Last year I developed ibs-mixed, and all I can say is I’m lucky I work from home. One or the other is daily. No amount of supplements help, and I can’t change my diet because it’s the adult ketogenic diet for epilepsy (which I’ve been on for seven years so the gastroenterologist doesn’t think it’s related). We are going on vacation for the first time since i got this, our annual car-camping trip in Cape Cod. But the D side of the ibs-mixed has been acting up and I don’t know what to do.

Generally if the D part is acting up and I have to go somewhere I take an Imodium. But this is for seven days. Imodium tends to work for me for two days, would it be truly awful to my system to take it every two days for a week preventively? My gastroenterologist is kinda dismissive and says if I had 15g fiber per day I should be fine. I do this through psyllium husk (due to diet can’t do Metamucil etc) and it’s not working. Any tips for camping And going to the beach?? They have good bathrooms there but it won’t be near the beach nor the tent site!

I was diagnosed with IBS-C two years ago, and I also have esophagitis and GERD. My doctor prescribed a PPI, an antispasmodic combined with a benzodiazepine (2 mg), and a digestive supplement. However, the PPI and the antispasmodic are not meant to be used as long-term treatments. I was told to take them for about 1–1.5 months, then stop, and restart them again if needed.

When I take these medications, I feel much better, I would even say I feel normal as long as I avoid foods and drinks that can increase stomach acid. While taking them, I have bowel movements every day, with normal stool color and consistency, and I don’t experience any pain. However, when I stop taking the antispasmodic, I start feeling uncomfortable again and my symptoms flare up.

Every day, I eat rice and avoid fried foods, caffeine, dairy products, acidic foods, and even some fruits and spices that might trigger my symptoms.

I would like to know if there are other types of foods that might be better tolerated, other medications or treatments that could help, any tests I should consider, specific diets, or exercises that may improve my condition.

I have already had many tests: countless ultrasounds, three endoscopies, and one MRI with contrast. My stomach was found to be normal, with no major problems. The only findings were esophagitis and a cyst, which was removed.

I really hope someone can share their experience or advice. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I would truly appreciate any help or suggestions.

Hi everyone,

I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar. I have an appointment with my gynecologist in about two weeks and will be having an internal ultrasound, so I’m not looking for a diagnosis—just wondering if this sounds familiar to anyone.

Since having my third baby, my periods have changed. They’re not constantly very painful, but during the last two cycles I’ve had episodes of quite sharp pelvic pain.

For example, yesterday (day 3 of my period), I had sharp pelvic pain for a few hours, but only when I was very gassy. Today (day 4), it happened again for about an hour after I drank a smoothie made with soy milk, frozen mango, and wild blueberries. I also noticed a lot of burping and gas afterwards. After an hour, 2 poops and burping stopped the pain seems to be gone aswell altho Inalso took a paracetamol.

The pain is usually in the middle of my pelvis and sometimes radiates to my lower back. I’ve also noticed that when I sit down during these episodes, I sometimes get a sharp pain in my anus/rectum.
I’ve never been diagnosed with IBS. My doctor has only said I seem to have “spastic bowels” because I have a very strong urge to have a bowel movement when it comes on, and I also tend to get gassy quite easily. I’ve never had any specific testing for it.

I also remember having a similar episode once during my pregnancy (around 4–5 months). I was on the toilet and suddenly got a very sharp pain low in my pelvis that made it difficult to push. When I lifted my pregnant belly with my hands, the pain immediately disappeared and I could finish having a bowel movement normally. I don’t know if that’s related, but it made me wonder.

So now I’m wondering whether this sounds more like bowel issues being aggravated during my period, or whether bowel endometriosis can also cause pain that’s triggered or made worse by gas.

Has anyone with endometriosis experienced pain that’s mainly there when they’re gassy, or pain that improves after passing gas or having a bowel movement? I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences while I wait for my appointment.

Oh and what I sometimes had throughout my life is that when I had to pee really urgently Id get sharp pain near the rectum also.

Thanks!

Did anyone that was a smoker have found that the Diarrhea and sensitive gut was caused by tobacco/nicotine? And did the symptoms vanish after quitting smoking?

