What actually causes IBS?

[PinkRoxy]

Does anyone know?
Because I tried so much to eat so healthy and yet it doesnt work I still get cramps and pain and feeling sick and then when I just eat normally I get it still.

I was never a terrible eater and my dad was brought up in a family that was very healthy eaters and yet he has it.

I just dont get what actually causes it.

[debs180]

Hi,
I havent got the answer im afraid. But i just wanted to say my IBS seems to do just what it likes! Just when i think i may have found a trigger....BAM it starts again...ive cut the usual things out etc, tried different meds all to no avail, 4 years on im still suffering...and quite badly at times :weep:. My general feeling is that my anxiety definately does NOT help, and i think my IBS is mainly due to anxiety and stress. I have found the things that can help through a bad spell though....which are lots of water, camomile tea, and lots of walking (even though i feel sluggish) seems to ease the cramping.
Maybe if things arent improving then a trip to your GP might help for some advice on other things to try.

Good Luck, and Take Care
Debs x

[PinkRoxy]

I think mine is caused by alot of things.
I find sugars, pasta and lots of bread sets off painful spasms which are like sharp and very painful abdominal and pelvic cramping and sharp pains in my butt area which really hurt I notice not all the time but about twice in the last four months some blood on my poo after an IBS attack. Been tested for internal bleeding and didnt have any and didnt spot any more since.

I feel sick alot and have indigestion problems after eating even if its a little it kind of puts me off eating alot of the time.

I get lots of lower back ache and its all driving me insane. I really do hate it and I just dont know what to do to deal with it anymore.

I do try to eat healthy and change my diet alot but it doesnt really work.

Do you have any suggestions?

[Emphyrio]

It's funny because before October 2008 I could eat pretty much everything I wanted to, then ever since then a lot of foods started affecting me :( Now if I have food like a baguette or a pizza I get pretty bad gas a few hours later :mad:

A lot of healthy food also gives me gas too - bread, fruits etc, probably because of the unabsorbable or difficult to digest carbs like fructose etc. I also have to limit the amount of milk I drink.

I've had a pretty bad bout of IBS today so will probably go to the doctor's tomorrow. I really don't know why I'm suddenly 'intolerant' to a number of foods.

Getting a coeliac test is quite useful just to discount a gluten intolerance - you could try keeping a food diary also and see what foods make you 'flare up' and try to avoid/limit them in future - these may include a number of healthy foods too.

In my case I don't feel that I've suddenly become intolerant to foods like milk/fruits/bread but that there's something happened in by gut (change in bacteria or stomach acid) which means the undigested carbs are causing me a bit of grief...what this is exactly I don't know though...

[nomorepanic]

http://www.irritable-bowel-syndrome-cure.org/what-causes-irritable-bowel-syndrome.php

[PinkRoxy]

I remember the day I started feeling yuck too.
It was about 5 or 6 years ago it was during the summer school holidays and I was looking after a couple of kids and so I took them to the wave pool which was a big indoor complex and a hydoslide.
That morning my tummy was feeling a bit yuck and so I didnt eat that much and so by the afternoon I was starving so I ordered some hot chips from the cafe for me and the kids to eat. I remember the chips making me feel awful and yuck like it was just sitting in my tummy and not digesting. A few hours later I felt really ill like I thought I was getting a stomach bug or something and then I suddenly felt better and hungry that that night I had dinner. I felt sick again afterwards and was prepared that I could have a bug.
A week past, two weeks past still felt the same, eventually went to the doctor and kept going back to the doctor had tests done at the hospital I was constipated alot. Had sore painful spasms in my bum area, still didnt eat much at all and was slightly underweight.

All tests including getting a caeliacs test came back normal, doctor diagnosed IBS and gave me some bulk fibre on prescription.

Since then I have suffered but like you I could eat anything have no problems before this all happened. I was healthy active, and full of energy and could do anything and then that changed. The first year I had it was quite a bad year for me I lost alot of confidence through it.

It got better slightly when I was working and now Ive gone downhill again in the last year and a half. I have diahrroea now and constipation and feel sick alot. I have been to the doctor twice now for it and slowly getting answers she has given me something to try and if not any better she is sending me for some poo samples.

I am still curious though about how it starts to happen because it seems my dad has it and so does my sister and also my auntie has it who is not even blood related to my dad but is to me and my sister.

---------- Post added at 18:47 ---------- Previous post was at 18:42 ----------


http://www.irritable-bowel-syndrome-cure.org/what-causes-irritable-bowel-syndrome.php

Thanks for that info.

hmmmm... a psychological disorder? I would like to think that with my diahrroea but somehow dont believe that is psychological.

[nomorepanic]

THey treat IBS with CBT would you believe?

[PinkRoxy]

THey treat IBS with CBT would you believe?

Really?? could they get rid of my diahrroea then lol