- Tiffany Crawford, 45, developed the condition 12 years ago after childbirth
- Had a constantly bloated stomach and persistent pain down her right side
- Was hospitalised due to the pain eight years ago and diagnosed with IBS
- Had to stop eating food such as bread as it left her doubled up in pain
- Felt so uncomfortable that her sex life with husband Andrew, 44, suffered
- Has now discovered a prebiotic supplement can ease her symptoms
- Prebiotics feed the ‘good’ bacteria that are key to good digestive health
04:27 EST, 21 March 2014
|
05:15 EST, 21 March 2014
A mother-of-two has spoken of how irritable bowel syndrome left her in agony and killed her sex life.
Tiffany Crawford, 45, had suffered from the condition since the birth of her younger daughter Becky 12 years ago.
She lived with a constantly bloated stomach and persistent pain down her right side, which left her feeling miserable.
Pain: Tiffany Crawford with her husband, Andrew. She suffered excruciating IBS symptoms after the birth of her second daughter 12 years ago, leaving her feeling unattractive
She told MailOnline: ‘The pain was horrific. It was on my right side – where the belt loop is when you wear jeans. I used to say I wanted to go in with an apple corer and pull it out.’
Eight years ago it became so bad that she was hospitalised. Doctors quickly diagnosed her with IBS, prescribing her with diclofenic anti-inflammatory tablets.
One in five people in the Western world suffers with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a gut disorder characterised by diarrhoea, stomach cramps and bloating.
And while the painkillers helped with the pain slightly, they did nothing to ease her severe bloating.
Happier times: Tiffany and Andrew when they were younger. She says their relationship is now back on track after she discovered a treatment for her IBS symptoms, which had left her bloated and not wanting sex
Mrs Crawford said: ‘I was so bloated that
I couldn’t wear jeans in the car if I was going on a long journey as it
was so painful. I would feel like I had eaten a really, really big meal,
even though I hadn’t.
‘And whenever I ate anything like bread, my symptoms would flare up. I regularly found myself doubled over with pain for three to four days whenever I ate white bread and had to resort to cutting it out completely.
‘I wouldn’t be able to go to the loo for three or four days at a time, either.’
The pain and bloating left her feeling miserable and unattractive – and her relationship with her husband Andrew, 44, also suffered.
HOW A WOMAN’S MENSTRUAL CYCLE CAN AFFECT HER DIGESTION
Many women (with and without IBS) experience variations in gut symptoms –
including abdominal pain, diarrhoea, bloating, and constipation – during
their menstrual cycle.
Abdominal pain and diarrhoea tend to increase in
the pre-menstrual phase of the cycle and reach a maximum on the first to
second day of menstrual flow.
Bloating and constipation, on the other
hand, tend to increase post-ovulation (around day 14) and stay increased
until the day before or the first day of menstrual flow.
Source: aboutibs.org
She said: ‘Between the stomach ache and the fact it felt like a balloon and looked awful, I just didn’t feel sexy or have any enthusiasm in the bedroom.
‘I was always scared that sex would hurt and that put me off doing it. In the end, I just didn’t want to do it at all – and didn’t for about two years.’
She says that stress made her symptoms worse – and the fact her husband had been diagnosed with a cavernoma – clusters of abnormal blood vessels around the brain – plaguing him with constant headaches on a daily basis, only made matters worse.
‘I do think the stress of Andrew’s illness made my IBS symptoms worse,’ she said.
Although very much under-reported, one of the most common side-effects of IBS is a low sex drive.
Many patients, both men and women, also say the condition makes sex painful, too.
A recent survey by TalkHealth revealed that one in three women with IBS also have such embarrassing symptoms that their sex life suffers as a result, leading to strained relationships. The survey also demonstrated that the majority’s self confidence had dwindled since their diagnosis.
Struggle: Tiffany with her daughters Becky and Katie. She says her IBS often left her doubled over in pain
Relief: Since discovering a supplement she takes in her morning cup of tea, Tiffany’s symptoms have disappeared and she is no longer in agony
Frustrated with no solution for her
swollen stomach, Mrs Crawford began searching online for an answer – and
found a ‘good bacteria’ supplement on Facebook.
Called Bimuno, it’s a prebiotic, which ‘feeds’ probiotics – so-called ‘friendly’ or ‘good’ bacteria which play a number of vital roles in the body including helping to regulate the immune system, aiding the digestion and absorption of food, producing essential vitamins, and contributing to digestive health.
Happy: Tiffany says all aspects of her life have improved
Prebiotics are a special type of complex carbohydrate that probiotics thrive on.
They feed and increase the ‘good’ types of bacteria such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria without feeding the ‘bad’ types.
Mrs Crawford said: ‘I got sent a sample pack of the prebiotic powder and added it to my cup of tea in the morning.
‘Within days I felt so much better and don’t even need to take it every day.
‘The pain has gone, my stomach has got flatter and I can eat bread and my favourite foods again, such as baguettes, brioche and croissants.
‘Best of all, Andrew and I now have a much better relationship and things are really good in the bedroom again.’
Last year, she forgot to take Bimuno over the Christmas period, due to the stress of the holidays.
‘My symptoms returned instantly and I was doubled over with stomach pains, struggling to even stand up straight.
‘Within hours of taking the powder my symptoms had vanished. It seems to be the only thing that keeps them under control.’
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The comments below have been moderated in advance.
NLSutton,
Staffordshire, United Kingdom,
25 minutes ago
Glad you found a solution and hopefully it sticks to keeping the pain in order! I get recurring UTI’s and they have knocked my confidence in the bedroom with my partner a bit and he has helped me get some cranberry pills for it and I’ve started drinking Yakult and the pain and feelings have gone. The only thing I’m left with is the smell and cloudy colour if I do get one now. It’s much easier to bare with now, but I am still getting other non-painful symptoms so I am having to go to hospital to figure out what is exactly wrong with my bladder system… its annoying but hopefully I can get it sorted over time. But I do wish you all the best now and I am glad that you have found something that works well for you. It’s amazing what treatments there are that can help against problems like this
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