Help with chronic bloating, could be IBS

Hi everyone,

I'm an 18 year old male living in Toronto. As a student, I tend to live a relatively sedentary lifestyle.

For as long as I can remember, I've had problems with constipation. In my youth, I had frequent stomach aches (which I outgrew) and took laxatives for extended periods of time. Up until about a year ago, the constipation didn't really bother me. However, in December of 2012, I visited Bulk Barn and ate a whole bag of gummy candy. I was extremely bloated and constipated for the following week. I took laxatives to clear myself out. Two weeks later, things had returned to normal, and I eventually ended up making another visit to Bulk Barn for more candy. The bloating and constipation returned, and since then, have not gone away.

I've been bloated and constipated for over a year now. My diet and lifestyle patterns are the same now as they were before the bloating occurred, which I find odd. The bloating is very noticeable; sometimes so much that my stomach physically can't stretch any further out. It's also extremely uncomfortable, leaving me feeling lethargic but restless. For the first few months, I found eating prunes helped. The bloating would "fully" disappear after relieving myself in the washroom, only to return almost immediately. Eventually, the prunes stopped being effective, never "fully" relieving the bloating, only "halfway". I've also tried Metamucil, which got me regular, but only relieved bloating "halfway".

I've been tested for celiac disease, lactose intolerance, and stool cultures. All fine. I've had an ultrasound of my GI tract, all fine. I've had an upper GI inspection, which showed food passing through me slower than usual. As such, my doctor prescribed domperidone maleate (Motilium) to speed things up. It helped my constipation a little, but not the bloating. After seeing a gastroenterologist, she's diagnosed my with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and has put me on RestoraLAX, Metamucil, and prucalopride succin (Resotran). She also suggested exercising 3 times a weekly, and eating smaller, more frequent meals full of fibre and fruits/vegetables. The first day of using all these medications, I went to the washroom three times, and the bloat was gone. However, the bloating return after the next meal, and despite using the medication and exercising for three weeks now, the bloating has not receded.

This bloating has really hurt my self-esteem, lowered my sex drive, and has left me miserable. Does anyone who has faced/is facing this problem have any suggestions for me? I'm all ears.