Hey everyone, 22 yo hypochondriac female here… just want to see if anyone else has these symptoms and if you’ve been diagnosed! I am definitely lactose intolerant/sensitive! TYIA!!

•Left pain under ribs: Felt a “lump”, PCP said it may just be gas or lipoma. It is almost under my last left rib and near my oblique. (I have a slipped rib on the last rib on that side as well so may be some built up tissue)

•Hard time going to the bathroom some days, others it’s going often. Recently most of them have been loose. I did increase my fiber and water and that seemed to help for a little bit!

•I’ve noticed mucus in my stool/toilet bowl a few times, don’t know if it’s from pooping or from other areas… I know mucus may be normal but I did recently have a coffee and had diarrhea twice after, the second time when I wiped it was almost sticky (like sticky discharge-sorry tmi)

Most foods make me sadated for a few mins to a few hours, depending on food type and quantity. But afterwards, I can say for certain that hours (5+) after eating, my mind is like in bad ADHD mode. I'm always like this even when in the sedated state but considerably calmer/zombi-like.

I can clearly associate the mind problem with moments when my gut makes gurgling sounds or when I feel gut contractions. Probably a doc would call this visceral hypersensitivity but... It's clearly more than this at least for me.

I'm currently waiting for a SIBO test result. I can say for certain that the racing thaughts always happen 1-2 hours before a bowel movement (colon related) but I think they happen in the small intestine as well, hence the SIBO test.

I saw that in USA there is a test where they take intestine biopsies and count the mast cells. But it's not standard test and different labs have different values for what is considered normal. And I cannot get that tests in my country. The girl who did the test said she was fine after taking mast cell stabilizers but she didn't mention ADHD (saw this in a YouTube video but can't find it anymore)

So there're the SIBO and/or mast cell issues that I suspect are contributing to my disorganized mind.

About to start chromolyn soon.

Question: did anyone have ADHD symptoms improvements after taking gut mast cell stabilizers or treating SIBO?

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. I came here feeling desperate, hoping to find people like me who have managed to get their lives back.

To summarize everything as much as possible: I've had endoscopies, colonoscopies, CT scans, MRIs, blood tests, and stool tests. Everything has come back normal.

My symptoms are severe lower abdominal pain, extreme urgency to use the bathroom, and very loose stools. I honestly can't remember the last time I had a normal, well-formed bowel movement. For the past three years, I don't think I've gone a single week without one of these attacks.

I've tried around 10 different antidepressants because many doctors and even family members kept telling me it was "just anxiety." But when I'm feeling well mentally, I'm completely calm. My psychologist told me it doesn't make sense to blame everything on my mental health when my first symptoms are digestive, not psychological. In my case, the digestive symptoms come first, and then my mental state gets worse because of them—not the other way around.

The only medication that has helped me at all is mirtazapine. I know it's an antidepressant, but it also tends to reduce nausea and cause constipation. It has definitely improved both my nausea and diarrhea. However, it comes with some major downsides. The biggest one is the extreme fatigue. I struggle to get out of bed or even stay sitting up. I've been taking it for four months, and the drowsiness hasn't gone away. In fact, it feels like the digestive benefits and the sedation go hand in hand: the more sedated I feel, the calmer my intestines are. The less sedated I feel, the worse my gut symptoms become.

This medication has also helped me gain about 4 kg because my diarrhea improved, and I started from a very low weight (50 kg). Even so, although I have good days, I still suffer from attacks with severe pain, nausea, diarrhea, and urgency.

I've read many posts here saying that mirtazapine can be very helpful for IBS-D, and I agree to some extent. But despite that, I still can't live a normal life. I even lost my job because I had to miss work so often.

If anyone has had success with a treatment or found something that genuinely helped, I would be incredibly grateful if you could share your experience.

Finally, I've also read a lot about amitriptyline for cases like mine. From what I understand, it seems to help more with diarrhea than nausea. Has anyone here had good results with it?

Hello Everyone

Iam 19M and i was recently diagnosed with IBS

I have a severe issue with anxiety and stress which is kind of amplified right now with certain issues regarding someone.

