So recently I’ve been getting tummy “issues”…. Either bloated and gassy ++…. Or constipated and in quite some pain for a few days… Can’t seem to identify a particular trigger but most breads do make things worse – sourdough is usually OK. Whatever way I’m going, I get lower back pain, particularly left side of my back ? kidney but no indication of kidney issues immediately – but as a t1 diabetic maybe kidney disease. Great.

So GP referred me to Gastroenterology an he seems to think IBS but that also seems to be stress related and I can’t say things are all that stressful for me – no more than usual and certainly not something I’d complain about. Gotta poop in a cup (and pay $99 for the fun of it!) My bloods all came back with no coeliac markers, no inflammation etc and the gastro guy suggested an LGG based pro biotic, low FODMAP diet and….. a colonoscopy, which I’m booked in for next week.

I’ve not changed my diet yet, or started a probiotic as I want to see the result of the scope. I do eat plenty of kimchee / sourkraut / yoghurt and have a largely vegetarian diet (not exclusively but wifey is a vego but I could never give up my smokey bacon).

Any other IBS people here? How were you diagnosed, treated, cope? (I always thought IBS was something they diagnosed when they weren’t entirely sure what the dx was, a syndrome made up of symptoms, rather than a formal diagnosis?)

Reckon you simply need to experiment. fwiw switching to 95% non-dairy has been a game-changer for me.

Tried to limit the amount of dairy I consume since the start of the year!
It has made a big difference for me, very little indigestion and a general reduction in gas from both ends!

Have tried the occasional dairy treat like ice cream or a croissant, the consequences aren’t too drastic but enough to make me mindful of what I eat.

.. a colonoscopy, which I’m booked in for next week.

Yay ! ……Another Picolax thread.

My money’s on diverticulosis.

Had exactly the same symptoms as you describe (started about three years ago, age 52). After many doctors visits, tests and scans, finally a visit to a dietitian was the most useful. Firstly, she fully understood what I was experiencing. She analysed my diet (which I thought was good) and suggested improvements – mainly more fibre and more fluids. Its not perfect but its now manageable. I drink loads and have a very high fibre diet (lots of veg supplemented with linseed daily). I can now largely eat without restrictions although I do limit gluten and onions as these seemed to make things worse

I’d love to have some answers, i’ve gone from consultant to consultant and still having issues… Nothing of use other than, i feel your pain.

Had very similar issue to what you describe and cut various things out of my diet one at a time. for me it turned out to be red meat, particularly beef.
I’ve cut it out since the start of the year, no issues since then.

When removing things from diet, how long until you guys seen an effect ?

I went gluten free for 6 weeks but didn’t help… I’ve gone without caffine for 3 weeks without any effect.

But curious as to how long people are needing to wait before getting results.

had a similar thing that i thought was food poisoning or some such.

Cutting out dairy has had a significant effect for me. i now have lactose free milk and black coffee. ice cream i miss and have one occasionally but it doesnt take long for me to regret it. just put it down to getting old tbh (im 40)

I really don’t drink much milk (don’t do cereals) so I can’t see dairy being a massive issue. Had a GF pizza last week but no significant effects after eating that. I eat nuts, beans, pulses etc. Plenty of fruit. It’s tricky as I can’t really identify anything for sure. Got my own chooks and couple of times a week I have eggs and mushrooms / bacon. It’s bloody annoying. Like now. Fully of gas (burps and farts) feel like I need to go (sorry if this is too much detail!) but can’t. Keep some Movicol sachets at work so MAYBE some action later. Just bloody over it really. (Over it doesn’t mean stressed by it, it’s just annoying)

Black coffee. Always. Wonder if I drink too much coffee though. (+/- 6 cups day?)

Yep, after 40 years of being able to consume pretty much anything without issue I became intolerant to dairy seemingly over-night.

Plenty of fruit.

Try ditching the fruit as well.

ice cream i miss

You can buy lactose-free ice cream as well as dairy-free. I can recommend the Oatly dairy-free range but at £4.50 for 500mls have reluctantly decided not to buy any more!

All fruit???? Or just the ones on the low FODMAP diet?

So I’m type 1 diabetic too…. What’s left to eat? DUST!?

