Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

I was hoping you could advise me if you think my symptoms sound like IBS or not.

I am a fairly active 30 year old male, I work overseas on oil exploration rigs in Africa and Malaysia for two to four weeks at a time and have had severe food poisoning on numerous occasions.
I currently have no diarrhea or constipation but for the past year and a half do get severe attacks of lower left hand side abdominal pain.(always in exactly the same place.)

I first saw a gastroenterologist 17 July 2002, I have had blood tests , stool tests and he then performed a GI endoscopy, an ultrasound was unremarkable, CT scan showed up a small kidney stone but pain not related to that, small bowel enteroclysis carried out some bowel wall thickening and oedema in the proximal jejunum for approx 3-4 loops.
Colonoscopy and illeoscopy carried out and biopsies taken but all normal.

At this point in time the specialist gastroenterologist ran out of ideas, although all the biopsies were normal on my next visit to him he phoned the radiologist who performed the small bowel enteroclysis and after about a five minute conservation with him then told me that he was 99% sure that I had Crohn's disease! As you can imagine I was in shock and he then made out a prescription for Prednisone & Pentasa.
After getting over the initial shock I started to wonder why after all the biopsies had been normal why now he suddenly decided on Crohn's disease as a diagnosis, when I questioned this he told me it was just on the results of the small bowel entercolysis. Not being happy I did not start the medication. I asked if there was another test that would confirm Crohn's, he then referred me to another specialist and I had a Push Enteroscopy performed.

The results of the biopsies were once again normal and this specialist told me that I definitely did NOT have Crohn's and should not take the medicine prescribed by the first specialist.
He then referred me to another specialist gastroenterologist who after reviewing my medical file told me I had IBS.

I get the pain on a daily basis in the lower left side of the abdominal and the pain can become extremely intense and can wake me in the middle of the night, fatty foods seem to make things worse as well as stress and some times certain food but not all the time, I seem to have a lack of energy but play sport once a week and while playing I feel no pain.
The pain seems to come in attacks and it can stop me from doing what ever I am doing until the pain eases.

After reading your book It sounds like I have allot of the symptoms of IBS but I don't have either diarrhea or constipation.
Do you think that this is the correct diagnosis?
Looking forward to your reply

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