How to firm up chronic loose stool?

[Flowersinthewateringcan]

Firstly, I have to say I am absolutely not a poo troll. I am in a constant state of anxiety over my gut issues and am hoping someone may be able to offer some advice?

I have had gut issues for many years and I’ve had lots of tests (cameras up and down with biopsies, scans including gallbladder and a bile acid test, stool tests etc- literally all the exploratory digestive health tests). Luckily, all have come back clear but I am still having daily issues.

Lots going on within my digestive system (bubbling, gurgling, lots of gas - up and down, bloating…..) but the thing which I really, really despise is morning ‘diarrhoea’, I say that as it’s more quick and loose than watery (sorry I won’t divulge any more) but it sets off my anxiety about how many times I’ll need to go in the am (often need to go as soon as I wake and sometimes up to 3 times in the morning) and it stops me doing anything in the mornings and if I do have to go anywhere etc I’m constantly worrying I’ll need to go.

I have tried everything I can think of to ‘bulk’ up everything - I don’t consume diary or wheat/gluten, no alcohol or coffee (I only drink water and mint tea), I follow the low fodmap diet, low fat, no sweeteners and nothing which I believe triggers it off but I’m still getting this every morning.

I have tried the standard IBS meds but nothing helps. I take imodium on the two days a week I work as a safety net but it doesn’t really help other than to slow things down on that day and then it all starts up again on the days I don’t take it. My gastroenterologist says not to take it all the time as it can lead to a lazy bowel.

What can I do to bulk it up? I am actually envious of people who suffer from constipation!

Have you tried psyllium husks/hulls? They are often used when an ileostomy is too liquid so that it is more manageable.

Have you considered that your anxiety over this may be what is causing it? I have IBS and it is always much worse if I am anxious. I completely avoid onion and garlic and they are what cause most of my issues.

I have IBS d so I understand where you are coming from. The anxiety makes it worse.

Have you looked at your diet/done an elimination or FODMAP diet.

For me I cannot eat anything wholemeal or high fibre eg brown bread is a no, if I stick to plastic white bread I'm ok.

Sorry, missed a whole paragraph of your post! Ignore me...

It might be worth trying a probiotic if you haven’t - symprove really improved things for me (none of the others did a thing though)

Also have you done a proper elimination diet? Just to check it isn’t something specific?

I have IBS-D and have found no amount of meds or food can "cure" it whilst I'm so anxious about it. It's fascinating, I'm on maternity leave at the moment and on the days I have no plans I'm fine. As soon as I book a class or need to go out I'm on the toilet all morning.

Have you checked out the gut health doctor? Just looked at her website yesterday as I think my teen daughter has just developed IBS. Seems to be a stress thing because she was better during half- term.
She suggests yoga to calm the vagus nerve (links gut and brain) and oats to firm stool.
DD is having better mornings since eating her "breakfast" last thing at night. Anything she eats first thing in am seems to come straight through.

LovelaceBiggWither I have read that it helps but I’ve always been worried it could make things worse as it also seems to be used for constipation?

itsmyp4rty it’s definitely a vicious cycle, I feel the anxiety rise as soon as I wake and I know that’s not helping. I do deep breathing and listen to gut directed hypnotherapy when I wake but it’s hard to dampen down the anxiety. It’s as though all the dials are cranked up to the max for me and I can’t seem to find a way to lower them. I am low fodmap and avoid onion and garlic too, onion especially is so bad for me.

cocksstrideintheevening I do follow the low fodmap diet and have done for several years, I avoid my known triggers and I too can not tolerate any high fibre but I still can’t see if there are any other foods triggering this. I have kept a food diary for quite some time.

theduchessofspork I do think that I need to explore this deeper. I tried some a few years back but didn’t give it long enough. I will look into Symprove, thank you. I keep a food diary and follow the low fodmap diet and avoid my known triggers but just can not see a definite connection as I can eat something one day and not be too bad, a week later the same pattern of eating/food can make things worse.

Have you done low Fodmap strictly? With a dietician? I say this as post Covid I got IBS symptoms-nothing worked. In desperation, I saw a private dietician who recommended low Fodmap and sent me all the instructions. I was a bit half hearted with it at first but after a particularly bad episode, I stuck to it rididly and within 3 or so weeks, I had massive improvement. I now only have to avoid 3 or 3 things after the reintroduction phase and am now completely symptom free. Of course, see a doctor to rule out anything sinister.

curlymam Anxiety definitely plays a huge role. I am (for some reason?) naturally very, very anxious in the mornings which is obviously making things worse but it’s such a vicious cycle as that will then set my guts off.

ouch44 I do follow her and have her books. Anxiety definitely doesn’t help. Sadly I can’t tolerate oats but glad to hear they are helping your dd. I developed IBS at the age of 25, it’s certainly no fun having gut issues at a young age, hope things continue to get better for your dd.

Could it be hormonal? I found when I was on the contraception pill that I suffered ibs. Not just loose stool but also i used to burp all the time too. For about 10 years just thought that was how I was. Came off pill to try for a baby and the ibs stopped. Been off hormone contraception for 4 years now and it hasnt returned. Something for you to explore if you are on a hormone contraception.

