Hi, im a newbie and I dont know if I belong here!!!!
#171373 - 04/19/05 08:44 AM
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Hi. First of all a bit of background on myself. I am a 35 year old male and have been relatively healthy since birth. Dont smoke, dont drink, do sports, eat healthy etc.
About a year and a half ago, after a very stressfull event in my life, I was prescribed xanax to calm me down. I took up to 1mg daily for about a month and a half. My Doc then switched me to the XR version which I took for another 2 and a half months (so I was on Xanax for a total of 4 months). Around the third month, I started experiencing horrible symptoms such as terrible upper back pains, muscle twitches and insomnia. For sleep, my doc prescribed ambian so you can imagine what the combination of Xanax and ambian did to me. When I realized that these drugs were killing me, I panicked and went cold turkey. The withdrawal symptoms made me feel like I was in hell.
Around november 2003, before I started cutting Xanax, I developed a type of more or less constant pain around the upper right abdominal region where the gall bladder resides. This came with other gastrointestinal problems such as flatulance, nausea and very loose stools.
Offcourse, I panicked again and had the doctor do a batch of tests.
These included complete blood works, urinalysis, stool sample test, several abdominal ultrasounds and an abdominal MRI and MRCP, further blood works. All this over the span of a year during which my pain did not subside!
Everything came back normal with the exception of my ALT liver enzymes that are constantly slightly above the normal range. Although I am not considered obese, I am slightly overweight and it has been suggested to me that I have a bit of a fatty liver.
In all I went to see 2 generalists and 4 gastroenterologists. The last gastro I saw is a world renown professor at the univesity hospital here in Geneva, Switzerland. He is a liver specialist and has published more than 180 articles in various publications. He saw me twice and he believes that I am suffering from IBS. He basically told me that I need to change my diet and learn to relax. He also suggested that I take 25mg of zoloft a day as an alternative!
Now thats what prompted me to purchase your book on the first year with IBS. When I started to read the introduction, I became very anxious after reading the email of that lady who had IBS symptoms which turned out to be a benign polyp.
I am really at a loss because my symptoms dont seem to fit the IBS criteria, at least not with regards to the pain part. The definition clearly states that the pain is in the lower abdominal region. My pain is only on one area and that is the upper right. Then there is the fact that IBS affects women more then men and its relatively rare for it to start after the age of 30!!! I am still not convinced that I have IBS and I dont want to have to go through a colonoscopy procedure after all that I have endured. By the way I have had a rectal exam and a sigmoidocopy performed about 2 years ago and I was all clear.
What do you think? Its now almost a year and a half since these symptoms emerged and its been relatively constant ever since. Should I still be searching for whats wrong with me after all of this? I am really scared that I might have something horrible like cancer or some chronic liver disease and I am at a loss. For the first time in my life, I dont know what to do!
Edited by ottoman (04/19/05 08:56 AM)
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Have you actually had your gallbladder checked out?
Also, you might have upper Gi problems like GERDs, hiatal hernia etc. The best way to check you out for these is to have a gastroscopy done. I had mine done at the same time as a colonoscopy and the procedures are a breeze, it's just the prep that's a pain.
HOWEVER, having constant symptoms for a year and a half does suggest that it could not anything more serious than IBS as it would be expectedthat if you did, you would see a deterioration.
In the end, it's up to you and your doc. But if you're stressing, getting ALL the tests done might put your mind at rest.
Also...try Heather's diet. It can't hurt and if it is IBS it can help.
PS. IBS pain can be almost anywhere in the GI tract in reality!
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It does sound like you have been pretty thorough in seeking opinions from competant doctors, so I really don't see any reason for you to doubt the IBS diagnosis - and really, while IBS is certainly a really big bummer, it is better than some horrible chronic liver condition - right? Have you tried to work with you diet? If you havn't, I think you should try following Heather's diet, start taking a soluable fiber supplement, start some yoga, or some other activity that will help with your stress level, and see what happens. It will take time, regardless, but it certainly couldn't hurt and could be very helpful in the long run. On the location of the pain, my doctor has told me that the nerves in the digestive tract are actually not very reliable and its not a good indicator for exact diagnosis. Here's an example: I have crohn's and because of that I often have pains in my lower right quadrent of my abodmen (actually I have them right now - how fun) but the doctor can only tell the pain has to do with Crohn's after lots of tests and other diagnostics. Someone else could come in with pain in the same spot and the doctor would ask lots of questions and do lots of tests to determine other more specific indicators before making any sort of guesses as to what is causing the pain in that certain spot. So don't get too worried about the location of your pain corresponding with someone elses if other symptoms are not also corresponding. I'm glad you found the website and that you have the book. Good luck with the diet and let us know how it goes. We're happy to answer your questions allong the way as well.
