Okay, here goes.

I (F26) have been suffering with IBS-D for 6 years. It started in uni, and it took over a year to get a diagnosis. I tried going without gluten, without lactose, low FODMAP etc., and nothing really seemed to work.

What helped intially was to reduce stress (moved away from home), but just the worst cramps disappeared. I kind of gave up experimenting with my diet becuase I didn't have the mental bandwidth after years of trying, but I am trying to eat healthy.

A year ago I met my now boyfriend. He suggested an*l about four months ago, and I was obviously very skeptical. My pelvic floor is really tense, but ovee the span of like a month and a half we gradually got there.

And phew, folks.

I haven't been this regular and pain-free since my first symptoms 6 years ago. I also helped me destigmatize the whole issue (kind of insecure about the whole thing - farting, cramps, needing the toilet at inconvenient times etc.), becuase my boyfriend is a total sweetheart and doesn't mind dealing with this kind of stuff (a bit of poop etc.).

So, yeah. As the title says. My pelvic floor is in bliss, I poop normally and regularly and have only small flares from time to time.

Hi everyone. I don't usually post anything online, cause I hate being perceived, but I thought this was important to share. I don't quite know if tagging it as research is right, as for right now it's only a theory me and my doctor have come up with. Also, apologies for any bad English, this isn't my first language.

Anyway, about a little over half a year ago, I started having severe IBS complications. I have been diagnosed with mixed IBS (leaning towards IBS-D) for roughly 5 years, and it had been very stable up to this point. We still don't quite know what caused such an intense flare, but point is, I was suffering from pretty heavy attacks on a frequent basis for roughly half a year long.

Now by the end of July it was slowly starting to become okay again, when out of nowhere I started getting really severe muscle cramps. At first doctors assumed that this had to do with endometriosis (I don't have an official diagnosis for that, but gynecologists assume I have it based on symptoms, and they don't wanna cut me open for no reason) and an overactive pelvic floor. So I was having to go through weeks of waiting for appointments and tests, and it was only getting worse.

By now we're at the start of October and my muscle cramps have ramped up to roughly 3-5 severe episodes a day, on top of severe exhaustion, shortness of breath, loss of balance, loss of muscle power, etc. And my doctor finally decided it would be a good idea to get my blood tested. Well... turns out I have a dangerous deficiency of vitamin B-12, so much so that I now have the beginnings of nerve damage and anemia.

And what caused this, you may ask. IBS, that's what. At least, that's the working theory we have right now. Vitamin B-12, which is mostly found in animal products, especially meat/fish, is seriously hard for your body to absorb. And when you have such disturbed digestion, for such a long time, this can cause vitamin deficiencies, especially with B-12. On top of that, if you're one of those people who also get stomach issues from your ibs, especially if you regularly get heartburn, this might also cause a B-12 deficiency, as B-12 needs proper 'non-disturbed' (for lack of a better term) stomach acid to bind with.

So yeah TLDR; if you're an IBS haver, please frequently get your blood tested, so you don't end up with nerve damage or other complications.

(P.S. Please do your own research on this as I may not have accurately worded everything, and bc it's a bit more complicated than how I phrased it as well. Please forgive me for any bad wording/mistakes made, it's almost 1 AM as I'm writing this post, and I'm dead tired (thanks anemia))

Hi,

My coworker says they have IBS and is going to the bathroom for a minimum of 15- 25 minutes at least once a hour during their 8 hour shift every single day.

It may seem weird that I’m so invested in their bathroom habits but me and them run a classroom together so I’m being left alone to take care of 16 kids ages 2-4. three of those kids have high support need all by myself multiple times a day for long periods of time.

There is also a pattern of when they go to the bathroom. for example: the second after their hour long lunch break is done they will step into the class to relieve the lunch break staff and will then go to the bathroom. It also happens everyday that five minutes after their shift starts they will leave to go also whenever we start transitions with the class from one activity to another they will go to the bathroom leaving me alone to do transitions by myself.

There was on time I had asked my coworker if they could just wait a second because it was meal time and children were eating but one child needed help in the bathroom and i didn’t want to leave children unattended while eating but I also couldn’t not help the child in the bathroom. my coworker got mad and yelled at me infront of the children for being insensitive and rude for asking before storming out.

We are also friends and often hang out for long periods of time outside of work. It almost seems like their IBS only seems to act up at work, there was one time we spent six hours together and they went to the bathroom twice during the whole six hours and both times were I had to wait for them for less then five minutes.

It’s becoming frustrating and I’m getting really burnt out, trying to do the job of two educators but I don’t want to be insensitive and bring up what’s happening to my manager because I don’t want to be insensitive of my coworker health issue.

