Abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and weight retention

Hi there,
I was wondering if any of you have tried to eliminate dairy from your diet. I have the best internal medicine doc and he diagnosed me as lactose intolerant. My regular doc said I had IBS also, but I didnt. After not having dairy for 30 days, I lost weight, and my symptoms went away. Recently I am getting some of the symptoms back and will be going in to check for endometriosis also. Be sure to check EVERYTHING you eat, anything with whey, lactose, or of course milk stay away from. It really is in lots of foods you wouldnt suspect. Hope this helps.

I have a lot of problems with IBS. I am lactose intolerant.. That helps a lot to avoid it. Ive been in the hospital once because of a flair. I get constipated and have diarrhea at the same time. Lately I have been bloated with really bad pains. The pain goes away after I pee sometimes. Anything that has lots of sugar, dairy, and lots of caffeine will get my stomach going. I do burp a lot which relieves some of the pain at the top of my stomach. THe dr's did put me on a medication of IBD. The med is really expensive. about 200 dollars a bottle. It helped a lot with the pains but made me more constipated then ever. GE told me its because of dairy and would not do a colonoscopy. So now i am left to go back and do more test. Also does anyone have a abnormal heart rate..mine has been high the last year. Could all of this be stress related?

As far as food allergies/sensitivities being a cause, some of you might be helped by going to an NAET doc. Google NAET and see what they can do if it is indeed allergy caused. As for the endometriosis/gut problems, I'm struggling, too. I now know I can't eat wheat or dairy (hoping further NAET will change that, since it's worked for some friends) and I've had 2 laps or scopes for my endometriosis. Had it burned off the first time and they found none the second time. Good news? So what's causing the pain now? Last gut problem, didn't "move" for 2 weeks, took magnesium citrate and when that failed, a phospho (sp?) soda, enough to clean out 2 people for colonoscopies with no relief. My gut was backed up and if you touched one spot that had swelled, it was like playing with a stretched water balloon. I'm so frustrated. And I've heard that antibiotics can make things worse for some, as the good bacteria of the gut is killed and a serious regimen of probiotics required or you find worse problems. I don't know....

For years I suffered with an unknown problem similar to what many of you are describing. This year was the worst - I gained 15 pounds within 8 weeks, no matter how little I ate and how much I exercised I kept gaining weight, had abdominal swelling, and painful bloating. I was tested for Celiacs, thyroid issues, ovarian cyst, etc. - all came back negative

Turns out I had a massive yeast infection in my body which took 3 doctors to finally figure out. The yeast issue is related to diet. For years it has mainfested itself in a variety of ways. Last years it was a fungus under my breast and armpits. This year however, I had not outward manifestation only swelling and weight gain.

Several things have helped me to combat this problem. First I took something called InflamX for the painful inflammation, bloating and swelling. Then I found a website called the YeastConnection that outlined which foods MUST be eliminated from your diet, NO SUGAR of any kind, yeast, wine, fruits, etc. All of these things cause the yeast to multiply. You also need to take probiotics, either liquid or pill form. I also found a product called Intestinew - which contains glutamine for Leaky Gut Syndrome - which is most likely what I have. And finally, Aloe Vera in liquid form to help heal the lacerations in my gut caused by the yeast.

If you are tired of talking to doctors and frustrated by test results - do some research on yeast intolereance and/or glutin intolerance.

I am really not sure if I have IBS or not. I have some of the symptons everyone mentions but not all. Mine is mostly abdominal pain around my C-section scar and even a little below it. The pain will actually go down the front of my thighs too. I have had a laproscopy and they did find a little endometrious but not as much as I had expected to warrant the pain I have. I do have lots of gas and bloating and take gas-x A LOT but don't really have diarrhea. I don't feel that constipated like everyone else describes but feel like I don't really go completely when I go maybe.
My gyn is suggesting a hysterectomy since we can't really find anything else wrong. If this is something that just flares up, I wish they could just give me something at those times but I am not sure if this is an option??
Is there anyone that has similiar symptons?

Hi,

I am 21 and developed severe IBS symptoms when I was in the 8th grade. They lasted through my freshman year in college where I started getting severe fatigue, memory loss, and couldn't get up in the morning.

I was given antibiotics, steroids, etc. to no avail for 3 years before I was found to have high REVERSE T3 as well as high antibodies against my thyroid and low cortisol!

Those of you who had your thyroid checked--did they test you for the following:

Reverse T3
Free T3
Free T4
TSH
cortisol
anti-thyroglobulin antibodies
anti-TPO antibodies
Thyroglobulin Stimulating Immunoglobulins

Many doctors don't test for these things, which can determine whether you have Hashimoto's Disease, high reverseT3, and low cortisol like I do.

Seriously, if you haven't had these things tested and you have IBS + fatigue and bloating, get those things tested.

Your free T3 & free T4 should be 50-80% of the "normal" range to be symptom free. Your reverse T3 should be near the lower end of the range.

Look up Reverse T3 Dominance/Wilson's Syndrome, Hashimoto's Disease, and hypoadrenia on the internet (Wikipedia is good) for symptoms and compare yours.

Best of Luck!