Min
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Hi Linz,
Thanks for your reply. Actually the comprehensive tests did include the gallbladder in the form of blood tests and the MRCP which is basically an MRI for the gallbladder. I guess the MRI would have covered the hernia etc as it was rather comprehensive, covering my entire abdomen.
The only real thing that I havent done yet is the colonoscopy, but all the tests I have done so far have really worn me out both physically and mentally. I just cant cope with an invasive test like that. What I wanted to know is if I am making a mistake by not doing it considering that very comprehensive tests that I have already had and the fact that non of the gastros that examined me asked me to do a colonoscopy.
Thanks for the support!
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Min, thanks for taking the time to write back to me. Its just that starting to read the first chapter of heather's book really made me anxious as all my worries that it could be something other than IBS came back! All of the tests where in fact a result of my worries. When I read that I might NOT have IBS and that it could be something more sinister, I wondered whether I should have gone ahead with a colonoscopy, although, knowing myself, even if they find nothing, I know that it wont be the end of my worries. I am just worried that these are the symptoms of something terrible and that its a question of time before I am properly diagnosed. I guess that the symptoms have not changed much in a year and half might be an indication that its not something serious but, again, the fact that I dont fit the typical IBS profile worries me a lot!
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Anybody else in this forum with extensive experience with IBS care to comment? I mean if this is all I am going to get I definitely DONT think I have IBS!!!
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Hi and welcome! Your symptoms sound like you "could" have IBS (maybe a more mild case) but I know once you find what works for you it can become very manageable and life begins to get back to normal.
About your experience with Xanax - I have a pill book and your symptoms are all listed as a side effect. I can tell you that Xanax and Valium are both used to also treat IBS or there are antispasmotics. Since you are having a nightmare with the withdrawals, wien yourself slowly off of Xanax by taking 3/4 gradually to 1/2, then to a 1/4 and finally none.
Did these symptoms appear while only on Xanax or after you were prescribed Ambien as well?
If you feel I can be of further help, you can email me directly at time2heid@cs.com In the meantime, I wish you good health and better luck. It will come. Take it one day at a time. Heidi
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Hi Heidi, thanks for your reply.
As a matter of fact, I took my last Xanax pill back in December 2003, so it has been a while that I have been drug free! Regarding the symptoms, yes, they started whilst on Xanax and Ambien! But its still strange that a year and a half after stopping both that I still have symptoms. Thats what makes me doubt that it may be the meds.
Anyways, thanks for your help!
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Firstly you need to have a colonoscopy done by your gastro to make sure you don't have any polyps. I was diagnosed finally for sure about 2 months ago. That time I had a gastroscopy and colonoscopy, I had previously had a gastroscopy on it's own, had my gall bladder checked for stones, ultrasounds, barium meals, x-rays, I was checked for endometriosis and quite a few other things that I just can't think of at this second.
I also don't fit the Rome II guidelines, I have upper abdominal pain often, but I do get the lower pain as well. I also have a lot of weight loss and suffer from anemia a lot. There are other things that don't fit also.
See your doc again, tell him/her you are really worried that it's more than IBS as you don't fit the criteria and push for some more tests. If all comes back clear it will be IBS. Hope this has helped and made you feel slightly less ignored.
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Amy
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Welcome to the boards. I'm so sorry for the pain you've been suffering from. Is the pain constant or worse after you eat or go to the bathroom? Are your loose stools constant? It is entirely possible to have pain predominant IBS - lots of people here have a lot of pain with their IBS. Unfortunately, the only way to be sure it's IBS is to have a colonoscopy. It's not that bad - the prep is worse than the procedure. You can be sedated for the procedure and you won't feel a thing.
As for fear of cancers or something else, can they do an ultrasound or something? Go back to your Doc and insist they do more searching. As you said, it's good to outrule other problems.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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