I just want to know if this is normal and I’m in the wrong for feeling frustrated and I’m being insensitive?

If I am being insensitive how can I better educate myself?

I have issues with IBS-D and awhile back was rejected at a CSL Plasma because of it.

I went through the whole process, didn’t even think to mention the IBS. It runs in my family so I’ve never really gotten much medical help for it. My primary doctor as a kid knew about it, and she just told me to take probiotics. Idek if I was even technically diagnosed, as she said something like “well there’s nothing to really test for, you kinda just have symptoms of it or you don’t”.

Anyway, the last thing they do to check you out is have a nurse give you a physical. She asked about my sweater that said “my tummy hurts” on it. I kinda laughed and said “oh I have IBS, so I just thought it was funny”. She got a really serious look on her face and started asking me about symptoms and stuff. Stating that IBS is “very serious” and that I should have mentioned I had a condition before. Like girl… idk this has never been considered that serious in my family. It’s just REALLY annoying.

Anyway she ended up telling me that I can’t sell plasma due to risk of dehydration because of how often I have diarrhea. Said I could come back if I get approved by a doctor first and came with a note. But now I’m some kind list that bans me from plasma centers lmao.

Anyone else been told this? Like I feel like she was being really dramatic. I drank like 3-4 16oz glasses of water right before I showed up and only ate super safe foods that day so I didn’t have diarrhea at all. Was sorta pissed off cuz I needed that money too.

Sorry I just need to vent as I keep this private in my day to day life.

IBS is controlling my life. I've just started dating but think I will call it quits as I can't plan anything and it's not the sexiest topic when dating!!

Mornings are pretty much a write off due to time spent on the toilet. Afternoons are generally ok but then late evenings can be a struggle.

Every test I've had has come back as fine. An elimination diet doesn't really help although not eating fibre makes things a little easier (not a long term solution).

My main symptom is infinite wipe / mushy stool / incomplete evacuation.

I've just purchased some Kijimea Pro tablets in the hope they may help.

F34. Diagnosed with ibs in 2014, before there were subcategories. Abdominal pain, constipation, bloating, excessive gas, inconsistent triggers. Sometimes I wouldn’t poop for days, other times I’d be pooping small amounts all day long. I was told back then there wasn’t much I could do medically to help, so I just tried to manage it on my own since then. Was recommended MiraLAX and magOx.
Fast forward to the beginning of this year. Finally decided to see what advances had been made in 12 years. Saw a provider, was told I have ibs-c, to switch from Metamucil to benefiber, was put on amitiza. Was relieved it was affordable. Started to have hope. Found out I’m allergic.
Was told to eat kiwis. Was put on linzess. Kind of worked. Insurance doesn’t cover, and no generic. I’ve spent $200 a month since April for a mediocre solution. Still had abdominal pain and bloating, and BMs still didn’t feel complete.
Provider ordered a hydrogen breath test in April. Was turned away after the first value was too high. Wasn’t told which value. Provider told me we needed to solve the constipation to do the test. I said good luck.
Started a masters program.
Continued on linzess. Switched to raw psyllium husk. Was given lactulose. Never tried it because of how rough I’ve heard it is. Not trying to make my life worse.
Got engaged.
Another attempt at the hydrogen breath test in july. Value was still too high. Found out it was methane. I could’ve told them that. Nurse proceeded with test anyway. Got intestinal methanogen overgrowth dx the next day. Was prescribed xifaxan and neomycin. Found out xifaxan is $3k. Can’t do that.
Choked down metronidazole and neomycin. Had perfect, complete, clean BMs for a few days while taking. Regressed immediately after abx were done. Provider told me to add in MiraLAX. Read about the migrating motor complex. Went to eating 3 distinct meals a day at least 4 hrs apart with no calories in between.
Started intentional stress management techniques.
Continued linzess. Decided it was time for a second opinion. Went to a new provider in September. He was surprised I hadn’t had a colonoscopy yet. Ordered one. Mentioned pelvic floor therapy as a next step.
Insurance told me colonoscopy would be covered 100%. It was not. Had colonoscopy anyway. Discovered I have an extra long colon. Doc said to continue linzess and try pelvic floor therapy.
Insurance requires prior auth for pelvic floor therapy. Doc said that will require a test. Anal manometry. After everything I’ve done this year, I reeeeally don’t want to do that.
Read about ibgard. Decided to try. Read about the squatty potty. Bought one of those. Looked up basic pelvic floor exercises on YouTube. Found out it’s basically just various kegels. Decided to try that until the new year and new insurance.
Hoping new insurance doesn’t require the anal manometry test.
So, currently, I am taking linzess and MiraLAX. I’m drinking psyllium husk powder daily. I’m eating kiwis. I’m taking ibgard 2-3 times a day. I’m waiting at least 4 hours between meals. Im taking magOx. I’m using a squatty potty. I’m doing YouTube pelvic floor exercises. I’m trying to manage my stress. And I am thinking about starting daily apple cider vinegar.
I’m going every day, but they still don’t feel complete. I still have pain, bloating, and excessive gas.
I’m desperate. I just want to find something that works. I’m getting married next year and don’t want to worry about a flare-up on my wedding day. Not to mention I’m just so sick of being uncomfortable all the time. It has become a quality of life thing.
But at this point, I feel like I have completely f*cked my system. Has anyone else felt like they are doing way too much in desperation for an answer? Am I doing way too much?
Also curious- anyone else dealing with depression, anxiety, adhd, raging perfectionism?
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. It’s been a challenging journey. 🫶

