Questions about Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Question

Last week I went to see my doctor cause I was having painful bowel movements and there was blood on the surface of the stools and on the toilet paper and he told me that I had an anal fissure and he gave me a prescription for a laxative and told me to take colace and told me to come back in a couple of weeks. I have an appointment to see my doctor on Tuesday. I've had anal fissures in the past and I'm still experiencing painful bowel movements. I did some research online and came across some information about Irritable Bowel Syndrome so I'm wandering if I have IBS cause I do have some of the symptoms. My question is should I talk to my doctor about this or should I just go see a gastroentrologist or both? Also what kinds of tests would they be running on me to determine if I have IBS?

My symptoms include:
Blood on surface of stools
Blood on toilet paper
Hard stools
Constipation
anal burning after bowel movement
anal itching
abdominal pain and sometimes cramping relieved after bowel movement
gas and sometimes painful sharp gas
abdominal rumblings and weird noises
certain foods make me gassy and give me stomach problems. Foods such as milk products, tomatoes, spicy foods, greasy foods
Gurgling and rumbling of my abdomen
Heartburn after eating certain foods
sometimes painful periods.

Do these symptoms sound like IBS or could it be something else?

Answer 1

I myself have had years of history of battling with IBS. It's painful, embarrassing, inconvenient, and an outright pain in the bum! Hehe... Anyways, your symptoms nearly match what I had years ago. Some people experience diahrea instead of constipation. The test that I had done was a colonoscopy. It was NOT painful at all for me since I was put to sleep for it. Some people are only half out, like my Grandmother was. I was fortunate! However the prep for this procedure is the hardest part. Your fissures can be repaired, however from asking my own dr about this for you, it's likely for them to return down the road.

I think, my own personal opinion would be to speak with your own doctor first. Find out what he or she thinks. From there, if you believe a specialist would be more accurate then your dr's word, ask him/her for a referral. That's what I did.

I wish you nothing but the best of luck!

Lots of hugs from another woman who knows how painful, embarrassing, and even traumatic this can be.

PS: Sorry for any bad spelling!

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure blood on the surface of the stools is not a symptom of IBS - unless a hard stool ripped the skin surface I suppose... but there are other bowl conditions that do have this symptom, like Crohns disease. Firstly, the Doctor will probably get you to do a blood test and a stool test to test for anything abnormal. If these show up normal, then I urge you to push your Doctor to get you a referral to a Gastro specialist. It was the best thing I ever did.

The gastrologist may run an endoscopy and colonoscopy to check for anything abnormal. Basically if nothing else is found, Irritable Bowel Syndrome is diagnosed. I went through all this and had a Doctor try to just diagnose IBS straight away without ANY tests. So I found a different Doctor who was happy to do the tests. There are many bowel conditions out there and I am certainly happy that these have all been ruled out for me because even though IBS isn't pleasant, I have gained peace of mind knowing that IBS is definitely what I have.

In the meantime try drinking lots of water and keeping a food and symptom diary so that you can see if it could be certain foods in your diet that your body could be sensitive to. Hope all goes well!

Answer 3

The symptoms you describe actually apply to several gastrointestinal disorders. Since there are no specific exams or blood tests to detect IBS, it should be diagnosed only after everything else is ruled out. Because of this, IBS is commonly over-diagnosed. Many doctors will fail to do the work required to rule out all other bowel disease.

At the very least, you will need an endoscopy, colonoscopy, a fecal blood smear, and also, a blood test for Celiac Disease. The first two are the most important as they will rule out disease like diverticulitis, Crohn's Disease, and any Inflamatory Bowel Disease. They will also rule out colon growths such as tumors or polyps.

So yes, you will need to see a gastroenterologist. GPs' knowledge on these individual diseases only go so far, and many will not be able to perform the endoscopy or colonoscopy.

Answer 4

Coffee doesnt affect everybody with IBS, it really depends, if you can tolerate it and enjoy a cup of joe a day then you are fine. There are actually 2 main kinds of IBS, plus factor in what triggers it for you individually. You could always try a couple weeks without coffee to see how it affects you, if there are any changes.

Answer 5

It could indeed be IBS, especially if anyone in your family has it, it does tend to run in families. The tests to verify IBS include but are not limited to the following. Colonoscopy, Endoscopy, Barium enema, barium swallow, stool culture for ova and paracites, hemocult of stools and of course a thorough history.

Answer 6

Yes, I would definitely talk to your doctor about this just in case because you don't want it to get any worse. It's best to catch it early

If he does suspect IBS then you will have blood tests, ultrasounds etc and then hopefully he will refer you to an expert and finally, exploratory surgery.

Edit: This definitely sounds like IBS to me. Get it sorted as soon as possible.

Answer 7

You might want to try a larger but t plug and less spicy mexican food.

Answer 8

go to both and they would probaly make you pee in a cup or somthing