IBS and Pregnancy

[MumToBeMaz]

I am still in very early pregnancy (7 weeks) and have been getting severe stomach cramps that happen every time I go to the loo for the past 2 weeks. The past couple of days it has extended to before I go to the loo, almost like my bowels are telling me to go to the toilet.

The pain is horrible, I have to lie down in bed and squirm for about 10 minutes to find a comfortable position and try and control my breathing. Then about 10 mins later it goes away. Until I need the loo again...

I did call the EPU when it first started and they brought me in to rule out ectopic but everything was looking healthy in regards to the baby.

Could this be IBS? Is there anything safe to take for the IBS pain while pregnant? Or could it be something else?

I suffer with IBS. When pregnant the symptoms are so much better, it’s a lovely relief! I don’t know if that is common.

It sounds like it’s bowels related rather than pregnancy related, has anything changed in your diet perhaps? Dairy is awful for me, sets my IBS off. You really need to speak to the doctor again though.

@MooPointCowsOpinion Nothing has changed, apart from being a little healthier.
I've cut out caffeine and we don't get take aways, cut out junk food and drinking plenty of water. I've kept a food diary since I found out I was pregnant and cant see anything that would cause the pain.

I have an appointment with my midwife tomorrow so ill bring it up again, just wish I could press a button and make it stop though, hahaha.

@MumToBeMaz this is me!! I’m hoping my pain has been IBS rather than ectopic and I’m having a scan tomorrow to rule it out as well.

What vitamins do you take? I started taking pregnacare on 29th December and I had the worst IBS flare up in years on New Year’s Eve (I was on all fours rocking) and it hasn’t been the same since. I haven’t taken pregnacare today and my stomach seems to be a lot better... might be a coincidence but I’ll see how I am tomorrow.

I’m sorry I’m not much help, but you’re not alone with this, it’s awful. If all is well on the scan tomorrow I’m definitely be asking about IBS and how to control it. I hadn’t suffered in a long time until I became pregnant 😩

@Forest27 Hello! hahaha. It's the pregnacare ones I take too! I've seen a couple of posts recently about them but didn't put two and two together...

I'll switch them out for another brand and hopefully see a difference.

All fours rocking is exactly what I've been doing too! I nearly called NHS24 the first time because I wasn't sure what it was but the pain died down.

I hope labour is less painful.. hahaha

I had IBS prior to getting pregnant, about 3 months before I got my BFP I cut out gluten and dairy and it disappeared over night near enough. I’m now 11 weeks pregnant and still gluten and dairy free, and so far have been free from symptoms until this evening! Around 5pm I started getting horrible gas like cramps and by 7pm had terrible diarrhea - sorry if TMI. Literally came on so suddenly! Really hope it’s a normal pregnancy thing and nothing to worry about 😕

Anyway, maybe think about trying to cut out dairy if the issues continue, although of course you’ll need to ensure you’re getting enough calcium x

I have IBS, and I was suffering horribly for a few weeks--stomach cramps and diarrhoea every day. Once I realised it might be Pregnacare, I stopped taking them and switched to just folate + vitamin D. That solved the problem very quickly. I still have occasional issues (to be expected with hormones, etc.), but nothing as bad as when I was taking Pregnacare!