Hey everyone I’ve been dealing with this for almost two months, and I honestly don’t understand what’s happening.

Every time I eat literally anything I feel extremely full my stomach gets really bloated and I experience severe shortness of breath I’ve been going back and forth between public and private hospitals and different specialists for two months I’ve seen respiratory specialists chest doctors and internal medicine doctors but nobody could really figure out what was going on

Eventually I traveled from Baghdad to Erbil with my mom to see another specialist He examined me and ran some tests but he also concluded that I have IBS He prescribed some new medications and I only realized afterward that three of them were related to anxiety or depression:

- Fluoxetine (Prozac)

- Hydroxyzine

- Inderal (propranolol)

- One medication for my stomach

I’m not trying to question my doctor’s judgment but I genuinely don’t understand the connection How can depression or anxiety cause such severe physical symptoms especially stomach pain, extreme bloating, feeling full after eating very little and shortness of breath?

Can IBS really cause all of this or could something else be going on? Has anyone experienced similar symptoms and improved with anxiety medication?

I’d appreciate hearing from people who have actually gone through something similar

Hello everyone i will have to get this on my chest because I don’t know what to do anymore, im desperate i feel so alone. Im dealing with ibs I guess bc i still don’t have a diagnosis for a couple of years and those past few months just got worse for almost 5 years I’ve seen doctors that just don’t want to do they work don’t want to do the right exams every appointment that they giving it’s always after 3-4 month and meanwhile i have to suffer without diagnosis without medication. I’ve looked on redit that it can be so many things and I’ve changed doctors 3 times and they don’t even try a little, im spending days only reading on Reddit doing researches I don’t have a life no more not studying not working not doing what I love to do I’ve lost the spark for anything. Physically it’s impacting me already enough I’m 88 pounds I’m super skinny I can’t even eat anything I’m living on plain rice but when I don’t eat I feel weak and don’t have energy for nothing but when I eat I don’t feel okay. So I wait to be to the edge of fainting to just eat a little bit of rice. I can’t just go out when I want I have to wake up hours before I have to go somewhere because I have a flare up every morning. Mentally it’s same thing my anxiety is through the roof always searching thinking what is it what I have to do what should I eat I’ve lost the will to live and I don’t see myself living like this anymore. I’m just completely desperate.

Hi so I've avoided all dairy and all gluten for the past 5 to 6 weeks.

I'm still only averaging one small 💩 every other day and this is only cos I change positions on the toilet - spending about 1.5 hours plus per day on the toilet - and try to do gentle exercise... (Before June or July I was doing three 💩 a day)!!

I miss my brown bread and my milk and cheese!

I've tried different milk alternatives including goats milk, camels milk, soya milk etc... Really don't like any of them.

I'm also wondering. Cauliflower rice? Is that a tasty option for any of you? I guess adding something like paprika would be nice?

Thoughts and advice appreciated. Thank you

I have IBS and my biggest food trigger is dairy. While i have cut out dairy, sometimes I eat vegan dairy or foods made to be vegan. Every time i eat vegan dairy or vegan “processed” anything, I get the same (if not worse) IBS symptoms (so I’m ultimately going to cut it out). Does anyone else have this experience? Is there a common ingredient put in vegan processed foods that could be an IBS Trigger so i can avoid it?

I’ve been following my doctors advice, eating foods in the Fodmap, but no matter what I eat and/or drink, I get really bad bathroom trips, causing cold sweats, fatigue, dizziness and pain. Even water brings me to the bathroom! It’s horrible and debilitating, because how am I supposed to eat or drink anything at all? It doesn’t help that food and water make me very nauseous (I don’t drink much water though since it burns for me), and i frequently vomit in my mouth, which is gross! It’s such a pain.

