IBS and pregnancy.

[Helen290]

Hey so I wanted to know if anyone else suffered from IBS before they got pregnant and how they are coping now they are pregnant?, mine has been kinda ok however since starting back at work it's started again I get loose stools most mornings sorry tmi which also causes me to feel sick to be honest I'm not sure if it's morning sickness or my IBS, just wondering if anyone else is struggling or having symptoms of IBS?

Weirdly mine has been better since I got pregnant. Whether or not actually I have just been having normal dodgy pregnancy stomach and I'm used to having a tummy which is a mess though I'm not sure!!!

Hormones can play a big role in IBS and that’s why women often feel worse around ovulation or PMS time because of the surge or decrease of different hormones like progesterone. Your hormones will be going mad in the first few months of pregnancy so maybe that’s why your symptoms are flaring. Is your job stressful as that always makes mine worse as I worry about going in every morning

Yeah mine was well-controlled pre-pregnancy with the help of occasional Buscopan tablets but the GP told me I can't take them when pregnant and since then it's been...not great. I have HG and initially had severe constipation leading to piles and an anal fissure with bleeding for most of the first trimester then I managed to improve my diet/fluid intake and come off the medication that was making the constipation worse and now at 16 weeks the last few weeks I've been having mixtures of diarrhea and just loose-ish stools. It's annoying and I think I still have a pile or two, my bum is permanently sore and itchy .

Mine was good when I found out I was pregnant but since starting back at work I have started to get loose stools in the morning I am nurse at a GP practice so I don't feel I'm very stressed but I guess I could be I was aware the hormones could make it worse 😔 just sucks

Have you tried peppermint tea? I find that really helps IBS-related diarrhea/loose stools. Unfortunately I can't stomach it anymore as my sense of taste has gone crazy since I got HG but pre-pregnancy I found it super useful.

I am usually ok but suffer from more serious attacks rarely for a week, and was afraid one of these would happen during the pregnancy. But actually things were fine! I had loose stools in the mornings sometimes/ most times (i preferred it to being constipated though!) and some diarrhoea episodes, sorry for the detail, which may have been ibs or pregnancy or both.
I have never adhered to ibs diet, and in pregnancy ate better, but had lots more fiber which can set ibs off as well. Anyhow, I managed, just had to be careful with avoiding what I knew can set off IBS.

I was getting very bad attack's before I got pregnant like 6-7 times a day agonising pain but then it got better and I was slightly constipated but since being back at work it's started again just every morning I have one loose stool nothing usually in the day and no pain.
I try to avoid foods that makes it worse but it seems to be so many things it's insane I would just be eating plain foods I spent a lot of my life clean eating I don't wanna go back to that it creates bad habits, just worried it will cause problems in pregnancy apparently there is no research to say it will unless you get dehydrated I drink lots.