Do I have IBS? Does anyone know anything about angioedema?
Sorry, it's a long read.
It started sometime after my Thyroid surgery. I had my surgery in Sept 2007. They removed my left lobe and isthmus. 2 months later (November) I had 2 red welts appear on my leg. They itched really bad and burned to touch. I just assumed they were bug bites.
In March the welts started appearing again all over my legs, this time bigger. The size of base balls sometimes. They would swell up, dark red color, felt like they were on fire when I touched and itched like crazy. After a day they would turn into deep dark purple bruises and took about 2 weeks to go away.
One day in April I woke up with the back side of my right lung hurting and I couldn't breath easy. It hurt to take breaths. I went to emergency care and they gave me an inhaler. My breathing got better about an hour later. I had chest x-rays done, no collapsed lung. They didn't know what caused it.
In May my GP gave me Prednisone 2 different times. Each time my symptoms went away on the meds but once I stopped they came back. I went to see an allergist thinking my welts might be an allergy to something. He told me that I didn't appear to be allergic to anything and that the condition might me angioedema, an autoimmune deficiency. Around this time I was also experiencing stomach pains like a stab in the lower stomach and bloating throughout the whole stomach. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom but nothing would come out and I also felt like I'd throw up but couldn't. After a week or 2 it went away.
One night in August my stomach hurt so bad that I went to the ER. They gave me barium sulfate and I had x-rays taken. They found that my ileum (end of the lower intestines that connects to your colon) was inflamed. Though out the months constipation was a big issue for me. Nothing seemed to work. The ER gave me two different types of antibiotics to take. On day 3 I went to the bathroom and could not believe how much waste was backed up. Needless to say the antibiotics cleaned me out.
In November I had a colonoscopy and and lower GI series done. They found everything to be fine. I was just told to drink 6 tablespoons of milk of magnesia a day for the constipation. I don't drink that stuff now. It's just nasty and I don't want to rely on it for the rest of my life.
I drink alot of water, that's all I drink. I also get as much fiber as possible. I've also started taking probiotics. About twice a month my stomach acts up but it's only for a day. I'm usually stuck in bed because it hurts so much. Since joining CC and keeping track of what I eat I'm trying to find a trigger it's hard to find. Maybe I'm not looking at the right things. My stomach always seems to start hurting in the middle of the night. On Monday the lower left side of my lip just welled up. I didn't bite it or cute it. It did not hurt and there was no bruising or discoloration. Friday night the left side of my tounge just swelled up, don't know why. I didn't bite it or cut it. It didn't hurt. The swelling went down early Saturday morning and than my stomach started hurting and I got really bloated. New symptom this time, diarrhea on Saturday. The pain lasted through till Monday (2 days longer than it normally does). Yesterday I felt back to my regular self and even got to work out which was great. I work out 4-6 times a week. Then early this morning my stomach started hurting again.
Is this IBS? Any advice on what I can do to help my situation? Any help on figuring out what is triggering it would be grateful.
Really... see your doctor. Those symptoms shouldn't be ignored and you need a professional to make a diagnosis, not a message board.
I have been seeing an endocrinologist, gastrologist, allergist, and GP for over 2 years. They all say that all of my test resluts come back fine and that there is nothing wrong with me. I just don't know what to do anymore.
Get a second opinion. I'm not a doctor, but your symptoms do not sound normal or bearable and you deserve to know what's going on. Don't stop until you get some answers and try to find someone who will try to treat your symptoms as a whole, not individually.
