advice. i live in greece for the summer so the food is rich there and bread and oil r a must with food but you can avoid the disruptions by taking care and ordering the right food and asking for brown bread and no oil.

Hi Pob, Like you I suffer infrequent attacks of IBS and I have found a way of controlling it.  Each morning I drink a pint of boiled water.  I follow this with a bowl of fresh fruit,yoghurt and honey.  Avoid coffee, I still have a few cups of coffee when I feel safe but I had to stop alcohol and spicy foods, but I can eat almost anything I like and the attacks do not get so bad that I'm lying on the floor on my tummy desperatley trying to get my stomach to deflate. Fresh fruit is the best thing you can eat and it will not irritate you   x Beutross

Hi Rose, you talk sense girl.  I love bread and it kills me but I found a fabulous bread that I can eat loads of and it actually helps.  It's called Low GI and a lot of bakeries are doing it.  It contains pumpkin and sesame seeds and it was developed for diabetics.  No sugar or salt just loads of lovely crunchy seeds. 

Hi there, i was just online looking at help for my IBS. Its pretty bad today. I  have had it for about 20 years but was only diagnosed about 12 years ago.  Since then i have been trying different approaches to ease the pains.  Theres alot of good comments on here  and i have found the same problems with what i call 'white foods'. I find avoiding  bread, potatoes, too much rice and pasta helps, avoid crisps, or at least only eat the corn varieties.  Too much fatty food hurts a lot. Basically  a good diet.I was advised to exercise more and i have found my tummy is less painful but sometimes  i am  in too  much pain to get up and do  it.  Natural yogurts, with plenty of fresh fruit is really good for constipation but not if you get sudden attacks of the opposite!  Asidophillos (usually in these newly fashionable yogurt drinks ) only i buy it in tablet form from a health food shop as you get more for your money.  Stress definitely makes  it worse during these times i listen to relaxation music and try not too become anxious. 

Having said all of that i haven't had any scans or cameras yet even during the diagnosis process so i've recently groaned at my doctor to get me looked at properly as all these years of suffering i'm feeling a bit down with it and want o ensure that there is nothing else going on.

Cheers

Chopsyblonde 

 

hi i have got ibs, for over 18 months, i tried everything from walking and swiming and other tablets, now i get them bad every week, the doc has put me on anti depressant, to see if they help, i cant go out without some one  with me and near a toilet,and i cant do any thing or go on a simple trip with my kids now its awfull. i have had the camra and tests, i am at the docs nearly every week. i have stoped my college courses and   stoped looking for a jobs becouse of the stress in it, i have been looking at the forum hoping i can get some other ideas for this nightmere of this i b s.

Hypnotherapy is said to be very effective. My husband helps lots of people this way as he himself is a hypnotherapist

I have suffered with IBS for nearly 10 years and so badly that I had been admitted to hospital on many occasions with doctors convinced it had to be more than IBS!. I have been symptom free for nearly 2 years now since I have found that most of my symptoms were caused by lifestyle as well as food. I had had a really stressful job that I hated and I never ate properly I would stay up late, smoke, drink and work as many hours as god sent.

I have found that by finding a job I love that is stress free and sensible hours, eating regularly breakfast, lunch and dinner at a set time every day never skipping meals, a regular balanced diet and exercise regime and packing in the booze and fags and getting a decent nights sleep has worked wonders, I am careful still with what i eat but I really feel by having a balanced lifestyle has reduced my pain and symptoms to nothing I even now go for a number 2 every morning where as before it could be about once a month or the extreme opposite. There is a support group for IBS sufferes that can help you and you will proberbly find it if you google it. It can get better and I know how you feel when it is really bad you just want to go to bed and never get up but you have to make drastic lifestyle changes and see what works for you everyone who suffers is different. yoga and Pilates really help too.

I had severe IBS for years - I had tried everything and was even seeing a consultant until someone suggested hypnotherapy which was the best thing I ever did.  My IBS was cured within a week, which was amazing as none of the medications I had been prescribed had ever worked for me.

If you don't want to try hypnotherapy (there is nothing to worry about, it is really just deep relaxation), I found that using bean/wheat bags heated in the microwave made quite a difference, as again, the heat relaxes the muscles which cause the painful cramps.  I hope this helps you.

Best wishes, Carol