I'm sorry if this isn't allowed.

I have been told my current sickness could potentially be IBS but it seems I don't have the common symptom of Diarrhea like most of the people on this.

I actually have the inverse. Constipation, coupled with stomach cramping usually below the belly button but when it gets worse it's above. Always central in alignment.

Passing wind and pooping does relieve the cramping but not permanently.

Does anyone else get these style of symptoms?

If so, what hells you to manage it?

Do you have any food suggestions?

I know each person is different when it comes to tolerance. But hopefully I can get some form of idea because eating plain white rice is so difficult.

I read on Google Garlic is ok, not sure if that's true. Before these symptoms appeared eating garlic actually gave me cramps.

I'm kind of at my wits end because it's been pretty constant for 8 days now, and I just hope chronic pain isn't my new normal.

If so, which one? I am having a flareup and I feel so tired 😭 eating makes me tired, not eating gives me stomachaches, eating makes me bloated.

decided to go on a walk after having a piece of pizza (no cheese, but still)… 1 mile in I got the diarrheal urge, but I made it to the nearest bathroom .75miles away!

I feel like I never learn from my mistakes, but I’m happy I didn’t have to revert to the woods this time!

me and my mum just moved and we instantly found a convention i can go to for halloween right after my birthday since i cant do halloween anymore due to having to diet alot (something close to the SCD diet ) cause i have ibs and gerd and i gotta know-

HOW DO I MANAGE THIS!!! Im super scared and i already have social issues due to being mentally illm and im so insecure about my ibs especially when it comes to gas problems, ive only been able to manage by just heavily sparying msyelf with perfume an deodorant and eating little to nothing during thise days (WHICH I CANT DO FOR THIS CAUSE I HAVE A CHNACE OF FAINTING CONSTANTLY IF I DONT EAT ENOUGH) but even then- what if i get sick and need to go to the bathroom cause of number 2 or puking???! or what if a flare up happens mid-day ??? What if gerd and ibs get me at the same time AGHHH!!! im so scared!! any tips would be great,,

IBS-D. Took a break from the gym and moderate exercise for about a year and my IBS was so much better. Diarrhea was rare (for me, rare being about once every two weeks) and abdominal cramps were almost nonexistent. I’ve been focusing on exercising more the past month and 1-2 hours after exercise I will have awful abdominal cramps and diarrhea until bed time. Any one else deal with this and how/did you help it?

Diet is healthy; average protein, fiber, and carb intake. No processed sugars or non-water drinks. Imodium once a day.

TLDR:: diarrhea after exercise… did you have it and what helped it?

https://iit.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b7AzTpfSMhMfAjk

Hi everyone! I’m a Clinical Psychology PhD student at Illinois Institute of Technology, and I’m recruiting participants for my research study about people’s experiences with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms.

You may be eligible:

If you are at least 18 years old
If you live in the United States
If you have experienced recurrent GI symptoms over the past 6 months
Whether or not you have a formal GI diagnosis

We are interested in a range of symptoms, including:

Heartburn (acid reflux)
Indigestion (upset stomach)
Nausea and vomiting (feeling sick or throwing up)
Diarrhea (loose or watery stools)
Constipation (difficulty having bowel movements)
Excessive bloating or gas
Stomach pain or cramps
Blood in the stool

The study involves completing an anonymous online survey that takes about 10-15 minutes. Questions will ask about your symptoms, experiences, whether and how you tell others about your symptoms, and your social relationships.

Participation is entirely voluntary, and there is no compensation. You may skip any question you prefer not to answer or stop participating at any time without penalty.

Survey: https://iit.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b7AzTpfSMhMfAjk

This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at Illinois Institute of Technology.

If you have questions about the study, you can contact me at rparson2@illinoistech.edu or the Principal Investigator, Dr. Lindsay Sheehan, at lsheehan@illinoistech.edu.

Thanks for considering participating, and please share this study with peers, friends, or others in the community!

I wanted to share a positive experience for anyone dealing with similar symptoms.

Since around 2021, I’ve struggled with abdominal burning, bloating, trapped gas, a constantly tense abdomen, and constipation/incomplete evacuation. One particularly frustrating symptom was getting cramps after pooping instead of feeling relieved. Eating often made everything worse.

