Abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and weight retention

hi i have suffered the same for 3 years & thought it was due to a spinal operation i had that gave me temporary nerve damage waiste down.  I just havnt known what to do. I can never go, cant loose weight & end up on the toilet doubled over in agony with severe cramping which has been so bad at times ive violently thrown up too.  Just went again to the doctors who just gave me 2 weeks of senna and said we all get constipated at times.  i could have cried.  so i decided to take matters into my own hands.  I searched the internet & found your question & answers & realised i had IBS constipation.  Then my mother whos allergic to wheat said she thought i was too.  i stopped immediately.  wheat is a complex food which is hard for the body to digest.  let me ask you how much wheat do you eat in a day & you will find you probably eat it at every sitting.  its been hard without wheat & i have felt soooo hungry but a week without cramps and a tummy thats getting flatter im at the point i would do anything.  i realised that i only started to eat cakes, buscuits, pastries when i was pregnant 3 years ago when i fell pregnant. After my 2nd baby 9 motnhs ago i have failed to loose weight although my cals are 1500 or less a day, 2 babies to look after, a house to run & i go to the gym & on days i miss the gym i do a wii workout at home.  i cant tell you how shattered & desperate i have felt.  (although i feel rediculously hungry but think thats craving what im allergic to)within a week i have felt high as a kite, im possitively hyper & buzzing with excitement.  my body is tightening up & tummy flattening & no pain when i go.  going to the toilet hasnt become that regular yet but im hoping it is early days.  i hope you have improved but for those searchin like i was i hope this reaches you.  it might not be wheat, but could be something else.

i am so happy to hear other people have this problem thought i was going mad have this since twenties 10 years now.so fed up of having a swollen tummy ,constipation, was treated for helicobactor virus at 1st spent a year very sick before hand .have no confidence cant wear fitted clothes i am too young to suffer with this .cant shift stomach fat and i run 4 times  a week ! nothing sifting .

Hi guys, a month ago i started to hv these symptoms like Tamara's - "abdominal cramping, swelling of abdomen, diarrhea or constipation and lower back pain" ..and at the same time i started to bleed thin pinkish blood. So my gynae thought i had an infection . Did swabs and there was bacteria . After 2 course of antibiotics m still bleeding. The bleeding is somewhat like my period so i think this IBS might have caused irregular periods ? I did CT Scan, ultrasound of my pelvic and kidney all are ok..i even did a cystoscopy to check whether i had interstitial cystitis but i didn't . I'm lost 4 kg in the last month since i avoid eating as much as my stomach will feel like there's stones in it. I can hear gas popping inside my tummy occassionally. 

Ok.. so since I have been on prescription meds.. I have had chronic constipation and bloating and gained.. I do not know if it is water weight or what it is.. because of the bloating.. I hardly eat and I exercise.. as much as I can ... so.. do not know why I am gaining weight.. Anyhow I was checking out a few things to see about side effects and the weird thing is.. I never ever heard of it.. but you all need to check out

MOTILITY DISORDERS..... one of the sights it showed a woman who had a stomache that looked like she was 9 months pregant but wasn't and it was hard and extended... that is how mine feels.. its all the stomache... intestinal.. parasite.. everything you can think of is on the sight concerning your digestive ... even constipation and diahree..

For months I had diahria(spelling..sorry)... but its late and I am bloated and constipated..yuck..from my pain meds.. yuck again.. and it turned out to be diverticulitis from antibiotics for kidney infections... then I took antibiotics to get better... go figure.. but then I got an ulcer and got feeling like I had to take a bowel movement all the time.. it was from the ulcer and I got antibiotics and that went away... then I got into a bad accident and now have to take a ton of medicines and low and behold.. I am now so constipated and bloated that all I do is wish for the day that I can be constipated and believe me when you are constipated and bloated.. ya do not want to excercise or have sex....who feels sexy looking like a bloated cow and all you can talk about is how constipated you are and how awful it is..Anyways...

Check it out.. and yes I did spell it right.. I was reading a blog that a woman wrote and she was diagnosed with motility disorder and yes that is the spelling and it helped out everyone on the blog...

Good LUCK!

hi This is an old question but I feel compelled to leave a reply in the hopes it may help some suffers. I was an extremely fit person never overweight, working out at the gym running an hour twice a week, with a full time job doing a degree in the evenings. Four years ago I had a boating accident whilst wake boarding &had 3 prolapsed discs, they all pressed against my spinal cord one exploded @ paralysed me waist down. I Learnt to walk again after being in a wheelchair for 6 months. I was then extremely constipated &on laxatives to keep me going. My symptoms have steadily got worse & after researching the net I realise I'm ibs constipated. I have a 3 & 1 year old. After the last pregnancy I have not been able to loose a pound in weight &feel like I'm going mad. I have all the symptoms you have all described but if I havnt been for ages I get diareah sickness &severe shakes & sweats. Docs don't take me seriously & I've pointed out that I believe I have retained some nerve damage from my accident in my bowls. I think this has meant food has hung around too long &this has led to food intollerances I am still trying to work that one out now but having seen a homeopath in desperation I am apparently allergic to wheat, oats corn, rye& rice. I am good for days then get caught short out somewhere & end up eating these foods (not easy mum of 2 so young, up all night without help) so sometimes I see an improvement &look slimmer, then I don't go & I'm bloated &look 6 months pregnant I think this is a real problem for lots of people without any real support. I am trying to cut out gluten, I'm having a course of colonics to help my bowl rid itself of the food it's intolerant to My mother has given up wheat for 10 years, now diagnosed celiac. She says if the body is receiving food it's allergic to, it turns food straight to fat as a way of storingit as the body can't deal with it and is trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible. So for all of you, like me that are struggling eith the weight, try finding which food is disturbing your stomach.

