IBS…

[coffeepleeease]

Do you ever get used to it? I know that might sound silly but I've had diarrhoea every 2-4 weeks for years now, suspect it's IBS but also nurse suspects gallstones and I'm waiting for a scan. Every time I get diarrhoea I worry it's the start of a tummy bug. I have severe emetophobia (fear of vomiting) so every time it sets my anxiety off. I worry obsessively about passing it on to my daughter. Usually it's not a tummy bug but that doesn't help my anxiety. Any advice or experiences?

I used to get ibs-d, but since using probiotics this has resolved. It might be that taking some probiotics, either naturally in food (yoghurt, kefir, kimchi etc) or tablets may help you.

Also, have you kept a food diary? It might be that something is setting you off - coffee (noted the username 😀), gluten, dairy etc can be irritating for some.

Thanks for the reply! I will try some probiotics. I have coffee every day but don’t suffer with IBS symptoms every day so don’t think it’s coffee, a food diary is a good idea

I cut out dairy. And I take probiotics now. Also golden linseed are recommended and really help ibs. Just try a heaped teaspoon daily and see if you notice a difference. When they are chewed and swallowed they release some kind of soothing gel type substance apparently (this is my take on it) and it helps everything settle. I was recommended them last year but Dr and they're just part of my diet now.

Do you ever get used to it

Mainly yes, I manage it . I know when I have a flare up I need to avoid certain foods and go with the pain. Be near a toilet so a bit of forward planning .
Then usually after 3-7 days of build up , cramp and intense pinching pain , I get blood in my stools and it settles again.

At the moment though:
(Warning -major whinge here)
I'm into week 7 of this flare up. I've had bowel bleeding for the last 10 days ranging from blood in pooh to proper abbatoir style toilet water .
Passing 15+ times a day (and night) whereas "normal" is 4 times .

I have a colonoscopy booked and dreading the Prep.

I'm not eating much as I have constant nausea .
After a 12 hour fast for a blood test I felt so sick I could've wept and the thought of That Prep made me heave .
But I'll grit my teeth and get on with it ( my poor family they'll love me )

I am very ambivilent towards my intenstine right now I know I need it but I could cheerfully remove it with a spoon (blunt or otherwise)

I am interested to see whats going on in there . (I know I have diverticular but this has upped the ante )

<Whinge Over>

I was told coffee is fine . I use plant milk anyway .
I've cut down a lot ( not helped though)

Onions , anything fatty (like chips or roast potatoes) make it worse .
White bread makes me bloaty so I limit this to twice a week ( breadmaker delicious fresh loaf )

At the moment I'm on rice crispies with soya , very weak squash , dry crackers
Water
Some coffee
Pasta with a tomato sauce

@70isaLimitNotaTarget 70isaLimitNotaTarget I don't think you have IBS. I think you have IBD. Have you ever had a stool test to check your calprotectin level?

I have indeedy Biscuit that prompted the colonoscopy (but I'd already seen my GP to request another one )
I've not had the results all finalised .

I think IBD would be the correct term yes ( divertucular disease or diverticulitis)
See , I'm on such bad terms with my innards I'm not even addressing them correctly

Have you kept a food diary? I was diagnosed years ago and managed to get the symptoms mostly under control by eliminating things like strawberries, tomatoes, too much caffeine. And drinking a lot of peppermint tea. Some counselling I did for something else ended up really helping my anxiety too so I haven't actually had a flare up for over 14 years. I now drink a bit more caffeine, still can't eat strawberries, tomatoes are fine. And if I don't have at least one peppermint tea a day it can start to feel uncomfortable.

I was going to say have you kept a food diary?
Also, are you stressed/anxious? There was a survey of IBS patients that found that 44% also suffered from anxiety, and 84% suffered from depression.

I know what my triggers are and I avoid them, but still have symptoms. I take loperamide most days.

Best thing you can do is keep a diary tracking food intake, exercise, gut symptoms, mood and bowel movements, water intake etc - then from there track trends and see if anything jumps out as to what's going on - you'd be surprised the data you'll get just from doing that for a week or two - good luck

Thank you so much for all your replies, I’m keeping a food diary. Yes I suffer with depression and severe anxiety, and I notice I have bad diarrhoea when I’m particularly anxious so it’s definitely a trigger for me

Tagging along aswell, my daughter is up throughout the night most nights and is getting so low with it all. Can I ask does anyone have pcos aswell?