About the only thing I can eat w/o any significant side effects is bloody soup. I can’t enjoy that without toast! Gar

Yeah P-Jay I know what you mean. I’ve always been able to eat and enjoy anything. Seems low FODMAP diet excludes garlic, spicy food, coffee. Plus, all this talk of food is making me hungry now.

CG how do you go with cheese? Non-dairy cheese (from what I’ve tasted) is largely pretty crap.

So avoid sugar.
Avoid whites – pasta/unrefined sugar/white breads
Avoid breads in case it sets off me belly
Lower caffeine intake
Dont eat fruit
Garlic
Spicy food
Anything remotely gluteny….

And I’ll be reyt?

Another thought was gatroparesis, as someone who’s been t1 for 25 years, this is a possibility.

I was diagnosed with  ibs nearly thirty years ago . It was largely stress induced for me. I was on medication for a while (colpermin) but after a few months it settled down to an extent that I was able to manage it by eating plenty of fibre.  I then had only very occasional minor flare ups till roughly 5 years ago. At that time I had several flare ups in just a few months, I cut out milk, but still eat cheese ,ice cream etc switched to soya or other plant “milk” for my cereal . No problems since then

eat bran flakes for a few days.

@aphex_2k ah OK missed that you’re diabetic, sorry about that. You need to experiment eg try eating less bread with gluten rather than going all out for gluten-free. I also wonder if reducing beans and pulses may help. Also eat s-l-o-w-l-y.

Oh, I remember the pain in the lower back…and the wind, you have my sympathies!

After trying many different things and becoming quite depressed about it, I found that reducing stress at work and taking soluble fibre every day has helped to keep the worst of it under control.

I had to switch soluble fibre product about a year ago and I now take Inulin powder from http://www.bodybuildingwarehouse.co.uk. I was worried about switching because the previous product had worked really well for me, but things carried on well for me.

Good luck getting something sorted out.

@weeksy

I was giving it a month each time. When I cut out the red meat I knew within the first week.

I do miss a blue steak, but it isn’t worth the days of suffering afterwards.

I developed IBS type symptoms a few years ago, took a while to realize the main trigger is aliums. I try to cut them out as much as possible, but onions and garlic are in everything! As you’ve been ruled out for coeliacs, maybe consider this.

Interesting that you’ve been referred to gastro clinic, my gp has never been any help. I’ve been a few times, sometimes my symptoms get me really down, but I’ve just been told “sounds like IBS, try a fodmap diet.” That’s it.

Edit – I work in a path lab so I just got myself tested for coeliac markers which were negative

I had a dose of guardia three years ago that triggered IBS in me, an old work colleague who had suffered for thirty odd years recommended a product called Bimuno, it’s a pre biotic, I tried it and whilst it isn’t perfect but it made a noticeable difference, then cut out all meat and it improved again, now limit my coffee intake to one cup a day, and trying to cut down on the red wine, it’s all made enough difference that I still use Bimuno and very rarely early meat

Thanks lads n lasses. Seems like it’s a more common issue than I thought.

I think the system here in Oz is a little different. GP’s refer out for everything! I have private medical so I could have gone public system but the wait time for non-urgent such as scopes is months as everything WAS on hold because of covid. I got an appt with a private gastro in less than a week and they had only just opened up for procedures – got the appointment very quickly and going in next Friday. Not something I’m looking for and hoping there’s nothing more sinister underlying. Was advised about the risk of perforating when the camera was in, and that any polyps would be treated if found, so might be a little sore that day after. I’ve booked the day off work and I’ll see if they can provide some decent pain relief other than paracetomol!

Appreciate all the advice, I’ll update you as n when I know more.

My back is killing me again today and I spent the night with the most god-awful guffs. My poor wife!!!

What does the pain in the lower back feel like? Is it a muscular ache in a band along the lower back, just above the belt line? How do you know if it isn’t just as bad back’?

Lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance and IBS are three separate conditions. They can give similar symptoms but have different mechanisms.

If the OP is over ~40 and has a sudden change of bowel / dietary system then it is understandable the GP is going to good lengths to understand why the change, particularly in Aus where everything is referred to specialists. Usually intolerances start showing earlier than that, but they can be brought on by stress or changes in lifestyle.

