IBS?? Please help

Hi there

I thought I would post a message to see if anyone can help and advise. I suffer from a health anxiety already.

About a month ago I finished a month long course of tablets that were very harsh on my system basically gave me an upset stomach most days. This was also a very stressful month, lots of worry and anxiety.

So I finished the tablets and about a week later I got a pain in my groin, of course I thought this was testicular cancer and went to my doctor who checked me out and said all was fine. I wanted a second opinion so went and pain for a scan, this came back fine. A week later this died down and then I developed a stitch like pain in my right side above my hip, again I visited my doctor and he checked my abdomen and said all was fine. He also did a full blood count, this also came back fine. He sent me for a ultrasound scan of my abdomen this looked at all my organs, this again all came back fine.

I have this stitch like ache (doesn’t really hurt, just uncomfortable) normally when I am seated. When I am standing up it normally subsides. It sometimes moves across my tummy to the other side, but have noticed it in my right side mostly. Since coming off the tablets I also have had very loose stools and have been going to the toilet more often after meals and also I know this sounds disgusting but when I wipe the smell is different. I also have this funny taste in my mouth. I also have not been able to pass wind properly for about 3 weeks, I just seem to inflate (I did pass wind this morning though which helped. I have also lost my appetite. I thought when going to the toilet it was meant to help, but I seem to always have this constant stitch in side, maybe though its worse when I think about it!!

I got referred to a Gastroenterologist (my doctor didn’t think I needed it) and he again checked my tummy and to put my mind at rest he did a colonoscopy and a gastroscopy all came back clear, he said with the colonoscopy he also had a look in my small intestine and that was fine.

A week ago (last Friday) I went back to see him and he said that he thinks I have IBS and prescribed a anti-depressant that can also help sort your stomach out and he wants to see me in a months time to see if it has worked.

So just wanted to see if anyone can help me with these awful symptoms I have and if they have ever had this, I am worried I have every cancer that is not being picked up. I now think I have a problem with my gallbladder!! This is affecting my whole life and really I don’t have a life at the moment through the worry that I have something really bad that doctors are not picking up.

My symptons are;

Pain in right side when seated
Bloated Stomach
Loss of appetite
Funny metallic taste in mouth
Loose stools – upset stomach

Hiya

Well, if you have had all these tests on your abdomen, I would have thought that the chances of missing any sort of dreadful illness is very low indeed.

IBS is often arrived at as a diagnosis when everything else has been excluded, which is probably why your consultant has suggested it. There are quite a few IBS sufferers on here (me included) and there is a whole section of the forum devoted to it, so it might be worth having a browse through the posts on there.

The symptoms you're describing are all ones I've had in the past - and there are a lot of others which can also crop up with IBS. Also, the symptoms can change over a period of time, which can be alarming for an anxious person.

I suppose the big thing about IBS is that it's random in how long it lasts for - some sufferers will have it for a few days at a time, but attacks can go on for months if you're unluckly. However, there are some medications that can help, and looking at your diet can also help. Antidepressants can definitely help with the symptoms, and quite a few doctors now prescribe them for IBS these days.