now what?

Okay, so now I think I have irritable bowel syndrome. God. I feel like I’m turning into one of those people who can only talk about her ailments, but I have not felt this bad in years. I went through this period about five or six years ago when I would have these bouts or, as I thought of them, “attacks” during which I would be seriously constipated for days, weeks, accompanied by intense stomach pain. My belly would distend, and I literally could not eat anything that would not cause pain and bloating. Even chicken broth would bring this on.
Then, mysteriously, it would go away. Then come back. I couldn’t seem to find a pattern. I went to various doctors and practitioners, one of whom was a proctologist. I told him my symptoms. He said, “Eat more fiber.” At the time, I was literally eating nothing but fiber, three times amount he recommended. I tried to explain this, and he gave me a pamphlet with drawings of fruits vegetables and grains illustrating what he meant by “fiber.” I said I thought I might have irritable bowel syndrome. He laughed. He said if I did, I would not be constipated, I would have diarrhea. About a year later, I saw a commercial on TV for a new drug, just for women that treated IBS with constipation. I’m actually grateful the doctor did not prescribe it, or I’d probably have gone the drug route, and if possible, I would rather not.
The naprapath I was seeing at the time suggested that my symptoms were allergy-related. Not food allergies, but seasonal. That was also during the fall, so she may have been on to something there. She also recommended that I eat a chopped-up apple sprinkled with flax seeds before going to bed at night, and to avoid raw vegetables.
These things seemed to help.
Since then, I’ve had a few bouts of this now and then, but nothing as severe as that, until now. I checked a few websites (I know, I know) to get more info about “triggering foods.” I’m not eating any fried or greasy foods or white flour, which are major culprits. But I have been eating a lot more nut butter than I usually do, and carob, both of which can cause an attack of IBS. Crap. So there are two more things to eliminate from my already fairly restricted diet.
I don’t even know if I have it or not, but in any case, I am very grateful that for my birthday, my husband gave me a gift certificate for a colonic. (Yes, this was a request, not a random stab and what I might possibly want as a gift this year ). I am going to redeem it at 7:00 tonight. I am in a lot of pain at the moment, and I am counting the minutes.