Ibs advice for travel and days out

[2014newme]

I'm fed up today with ibs, HD to cancel a day out been up with nausea and stomach ache. Moan over but how do you cope with travelling, holidays, days out with ibs particularly if you have unpredictable diarrhoea

I try to steer clear of immodium/lopermide and take pepto bismol or those supermarket tablets marked diarrhoea relief or similar .Containing kaolin not lopermide .

And sadly I carry spare knickers leggings wipes etc .

Sunny what do you do if you have a coach transfer for a couple hours on holiday or are stuck in traffic driving etc.
I find the anxiety about an attack very hard to deal with

Yes of course ,and it's a vicious circle as the anxiety makes it worse .

Weeel - preventive immodium and I suppose I plan for the worst , if wearing skirt hitch it up at back so not sitting on it ,pads in knickers ,sit on something .Plastic carrier bag to hand .Sweater to tie round waist so hangs down back as coverage on way to loo .
Dark leggings + tunic/long top is probably best to wear .

I always took imodium at the start of the day to prevent anything occurring and then I would top up on imodium as the day went on if I felt like I needed to. Then I gave up gluten and haven't had an IBS attack since (was tested for celiacs before quitting gluten and it was negative but I am definitely intolerant) feel like I have my life back now and haven't had imodium in about 2 years now where at one point I was getting through multiple packets a week.

Good luck, IBS-D sucks.

Posting about my tactics for coping with IBS while out and about has made me think what a pain this is .

I tend to bury my head in the sand when it comes to health issues as I have a massive fear of "making a fuss " .

My IBS is compounded by stomach srgery for cancer so I don't think that much can be done .But I'd be interested to hear how others cope and how common it is to have to deploy such rather gross coping tactics .

( we won't go into the incident in Lidls with elderly mother in wheelchair and which neccesitated the additional stratergy of tucking my trousers into my socks !)

Ah sunny you really should not have to live like that tucking trousers in your socks sitting on plastic bags. Go back to your GP and demand something is done, get every test possible, allergy tests, celiacs tests, camera up bum tests (can't remember technical name) and get everything it could possibly be ruled out because it is really unfair that you have to put up with that happening to you and that really doesn't sound like ordinary IBS-D although if it is then there is medication they can prescribe to help alleviate symptoms, if it isn't just IBS-D and is intact an intolerance or allergy then a simple lifestyle change could give you a new lease of life. I had to give up gluten as I am intolerant but it has made a world of difference to my life - that being said I had a few tests and was dismissed so gave up gluten as a last resort desperation and it worked, within a week I noticed changes, now if I ever slip up and accidentally eat something with gluten I am so ill and realise just how ill I was back before quitting gluten.

Seriously don't rest till you get to the bottom of it (no pun intended).

*in fact not intact

Yours sound grim sunny. If you haven't tried them already, ask for bile acid sequestrants (Questran, Colestid). They were a life changer for me. Good luck!

www.uhcw.nhs.uk/bam/what-is-bam

I was just about to suggest bile acid sequestrants too sunny. (How are you, by the way?) worth asking about as possibly something that was affected by your surgery. Prior to my ileostomy surgery, I took colesevelam and it really helped my digestive issues.

OP - good luck and it is so frustrating to have your life restricted by bowel issues. Are you taking anything for the pain or nausea? Buscopan or mebeverine might help cramps (both available OTC, but worth discussing with GP as there are some long term considerations).

Do you have a radar key so you can use the disabled toilet if necessary? Also you can get a Just can't wait card from the Bladder and Bowel foundation

When I had severe flares of ulcerative colitis I swore by Imodium. I wouldn't have got down the aisle without it. Otherwise it was just awareness of where the closest toilet was and sheer hope that I could control it. I found that if I knew a toilet was nearby it was more controllable. I also used to do a lot of breathing to try to control it in the car. My commute to work was awful on bad attack days and I often had to just turn around and go home. Imodium is not recommended but without it I would have been housebound for a significant portion of my 20s.