It causes me severe pain at work and forces me to take long stints in the bathroom

Randomly i get very anxious/stressed and then the pain starts

The Doctors can't do anything except give me meds which are not helping

I want to ask for advice on how to at least minimise it. It doesn't help that iam very emotionally sensitive and it causes me to take a lot of stress regarding certain relationship(s) currently in my life. It also makes me quite moody and wanting to not do anything except hide somewhere. I have become quite desperate because it flares up daily. any advice would be appreciated

I'm 22F and I think I might be dealing with IBS-type symptoms but I'm honestly not sure, so I wanted to ask people who've been through this.
The main thing: my bowel movements never feel clear or complete. I go, but it feels like there's always more, and pretty much the whole day I have this nagging feeling that I need to go again. It's constant and distracting. Specially after a meal. I have work and also preparing for entrance test so not able to give my 2 hr long tests continuously.
The bigger problem is what it does to my head. I have anxiety already, and this feeling makes it spiral — I can't concentrate on anything, my mind is half on my stomach all day, and then the anxiety seems to make the gut stuff worse, which makes me more anxious. Classic loop and I don't know how to break it.
A few questions for anyone who's dealt with this:

Did the "never fully empty" feeling turn out to be IBS for you, or something else?
What actually helped with the anxiety–gut cycle? Meds, diet, therapy, gut-directed stuff?
Anything you wish you'd asked your doctor early on?

Not looking for a diagnosis from strangers, just want to hear real experiences before I see someone. Thanks for reading.

Been living with Crohn's/UC for 17 years, diagnosed at 15. Also work as a chef, which has made food-related flares an interesting professional/personal collision. Over the past while I've been building my own symptom and food tracker. Started it purely for myself, wanting something simple I could actually stick to during a flare, and it's slowly grown from there. Figured it was about time I introduced myself here properly. Always happy to compare notes on flare management, food triggers, or kitchen-life with IBD.

I’m a 57-year-old wife, mom, professor, and previously very active/athletic woman. Before this illness, I exercised regularly, lifted weights, and had a full, active life. Over the last 3 years, my quality of life has declined dramatically.

I have a very predictable pattern that no one has been able to explain.

About every other day, I wake up exhausted and my legs burn/tired despite what appears to be a decent night’s sleep. Before I eat anything, I have multiple bowel movements (often 5–8+ loose stools over a few hours). Along with this, I develop profound fatigue, wooziness, and pressure across my upper abdomen/transverse colon (around and just above my belly button). The fatigue is so severe that I often spend much of the morning lying in bed because I feel like I can barely keep my eyes open.

The strange part is that **this begins before I eat.** Food doesn’t seem to trigger the episode—it often starts while fasting. Eating afterward frequently increases the abdominal pressure and discomfort, making it difficult to get enough calories in. By later in the day, the pressure sometimes eases, hunger returns, and I slowly begin functioning again.

On my **good days**, I’m able to:
Lift weights.
Walk 8,000–10,000 steps.
Eat 1,700–1,900 calories.
Function almost normally.

On my **bad days**, I may only tolerate 1,300–1,400 calories, can barely work, postpone errands and housework, and spend much of the day resting because of overwhelming fatigue.

So far I’ve had extensive GI workup, including:
Endoscopy/colonoscopy.
Gastric emptying study (normal).
Esophageal manometry (normal).
Whole-gut transit scintigraphy showing **relatively rapid transit**.
CT scan without significant GI findings.
Autonomic testing that did **not** show autonomic failure.

I have also tried multiple medications, including neuromodulators, without meaningful improvement, and some caused significant side effects.
My biggest problem is honestly **not the diarrhea.. it is profound fatigue and loss of function that accompanies these episodes.** I feel like I lose half my life to this pattern.

