Nothing Works

[AniMoo]

Good day, all

My boyfriend (24 years old) has recently been diagnosed with IBS and Fibromyalgia. He has been suffering from the symptoms for years now and the doctors here in South Africa only reached a diagnosis in December 2019. Through my own research I concluded IBS and Fibromyalgia LONG ago but have only been able to treat him with OTC and other home/lifestyle remedies until recently.

The most predominant of his symptoms is abdominal pain. Generally he is able to manage the pain. The problem is in the mornings. His pain is paralytic from around 7 am until 10 or 11 am (sometimes longer). I have seen him reduced to a sobbing ball on the floor more times that I care to recall and it breaks my heart that I cannot help him. We have discussed this with his Drs and are just told to continue with the treatment prescribed (Serdep, Librax, Scopex and a multivitamin). We have implemented diet changes (gluten free, high fibre, sugar-free, dairy-free, wheat-free etc) and have included walking, yoga and meditation in our lifestyles but nothing, NOTHING helps to reduce his morning pain. This pain is so severe that it affects his professional life as well as his home life. The only "effective" way of dealing with it is if he sleeps until just before midday, a solution that is just not feasible in this day and age.

We are DESPERATE at this point for some input or guidance. Does anyone else experience symptoms like this? If so, how do you cope? What do you do to treat and manage it? OTC and prescription pain meds do not work. Homeopathic pain management does not work. Please, we need help at this point. He is starting to talk about how he can't do this anymore and will do anything to be free of this pain. I am VERY concerned about his mental health and it is all due to pain that we just can't seem to treat or get rid of.

Please, please help. Any suggestions will be welcome.

Thank you.

 

[sunkacola]

So very sorry that you and your boyfriend are experiencing this. I have no experience with IBS and cannot help specifically, only offer my sympathy and support.

Have you tried acupuncture? sometimes this is effective when other things are not. Other than that, I think if I were in your position I would probably start seeking an IBS specialist and try to get the best treatment for that. There are a lot of different treatments these days and I would recommend thoroughly exploring those, since medication alone is clearly not managing it. I would also recommend going online and doing exhaustive research into IBS, causes, treatments, and research. Knowledge is power. And, finally I recommend finding a forum online or maybe even a local meeting for people with IBS. Finding others with the same problem is always helpful because you can benefit from others' experience and information, not to mention getting contact with other people who can fully empathize with the situation.

 

[AniMoo]

Hi, Sunkacola

Thanks for your response.

We have not tried acupuncture yet but I have recently read online that it is a commonly used alternative treatment method. I am going to make enquiries along that line asap.

Regarding seeking a specialist, unfortunately that is not an option as we are reliant on our Government Public facilities. We do not have any kind of Medical Aid (too expensive here) and there is absolutely no way we can afford a specialist as R1000 or more per consultation excluding any tests done or medication required is around what we would expect to pay. That's something we cannot afford.

Will definitely look into acupuncture as an option and take it from there.

So very sorry that you and your boyfriend are experiencing this. I have no experience with IBS and cannot help specifically, only offer my sympathy and support.

Have you tried acupuncture? sometimes this is effective when other things are not. Other than that, I think if I were in your position I would probably start seeking an IBS specialist and try to get the best treatment for that. There are a lot of different treatments these days and I would recommend thoroughly exploring those, since medication alone is clearly not managing it. I would also recommend going online and doing exhaustive research into IBS, causes, treatments, and research. Knowledge is power. And, finally I recommend finding a forum online or maybe even a local meeting for people with IBS. Finding others with the same problem is always helpful because you can benefit from others' experience and information, not to mention getting contact with other people who can fully empathize with the situation.

 

[AniMoo]

I have IBS and Fibro. Assuming his symptoms are related to IBS: Getting good sleeps dramatically helps with my IBS. To get good sleep, I go to bed and get up at the same time. I also don't drink water after 8:30PM. If I wake up in the middle of the night - which happens always, around 3AM - I get out of bed for 20 minutes, read something that is super boring and which doesn't impact me emotionally, then head back to bed. This almost always works. Sometimes I do leg lifts and other floor exercises (weight lifting exercises) to get tired. I usually turn off the lights at 10PM and get up at 8AM (yeah, a lot of sleep). Oh, one more thing - I start relaxing 1.5 hrs. before bed by reading. No TV, no big conversations with my partner, nothing exciting or emotionally invigorating. Hope this helps

Hi Indigobluejay. Thank you for your suggestions. I will definitely talk to him about trying your methods. I really hope it helps. Thanks again.

 

[CJSkippy]

Good day, all

My boyfriend (24 years old) has recently been diagnosed with IBS and Fibromyalgia. He has been suffering from the symptoms for years now and the doctors here in South Africa only reached a diagnosis in December 2019. Through my own research I concluded IBS and Fibromyalgia LONG ago but have only been able to treat him with OTC and other home/lifestyle remedies until recently.

The most predominant of his symptoms is abdominal pain. Generally he is able to manage the pain. The problem is in the mornings. His pain is paralytic from around 7 am until 10 or 11 am (sometimes longer). I have seen him reduced to a sobbing ball on the floor more times that I care to recall and it breaks my heart that I cannot help him. We have discussed this with his Drs and are just told to continue with the treatment prescribed (Serdep, Librax, Scopex and a multivitamin). We have implemented diet changes (gluten free, high fibre, sugar-free, dairy-free, wheat-free etc) and have included walking, yoga and meditation in our lifestyles but nothing, NOTHING helps to reduce his morning pain. This pain is so severe that it affects his professional life as well as his home life. The only "effective" way of dealing with it is if he sleeps until just before midday, a solution that is just not feasible in this day and age.

We are DESPERATE at this point for some input or guidance. Does anyone else experience symptoms like this? If so, how do you cope? What do you do to treat and manage it? OTC and prescription pain meds do not work. Homeopathic pain management does not work. Please, we need help at this point. He is starting to talk about how he can't do this anymore and will do anything to be free of this pain. I am VERY concerned about his mental health and it is all due to pain that we just can't seem to treat or get rid of.

Please, please help. Any suggestions will be welcome.

Thank you.

I may have missed it, but has he had diagnostic tests done? I would start there. Sounds like he needs an MRI.

 

[AniMoo]

I may have missed it, but has he had diagnostic tests done? I would start there. Sounds like he needs an MRI.

He has had numerous tests conducted. X-Rays, CT Scans, Endoscopy, Colonoscopy, various blood tests and so on.

 

[CJSkippy]

Wow. That sounds really awful. I don't have anything else to offer, sadly. I am sorry.

Has he gone into ER when he is exhibiting the painful belly?

 

[AniMoo]

Wow. That sounds really awful. I don't have anything else to offer, sadly. I am sorry.

Has he gone into ER when he is exhibiting the painful belly?

Thank you, CJSkippy. Yes, he has been into the ER while experiencing the pain before. Our government hospitals are so pathetic that we waited about 4 or 5 hours before getting any attention in the ER and then were just told that he must continue to take his Hernia medication. He has a Hiatus Hernia which causes discomfort AT MOST. There is no way the Hernia is the cause of his chronic pain.

 

[CJSkippy]

I am sorry to say I have no suggestions, but perhaps someone who has the same type of health care system can help you figure out how you might be able to navigate through it to get what is needed?

 

[AniMoo]

I am sorry to say I have no suggestions, but perhaps someone who has the same type of health care system can help you figure out how you might be able to navigate through it to get what is needed?

Thanks again for your input. We are hopeful for a solution soon.