Travel tips for ibs sufferers

[Raindropsonroses27]

I've posted a bit about this lately but basically I'm having a spell of ibs/IBD issues - the worse one is having to urgently dash to the loo after eating.

I'm going abroad in a week or so and I'm really worried about how I'll cope with the travel, unfamiliar surroundings, different foods etc. I've gone as far as googling where public toilets are in the area we're staying!

I don't want my life or holiday to be ruled by my unpredictable bowels and am planning on stocking up on immodium before we go but does anyone else who suffers from IBS have any advice for travelling? So worried about being caught short :/

Thanks for all the comments. My symptoms seem to follow a really weird pattern. I'm usually ok during the week when I'm in a routine of school runs and work and so on. But it flares up at weekends when I have less of a routine. I guess this is why I'm worried about holiday. Fingers crossed I feel a bit better today and still have a week to get myself in check.

Thanks for all of your advice it's really helpful and also comforting to know I'm not alone.

I've just downloaded an app called Flush that gives locations of toilets in the area even without internet access. It might be worth downloading so you aren't caught short - I've gone in the wrong direction looking for a loo and had to double back more than once which is very nerve wracking!

I buy the anti diarrhoea tablets from the pound shop and try not to eat when I am trying to control my bowels for the day. If I'm away with dd for a competition I get up on the morning very early and go to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. This gives it time for it to go through me faster than a Ferrari while I'm still in the comfort of my room, after I've been I take 2 tablets and try not to eat for the rest of the day. I've recently bought V.i.poo to take away the anxiety of any stink.

Raindrops, my DH had similar symptoms to you, urgency, abdominal discomfort/pain, multiple loo visits sometimes with He hasn’t been diagnosed formally.

He was taking multiple Imodium sometimes in a day, obviously getting stressed and anxious about it made it worse.

Something that has made a monumental difference has been taking kefir. He takes it as either a yogurt type drink, or Yeo valley fruit kefir yogurt. The kefir promotes the growth of ‘good’ bacteria in the gut, which gets depleted after food passing through at speed. I can honestly say that he is so improved, he goes to the toilet normally and there is no discomfort. Because it’s so much better, he doesn’t get so anxious in situations like travelling.

Have you tried probiotics?