MrsRachelDanvers I have seen 4 dieticians over the years (3 NHS and 1 privately). They weren’t overly helpful tbh but I have gone through the low fodmap strictly and used the Monash app and books etc whilst seeing the dieticians.
I have been thinking of going back to the beginning and starting the elimination stage again as though it was the first time, I may be missing something?
I am under a NHS gastroenterologist and have had many tests over the last few years, thankfully all comes back ok.

Sounds familiar. A few things have helped me. No caffeine and alcohol or dairy. I'm GF also. Extended overnight fasting was also helpful. I don't know if I gives the gut a rest. And a meal replacement by Garden of Life protein shake which has a lot of pro and prebiotic ingredients. Also a probiotic tablet called Culturelle.

It does sound like IBS and related to your anxiety but probably you are sensitive to some foods and also need probiotics.

Reach9kat I have been considering this a lot recently. I am 50 and probably in perimenopause. Although I’m not getting too many of the ‘classic’ issues like hot sweats etc I am experiencing quite a few other issues which are probably hormonally related and I have noticed that I feel worse during different times in my cycle such as horrible nausea and burping mid cycle.
I first developed IBS at 25 which was awful for 6 years then I fell pregnant at 32 and had a full year of virtually no symptoms whilst pregnant and breastfeeding but weirdly was awful again when pregnant at 35. I do believe hormones play a big part for me but not sure what to do to help with that as hrt (the progestogen part) made things worse.

Probiotic helped me. Unless it was the menopause- both happened at the same time!

Take a quality probiotic for a while, see what happens. Then eat things that are live - yogurts , sauerkraut, blue cheese…

You don’t need a lot once you’ve stocked your gut!

Lelivre I do the low fodmap diet and avoid my known triggers so for me that’s diary, onions, garlic, high fibre, wheat/gluten, oats, caffeine, alcohol, red meat, chicken and fatty foods.
As I feel so off in mornings I naturally IF. I tend to stop eating at 7pm and eat when I feel up to it, which is generally around 11am.
I will look into the shake and definitely need to try probiotics, thanks.

Thanks pickledandpuzzled, I really do need to start introducing probiotics, I did pay for a comprehensive stool test earlier this year and it came back with very low levels of good bacteria, which doesn’t surprise me as I have been pretty restrictive with my diet for many years due to fear of triggering my issues.

I’ve been diagnosed with IBS since I was 30 (now late 40s). I can go through periods of being loose and then other times of constipation and then a period of normality. I found eating yoghurt helped quite a bit and stopped me having runny poo (as often) and instead having nice big formed poos

Could you track symptoms and cycle. See if there is a correlation. Maybe a gynecologist would be worth chatting too rather then a stomach doctor?! Do you practice yoga? Maybe a morning yoga session may help. The movement may help with painfull gas and the meditation benefits for the anxiety. Hope you find something to help. It's not nice having life dictated by toilet habits.

Hi OP!

I’ve had similar over the years, planning my entire morning because I know I’ll need to use the toilet at some point. It makes morning travel a nightmare to plan. I’ve also had gastro referrals, blood tests etc but like you I’m thankful that they’ve come back negative but it hasn’t resolved my issue. However, I manage it by taking nurofen plus or co-codamol before bed and it works well for me. Codeine works to stop diarrhea and the small amount in OTC medication helps. It may not work for everyone but it’s great for me. On the days I don’t need to travel etc I don’t take it the night before and that’s enough to stop me getting constipated.

@Flowersinthewateringcan do you have a gut related hypnotherapy recommendation for my DD please?

I'm going to check it out further but Ashwagandha (sp?) is good for morning anxiety/ intrusive thoughts. Whatever I read yesterday was based on a clinical trial. Can't find it again. I believe it should only be used short-term. I might be wrong. DD has had it before and it helped but think we will save it for when she has exams - it's gcse year!

Have you tried taking a clay supplement? It works really well for my dog whenever she has a gurgly tummy.
Also, tree barks powder, seaweed powder, psyllium husks, marshmallow root powder, probiotics...
She suffered really badly at one point but tummy problems are rare now.

I realise you are not a dog but just in case it helps!

Hi, I've suffered this for years.

You know you shouldn't be following low fodmap diet for too long as it is too restrictive to get all your nutrients?

I have found a small number of safe foods i can eat - e.g. white fish, low fibre veg which are well cooked like peeled carrots, potato in some form without skin, lettuce. White rice, eggs.

I've found yourgut+ has helped but made things worse for the first 2 weeks. Any strong probiotic was a disaster but a live dairy free yoghurt helpful.

Have you really found no safe foods at all?

Perhaps you could track your situation the previous evening? I have found a rigid relaxation regime (if that makes sense!) can be helpful calming down the fight or flight response. Don't watch anything disturbing/exciting on the TV late in the evening - no car chases or murders! Make time to relax quietly. Read a book, nice bath etc. You need restful sleep. I think a boring wind-down is helpful for stress reduction.