Does anyone wear nappies for IBS?

[NameChangeIBSHelp]

Name change for obvious reasons.

I've had IBS-D for a few years now. It's partly controlled by diet but not really, I never really have a good day but I know if I follow a FODMAP diet I don't have any really bad days. However it is really affected by stress and anxiety and that's what I'm struggling with at the moment.

DS has started school and there are a lot of early morning shows, assemblies, meetings etc. I find that my IBS is much worse on these days. I haven't had an accident yet but I will be sat panicking, cramping and sweating, or a couple I've had to miss. I was thinking of getting some nappies to try and combat the psychological element of it. Has anyone does this, and has any recommendations?

Thank you

Of course you can comment, your experience is just as valid as mine and you've given some really good advice 🙂

I had terrible stress related IBS for years

took back control by introducing enemas to my routine

Have you been checked for bile acid malabsorption? I have this and your symptoms sound similar especially considering you never have a good day. This sounds super hard. I think trying some sort of incontinence product would hopefully help you be able to enjoy a school event without worrying

Same for me! After years of being told IBS, I finally got referred to gastroenterology after a bad flare up where they thought it could be crohns disease and I had a sehcat scan and was diagnosed with bile acid malabsorption and put on colestryamine powder and its worked a treat.

Nothing other than terminology. But adults in general often feel nappies are childish. I just meant it might help you over the mental block to think of them as incontinence products.

I don;t suffer from IBS but had bowel cancer surgery last year and was warned that after it I might have bowel issues for a while, so to be prepared I bought some large incontinence pads from a company called Abena via Amazon - they do a wide range of different size pads and pants.

Wearing them certainly made me more confident although as it turned out after some initial problems while still in hospital recovering from the surgery my bowels recovered more quickly and better than expected and I didn't really have any major accidents.

Thank you everybody for your advice, I'm off to the shops this morning to get some supplies. Hopefully by having an emergency IBS kit it'll stop me from having any actual emergencies!

Hi OP , another sufferer here .I have found that the thin pads, sort of plasticky ,designed for periods work quite well as they absorb most of the moisture.
Easier to dispose of .I do have to position quite carefully, ensuring they are high up at the back .
And sometimes I use 2 to achieve the width needed.
But what we need is to stop it happening as the odour really worries me.
Do update if you use the entrogel or similar (silica something).
Like you I had terrible cramping pains for literally weeks after a couple of preemptive immodium doses and will never touch it again.

I have. They are for long car drives or long days out with shows / gigs. FWIW I have never actually needed them and been fine. It just makes the day less stressful. I had horrendous anal fissures for years (had an op and botox to heal them) and I cannot risk triggering one again.

Thank you, I will come back and update if I find anything that works. I've been taking a probiotic called Symprove for a while, that worked like a miracle at first but I've been really bad for a few weeks so I don't know if it's stopped agreeing with me 🤷‍♀️