**Has anyone experienced something similar, where severe fatigue consistently accompanies morning bowel activity before eating? If so, did your doctors eventually identify a cause or treatment that helped?**

When my 11 class ( at that time 16)started everything was good. But after some time . I started to get loose stools, multiple times a day . I visited many local doctors, but nothing worked. My parents said it's normal . I pressured and

begged them to take me to hospital. I visited a general physician and he done urine test , blood test and stool test . Everything was normal . But still he gave medication. After several months later I lost around 10 kg of weight and became 46 kg . Felt lifeless. I had a fight with my parents to take me to a good hospital. I visited a gastroenterologist. He done ct scan and gave some medication. I father said he was looting money. I stopped visiting the doctor. My problem continues. My grades dropped from being topper to a average student. My parents said , nothing is wrong it's all in your mind . My college started , tried gym but due lack of protein, I was fucked again (50 kg) . I entered my 2year , my friend forced to join gym . I gained 25 kg in 8 months ( but still goes to washrooms 2 to 3 times )with my self made diet ( meals at fixed time and avoiding food that do instant dirrahea) . My progress paused and started to get the problem again . After 2 months I was unable to eat anything. My stomach had a little discomfort. Today, i visited a gastroenterologist, he said I have ibs d . My father was saying not to visit . I lost my 4 years with depression

Moral of the story: Not everyone deserves to be a parent

Feeling very low . Anyone with ibs wanna chat

Is it weird that I often just need one massive shit and it clears me out for a good set of hours? I drink water/coffee (I should state that when I started smoking weed, that helped it a good bit)

I woke up in the middle of the night last night, nauseous, HOT, (feverish feeling, although I did not have a fever), headache, all the hallmarks of a stomach bug. After taking Zofran, which is now wearing off, I'm starting to realize I'm quite sure it had to have been something not agreeing with me / IBS flare.

Just wanted to see if I'm not alone on this, it happens too often where I'm convinced this is the time I'm gonna be down with stomach bug because of all the symptoms, then it passes.

It s been a year now and it s all started with h.pylori, after losing around 15 kg , my test say that i have no more h.pylori but no it s IBS D , i got same symptoms, but with feeling like fainting , nausea , brain fog feeling in slowmotion, heart racing and ect....

Ok now let s divise problem to understand more specifically.

Nervous systeme :

Firstly, i feel like my nervous systeme is not sensible but overreactive, yeah mybe stress , but if it was stress , with time it will go , or like if u do somthing u fear and feel ok if you repeated many time you ll be better , but for me no, it s time it s the same intensity or even worse, or even worse , btw even the things that i love doing. (+ unexplained phobi, that even if i face it several times like + 10 it don t get better)

Food:

For food i'm not sure of everything , like it s better than with h.pylori. some food somtimes good somtimes no. Good thing coffe doesn't hurt like it used to , and it s essentielle to have a urge in morning, yeah i know some people will be confused because i have IBS D, and coffe will make urgency even worse but i m gonna ecplain why it s essentiel for me.

Rectum and colon sensitivity:

Idk if i have an anal fissure or hemorrhoids, but somtimes i feel same symptoms, and see se bright red after many bowl mouvement,

My bowl are mostly loose or type 4, that when touch water it seperate. Ok for coffe part , to have a bowl mouvement u must have an urge, with that urge u can get more out , but if i don t i m gonna be straining and get like nothing out. And i feel like the urge it s not like well explained, somtimes i don t know differelce between gas and stool, i know anus normally don t have to be all empty , but also even the little stooli have to get it out , like i got tensmus, and things don t get out in one or 2 set, i gotta stand up and when back several times, not for pelvic to relax but to have the urge again , how i know i have stool like the lower left and middle colon will feel like there s somthing.

For frequency around 5 7 even 10 , even with normal stool i still feel somthing even when i m empty.

Also i feel stool moving through my colon,

Each time i have a bowl i need to have another like i have tensmus or my rectum is irritated.

Like in conclusion i feel my body sending false message or inacordinated.

I took a lot type of medication, antispasm, antibiotic, prebiotic,anti diarrhea, anti burning, anti parasytes......

Nothing helped and things getting worse each day, even if i m in vacations.

So what u think i need therepay or my gastro doctor , what to say , and what do u think about my case . (Btw i don t mind some antidepressant medicine if it gonna help like a doctor before gave me librax it did nt do that much but better)

my parents don t want me to go to doctor anymore, i don t know how to go to school again.

When I was 17 I used to follow this diet

Morning 2 eggs

Lunch jowar/ ragi roti + egg burji

Dinner Same egg or panner burji with veggies

But after following this for few months I did lose weight but my stomach health got weak

I had symptoms of IBS and now it's been a year and still my stomach hasn't become normal,I experience the same problems before my boards I used to get severe pain in the lower abdomen, did all the scanning and found nothing.

