Cant be ibs right?

Im 29. History- when i was about 15 i started having gut problems. Constant pain and sudden case of diarrhea... I was drinking pepto and taking all kinds of other stuff... Nothing helped.
Had an endoscopy then.... Found an ulcer...

On and off for a few years. Then I started having sever pains in my gut. I would drop to the floor in the fetal position.... . But im invincible so i just dealt with it. Right and left side pain. In 2010 i was rushed to the emergency room. Sever pain. Blood. Could not get away from a toilet. Had a colonoscopy the next day.

Swelling and found an ulcer....


Doc put me on asacol hd and said have a nice day.


Meds didnt work and they were very expensive. So i quit taking them. And i dealt with it. On and off for a few years......

about 3 years ago the diarrhea started reappearing. Along with pain on both sides. Little bit of blood.

Kept getting worse and worse. Had to miss days of work for this. Multiple days in a row.
about 2 years ago. It keeps getting worse. Every single day. Worse. Cant eat. Cant even think about eating.
Use the restroom 10- 15 times a day. Sometimes nothing happens. But no matter what , there is rectal pain..... open mouth wide wanna scream pain.

about a year ago i changed my diet. No cokes no dairy no gluten. Nothing with added sugar. First time in years i had "hard" stool. But the stool is never the same. Not even in the same trip to the bathroom.. Real runny about 1-2 times per week. Mostly soft through the whole week. Mucusy Occasionally it is very dark.
I have constant pain on my whole left side. Rectal pain before during and after bm. Occassional bright red blood even when bm is soft. Get a case of the sweats and chills as well Pain on right side is mostly dull. Feels slightly inflamed..... Letting me know its there..... Occasional sharp pain on right side..

Ive tried the diets... Home remedies.... Nothing really works. This has been every day for over 3 years now. I cant go out. Cant take a lady to dinner and a movie.... Nothing. Im to the point now where a bag sounds like liberation...
I pray this is not ibs , so something can be done.....


Also i found out recently that my grandpa has colon cancer. Nobody mentioned it to me. 2 uncles have diverticulitis..

I am in denial......

Working on coming around...

The doc said " looks like uc,, possible ibs"

I am working on getting insurance at the moment to see a gi. I did not like the old doc..... Cant even remember his name.

I dont have a regular doctor.. I try to stay away from them. My thinking has been " if you dont go to a doctor, then nothing is wrong".
But i do plan on a gi once i get insurance set up


I do not remember. I didnt think much of this back then... I sure wish i would have taken it much more seriously.

I tried a while back to see if i could find my medical history. But no luck. Cant remember his name. And the hospital doesnt have a record.

if IBS or IBD or a combination, something can be done. IBS has antispasmotic meds. IBD has the anti-inflammatories.

You might be able to moderate IBD inflammation with anti-inflammatory foods and nutritional interventions alone - some can. Most take meds.

You might be able to moderate IBS with stress-reduction and food-elimination, but many take meds.

Unless you have had pronounced blood, the symptoms of pain and D could mean more IBS than IBD.

But, you may have had untreated inflammation for a number of years and your colon cancer risk would be very high. So a scope is needed.

An insurance plan with low-copays and deductibles is recommended because you have diagnostic tests and bloodwork, scoping procedures, and expensive medications staring you in the face.

Start with a primary doc, because many GI will not accept patients w/o a referral. Sometime ER doc can be the referral a GI accepts - BUT most insurance requires the referral form a primary above and beyond the GI just wanting any referral.

good luck

You say nothing can be done but you've only tried one medication. Why are you not on meds? There is no way I would be able to survive in a flare for years, but maybe yours arent as severe. Please see a doctor and take care of yourself

Well... Insurance is effective as of today.

Appointment at a primary care on tuesday so i can be referred to a gi.

it can take a while for a new appt at a GI. Your primary may be able to order a scoping. My primary ordered a scoping for me. He actually did scopes for some of his patients, but for me, with missing section of colon, he got GI to do it.

Once scoping found UC, the GI who did the scope became my GI, and eventually primary was cut out of loop.

Given some family history of CRC, you may be able to get the scope approved as a screening (even though you are young). Most insurance will cover a "screening" at 100%, but only cover "diagnostic" scoping at 80% - minus any deductible.

good luck