IBS?

Can you pin it down to any particular foods you eat that make it worse? Things like gluten (wheat) or dairy can be triggers for many people.

Don't try to cut out anything from your diet before going to the GP though. He may want to do tests which would be useless if you had already cut anything out of your diet.

Try keeping a food diary for a few weeks to see if there is any connection with your diet. It can take a long time to get it under control but is worth it in the long run.

I am on Colofac too. It seems to keep me stable most of the time, though I do have occasional episodes, usually after I have eaten out. I have a fairly boring diet, but I know after two years what suits me.

No haven’t tried cutting anything out yet? Eat granola or shreddies, flakes for breakfast with lots of fruit on.Wrap or pitta for lunch,Fish or chicken for dinner with veg,or salad generally healthy diet,but googling, fruit, veg,grains bad for it?

IBS-type symptoms which emerge in later life need investigating.

Ok Luckygirl, scared me now?I am 72 ,so will go Doctor,as the spasms seem to go up to my shoulder and down to my hip,strange.

Elen luckygirl is right. You should make a GP appointment. It could well be nothing at all but change of health should always be investigated. Hope you feel better soon

My IBS symptoms disappeared in a few days when I went on a gluten free diet four years ago but I would definitely go to the doctor to be sure that IBS is what ails you.

Thankyou everyone for your advice

I developed IBS, after having a glass of homemade fruit juice, at a friend's house. Apparently, you've got to let the bacteria flush itself out. For a couple of weeks, I ate bland food, drank lots of water and the problem sorted itself out. Hope you feel better soon, but as someone suggested, if this persists, see your GP.

Not trying to scare you! But any change in bowel habit in a senior person should have a medical opinion. It is just common sense. The chances are it is nothing to worry about of course, but the proper consultation with a medic is the place to start.

By the way I had IBS for decades - I used to have diarrhoea 10 times a day - life was a misery. But I did have all the proper investigations so we knew for sure what we were dealing with.

I will also urge you to see the GP and not self medicate, all of my symptoms could have been IBS but they weren't, I had bowel cancer. The consultant I saw privately told me it was highly unlikely that it was serious but I went ahead with the investigations anyway.
Not telling you this to frighten you but seeking early treatment can sometimes be a life saver.

For the wind, have you considered buying a kite?

Try high roughage diet ,worked for me ,

I have been diagnosed with IBS. Still doing investigation. Stated on Azathioprine. Blood test every week for 8 weeks.. not settle yet. It’s on going for now. But hopefully soon it be will be a routine. Take care and see your GP.

I too urge you to see your GP who might refer you for a colonoscopy. That's what I did and I had several polyps removed. I was told my symptons were likely to be caused by IBS but still have to have a colonoscopy every two years and also do the home tests.
I manage my symptoms with fruit, veg, plenty of water and I also take a probiotic. The one I take is ProBion Clinica and it's well worth reading up on it. They offer a trial pack for the price of postage and it's a generous sample.

I have had IBS most of my life. Embarrassing wind, diarrhoea etc etc. I can recommend reading the Fodmap diet which my doctor recommended to me. Order it from your library if you just want to have a look! I followed it for a few weeks cutting out different foods and then reintroducing them and have improved hugely after I found that lactose made things worse. I drink loads of tea with milk and just hadn’t even considered this! I now have lactose free milk or tablets if I am out and about. Eggs and onions also caused problems, so I am careful with these.
It will probably be different for you but do try it. After years of being scared to leave the loo some mornings I am hugely better.

Good luck x

IBS. can cover a wide range of problems.

Personally, I have bloating, diarrhoea, and lots of wind.
But no pain, so don’t think I’ve got IBS.

I have tried all sorts of tablets.
Charcoal tabs made no difference whatsoever, the same with probiotics. Have tried all sorts.
I haven’t tried altering my diet and it’s such a faff.
Don’t know where to start with that.
I am too scared to go for a colonoscopy, as had one years ago and it was very painful.

Hannahloisluke.

Have just looked up the probiotics you recommended and there are six different ones. Which one do you take.?

I suffer from the bloating and embarrassing wind of IBS and this has not been helped by major surgery last year.
I have found that eggs especially disagree with me and I have to be careful with beans and now can’t touch nuts which is a shame as I love pistachio and walnuts! However almond or coconut milk is fine!
I know that I should avoid spicy foods as it makes the symptoms so much worse but as I practically live on spicy foods it would make me more miserable to avoid them than the suffering from the IBS itself!

Ha ha love your reply

Greciangirl. I take the Clinica. It's the one used in the Swedish trials with bowel cancer.

After a while you could go on to the Basic but I stay with Clinica as it suits me.

I’ve had a similar problem. Absolutely agree with all the other posters saying you MUST see your GP. The low FODMAP diet helped enormously. Google Monash University FODMAP diet. Maybe try cutting out onions, garlic, apples and pears but do not try the whole diet until you’ve seen your GP. and ask for a dietitian referral if he/she feels the diet will benefit you. It can be difficult to start with and a dieticians help while you reintroduce foods can be invaluable.

I sometimes think that IBS is a big umbrella that is put up when they are unsure. I do agree that you should be checked out by your GP.

I was thought to have IBS but it turned out I had a rare hernia. At the time my cousin said cut out bread and potatoes then reintroduce them This did help and if I eat any bread it is usually sour dough. Cereals was another thing I couldn't eat. I was told by the gastroenterologist that I was suffering from Fructose malabsorbtion as I was eating too much fruit. to eat only three pieces of fruit a day. I found that my best form of roughage came from vegetables. We are all different and I think it is trial and error.