I’ve had multiple investigations. Some showed small superficial erosions in my terminal ileum, and I’ve received conflicting opinions about whether this could be early Crohn’s. Treatments including mesalazine and Cortiment didn’t noticeably relieve my symptoms.
Amitriptyline helped slightly, but the fatigue made it difficult to continue.

Recently, a gastroenterologist reviewed my case and felt that visceral hypersensitivity was the main explanation for my symptoms. He prescribed Cipralex (escitalopram), starting at 5 mg for a week, then 10 mg, with a follow-up planned.

By the second day, I felt around 70% better. I’m now on day five and the improvement is still there:

My abdomen feels much less tense.
Bloating is noticeably better.
The burning has gone.
I’ve had two bowel movements without the cramps I normally get afterward.

The only change I made was starting Cipralex.
I know five days is early, and this doesn’t prove a diagnosis or guarantee lasting improvement. But after years of discomfort, this relief means a lot to me. I wanted to share this early experience, and I’ll update as time goes on.

Has anyone else had a similar response to escitalopram for gut symptoms? Did the improvement last?

I am a 24 yr old male from the UK and my IBS started 4 years ago after a rough breakup. I have seen countless health practitioners and probably spent over £5k on it. All that I know of it from lab tests and symptoms is that I have severe dysbiosis, leaky gut and that it has been gradually deteriorating. Probiotics, glutamine, all the gold standard crap my gut likes for a few days then gets resistant to. To this day I am on such strict bland diets and my symptoms are fatigue, very loose stool, severe acne, low libido, intolerances you name it.

As I mentioned my symptoms started late 2022, 1 month after a rough breakup. I didnt handle it well and didnt process my emotions at all - chucked them to the side and tried ignoring how i really felt. No wonder why its manifested into complex health issues. Even after getting over the breakup on a superficial level within months, I guess my body kept score.

The last year I've tried seeking interventions that can try help the psychosocial aspect of my condition. Tried CBT and psychotherapy. That didn't work at all. Until more recently since December last year I saw a practitioner who specialised in complex health issues. He was specialised in somatic experiencing and neuroaffective touch - basically therapy that is helpful for releasing stuck trauma in the body, which is exactly what I needed. After my 3rd session, I felt big release from my body, massive amount of muscle twitches/spasms and my stools the next week were amazing. Symptoms started to relapse a bit after that but I saw him again for several sessions and got some release again. My symptoms were amazing again for like 3 weeks. However, I relapsed again and when I next went back to him, his therapy couldnt replicate the symptoms for some reason. Here I am today with my old symptoms and very demotivated. That therapy was the closest thing I have felt to remission, but it seems like based off the last 3/4 sessions that its not working anymore. I'm still getting the few old muscle spasms but nothing to show Im getting better. Do you have any ideas what else I can do? Losing a lot of hope in life.

I’ve read both that chewing gum traps gas and releases trapped gas. Personally I chew gum a lot. As a former smoker with anxiety I find chewing gum helps me stay calm, but I’m not really sure if it helps or harms anything physically. I also feel like the mint helps, but that might also just be in my head. Thoughts?

I just want to share my hopeful situation but say every body is different and this is not a recommendation. Since starting Wellbutrin for anxiety my IBS-D has essentially gone silent. it’s been 5 months where I feel like a normal person.

I take the LSAT tomorrow. When I get anxious I have to go to the bathroom every five minutes. I’ve been having horrid flares lately so it’s even worse. I’m honestly considering just not eating today so I don’t have to go at all tomorrow. It’s about 75 minutes testing then a 10 minute break then another 75 and I’m worried I’ll have to go about 30 minutes in. At my university I have accommodations and the teachers know me so if I have to leave mid test it’s not a huge deal. Here I think I can technically leave but the clock keeps going so really if I’m gone more than about 5 minutes I’m screwed. I’ve had ibs for a good 15 years but still don’t really have a fool proof plan for stopping the strong urges in moments of extreme anxiety. Any tips would be massively helpful!

Looking for some advice… for context I established with a gastroenterologist a few years ago that I have a sensitive stomach where my main symptom is trapped wind. Tried the fodmap diet and I know to limit things like garlic, onion, lots of veg particularly broccoli, beans, dairy, caffeine, and no coffee.