Thank you. I have not heard of these at all but will look them up.
Did you have pain?
What did they do for you now that has helped, what medicines?
If I do have IBS, what did they do for you when they were treating it?

get tested for Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE) at your GI doc

I too have all your symptoms. Bloated for weeks, IBS, weight gain/loss, cramping, and numerous other problems that seem to come and go with no set pattern. I am 33 and in Nursing school when one of my teachers with 30 years experience started talking about her story. She described everything you all are complaining about, including the fat pouch around the abdomen. She said it took her 12 years to get diagnosed with an abdominal hernia. This is when a part of the intestines protrudes through the muscles (C-Section) It can go from protruding to back to normal at any point throughout the day and is highly underdiagnosed. The only cure is to have the abdominal muscles repaired with abdominalplasty surgery. This condition can also affect blood pressure after years. Hope this helps!

I just came across your post and it is a year after the first post. I have ONLY gained weight. I've never lost weight and over the last 5 years and I've gained 30 pounds. I work out regularly, and eat a huge high fiber diet. I've done full body cleanses and have cleaned out my entire system 3 times in the last year. No matter what I do I cannot lose weight. I've starved myself and from cleansing you'd thing I would lose 30 pounds but I've never lost a pound unless I've starved and when I have that meant 400 calories a day by eating chicken soup and during that time lost 7 pounds. I tried Alli and for several months that worked. Then one day it stopped working completely and even to this day I gained back any weight I lost. I was diagnosed with IBS too but you'd think if I cleaned out my body and figured out a way of doing this regularly that I'd lose weight but I never do. I am depressed. I'm ashamed to say that I have tried to commit suicide. I feel ugly and old and I don't eat. Right now I am in the middle of an inflammation and have been for 2 1/2 weeks. No clothes fit me and I'm bloated from the chest down. When I go to Drs they don't believe me. They do not believe that I eat like a bird and I workout as often as I do. They think I am just a woman complaining about weight gain even though 80% of my diet is fiber. I do whatever I can to fight this. I've been told I have chrones but I've never had diarrhea or weight loss which everybody that has this has so I don't know. I've tried every diet, nutrisystems, weight watchers, jenny craig and I buy every exercise machine offered and no weight loss. The way I look you'd think I ate a cake by myself and pies and cookies and today this was what I ate: 1 Hard boiled egg, strawberries and 1 cup of coffee, a salad with homemade oil and vinegar dressing, all vegetables and 2% mozzarella, diner was another salad, chicken with tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers and onion cooked in olive oil and a glass of red wine. This is a normal day. Yesterday I had the same except for diner I had homemade chicken gumbo made with peppers, onions, tomatoes, low sodium chicken broth and brown rice. I had 2 cups and no wine.

I have the same problem with bloating, constipation and slight weight gain because of it. when you get really bloated and feel horrible a great natural way to relieve it is to drink a glass of prune juice you can get at you local supermarket. but make sure you take it first thing when you wake up and don't have to go anywhere because this will clean it all out. then follow this site. it has cured me!!

I recently came home from Cuba and have been experiencing the constipation, nausea, bloating, cramping and indigestion. Would it be at all possible that these symptoms be related to a bug I brought home? I can't get in to see my doctor for about a week so for now I am just blindly trying to cure myself.

Hi everyone

Thanks for all your posts. I HAD Ibs-constipation with diarrhea, for practically my whole life and then I saw a chinese medicine doctor and began taking herbs that made my life livable again. It's been about a year without constant IBS symptoms such as constipation, extreme bloating, gas, then the real IBS attack = sweating, fainting, vomiting, extreme cramping and pain, and finally the release with diarrhea, followed by weakness and dehydration.
So, thank God for that! But....

Yesterday I started to get shooting pains in my abdomen down to my genitals and it hurt to push even though i felt like i needed to have a bowel movement. THe pain radiated up to my diaphragm area and into my rib area. It feels like a lot of gas build up and I am extremely bloated. I am not sure what could be causing this but for today I am not going to eat any dairy, nuts, seeds, or soy and see if I feel better. I may also try Gas-X. I might be getting my period too, not sure.

thanks to all of you for your sharing... oh also, i have been off sugar and flour for 3 months and have lost 20 lbs. and my depression has lifted. going to Overeaters Anonymous has saved my life around my food/sugar addiction.

the very last thing - yoga helps and i am trying to get up the willingness to start going again. :-)

hope some of this helps. Reading your posts helped to remind me to change my diet as I know I am allergic to nuts, dairy, etc. and need to eat accordingly.

sincerely,

juliana

i recently for the past 10 days been so bloated and look 10 months pregnant, have excessive fowl smelling belching, severe stomach pain, and excessive bloating, including lower back pain but most of my pain is at the upper stomach under my right rib cage... can any1 tell me wuts wrong. the drs cant seem to understand why im having this pain, belching, bloated, diarrhea and upper stomach and lower back pain..sum1 please help me im in so much pain which usually is associated after eating, but not strictly after eating. pain is all day and night whether i have eaten or not but it is a guarantee for sure after eating always my stomach isnt digesting the food properely as when i vomit it comes up completely not digested as whole pieces of my food and smells rotten.,wut shud i do or even better wuts wrong with me

I have had IBS for awhile now. I cannot lose weight either. I have been a stay at home Mom for to long. I am afraid to work because of this condition. If you find out any answers to help yourself or others like me. Please let me know. Also if you need someone to talk to I here to listen. Maybe we can help each other.