I spent some time in South America last year.  Before i went, I was slightly worried about my IBS, with all the new foods etc.  I was very surprised to find that my IBS didn't bother me at all.  I was eating lots of rice, beans and chickpeas, as well as fruit and veg.  I think for me, it was the lack of processed food that helped.  Even when you eat healthily, you can still be eating processed foods.  I think a lot of these allergies are the result of us eating not only processed food, but fruit and veg that has been chemically treated, covered in pesticides and forced grown. Non-organic fruit and veg has not been allowed to complete its natural life cycle, as they induce the fruiting stage quickly to produce the bit we eat.  This alters the chemical composition of the, say, tomato.  For example, a tomato plant growing normally will be attacked at some point by a pest.  The plant produces chemicals that protect it from further attack, or heal the bit that has been eaten.  This doesn't happen with hot house tomatoes etc, as they are covered in pesticides.  

wow, I was so excited to find out I am not making up all this pain, and that I am not going crazy, and that what i am going through is real!! I called up my Fiance right away to tell him that I'm not crazy, and that i am going through all this pain and uncomfartness. I knew down in side, that there is something wrong with me. I do have IBS, that i no for sure, I also have Polycystic Ovarian Desiase as well. I've been suffering from, bloating, swelling so bad that i can put my fing inprint in  my legs, my ankles get so swollen, its not funny. I am in constant pain, it feels like I just had a baby and everything in my stomach is sore, and when I get up from sitting it feels like something wants to fall out. I go to the restroom regularly but some times I can go for 3 days before i have a bowel movement. I got so bloated the other day that i couldnt put on my pants, and i've never been a small girl, but 6i've never been extreamely over weight either, and i have gained 26 pounds in the last year. I was weighing 165 now i weigh 186, and i'm 4"11" but am big boned. Anyways, i had exploritory surgery to c if i had emdemitrious, "IF thats how its spelt, probably not", nothing found. Went back to the OBGYN, i am being sent to a GE specialist, but thank U Lord for letting me find this site, because now i have something to share with the Dr. Thank u all!!!

I have the same symptoms, over the past two years i've developed stomach pains, weight loss, constipation,diarrhea, fatigue, and the inability to eat or drink certain things. I just don't know whats wrong with me, i'm only 17 years old and the fact that i always have to worry about getting a stomach ache or having a bowel movement at random times is really irritating and difficult to deal with. My doctors just keep saying it's IBS andthat i just have to change my diet. however, i honestly think it's more than that. i just want to know whats wrong with me, i can't manage to have a normal teen life with this always on my mind.
My family keeps hounding me about the fact i've lost 10-15 pounds, and i always tell them i eat but they don't believe me. they all think i have a eating disorder when i really don't. The fact is i do eat all the time, but i don't go to the bathroom enough than i should, where does it go? If anyone has any ideas of what this might be please help. I'm out of options, and i'm tired of my life revolving around this. I cant hear the words IBS one more time, because in my gut i know it's something more...

@lalalala   IBS is a term doctors use to describe a set of symptoms.  Basically, they have no idea what the underlying cause is.  My symptoms are closely related to my stress levels, which is highly annoying, as I get more stressed when my IBS plays up.  

Have a thyroid Dr. check your thyroid. A regular doctor doesn't go by symptoms only blood test and everyone has a different normal range.

I also have the same symptoms, and my doctor currently has me on medication for IBS but I am constipated and the medication is only making it worse.

I have the SAME symptoms! The pain is the worst! My doc is treating me for IBS but my symptoms have not improved. We first tested my thyroid, but was normal. I am having a "hide a scan" on my gallbladder to be sure that it is functioning... this is terrible! I just want to know what is wrong!

You can still have hypothyroidism. It's the way the T3/T4 is absorbed. The test will still show normal but it's not.

sounds just like me...I want my life back!

Me too! I'm 15! If I have problems like these now, I can't imagine how bad it might be when I'm older. :( Half the time it looks like I'm pregnant or something, but I've got no allergies, no IBS, (I'm pretty sure) and I eat a LOT of fiber. (mainly from fruits and veggies) The only thing I can think to do now is to stop eating so much wheat and high-gluten foods, since I hear gluten causes acid buildup. I also eat canned soup a lot, (SUPER high in sodium!) and drink diet pop almost everyday, so those could be contributing to the problem too... just hoping that my bloating is caused by my poor diet and not some underlying condition. Believe me, I know what you mean, I want my life back too. I have stomach pain and severe bloating all the time, and it's so embarrassing!