I have a `diagnosis’ by explaining my symptoms to my GP and them giving me pills which helped and the FODMAP diet helps. I don’t have particularly bad symptoms and so I can control the worst of it by diet. For me (very individual) triggers are caffeine (although I can re-introduce a few cups of coffee a week – not 6 a day ffs!), starchy beans and pulses (worst from kidney beans, cannellini, black etc, then puy lentils, chickpeas, red lentils least worse), alliums (onion, garlic, leek). I really like curries and find it is not the chilli that does me in, it is the garlic, onion and pulses. I can reintroduce some onion and garlic, but after a bout I need a few days without any of the above and zero alcohol to settle everything. I find yogurt is good to settle things but it is high in FODMAPs; I also find high fibre bran flakes helps even though it is wheat, so I obviously have a particular problem alliums and beans. One thing in particular not FODMAP related is cloudy beer or cider. The yeast does my dietary system in for days afterwards. It is extremely annoying that many canned and bottled beers don’t state that they are not filtered (they used to be, bloody fashion!) so I don’t realise until I pour it.

I have absolutely no problem with wheat or dairy. As above bran flakes help after a bout of diarrhoea to settle the system (a bowl a day for a week). I am veggie and have a lot of dairy and veg. I don’t eat a huge amount of fruit, a few pieces a week rather than per day.

Have they booked you in with a FODMAP-trained dietitian as well as the colonoscopy? It isn’t that you should cut everything out as such, it is about trying to find your triggers and reducing them. Also, yes 6 cups of coffee a day is a lot of caffeine even if you are drinking instant. If that is espresso, it could actually be the main cause as caffeine is a diuretic and draws water into the bowel; which is same mechanism of IBS.

@weeksy, how long. For IBS (not necessarily lactose or gluten intolerance) it is suggested you start to restrict FODMAPs for 4-8 weeks and then reintroduce slowly. You find certain things really trigger, so you can try and avoid those. And because your gut flora can change in proportions, for IBS caused by FODMAPs you can sometimes reintroduce small but consistent amounts without disrupting that balance. I like the quote “The “Low FODMAP diet” is not a “No FODMAP diet” and it is not a “lifetime diet.””

Resources: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/schools/life-course-sciences/departments/nutritional-sciences/projects/fodmaps/faq
https://www.monashfodmap.com/

@SaxonRider “What does the pain in the lower back feel like? Is it a muscular ache in a band along the lower back, just above the belt line? How do you know if it isn’t just as bad back’?”

Yes feels muscular like an ache. Across the lower back and up my left side if particularly bad. For me if it is because of beans, the pain is usually associated with extreme wind – not just the volume but the smell! Trapped wind feels different, more a stabbing pain in the front/centre of your body. Whereas for me the back ache is associated with diarrhoea / expulsion (not always loose stools but going to the toilet 3-6 times in a day), and then for ~2 days afterwards bad constipation; then rinse & repeat.

Back pain is left side around lower back in the same sort of area around the size of a plum. It’s not acute pain and not there all the time but very specific in area. Pain is around 3 out of 10….im not in agony but I’m aware of it.

Re: coffee…. I’ve drunk 6+ coffees a day for the best part of twenty years w/o issue, only recently last few months I’ve had the tummy issues. Not booked to see a dietician yet until I’ve had the colonoscopy next Thurs. Figure there’s no point making drastic changes, pro biotics or low FM yet as it may affect the investigation

Off to the chemmst today to buy some picolax and diet change as directed for three days pre camera so no nuts/seeds/grains, dark fluids etc.

My only real issue is not being able to eat 6 hours pre as diabetic I need to eat in the mornings to not go hypo but otherwise, we shall see what the outcome is.

Sounds very similar kona girl

After a couple of days with a sore back (different area than usual) I decided to pick up a probiotic (inner health advance lgg based). Not cheap! But 40 capsules to take twice a day. Two days in and cant really say anything drastic to report but went out for a meal with friends last night (in an actual restaurant) and not issues today so maybe it’s doing something, or I was just very lucky with my meal selection?

Crap diet from Monday, scope on Thursday. So looking forward to this…. (not)

Good luck mate. I’d been off omeprazole for 2 weeks, testing to see if any effects not taking it, went back on a couple of days ago now, not sure it’s helped or hindered things either way.

No back pain though which is one blessing.

My throat does feel like I’ve swallowed a gerbil like Diana out of V.