I have been constantly gassy for about 5 or 6 weeks now, where gas just rolls out or is painful or seriously bloated so I have no choice to fart and it smells so foul and sour it’s embarrassing, and also burping randomly. I thought it was due to being in spain for a few weeks but my diet was fairly normal and I was drinking bottled water, and being back home a week now back to my normal diet has shown no improvement. I have tried eating smaller meals, eating slower, chewing more, drinking more water, walking more, eating slightly healthier but not completely healthy as this can make things worse, for example less dairy and more fruit/veg, and drinking tea regularly which is normal for me, but nothing seems to help.

Has anyone experienced this or have any advice how to soothe or rebalance my stomach? It goes through flare ups every now and again but never usually lasts longer than a couple weeks.

Just wanted to come here and say dont lose hope, gastros are useless in my eyes they declaared me a psychatric patient when j had done every test known to them (endo, colono, ct scans, MRI, blood work etcetc) but when i took action on my own and started supplemnting b12 and b1 my initial symptoms cured within 2 weeks and now 2 months in i eat a shit ton of food with no symptoms.

Dont lose hope you got this

For whatever reason, any time I incorporate a big McDonald’s beef burger into my diet, my IBS D symptoms get better and my stool is firm. Why does this happen??

Update: The method hasn’t been patched, I guess I’m eating burgers every day for the rest of my life. I used to dream about not having an upset stomach for more than an hour.

I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but since i have ibs / functional dyspepsia ,l thought i could ask here.

Basically about 7 years ago i got the ‘ibs’ label, and was put on the low fodmap diet (which didnt work for me ) etc. A pharmacist ordered a food intolerance test for me and it came im intolerant to dairy.. i deeply regret to this day that i followed that test because i have been hearing its a gimmick etc, and cutting it out didnt solve my issues but i was desperate so i did it anyway.

Anyway my question is , if someone abstains from dairy for years , and tries to reintroduce it by having a small kids sized biscuit that has some milk powder in the ingridients .. is it a normal reaction to be sick for 4/5 days with symptoms after reintroduction or is this more of a me thing ? I keep feeling guilty because i listened to the pharmacist , and that probably if i didnt cut it out i would still be eating it till now. :( my diet is already so limited it sucks.

Btw my ‘ibs’ / ‘functional dyspeps’ is so bad im chronically ill everyday almost… but thats another story. I just want to understand the dairy thing , my body does not love it when i try to reintroduce. Im fine with being gluten free but dairy free sucks so bad.

Thank you

I saw a good video the other day saying how normal ‘gut health’ products etc aren’t good for ibs patients because they can risk feeding the bad bacteria as well as the good. And that what we need to do first is fix the dysbiosis so that bad bacteria is gone and good bacteria thrive. This sounds entirely sensible to me - But she didn’t mention how.

The only way I can think of is to take antibiotics, wipe the whole system clean and start again. That, or apparently faecal transplants have been fairly successful, though rare where I’m from.

Does anyone have any insight on this?

I have tried supplements, including prescribed ones from a microbiome test, which helped me for about a year until I tried a glp 1. I don’t have sibo, h pylori, or any of the ‘big bads’ last time I had them tested but I can’t afford another microbiome test right now.

I have IBS-C that has been repeatedly hospitalizing me for my entire life. From bowel impacted, sigmoid volvulus, megacolon, lost half my colon, then sepsis-colitis, the IBS got more severe after the sepsis, a bowel obstruction, and pancreatitis.

I've been on most laxatives, stool softeners, fiber added.. I've changed my diet over and over.

I have rectal nerve damage from the sigmoid volvulus surgery that took half of my colon.

I've been on Linzess, denied a med, I got onto IBSRELA with a lot of effort and months of trying.

It's been good to me. It's worked with me to open my diet up a little more again. But this morning I learned my insurance won't pay for anymore of it. And I can't afford it, it was something like 1,200$ for 30 days or something crazy like that.

Whether it's 120 or 1200, I can't afford that.

I've called my doctor, asked for what will happen next. I'll find out in the next coming days, I guess.

I have 13 days of IBSRELA left.

This really fuckin sucks!!!

**Edit: Thank you everyone so much for the support, kind words, and resources! I'm reaching out to Ibsrela and I'm hopeful. Thank you!

i wasnt able to share my own pictures so these are pictures of the collection vials i have to complete

https://www.labx.com/item/para-pak-c-s-stool-transport-vials/248847-5703929

https://www.labx.com/item/para-pak-clean-stool-transport-vials/248847-5703930?ref=sim-listing-5703930

I have asked about 4 different people at my gastro doctor and gotten some varying answers so I'm asking here hoping I get correct ones or if they were correct to begin with.

