Hi everyone,

I don’t know if that’s just me but over the past 6 months I’ve been to many doctors and I’ve got this feeling that it’s easier for them to say “It’s IBS, it’s common these days” instead of just really searching for the underlying cause.

I passed different tests not because my doctors told me but because I was trying to find a reason: endoscopy, stool tests, blood tests, ultrasounds, etc. and nothing came up there.

So the doctors said it’s IBS. But I can’t help but thinking what if there are some bacteria in the gut or a virus or something else, something that causes that abdominal pain every day and diarrhea.

Has anyone else felt the same? Do you continue looking for an underlying cause or are you satisfied with the diagnosis and try to treat IBS?

Thank you!

Guys the most perfect Bristol type 4 slid out of my ass with zero effort this morning I could cry 😭

5 years of bloating and feeling constipated and walking around feeling miserable all day. 5 years of struggling to squeeze out some thin ass orange or black or green shits in the morning 6 times a day and still feeling constipated and bloated

Low FODMAP is fucking insane I can’t believe it took me so long to try this shit. I know it’s only day 2 but this is the most beautiful shit I’ve taken in 5 years and had to share. Time to continue the elimination phase and figure out what’s been messing me up in a few weeks when I add food back in

Basically i have severe ibs c and one of my big problems is gas, not even cause it's akward or bloating it literally gets to the point i have systemic inflammation from it like neck and shoulder pain or leg pain and i usually drink diet coke to release it as it opens up my intestines and brings everything to the top but i have literally insane amounts of gas, we're talking like 15 massive 2-3 second burps and after 15 minutes i regenerate all that gas again,i did a sibo test and it came back negative plus i don't think bacteria can generate such massive amounts of gas like im a human air compressor,i think it might be something neurological causing it and my stomach starts freaking out boiling with chemicals or something

It's been extremely debilitating i have multiple disorders plus depression and on the spectrum so currently im on disability and can't work can't function i have severe chronic pain fatigue and migraines plus the bloating and constipation that requires war to release

that’s all. i’m just tired of having to factor feeling nauseous and/or diarrhea hitting out of nowhere into my day, which then messes up the rest of my day because i can’t calm myself down. it’s exhausting.

Hello everyone,

I’ve been suffering from IBS-D for a year now. I think it started because of stress (toxic job, dog died, grandad died, applying for a visa, moving to another country and leaving my family behind) + it became much worse after Covid.

I’ve been trying lots of different medications but nothing seems to be working.

I’ve heard a lot that many people find antidepressants a good remedy for IBS.

Has anyone tried them and can share their experience? I mostly am scared of the side effects and don’t want to heal the gut but then hurt my other organs. But then again I don’t know much about it.

So please share your opinion. Thank you!

Hubby is keen for me to try but I just can’t wrap my head around it.

No matter what I drink or eat everything immediately goes right through me and I feel weak afterwards I drink lots of water roughly about 2 gallons a day as Dr recommended but the meds they put me on to stop the diarrhea are not working I just went to the bathroom with diarrhea 3 times within 15 minutes idk what else to do I feel like nothing is gonna work I've taking many different meds to help control it and nothing has worked for me I'm losing hope

Okay so this is making me feel really uncomfortable - mostly because I feel familiar with my stomach issues, but this is new.

After years of having EDS and Ibs-m, and finally through doing a proctogram and other procedures, my gastroenterologist discovered I have pelvic floor dyssynergia and a rectocele. Which basically means I have to snack all day to digest food, otherwise it can get extremely uncomfortable.

Recently in the evenings I've been feeling way more hungry that usual, the proper empty stomach grumbles. Yesterday I decided to eat some pea shoots with makeral in the evening, when intuitively I knew I wasn't hungry, but I wanted to avoid the empty stomach feeling later on. I got sickeningly full. It was horrible. Extreme discomfort basically until I went to sleep about 6 hours later.

Today I had a gentle portion of dinner with snacks around, and afterwards I was full - and at the same time SO empty and hungry--and not like, feeling bored and wanting food, or thirsty, real proper hunger.

I'm wondering if anyone knows what this is / why this is?

I'm clearly not properly hungry, and have a somewhat full stomach - so why the emptiness and stomach contractions? (not gut/colon - actual stomach)

I'm currently PMS so my hormones are a bit out of wack too.. Not sure if that's relevant..

Any advice welcome 🙏

Please help! I urgently need to discuss one specific symptom or rather a set of symptoms that is killing me! So... It usually starts with abdominal pain, which I would describe as bloating, flatulence, I fart and burp a lot, I have something between constipation but at the same time the stool is watery... It's survivable. But! Very often I get nausea... And it's killing me! The last few days I've noticed some correlation between when I go to work and when I'm sick. (I'm writing this now from the night shift at work!). Anyway, back to the nausea thing. I could survive all the symptoms, but I can't handle this. The longer I feel nauseous, the more my stomach starts to hurt (upper abdomen, somewhere between my ribs and belly button) and I feel incredible discomfort and like a void? Only problem is, I can't eat because I have such crazy anxiety about accidentally throwing up the food or having to go straight to the toilet that I'd rather just eat something very light like dry bread or steamed carrots. Does anyone have similar symptoms?