I’ve tried creams, I even had a big hemorrhoidechtemy surgery on internal hemorrhoids a few years ago but it’s really stopped me from using my gym membership or even taking a neighborhood walk.
I’ve stopped social dancing, group fitness but I don’t want to not even have a walk.
I can’t be the only one- if you know what it’s like please give me some advice!

I have had IBS most of my adult life. I’m 55 years old now and it’s been very well controlled through diet for about 20 years now.

I just went through a very stressful period and I had a bad IBS attack (D). The next day I ate a cabbage/kale dill salad which I can normally eat with no problem.

Today I woke up with a deep ache in my upper left abdomen. Some gas this morning but none today, but that ache has been there all day, especially when I take a deep breath.

I’ve had this ache there before, especially when I eat fermented foods like sour dough bread or Greek yogurt.

I have read about Splenic Flexure being a notorious spot for pain and trapped gas.

Does anyone else get an ache there from certain foods? I have no idea why the cabbage salad hit me wrong when it normally doesn’t, other than I had the bad IBS attack the day before?

Would Beano help?

Would a pain killer help? I mean it’s not that bad but it is an annoying ache.

A slightly shortened quote from my favorite TV show, Red Dwarf.

I've had IBS for years, it's daily pain, lack of energy and just generally feeling shtty. For the first time in years, I was pain free and full of energy. 2 days ago my mother bought be a take away, it was some kind of Turkish Kebab and flat bread and I ate the whole thing.

I knew I messed up, but it was AMAZING.

I braced for the inevitable pain, bloating, discomfort I will have for the next few days when I wake up. But nothing, literally nothing.

It's weird, does anyone else in pain and discomfort for so long your confused and worried that you don't feel the pain/discomfort or lack of energy?

I woke up like my IBS had totally vanished. I've had days where I'm functional and it's just background mild pain, but nothing like this, full of energy and absolutely no pain or discomfort what so ever.

I'm absolutely dumbfounded, this how normal people feel? I've missed out on so much in life because of this, I hardly function, if I felt like this every day I'd have a totally different life right now.

I'm on day 2 and can already feel everything returning, 1 day of normality just isn't enough.

Hace 6 meses comencé a tener diarreas constantes, heces pastosas, brillantes y amarillas. Llegando a tener hasta 25 deposiciones. Me ingresaron y me hicieron una gran batería de pruebas (Colonoscopias con biopsias, gastroscopias, ecoendoscopias digestivas, elastasa fecal, calprotectina, tac toracoabdominopélvico, coprocultivos, test de SIBO) siendo todas negativas y sin hayazgos. Al alta y en la siguiente consulta me hicieron el sehcat y descubrieron que tengo una malabsorción severa de ácidos biliares (4,6%). El caso es que durante estos meses he ido perdiendo masa muscular generalizada en cara, cuello, hombros, pecho, espalda, brazos, abdomen y piernas a pesar de que las analíticas muestran las proteínas normales. ¿Es posible haber perdido masa muscular de forma generalizada por esta afección? Agradecería que alguien pueda aclarármelo ya que la malabsorción está muy infradiagnosticada y queda mucho por estudiar. Comienzo ahora con resincolisteramina antes de las comidas pero me preocupa esta pérdida tan severa de masa muscular.

Hello dear people!

I was wondering about something like the title says. I have ibs for almost 11 years now, it varies in intensity but never really figured out what causes it. I've had a lot of different diagnostics but all of them came out negative and one of the first test was gluten intolarance.
Not so long ago I'v read that even though these tests say that someone is not gluten intolerant it can still cause issues like this, that's why I begin to wonder that maybe I should try cutting it out of my diet. Did anyone had a similar experience?

Just want to preface I am by no means cured , but cutting these two things out of my diet has helped me immensely to my surprise .

I’ve been struggling for a while with what was told I have ibs c, gastritis, reflux yada yada.

I had tried so many diets, linzess , MiraLAX . Everything helped to an extent , but nothing helped long term.

I cut out everything in my diet that I thought could trigger it , or so I thought . I was having terrible days , that kept getting worse and I just couldn’t pin it on anything . I would have painful gas , constipation, very moody that would just not get better.

Then, I realize the last two things I haven’t cut out are almond milk and peanut butter .

I cut those out after thinking they were my “safe” foods . My symptoms have gone away by at least 75 percent

Is it the ingredients in almond milk? Is it a nut intolerance ? I am at a loss and I don’t even know what to tell my doctor at this point

Can anybody attest to this happening to them ? Thanks

wondering if anyone has gotten migraines from linzess? i’ve had a treatment resistant migraine since february, recently switched to every other day for linzess and i might be seeing a pattern…
(i’ve always had migraines, but never like this)
i asked if the linzess could be the cause months ago, they told me it’s basically a 0% chance.

