Here's the notes that I'm bringing with me to share with him:
PROBLEMS (began in August '02): *Painful, uncomfortable bloating (daily) *"Trapped" gas under left rib cage. Can push around. *Lots of mucous. Sometimes go in for a BM and only leave behind mucous *Do not have BMs daily. But not completely constipated. Will explain. *Sometimes I look at food and my stomach cramps, then bloats up. Sometimes I eat anyway, because I have to. *Depressing and causes stress cycle. *Very hard to accept that "this is just the way my life is" *Gained 10 pounds in the past year. *Getting married July 10 and DO NOT want to have to be concerned with my tummy. *Conscious of my stomach 24/7.
MEDS: *Zelnorm...very bad stuff *Levbid...seemed to work. Ran out of Px and never refilled. *Anti-histamine stuff...knocked me out cold. *Peppermint oil...works well. *Relora...sress control and appetite suppresant...workes well. *Acidolphilus...too soon to tell, but seems to work well *Exercise (think of that as medication)...6x/week. Works really well.
TESTS: *Blood work, stool sample...normal *Upper GI barium test...normal *Not sure if I've been tested for celiac, food allergy, lactose intolerant.
Is there anything else you'd advise me asking? I've never actually been diagnosed with IBS. I "quit" my old GI doc before he could slap me with that label. Long story but he was an arse.
Any words of wisom, advice, etc. you can give me would be great!!!