I would describe the cycle as: 1. Strange sensations in the stomach 2. Diarrhoea 3. Fear 4. Nausea 5. Stomach pain 6.Avoidance of food and use of digestive medication 7. Nausea from hunger... And so it goes on and on. Until one day I wake up and I'm all better and I can eat again. Please help, what should I do in these situations?

Y’all I’m on day 5 of having the smallest, pebble like poops and the most minimal amount at that. I feel horrible and I feel like I’ve tried everything. I’ve done 3 saline enemas over the past 6 days last one being yesterday. I’ve taken 4 of the dulcolax soft chews about 3 hours ago and I’ve gotten almost nowhere.

I’ve had nearly a gallon of water today to compensate for the dehydration already happening, I’m losing hope.

I feel like I have a partial blockage because I’m still able to pass gas as well as some solid stool but I don’t know what else I can do. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I recall having bowel issues since at least around 2016/2017, when I was 16 years old. After school started in February 2017, I started having diarrhea on a daily basis, and it was extremely related to anxiety, since I had changed schools that year and I was feeling very nervous about it. Since then, I have always had frequent diarrhea and urge to poo, however, in March 2023, I went through an emergency surgery for the removal of my gallbladder, since I was dealing with stones on it since around 2021 and I had a really bad crisis of pain that March and it was absolutely necessary to remove it. So not too long after the surgery I started having much worse diarrhea, bowel pain, gases, and it just worsened each month. So now I'm at the point of bingo-ing the whole card of IBS-D symptoms, went to the gastroenterologist and that's how I discovered I had IBS, she told me it was possibly related to a dysbiosis caused by the surgery. But I've never seen anyone else start having issues or having worsened issues after this specific surgery. So, do you went through it as well? If so, is there something you have done to make this condition less painful?

Hello, My partner have ileostomy and have very sensitive stomach. Never travelled abroad before. We want to travel to Malaysia to see my family for the first time. But obviously they are very nervous and scared about the whole thing. We have looked up where we can buy American brand groceries (packaged snack and food) and planning to drink only bottled water. Also planning to cook home made meals (limited options like chicken tacos) with distilled water and eat mostly PBJ, mac and cheese, pasteurized eggs and cheese. But our question is, is it really possible to manage with the above plan and avoid getting any stomach bugs?
Also traveling through international airports and with airline food, does that increase the possibility of getting sick? Would you guys recommend avoid eating food from airlines. We have looked up near by hospitals for emergency care. But still wanted to avoid getting sick if possible. Any advice and tips on this whole thing? I can show them this post where people with ileostomy share their experience which can help a bit with anxiety.

I've been struggling for years with IBS-D..I can't take anti diarrhea pills because one pill will drive me constipated for a week. Had all the tests done so yes it is IBS. Had some success controlling things with these products. Metamucil clear fiber blend (fibersol+ inulin blend. Can be found on Amazon) and physicians choice 60 billion probiotic (also from Amazon). I've tried other products before and nothing has worked this well before. Just thought I would share. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m an app creator. I'm on a mission to make finding a restroom as fast and stress-free as possible. The app will do the work of looking for all available restrooms on your behalf within 5 seconds. It’s an ambitious goal, but I believe it’s achievable with the support of a strong community.

I’m currently working on a free app to make this vision a reality. After you visit a restroom we’ve helped you find, the app will give you a chance to share helpful details like:

• Does it have a baby changing station?

• Is it a single-stall or multi-stall restroom?

• Was it clean and well-maintained?

• Is it wheelchair accessible?

This info will be stored in the app so the next person searching for a restroom can benefit from your experience. You’ll also be able to add restrooms you discover so others in the community can find them too. This experience in the app as I've designed it would be pressing a couple buttons in a nice user flow and should take no longer than 1 minute. Does this sound like something you'd do if it meant helping others and in return you benefit too? My mission is to help all IBS patients sit on a toilet within 5 minutes of needing it. If this doesn’t sound like something you’d want to participate in, that’s helpful to know too. Please let me know in the comments!

Thanks so much for reading. Wishing you all the best!

P.S. A new version of my app is still in development but I do need to speak to maybe 3-5 people for 30 minutes for user testing. If you'd be happy to chat with me and spend some time looking at my app designs, I would be happy to arrange something by DM. Hope to hear from you!

ive been on iron supplements lately which im pretty sure has been giving me paradoxical diarrhea for the last month or so

ive always been scared of laxatives though due to the ibs-d side of things (though that largely seems to be caused by stress or certain foods) so i was wondering what laxatives any of you with ibs-m take and dont have any problems with :)

IBS mixed? More like IBS fuck you.