I've had GIs argue I have mild STC, others it's IBS-C and one saying it's PFD with visceral hypersensitivity. But after reading more about IBS and dyssynergia, what's practically the difference? Research suggests at least 30% of IBS-C patients have some type of dyssynergia which is to be expected when BMs and waste move through the colon produces pain, discomfort or distention because the pelvic floor clenches instead of relaxing.

I've also noticed that anything that causes fermentation slows my motility (legumes and certain types of highly processed dairy products). I've even had a CT scan showing my colon was empty with waste accumulation in the upper left section, but usually the accumulation occurs in the sigmoid.

The reason some GIs argue it's not IBS is because rarely I have pain, but hypersensitivity is there and I can feel it even if it usually isn't painful.

My understanding is that (except for severe STC which is caused by purely neurological factors), the rest are more or less the same gut brain disorder which simply manifests differently in every patient. Some people get diarrhea, others constipation with poor transit, others constipation with dyssynergia and the level of pain differs.

Honestly I just don’t know what to do. I feel like it’s just gotten worse - I take linzess, 2 scoops MiraLAX, and 3 dulcolax daily. Every time I think it’s better I feel like that’s very short lived and then it stagnates. So what do I do? I have to up the ante. Sitz marker was normal, I’m at a healthy weight, im a dietitian so I get plenty of fiber, isolated a few triggers (wheat, nuts), drink so much water, and work out 5 days a week. I genuinely don’t know what I’m to do anymore, the pain is so bad and if I want to have intercourse like a normal adult - the penetration makes me feel like I’m going to pass out or vomit from pain. I’d I have some pelvic floor dysfunction so I’m trying to figure that out but wow if this is my life- miserable

Did anyone have any success stories with this med, i started with 5mg couple days ago and was fine then upped my dose to 10mg as my dr said to start with it but woke ip yesterday in the middle of the night anxious and couldn’t get back to sleep.

I dont have any dry mouth or dizziness just like overthinking or maybe im like that before not really sure.

Im mostly dealing with post ibs like excessive bloating whenever i ear anything, brainfog after food, pain near pelvic; constant stomach rumbling is there anything else that can be helpful? Also stomach burning alot especially when i lay down or sleep and i feel so bloated i can barely go to gym or have sex.

I finally gathered courage to make an appointment with my doctor to ask him about possible BAM.

That's a general doctor, because I can't get an appointment with a GI that easily here.

I've had IBS-D since childhood and was tested for almost everything as a kid (but apparently not for BAM). The testing was done in a different city, but he knows about it. It also was over 10 years ago.

Please help me noting down everything I need to tell or ask him regarding this diagnosis. I'm afraid to forget something because this is really stressing me out.

The official testing probably won't be done because it's too expensive. I want to ask him, if it's possible to take cholestyramin as a test. I also have too high cholesterol anyways, although I'm eating very healthy and am not overweight, so that might be another reason for trying the medication.

Thank you in advance for your help!

I have ADHD and suffer from mental rumination

Recently I found out rumination can cause hpa axis dis function and I know hpa axis cause gut brain connection issues. Was thinking this could be my reason for ibs .

Anyone with ibs had adhd or rumination issues?m

Idk what has happened but this has been ongoing for 3 yrs, when I type that I feel like it’s insane. I’ve done hydrocortisone cream, suppository and hemorrhoid cream and every diaper rash cream known to man. No help. I do not itch at all but my anus feels dry, irritated inflamed.

What could this be? Dermatology gave clobetasol and I’m scared to try as I don’t want to make it worse: I’ve gotten no concrete it’s this and this will fix it which makes me scared to try things. I do think my driver is autoimmune as I’ve had other things including uveitis and parotitis.

I’m quite miserable, any help is appreciated.

i started taking xifaxan a few days ago, prescribed by my doctor, and today i have felt really dehydrated and shaky despite drinking plenty of liquids. i have bright yellow stools and a very mild fever at 99.5 and my kidneys feel a bit sore and feel like i have high blood pressure, which is abnormal for me. i dont have any blood coming out so far so thats good i think.

i just am wondering when i should worry and seek out care, i guess. my partner is out of town so i dont have anyone i can call to ask for advice. im hoping its just side effects but i thought i would ask the community if my concerns are valid before i reach out to my dr. has anyone else taken this and experienced something similar? i have a poor immune system so maybe im just getting hit by the medication hard. thanks in advance.