IBS symptoms??? Pain location??
#200865 - 07/29/05 11:46 AM
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steponme
Reged: 07/29/05
Posts: 7
Loc: New Jersey
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I have been suffering for 13 years and am at the end of my rope!!! I have had tons of tests (not sure that I have had all of them yet though) been sent to University Hospitals, had my gallbltr out, the list goes on. Still nothing from the doctores. The latest is that I've been put on Zelnorm. Whatever!!!! I just purchased "IBS The First Year" and in the very beginning of the book it says that the abdominal pain should be 'lower'. It says if it's upper then its not IBS.. I'm confused because my pain is smack in the middle. Usually right over or just above the belly button. Can that be IBS. Also it seems the crappier that I eat (fast food, pizza, sweets...) the better I feel (my stomach anyway). As soon as I eat well (well balanced meals and programs such as Weight Watchers & Body For Life) and exersize I have stomach pain just about everyday. Some so severe I wind up in the ER. I have been hospitalized three times, just this year!! Can someone please answer these questions that I have regarding the symptoms. God knows my doctorsss have no answers. I am trying to figure this out myself now. I have an appointment with a well known Doctor in NYC in October. His consultation is $500 (he doesnt take ins) so the sooner I fugure this thing out the better!!!
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I'm in Essex County New Jersey. If you're interested, I'll give you the name and number of my GI guy. There's not a touchy-feely, sympathetic bone in his body, but he's technically excellent, understands IBS, costs far less than $500, and accepts insurance.
Beyond that, some questions. Have your doctors actually diagnosed you with IBS? Is pain your only symptom (I assume not, hence the Zelnorm)? Have you had a chance yet to try Heather's diet and SFS approach?
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Where in Esses County? I am origionally from West Orange. In monmouth County now "down the shore". Anyway, I am open to any new Doctors, so I would love the info.
Answers to your questions...One Dr. that I was sent to see at UMDNJ and Robert Wood Johnson said that I probably have IBS or spastic colon, gave me a horrible anti-spasmatic and sent me on my way. I tried another Dr. down here and he is on the fence. Says I probably have it but is still looking for something I think. This guy did another colonoscopy and I wound up in the hospital. He thought he perforated my colon. He seems like he's interested in what I have but I think he's stumped!! He is the one who put me on Zelnorm. Unfortunately, I seem to switch abck and forth from constipation and diarrhea but mostly constipation. I have been trying to make sense of this for years! I just bought the book and am looking into the diet, but, I saw that she stresses curtain triggers like fat and I'm the opposite. Some of them I think are triggers though. Also the pain location issue...so now I'm wondering if thats even what I have.
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Hi! Just wanted to chime in here. I have pain in the middle, and also above the belly button too. I also have gastritis, which might account for the higher up pain. Do you have GERD? You could have that in addition to IBS.
Fats and meats aren't triggers for me, even though they bother most people here on the boards.  My biggest food triggers are dairy and vegetal matter. 
Good luck getting the answers you need and the care you deserve!!
~nelly~
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If GERD is the reflux desease then I dont have that. I seem to have problems with some fruits and vegies...melon is a definate. Sometimes (and I say that because sometimes it bothers me and sometimes it doesnt. Thats why I cant seem to make sense) when I eat cantalope, 3hrs later, I'm on the floor. You can set your watch to it. Same thing if I take a laxative like dulcolax or exlax. I have had some irritation in my stomach before but the drs never gave it much attention. Just like the 'little inflamation' in the colon. The "small amount of ulcerative colitis." I dont know!!!
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My diet
#200924 - 07/29/05 02:05 PM
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Nelly
Reged: 08/06/04
Posts: 4381
Loc: Within stray mortar fire of DC
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There's no WAY I could eat melon without dying of pain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I stick to white breads, rice and pasta, meat and green leefy vegetables boiled to an inch of their life! If I can't mush them with a fork, they'll tear up my gut!
