Stress has been mentioned above and if there are no known specific causes, like @Jeruba‘s meds, or @BBSTDfamily’s foods that seriously disagree, then the stress itself can cause spasm and digestive problems. I started having serious lower abdominal pain (LH side) in my early 30’s. It would come on apparently out of the blue, make me feel completely helpless: I’d clutch my gut, go white and effectively collapse. I won’t describe my bowel movements!
After examination, to rule out ovaries/kidneys etc, I was told it was IBS, given some colofac and fibogel (these are proprietary names in the UK). They didn’t really work. Through my employer at the time, I found I could get some private help, eventually, I saw a psychiatrist. Long-story-short, she was great, identified the real prob: Husband.
I had counselling over a period of about 3 or 4 months, let out masses of frustration about a marriage that was floundering in dark misery and eventually realised I had to leave him. That took a while, but it sorted 99% of the IBS symptoms.
When we hear about ‘gut feelings’, the cliche relates directly to the large intestine, which has a crowd of nerves sending messages to our brains and the rest of the body. It is effectively a distant part of the brain itself. The ‘stress’ I was living with was profound and it came out as the pain and embarrassment of IBS. As a result I left Husband, and in the process, found ways to take better care of myself physically. That meant changing diet and lifestyle also.
That was about 20 years ago, most of the symptoms went away immediately. Here’s the PS though, in 1996, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. IBS is identified in many MS patients, this ties in with the neural connections and how stress itself is experienced or processed in MS.
I am still better than I was with first Hubby. My MS is mild, I have control of my limbs and relatively few major symptoms. My reason for adding this is that if you have IBS, there may well be a much deeper reason for it. Personally, I advocate taking a long, serious look at lifestyle and desires. Are you ‘doing’ what you enjoy? Are you leading a life that gives you satisfaction? Do you experience niggling doubt, or a tiny intake of breath every now and then about some aspect of your lifestyle, or your relationships with others?
Advice, such as it is: listen to the messages from your nerves, from your deepest bodily functions and check out the areas of your life that might be undermining health. IBS itself is often considered ‘minor’ by Docs, as it does not generally lead to other conditions and often can be treated. But, if you can make changes that lead to a more comfortable existence, make them. This is not a warning about MS, it is unlikely you have that! Just to say that the symptoms are there for a reason: to draw attention to something that may not be right in part of your life.
I believe the mild nature of my MS is down to the care I learned to take as a result of the IBS; it sits in my past as a timely warning of possibly worse to come. As it is, I am pro-active in my own care, preferring to use diet and natural therapies to support my health.
Hope this helps!
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