Cheers buddy. Fingers cross it all works out for ya!

Similar maybe or not, but then could be anything. Got non specific bowel grumbles, trapped wind, bloating, groin aches, shifts about, goes away for weeks or months, comes back. Various aches on all kinds of places. The bloating in particular is getting really uncomfortable, but then I’m not sure it’s just I’ve got a fat belly and it’s normal to feel discomfort.

Passing wind, bowel movements etc are fine (no blockage) and feel better briefly. Eating and feel better.

Bike rides and feel loads better though. Been getting worse recently and I’m feeling the work from home in current situation meaning I’m less active at home maybe is connected.

I’ve read about digestive system not being able to cope with certain stuff after mid 40s. What I don’t know. I’ve tried cutting down wheat, dairy and even fibre (good in some ways but could contribute to the gas), but no difference. I’ve not done full stop on something for a long period though.

General aches and fatigue make me think of other things. Bit of back or side ache at times but can be leg ache. Even wonder about Lyme disease given the amount I’ve been in undergrowth where ticks are common, friends get them often, but never noticed a tick. Plenty of bite marks from don’t know what.

Some years back had a general check of bloods etc. Usual no word back and calling them they said they don’t say anything unless there’s a concern. Though I do now have access to my records and the results but no idea what they mean.

Other thing is back when we could go on holiday, times I’ve been away I’ve felt better. Different activities, diet perhaps. Less anxiety even.

Is this just how it is after a certain age, no idea? 🤷‍♂️

So scope fail. Despite restricted diet and 2 pico preps the doc couldn’t do a full job. One small polyps fixed. Booked in for another on the 16th and a more intense gut cleansing program. 3 days of coloxyl and senna twice a day. Three sachets of pico prep the day before. 2 sachets of plenvu on the morning. Not looking fwd as the stuff (I thought) had worked well.

On a plus note, I had a combo of midazolam, fentanyl and (I think) propofol. Zonked the whole procedure. Woke up feeling fab. Had another floaty kip this arvo. Latvthinh I remember was the dude telling me he was “just putting some water” in my cannula. I asked if it was a flush thrn my arm went cold and 321 “you’re outta the room”.

Anyway apparently I have “slow bowels”. I could have told him that. Docs these days!

I used to have terrible guts but removing all forms of dairy was game changer. Really good alternatives out there now, even the cheese isn’t too bad.

I went here http://www.hopevalleynutrition.co.uk
Who had tests done at the link below to highlight any issues.

Food Intolerance Tests

Stick carnivore diet IBS in youtube or have a look here:
https://meatrx.com/category/success-stories/

Give it a go for a month and see if it fixes it as an elimination diet then add other foods back in to see what you can tolerate.

@weeksy

When removing things from diet, how long until you guys seen an effect ?

I went gluten free for 6 weeks but didn’t help… I’ve gone without caffine for 3 weeks without any effect.

Almost no-one can go gluten free for 6 weeks without a huge amount of practice and lifestyle change. Most people will either get cross contamination or just eat foods that are labelled gluten free but are not.

Different people have different sensitivities, even the same person can have different sensitivities week to week.

This probably applies to some other foods as well but to understand why it’s a good idea to read the definition that is applied to labels. Many people can tolerate 20ppm but others can’t so if you are going to spend 6 weeks IMHO it’s worth doing it right determine if it is or is not a certain food and once you have work out from there what your tolerance is in general.

http://www.fao.org/tempref/codex/Meetings/CCNFSDU/ccnfsdu28/nf28_05e.pdf

I feel your pain. I’ve had “IBS” for years and finally went to see a nutritionist this year. I had a food intolerance test done and was mostly intolerant to dairy as well as other things so have cut that out. I also had a SIBO test done and was positive for SIBO C. So went on a low FODMAP diet for 8 weeks. The diet was not too hard once I’d got used to it and you find alternatives to what you can’t eat. Over the 8 weeks i also took a number of different herbal antibiotics. The one I found best was ADP Oregano to be really effective. The diet has now finished and I’m slowly re-introducing things. Beef is bad for me as well as onions and pasta, possibly garlic. Generally I no longer suffer bloating but I think I’ve probably still got the SIBO, I understand more as to what makes my remaining constipation and flatus symptoms worse.