IBS - D

[Boopeedoop]

Hi all.

My IBS is currently really bad. I'm taking my mebeverine but trying not to take my loperamide, as obviously that can send me the other way, and I end up with piles and a fissure.

My IBS has got so bad that I'm waking up in the night to have diarrhea, my mouth is raw, and my stomach is so tender.

I haven't eaten today as I'm scared to aggravate the IBS further and I've had several bouts already today.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can take / do?

Thanks for reading.

If you’re like me (and it’s worth remembering that we’re all individuals) then stress plays a HUGE part so lowering that, even if at first you don’t think you’re overly stressed makes a bigger difference than anything else. Not eating will also be releasing stress hormones, on top of your anxiety to eat.
Start with basics, is there even one thing that you can eat/drink just to take some strain off hormonewise and give you some brain fuel to practice mindfulness?

Look into SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) as an underlying cause of IBS-D. It is the cause in around 70% of cases.

Long term, there are effective tests and treatments for SIBO.

In the medium term, things like the Fast Tract diet or Low Fodmap diet can be really effective management tools.

In the short-term, Pepto-Bismol can calm bouts of SIBO-D really quickly.

Thank you Starry

That certainly fits many of my issues.

I have diabetes and fibromyalgia and take a lot of medications, so certainly could be an aggravating factor!

Despite barely eating and constant diarrhea, I am very over weight and have a very large belly. It would be lovely if anything could be helped by getting some help.

This guy is a very well respected researcher into IBS and SIBO :

www.facebook.com/markpimentelmd/

The posts on 27 and 19 Feb contain links to very informative presentations/podcasts on the research to date.

From the way you describe your symptoms, look into methane SIBO too. People with Methanogenic Overgrowth suffer from bloating and are also able to extract more calories from food than people without the overgrowth

www.cedars-sinai.org/research/departments-institutes/diabetes-obesity/areas/methane-producing-obesity.html

The researcher mentioned in the above link, Ruchi Mathur and the first researcher I mentioned are actually married to one another.

It’s really worth looking into. Awareness of the latest research is patchy in the UK, but is improving.

@TheStarryNight. Thank you. So much.