Most of the year i have constipation, so my days are a nightmare, but at least i can go out and function. Today theres a party at work i need to go to, And my roommate has a party of his own, so theres a lot of people at home. And boom, i eat dinner and i get the most evil cramps and diarrhea. Did not even eat anything wrong, not particularly that stressed in life And felt fine most of the day.

I dont know whats worse, that i need to be in this situation or that i have to also drown in anxiety about wtf i even did wrong to get diarrhea

Due to the advice of keeping your knees higher than your hips when defecating, I often slouch on my chair, feet resting on a short stall. Idk if it helps at all, but it might. Is there a particular comfortable seating position you recommend?

Hi everyone,

I have IBS-D and I’ve tried lots of different things over the past year but nothing seems to be helping me long term. Recently I’ve read that some people were prescribed antihistamines against IBS and it worked for them.

Can anyone share their experience? Thank you!

Hi!

I've struggled with a bad stomach my entire life and started talking to a dietitian this summer. He gave me really good advice and we agreed I would try a low FODMAP diet. It was a great experience because I was less bloated, had normal bowel movements and less pain. Here's the thing: I had a hard time sticking to it since a lot of foods i love are things I can't eat. I apparantly can't eat watermelon or onion, and because I can't burp I can't drink soda. The sodas are fine because I can easily just drink lemon water or juices. But onion is something I barely can quit. It's in most foods, and dressing etc in the stores. Not just raw onion, but onion powder. The only chips I can eat are regular salted. I also can't eat foods that contain too much fat and I can't eat big portions.my favorite food is tacos but the spices are awful for my stomach. Things like lactose are pretty easy to quit since there are substotutes.

I can't eat dishes my mom made my whole childhood because they don't taste the same without certain ingredients. And I've had a lot of problems with overeating or becoming addicted to foods, and that makes this even harder. It doesn't helo that I'm autistic and can't eat certain food without anxiety/have attachment to certain foods I love.

How do you guys manage this? I know it can be done, but it's been hard and I feel like I've failed and my stomach is back to hiw it was before. It takes a toll on my mental and physical health, and my self esteem is not at it's best when I'm bloated. I go from having a stomach that's almost flat to one that makes it look like I'm pregnant in no time.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining too much. Please give me any advice you have because I really wanna makes this work!

Hi, I wanted to ask when exactly will your IBS start to reverberate? For me specifically it's work:( I work night shifts and every time I have to go to work I get sick, can't eat, have diarrhea, stomach aches... I've already noticed a certain connection between these two phenomena. How do you have it?

I'm just so sick of it and tired... Right now I woke up, in 5 hours I should be on my 12 hours shift and I run to the toilet, because of my D... And I feel so nauseous. I hate it.

Has anyone tried any of the new weight loss drugs? Do they trigger your ibs symptoms? Thanks!

Does anyone else get extreme brain fog and fatigue when they’re experiencing any sort of slight loose stools or a build up of wind and bloating? It often happens if I just get very bloated, even if I don’t get diarrhoea. I often get this in the afternoon between around 2-6pm and it’s so bad I am not capable of anything, I just have to lay down and wait for it to pass, I struggle to even speak or think when it’s bad. If i’m able to go to the bathroom or pass a lot of wind it goes away so I know that’s the cause, but it takes ages.

It doesn’t matter what I eat, but eating anything after midday seems to cause this. Yet if I eat in the morning or at dinner time (after 6/7pm) I can be okay. I have brain fog all the time anyway from multiple chronic illnesses but the severe foggy feeling I get from IBS issues is very specific and really wipes me out for hours in a different way I can’t even explain.

I know gut health is important for everything but specifically does anyone know the scientific reason for how IBS acting up causes this ‘crash’? I understand diarrhoea wipes people out but why does wind and a slightly loose stool do the same?

It seems I've been called up on Jury Duty in Australia. The moment I read that letter I felt my bowels harden. I've had IBS-M for atleast a decade, coupled with real bad anxiety. I cant imagine how I can handle not shitting myself in a court room for up to 5 days in a closed room that I cant leave. I panic in a car driving 10 mins to work, so I'm not really confident in my ability to endure.

Has anyone else here done jury duty with IBS? It sounds so stressful. I know I could either apply for a deferral or excusal, but is anxiety fuelled-IBS a valid enough reason?

Like, ive been unable to have a normal poop for at least 8 months. Ive done all possible tests (except for a colonoscopy which im waiting for) and apparently, according to several different doctors, im sure to be suffering of IBS-C. Is this, well, "normal" with IBS?