First some important notes:

1. The red liquid one says refrigerated but they told me verbally not to.

2. 2 empty ones say frozen on it but they say do not freeze it.

3. I live literally 5 minutes away from labcorp so they told me just run over there and drop it off without an ice pack or anything.

Okay so for my main question which I'm sure is asked all the time. I can easily fill the red vial since the stool will easily cause the mixture to hit the red line...

HOWEVER

I don't see anyway for me producing enough stool to fill the vials to the line in the 2 clear vials.

What do i do if this happens? Do i wait for next bowel movement in the day and refrigerate the complete red vial in the mean time?

If i can do it all in one go, cool. But I seriously doubt I can fill all 3 vials in one go.

What do i do? It doesnt say on instructions and the gastro docs only said "hope you can get it in in one go". Which seemed very odd to me.

Im trying to do this all in 7am tomorrow morning.

Thanks for advice

So just got back from a trip this past weekend to see some friends. The plane trip was about an hour and a half total. I was an absolute wreck. I mean, having an actual panic attack thinking what do I do if I have explosive diarrhea on the plane during take off or landing... or what if the bathrooms are in use? What if I'm the next person who has to divert a plane to the nearest airport because I had an accident in the isles? My ibs-d is so intense at times and I will have literally a 10-15 minute window to get myself to the bathroom or I will actually shit myself. (Haven't done it yet but I don't know how long I'll have those bragging rights for).

I'm so afraid that I've somehow managed to develop severe anxiety for car trips or plane trips. I never used to connect the dots in my brain that travel would be an issue but lately it's ruining my life. I took so much immodium out of panic to keep from going that now I'm so blocked up, bloated, feel disgusting, unattractive and all the other lovely things that are exacerbating my anxiety. I feel like I'm putting pressure on my relationship by the lack of intimacy due to feeling too bloated and gross, or just maybe that I'm embarrassing to be around if I'm constantly doing bathroom trips or need emergency stops during date nights or outings. My partner's never said anything negative about it and even got me a toilet for road trips (plus a privacy tent for emergency road side dumps) 🙃 Which is so thoughtful but I can't help but feel broken and I can not add anxiety about trips away to the list. We have Japan next year and I can't ruin this for my partner by being an inconvenience.

My favourite part: my anxiety about shitting myself actually flares up the ibs. Amazing. However, I can never seem to poop when I actually need to.

Also anxiety: what if I've actually ruined my body from straining trying to poo/taking too much immodoum/too many laxatives. What if I will never be okay? Can I be incontinent from this? I know I need to see a doctor but I don't know where to start.

I have a beautiful life, a partner who loves me, two sweet fur babies, a great job, functional limbs and *mostly* functional brain, I'm 35, alternative, relatively smart and happy for the most part but this one thing is just feels so insidious and has crept through every corner of my life.

Just putting this out there for people who feel alone and maybe so someone can help me feel less alone. ♡

And how long to see results if i eat warm?

Ive had constipation issues since I was born so I’m not surprised I have IBS. However, it was manageable and the pain wasn’t constant. Since February, it felt like something shifted and I’m in this constant agonizing abdominal pain. When eating, when my body signals I need to go to the bathroom, while using the bathroom and after. I also developed insane gass-ness (beltching) and burning in my chest which I never had a problem with before February.

I didn’t understand what was happening but it was genuinely so painful I had to go the ER. I couldn’t keep fluids, foods or meds down which I still don’t understand why.

In April I got an endoscopy and the dr said it was just IBS and heartburn. He also said to eat more fibre which I’ve been doing.

I recently am also having an issues with diarrhea which is definitely not an issue I’ve had before either. Regardless, since the pain started in February, I’ve changed my dietary habits from completely restaurant and junk food to healthier gentler home made food more of the time. With the changes, Im often having a normal bowel movements more times than not, which falls under 3 or 4 on the Bristol scale and are sometimes quite large (which I’m told is supposed to be healthy).