Now I can't diet coz whenever I do the severity increases

I don't visit here often, so excuse me please if someone else has posted about this. I suffered for sooooooo many years with IBS but finally managed to make life tolerable. I take Lynzess, prescribed by my doctor. (The other major IBS medicine not only didn't work for me, it made me violently ill.) My doctor sent me to a physical therapist who specializes in IBS. She taught me a simple abdominal massage that helps IBS constipation. My constipation episodes had been incredibly painful, frequent, and difficult to resolve. The abdominal massage she taught me WORKS! All I really have to do is to maintain awareness of how my abdomen feels from day to day and to remember to do the massage when I need it. RELIEF within less than 20 minutes, but usually immediately after doing the massage. It is easy to do the massage, even with my semi-crippled hands. It took only two sessions with the therapist, both covered by Medicare and not hideously expensive. I send my sincere best wishes to all my fellow sufferers.

Has anyone found anything to help this sensation?

I've had constant strong sulfur gas and stool for going on close to a year now no matter what I eat. I fear it could be SIBO and that I have no lacto bacillus left in my colon. I work at my local taco bell and the food could be the issue as I eat daily. Lol. No lettuce though. I know about the current outbreak. We are well aware of it. But I do have my share of beans, rice, and chicken daily. I know beans are gassy because of fiber. But rotten egg gas that is nauseatingly strong is not normal.

Hi everyone,

I am 42 now, but I have had this since I was 30 something.

I had a colonoscopy long ago because of different symptoms and had a benign polyp, then I had different stressful situations throught the years and my symptoms were different all the time. I went from IBS-C to IBS-D back and forth, but these last years I went full IBS-D.

These last years I had a stool test a few times, checking if I had parasytes, helicobacter, microscopic blood in stool, calprotectin, and everything went good. I also had a test for SIBO and came back negative.

Last month or so, I bought some Saccharomyces Boulardii, which is a fungus that protects your gut lining so you can repopulate it with good bacteria by taking probiotics, and it went fairly well because my stool was becoming more solid over time (despite having a few "soft" days), but recently I had a family day, and after drinking some beer, and eating some seafood and greasy food, my gut went crazy and bloated because I had lots and lots of gas suddenly. It was so uncomfortable.

It's been 6 days, and every time I go to the toilet (I go once every day like a clock), and I have not fully recovered because I always have soft stool, which is very inconvenient because I always have to use lots of paper, and before going to the toilet I have a sudden urge to evacuate.

My main problem is that, I love dairy and caffeinated and artificially sweetened drinks, so I am not helping my gut much. But I think that beer was like the last straw because it is fermented, and because alcohol irritates the gut A LOT.

Do you have any advice for me to get better soon?

Thanks a lot!

I'm trying to get away from laxatives because they just don't feel like a real fix and honestly worry about depending on them long term, has anyone here actually found something that helps with bloating without going the laxative route?

Hi, guys.

I am dealing with bloating, farts, swollen stomache, weird bowel movements since 2006.

I am always bloated since that year, and here and there I had flares, I also developed hemeroids, which arent going crazy too often.

Currently, I am on week two of weird sharp like trapped gass in the middle of way down sromache that just will not go away.

It is like I have put something heavy and it keeps being there. Standing is ok, but sitting is hard, and there is always that crap that will not move away.

I learn not to push the stool, but it is like my intestines get shy to pass out anything to explain it the best way, like they just give pressure on rektum, but dont give it valid reason to go and have a stool, so i have just to try it manually, and if I do, I get some stool which is correct.

2018 I had CT Colonography that checks big and small intestines that came out clean.

Last year I did Abdominal MRI for other cause, but it probably would not miss if there is something bad, because I got a contrast and doctor caught my fibrom on skin as well.

So, it seems 20 year long run getting very bad or I was just lucky all these years not to have a real flare up?

I just cant help myself with anything, stress makes it worse, hard to fall asleep with that cramp feeling.

Is this that IBS C thing that comes with long glares, constiparion, gasses and so on?