Have you tried a bile binder/bile acid sequestrant (Questran[ ? It's what worked for me and would make sense if you have gall bladder issues

Another vote for probiotics here. They've made a huge difference to me.

I’ve had IBS for 24 years.
I have had better times with it and then really awful times.
The last 5 years it’s been awful but I am under a lot of stress (and I am a super anxious person too which doesn’t help) and in I’m in perimenopause and I don’t think that’s helping either.
I used to have daily diarrhoea and it eased very quickly when I gave up all dairy. The low fodmap diet also helped.
I also listen to gut directed hypnotherapy on YouTube, every evening which is nice.
It come back again recently. Over the last 5 years, I have had a barrage of tests but nothing found.
I saw a neuro-gastroenterologist a couple of weeks ago. She has prescribed me liquid Imodium, she says that it’s much more controllable in liquid form and recommended half a teaspoon a day.
I hope you find something which helps you, it’s a bloody horrible condition.

70isaLimitNotaTarget The prep isn’t the best but the best advice I was given is to chill it before you down it. I also followed it with flat, ice cold ginger ale. And sucked clear sweets inbetween.
Good luck, I hope it goes well.

Wheredid , I'm doing the prep soon, I will 100% chill it and see if that helps .

I've got lemonade and Lucozade (but I need to double check on that as its a bit pinky/orange)

I'm floating my back teeth on diluted squash
And limiting coffee because I can only tolerate so much black , but I need the coffee to avoid a withdrawel headache .

Onwards and Upwards

Hope it goes well. The colonoscopy is a breeze after the prep and even that’s not too bad. I had to do it again the other month as I had a pill camera endoscopy.

Yes, had IBS (although no flare up for years) and also have PCOS.

Sorry to jump on this thread, but I can on looking for threads exactly like this. I'm 30 year old female and suffer horrifically with IBS-D. I got several times a day, I'm petrified to eat out because it comes on instantly, I've been to the GP about 5 times about it, had bloods, a stool sample. They basically said it all was fine and was IBS and sent me on my way ... that's as far as I get with my GP....
my hair is thinning terribly, I'm loosing weight, I feel nauseous a lot, I don't really get cramps but just the sudden urge to run to the toilet.. and it's always watery. I honestly cant recall the last time I had a solid stool.
It's really getting me down....
I try to talk to family etc about it, but I think they just think it's abit of diarrhoea and think no more of it...

I'm very much in the dark about ibs... because my doctor has never offered any further advice for it... I'm really stuck on what to do! And a little lost ..

Can anyone recommend some home remedies? Some over the counter medication? I take Imodium daily. It does nothing.... really at my wits end with it all. I'm currently away on holiday and cried to DH earlier because I simply cannot enjoy myself and eat all the delicious food without having to dash off after... not to mention, it's not the sexiest of illnesses of have to explain to your DH.. it's quiet embarrassing...

Any advice would be SO welcomed as I can see a few of you have been battling this for years. I've had this for about 3 years now, I get short bouts of relief ... and then it's right back there again.

If I was you @pastypam i would go back to the doctors and ask for a colonoscopy, it sounds like you are lacking in nutrients if your hair is thinning, it must be affecting your general health a lot, go back and keep going back, it’s easy to dismiss it as ibs but to have no follow up treatment is really poor from your GP.

pastypam definitely ask to be referred to a gastroenterologist, you should not have to suffer like that. I was very anaemic at the start of this year to the point I needed infusions.
I ended up seeing a gastroenterologist at my local private hospital. I couldn’t really afford it but I feel that it was £200 we’ll spend because she re-referred me to see her at our NHS hospital where I then went on to have several tests. Obviously you can’t queue jump that way but it allowed me to bypass my GP who was paying no attention and just wanted me on antidepressants (which appears to be a panacea for everything I go to them about these days!).

pastypam meant to add my thinning hair was a result of the anaemia.

I only found out recently that hypnosis is a medically approved treatment for IBS, to reduce stress and anxiety. Worth asking your GP?