i think it can sadly enough. Do you have a health care professional helping you with all of this? What changes have you made to you diet etc? I'm keen to know how long this lasts. I've had it a few months now and the symptoms are slowly easing. (not going altogether but easing)
Make sure you eat more slowly and really chew each mouthful. The Chinese or Japanese put their cutlery down until each mouthful is finished to avoid gulping too much air with the food too I guess.
I pray we find some answers and live pain free very very soon.

Oh yes, I've had it for a year and a half and it only goes away when I just eat protein foods only. Then my bloating disappears and I feel great, but its so hard to keep eating protein and nothing else. Maybe try eliminating certain foods. For me sugars, lactose, wheat and fats set me off and I feel so sick when I eat them.
Hope this helps.

Unfortunately, I've had IBS-D for 25 years.

Now, it isn't bad everyday. No, I can go days, weeks, even months without a symptom. My biggest trigger is stress! So, trigger foods are hard for me to figure out. But, we are all different.

I never know when its going to pop up and when it going to end. Im so tired of it. Actually its going on as I type my stomach is bloated, gassy, and nausea . Sometimes when I eat my stomach looks like Im pregnant I hate it. It acts up I eat certain food such as daily products because they can give me bad cramps. I just had raisins and I feel like throwing them back up ahhh. Im really stressed right now so maybe thats why my IBS is acting up..I just hope a doctor can find a cure

Unfortunately, it can last for awhile. I've been struggling with these symptoms for the past 6-8 months and was going crazy trying to figure out what was wrong with my stomach/abdominal area. I finally got the courage to go to the doctor and take many routine tests from urine, blood, and stool tests... all of which came back normal. Each time the doctor would tell me that I'm super healthy and normal, I would have a sigh of relief, then worry again because I knew that I wasn't "normal". Anyway, eventually the doctor diagnosed me with IBS. Which come and go, but when it comes, it really comes! There are times where I have to run to the restroom. But, like an idiot, I haven't started a food log to find out what is it I'm eating that aggrivates my IBS. I've read a bit online and one main cause is Sorbitol... which means stay away from all diet products/foods and especially gum, plus apples, pears, prunes and peaches, and the like. I'll keep you guys and gals updated if I get any new information. You just have to remember, though it may be tough... IBS doesn't get worse by time, and we are lucky to be alive.

I have IBS since 2000 and I just learn to live with it . Its nor always easy but it gets easier over time. Try to see what food or drinks make it worse and yes stress is not good for IBS!!! I hope it gets easier for you soon hugs and prayers....

I have IBS C and now since I have gotten older it last a life time if I dont watch what I eat and even if do. Of course my fibro might play a part of it but something one has to think about all the time and it makes life hard.

I've had it for 12 years and it has never gone away for more than a day or two. The last couple of months it's been flared everyday. I've been through all the testing. I too feel like something is missing and the doctors are missing something, but noone knows what it is.

I was going well with my trigger foods and my dietary changes and now I seem to have pain in my gut no matter what I do. Hormones could be an issue but I'm so over trying to figure out the safe foods and then have those attack me.

Ok, in my situation, here's what's going on... after many tests, from urine tests, blood tests, etc. my doctor finally told me that given all the symptoms she's seeing from me, it's IBS. So, since i've never had these symptoms before, I had to take a look at what can actually be causing this problem... so i started to keep a food journal to note down everything i'm putting in my stomach. Easy enough right? You'd find the problem in no time. Anyways, to make a long story short, my "IBS" was due to ingesting ANYTHING of a dietary nature/ingredient. This means... sorbitol, sodium saccharin, even splenda. In fact, once I stopped all of eating/drinking all of these (i even stopped drinking all soft drinks), i was feeling alot better until all of my symptoms went away. I was so so happy! In fact, just a few days ago, a coworker of mine was passing out some sugarfree gum (with sorbitol of course), and as I totally forgot about the sorbitol, I was chewing on it for about a minute until i realized it was sugar free! I was in front of a big audiance, so I couldn't spit it out. Anyways, I kept looking at the clock to figure out how it will affect my body... mind you, rumor has it that the little stick of gum could have about 10 grams of sorbitol in it (not good). As 1 hour passed by, i started getting light upper stomach pains... after about 2-3 hours, i could feel the pains in my stomach coming and going... then later on that night, I could feel the sorbitol (?) going through my intestines as if i had swallowed a solid object that wouldn't digest causing pain as it would pass. Finally, next day, the "IBS diarrhea" which wasn't much though like before (there was a time i would run to the bathroom 4-5 times a day). Now 3 days later, i feel much better, though there are still slight but very light pains, probably due to the sorbitol still in my system. So there you have it, stay away from all dietary drinks, food and most importantly gum. I even have to check out the toothpaste ingredients and not buy the one's that have sorbitol in it. I'm actually surprised to find ALOT of products have sorbitol in it (mainly since its cheaper than table sugar). So, in a nutshell, this worked for me, and I hope this information works for you. My email is steve94621@ymail.com if you have any questions.

Sorbital? That might be one of my problems. I chew A LOT of sugar-free gum!! Thanks for the help.

Yup, weird isn't it?? Just one stick of sugarfree gum can cause indigestion cramps, bloating, and diarrhea that can last for several days if not a week. Cut out all of the diet drinks and sugarfree gum, plus throw away any toothpaste with sorbitol and look around the house for more of it and discard. Then, come back in a week or two and tell me if it helped... i have a sure feeling that it would be the answer to all of this!