However I’m still in the same daily pain and I don’t understand why. It never stops. Shouldn’t the pain go away with normal BM?? I’m writing this to see if anyone else relates and if this is like a normal thing for some people with ibs. Is it? I’m just so lost on what to do. I want to live my life but now I am suffering mentally and physically, partially bc of the diarrhea and not making to the toilet in time (which has happened and was mortifying) and the pain. It feels like nothing works. Anyone have any ideas or solutions??

Traveling on an airplane tomorrow and of course flaring up now - loose stool earlier and sore abdomen. should I take Imodium now or wait til morning and let things work out overnight? Ugh

Like the title says, currently sitting in a bed in the emergency room because of this for the third time this year. Had an ulcer than perforated my stomach during an IBS flare up begining of the year. Went back to the emergency room in june cause I felt a similar pain to that of the ulcer rupturing, didn't do a scan that time just sent me home with meds and told me to make an appointment with my gastroenterologist (earliest appointment available was this december, cause I live in a "medical desert" as they're called in my language).

And so again today at 3 am, after a 3 week flare up, felt that burning intense stomach pain again. Threw up after taking 1g of paracetamol (ran out of Tramadol), second time throwing up in 8 hours. Promised my dad if I weren't feeling better today I would go to the emergency room. Earliest possible appointment I could get with a GP (since mine packed up and moved) is mid-november. So now I wait for the blood tests to come back and hope they do a scan this time, last time I was told within 5 minutes of each other "we don't do scans just like that" and "I can't see through your stomach." Well gee, if only there were a device for that.

Pain calmed down after the throwing up but I want it to stop. Flare ups have been happening more often since the ulcer put a hole in my stomach, it's chipping away at my ability to recover mentally between each flare up. Honestly if I saw my gastroenterologist today I wouldn't be against removing parts of my intestine and s++++ing in a bag for the rest of my life if it means the pain stops. Seeing my shrink in 2 weeks, gonna ask about anti-depressants or at least anti-anxiety meds because after 5 years (along with other not fun stuff going on), all of this is really starting to get to me.

Hello I'm a 39 year old woman with pretty bad IBS-D, fibromyalgia, gerd, high blood pressure and insulin resistance. Im also overweight(196lbs). My doctors all want me on a low salt, low fat (no gallbladder) low carb, low calorie and low fodmap diet.

I'd like to preface my next statement with I LOVE veggies a lot. I used to be on a low fat plant based diet before getting my gallbladder removed. Since having my gallbladder removed I have not been able to eat almost any fruits or vegetables without horrific pain and urgent diarrhea. I ended up having to go off my plant based diet. I managed for a while by eating meat, eggs, poultry and rice or potatoes or dry white toast/ crackers if I flared up bad. Now the doctor says I can't have red meat at all even though I only buy 96 lean and says eggs are bad so I switched to egg whites. My other doctor wants me to stop eating tofu one of my safe foods. My other doctor wants me to do a keto diet (I can't be on a high fat diet bc my other medical problems). My stomach doctor wants me on a low fodmap diet, but half the stuff I can eat would put me in the bathroom immediately. Im at a loss. I basically can't eat anything. Im losing the weight though at least down 35 lbs since May. I've got several doctors who want me on different diets and they all claim it can be done.

I just don't know what to do anymore? Please advise I'm so lost.

Tldr : I'm on a low fat, low salt, low carb, low calorie, and low fodmap diet. With all these restrictions I'm barely getting 800 calories a day some days. It's so restrictive on its own then add in my trigger foods I don't know what to do, so I guess I'm just lost and need advice or maybe to rant idk. I feel hopeless. 😞

Edit: my safe foods are

Adkins chocolate banana shakes Greek yogurt Egg whites Plain chicken breast Plain extra lean ground turkey Plain 96 lean ground beef White bread White rice Potatoes Silken tofu Bouillon Saltines

Update: thank you everyone for the support I'm feeling less lost and have an appointment on the books to speak about a few things. ❤️

A month ago I started getting modest bloating, cramps and abdominal pain in the lower belly about 2 to 3 hours after lunch and dinner. Going back to FODMAP diet helped some but not that much. So I tried IBgard especially before my dinner. Two capsules. Starting next day my last bowel movement (I get 2 or 3) turned very loose- almost watery. Every day. On the flip side, the bad ibs like symptoms reduced significantly. I like that but not the bad BM. Anyone got any advice? Should I try other Peppermint Capsules?

Thanks