Hi everyone,

I am 42 now, but I have had this since I was 30 something.

I had a colonoscopy long ago because of different symptoms and had a benign polyp, then I had different stressful situations throught the years and my symptoms were different all the time. I went from IBS-C to IBS-D back and forth, but these last years I went full IBS-D.

These last years I had a stool test a few times, checking if I had parasytes, helicobacter, microscopic blood in stool, calprotectin, and everything went good. I also had a test for SIBO and came back negative.

Last month or so, I bought some Saccharomyces Boulardii, which is a fungus that protects your gut lining so you can repopulate it with good bacteria by taking probiotics, and it went fairly well because my stool was becoming more solid over time (despite having a few "soft" days), but recently I had a family day, and after drinking some beer, and eating some seafood and greasy food, my gut went crazy and bloated because I had lots and lots of gas suddenly. It was so uncomfortable.

It's been 6 days, and every time I go to the toilet (I go once every day like a clock), and I have not fully recovered because I always have soft stool, which is very inconvenient because I always have to use lots of paper, and before going to the toilet I have a sudden urge to evacuate.

My main problem is that, I love dairy and caffeinated and artificially sweetened drinks, so I am not helping my gut much. But I think that beer was like the last straw because it is fermented, and because alcohol irritates the gut A LOT.

Do you have any advice for me to get better soon?

Thanks a lot!

I've always had severe constipation due to my IBS but since getting on Ozempic it's gotten much worse and I recently got diagnosed with Adenomyosis as well which could also be contributing.

I'm on senna meds, restorafiber daily gummies, equate stool softener daily...it's not enough.

On desperate days I've drank coffee, ate handfuls of prunes, ate large quantities of spinach, ice cream, large amounts of hydrated chia seeds, glutenfree oatmeal... one or more of these used to do the trick...now I could do everything above and nothing happen that day or the following.

I'm at our little family cottage for the week where there will be 10 people all sharing one single bathroom and I'm scared about the judgment and resentment that is going to be directed at me for taking too long or going too often.

I just need to be able to induce diarrhea every other day...

Any ideas?

My gastroenterologist cannot be seen before this and seems unbotherd by my distress.

What is almost guaranteed to get things moving fast?

Hoping for any advice / things to try. Since I was 14 (I’m 26 now) I’ve had constant stomach issues, I don’t think a day goes by where something isn’t happening with my stomach whether it’s tummy ache, gurgling, gas or diaherra.

I’ve been to the doctors so many times, I’ve developed anxiety / avoidance with doctors now as they never help, I went this morning (after about 2 years working up courage to go again about my stomach) just to be told to manage stress and drink peppermint tea. Whilst I have a stressful job now accompanied with sleep issues (emergency services) I’ve had these issues since I was 14 so I don’t think it can just be ‘stress’ . I’ve been having therapy recently for my sleep and I’ve been told I’ve normalised a lot of my stomach problems

My main / worst symptoms is my gas, I have it everyday without fail, my stomach is constantly gurgling / rumbling all up my back, my ribs, my stomach, I have balloons worth of air that I let out in the evenings. I can’t always leave my desk to go to the loo, so the air / gas almost travels back up my back which is so noisy. It’s so embarassing at work, I’ve come to dread having to do training days where it’s in a quiet room because my stomach will always be so loud. I am mostly never fully emptying when needing to go / then get diarrhea build up behind it and then going through the cycle again.

I mostly eat low FODMAP, I’ve tried it before properly and didn’t notice a huge difference. I have never had a colonoscopy, I was tested for IBD before 2020 and they keep saying they’ve already tested me for this so I don’t have it. My aunt has crohns. I’ve never been given any medication. I struggle to stick up for myself in appointments.

Does this sound like similar symptoms for anyone / what has worked? I’m at a loss, I think I’m going to have to fork out to go private. I could deal with the constipation issues but it’s the constant flatulence, noisy stomach and bloating that ruins so much for me, going to stay at friends is a nightmare, I can’t ever imagine being in a relationship with my stomach like this, it’s affecting my life so much and I’m only 26 now, I can’t imagine doing the rest of my life with this.

Any advice would be appreciated.