Fruits are way to fibery and acidic for me! I'm in a world of pain if I eat a strawberry or a grape. (UGH!)
I've had colonoscopies, endoscopies, barium enemas, upper GIs, lower GIs, sigmoidoscopies and biopsies, but they're all "normal." I just have gastritis and IBS which makes me have D 9-20 times a week, less now with medicine.
Anyway, you're not nuts. I'm not on Heather's diet because I can't tolerate most of what she eats. Soy and tomatoes? No way. But I've found if I watch the Ph of the foods I eat, and try not to cheat too much, I do ok.
Hope this helps some.
~nelly~
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Robert W. Schuman, MD
101 Old Short Hills Road
West Orange, New Jersey 07052
973-731-4600
If you want someone who's more "listen-y", you might check this thread for doctors who are great to patients with IBS and see if there's one near you. Dr. Schuman knows his stuff, but he's not going to give you his undivided attention for very long. I suspect he's be a good guy to see for tests and diagnosis - that seems to be his thing. I do well with him because I know I have IBS, treat it with Heather's diet, and go to him with specific questions about tests and meds. My only caution about him is that he has no qualms about prescribing meds that haven't been on the market long. Having been on Propulsid before it got yanked, I'm pretty cautious about new meds.
Before you see any other doctor, I would definitely read what Heather has to say about what conditions should be ruled out and what tests you should have before accepting a diagnosis of IBS.
Unlike Nelly, I follow Heather's diet down the line (okay, I cheat from time to time) and have had great results from it. One of the big reasons I decided to give Heather a try - besides simple desperation - was her explanation of why sometimes a food would make an IBSer sick and other times it wouldn't. It was like a lightbulb going on over my head. I tried her regimen and the rest, as they say, is history.
If you want to give Heather's diet a try or you have more questions about IBS, you might try posting over on the IBS Diet board - you'll probably get more responses there than in the Living Room. (You can also Search on stuff like Zelnorm and see what other people have had to say about it. I'm a little surprised it was prescribed for you if you alternate between diarrhea and constipation.) Weekends are sometimes slow.
A couple of follow-up questions, if I may. In your original post you say the "IBS The First Year" says abdominal pain should be 'lower' and that if it's upper then its not IBS. Can you give me a page or chapter reference on that - I skimmed the first part of mine quickly and can't find it. Thanks.
Also, just out of sheer curiousity, which GI in New York are you scheduled to see?
HTH. Take care.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Thank you so much for all of your help. I'm going to take this book to my doctor and make sure that he has tested for everything she speaks about in "Day 1". The part about the pain location is on page 5.
The doctor that I have the appointment with is:
Peter H. Green, MD
161 Fort Washington Avenue Suite 6645
New York, NY 10032
(212) 305-5590
He was refered to me by one of my husbands customers that was close to death (last rights and all) and he found GI problems that no one else found, and pretty much saved his life. He is the head of Celiac at Columbia. If you type his name in on Google he will come up. His Bio is pretty interesting. He specializes in Celiac though...dont know what his position is on IBS.
Again thanks for all of your help!!
Stephanie
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Ya know its funny you should say that about soy. I seem to have problems with some soy too. I also have a problem when I eat protein bars or shakes. A big part of my diet is having at least one Myoplex Lite shake a day and it seems that lately I cant tolerate them. Couldnt tell ya why though!!
thanks for your help!
stephanie
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Thanks for the New York doctor's name - I hope he can help. If you see him, please post about how it went - and if he proves to be a keeper, perhaps you can add his name to the thread I gave you about good docs. Also, if you decide to give Dr. Shuman a try, I'd very much like to hear what you have to say about him either via post or via email (my email address is in my profile).
I looked at page 5 and I see the reference to lower abdominal pain and the note that upper GI symptoms are not part of the IBS syndrome. Pretty interesting. You might do a search on "pain" on the IBS Diet Board - people report pain in all sorts of places.
I'll hope to see you on the Diet Board.
Take care.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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