God bless him Kat. Surely he's getting most of the rough stuff behind him early so he can cobble together some great future years. :)

So sorry to hear!

Kat, I have IBS-D and it's no fun. See if his doctor will give him a prescriptin for Welchol. It was originally intended for diabetics I believe, but folks with IBS-D found out that it does stop the diarrhea, giving bulk to the stool. OR he might try getting Caltrate. It's calcium...pink box. Have him take one before, during or after each of his 3 meals of the day. Calcium tends to be binding.

Has he had a biopsy for Celiac disease? DH has always had what I thought was a "weak stomach". Vomiting often and chronic diarrhea. It became much worse last fall and he lost around 30 lbs. He finally had a bronchoscopy done with biopsy, which was positive, which GI dr. said is the standard for diagnosis of Celiac. He's done very well on gluten-free diet; it isn't as daunting as I thought it would be, but does take some diligence.

I bring this up as it appears that many people with Celiac were mis-diagnosed for years with various other GI ailments. Hope you get a difinitive answer.

Yes, he needs to be tested for EVERYTHING else--Celiac's, Cron's, gaul bladder, etc, before allowing any dr. to give him a diagnosis of IBS.

My husband has suffered IBS for years. One thing we've learned (and there's research to support this theory, but drs still aren't usually telling their patients this)--SUGAR is one of the worst things for an IBS patient. During one of DH's worst outbreaks, he could eat a panzarotti (local favorite--sort of a deep-fried pizza turnover--fatty, spicy and heavy), but he kept getting worse and worse. He wasn't eating much fat--I was feeding him a very bland, low-fat diet. But in the interest in getting calories into him to keep up his flagging energy, he was drinking soda, I was making angelfood cakes for him. Then we learned that sugar is a major irritant to the digestive tract and is often a component in IBS--but I'm still not finding that drs are telling their patients that. We were still flummoxed, though--why was DH so bad during that period? Then we discovered that was around the time Coke changed their formula, adding high fructose corn syrup to make their products even sweeter. DH did drink a lot of coke back then.

If he'll listen, see if you can convince your son to lay off anything that's naturally sweet or that has sugar or high fructose corn syrup added. He may find that he gets at least some relief that way.

Of course, stress plays a major part if he does have IBS, and it sounds as if the poor guy's at a stressful time of life.

Dang, darn and Bummer!!! My first thought for Ryan was too much stress...it sure can work on your body in so many ways.

Hoping your son can heal and continue to reach for the stars he so richly deserves.

I was going to suggest he try cutting out gluten too. My ex-boyfriend had the same thing going on and all his problems disappeared as soon as he cut out gluten.

Hope he gets the state job!!!

I'm another one who thinks he should try a gluten-free diet.

Fortunately I'm not gluten intolerant but now that it's mentioned I recall hearing that there can be connection between IBS and gluten. Being a pizza fanatic that would be a terrible diagnosis but one that sure would be better than living with IBS.

Thank you everyone. I had typed a long old reply last night and it's not here!

Is there a definitive test for IBS? Can you have an attack only once a year? I think the last time he had this was at least a year ago? Would IBS be something that would normally be happening every other month, or more frequently?
He gets clammy, sweaty, hot, upset stomach, nausea, and seemingly unending diarrhea. less than 60 seconds after drinking anything, he has to run for the bathroom. Same think for eating. It lasted 5 or 6 days. He has lost over 12 pounds. Yesterday he ate some rice, bananas and chicken broth. And a couple of cokes. Tonight he said he might try some pasta with some cream sauce that a girl is making him. He just started dating her a couple of weeks ago.

Oh, the one gastorenterologist can't get him in until December 10th. So we are trying to get the gp to give us
a referral to another practice and see if we can get in there sooner.

Unless things have changed, there's no real test for IBS--it's actually sort of a non-diagnosis--the one they give you after they've checked everything else, and you are still sick.

IBS is often a series of attacks--often alternating diarrhea and constipation, along with the other symptoms. But it's very individual--My husband hasn't had an extreme attack in years. But that's because he's more aware and able to manage things. He definitely needs to be evaluated by a good gastroenterologist.

Please, try to encourage him to avoid the sodas for the time being. Whether or not he does have IBS, they are irritating his system--and making him feel a whole lot worse. He's got to avoid as much sugar as possible. Please go to google and look up "IBS and sugar"--you'll find information on the connection.

One of my daughters has had this for several years, though she always had a nervous stomach as a kid. In Jan. of last year it got really bad and she lost 25 lbs. over the next several months. She had all the tests and yes, IBS is the default diagnosis for unexplained tummy problems with those symptoms. She was put on the FODMAP diet that was developed for those with severe IBS and with time, lots of time, it is helping. It seems daunting at first, but it is doable. Quinoa is her friend as she is especailly off any food with gluten. Kat, if you'd like I could give you her email address to pass along to your son if his symptoms remain a problem. She feels like an expert by now!

I'm sorry Kat, hope they can find out what's going on. Too bad his appointment is so far away. Got to be frustrating.

I have something like that. A colonoscopy made sure there was no cancer etc. What has really helped me is to cut out all coffee, soda, and chocolate. That has made a BIG difference.

Another thing I cut back on is nuts. That helps too.

Than k you everyone. I'll tell the kiddo! Thank you
sjerin, but he probably won't do it and say, MOOOOOM! LOL
but I'll give it a try! lol

I have IBS. Diet restrictions vary from person to person. There really is no prescribed IBS diet. Everyone has to experiment on their own.

I am fine with sugar and I can do some nuts but not others. Seedy things I have to be very careful with especially with fruit like berries. I can eat seeded rolls if I am eating lots of other bulk at the time. Eat them along and I will pay the price. Fruit skins also sem to affect my digestive track negatively. Tomatoes,grapes and plums are bad. Apple and pear skins are ok in small amounts.

I eat gluten and wheat products without any ill effects.
Of course they need to run tests and see that he doesn't have celiac or crones. But lacking thiose conditions the wheat/gluten thing is sort of a fad right now. He doesn't need to cut it out for IBS unless he needs to. Even with crones they are no longer stressing special diet. My DSIL's brother was just diagnosed.