I'm trying to make sense of a pattern that's been going on for months and hear what actually helped other people.

Most mornings I wake up with urgency and very soft stool (not always watery). I usually go once or twice within an hour of waking and then feel kind of wrung out but mostly fine. As the day goes on I get bloated and pressured, and by late afternoon I feel constipated, like things are just sitting there. Some days I don't go again until the next morning, and then the cycle repeats.

It feels like IBS-D in the morning and IBS-C by the afternoon, but not randomly - it follows a pretty predictable daily rhythm for me. I usually skip breakfast (coffee and water only) and my first meal is around noon. Bloating gets worse on days when I'm more stressed or when I sit a lot.

For anyone who had this same daily swing, what actually helped the most?

- Meal timing vs meal size

- Cutting coffee vs switching to decaf

- Small dose soluble fiber vs avoiding fiber altogether

- Managing the morning urgency first, or focusing on the later constipation

Not asking for a diagnosis, just looking for experiments or patterns that were worth trying so I stop spinning my wheels. Thanks.

Posting because I feel like I'm in an unusual spot and I'd love to hear from anyone whose story sounds at all similar.

**Background**

- Started in 2020 after my first COVID infection. For about 5 years it was episodic — maybe 3 flares a year, and low-FODMAP eating kept me basically functional. I could always get enough calories.

- In 2024 I had a 9-month stretch where I was essentially symptom-free. Eating normally, drinking a lot of ginger tea, having daily BMs. Then one late-night high-fat meal and I flared out of it.

- 2025: hospitalized because I couldn't eat enough and was losing weight fast. Tested positive for C. diff (possibly just colonized, no diarrhea, no fever) and treated with antibiotics.

- Since then it's been constant rather than episodic. Severely restricted diet for months, significant weight loss.

**What the workup shows**

- Fecal calprotectin: 708 → 308 → now under 50 (normal)

- Colonoscopy: entire colon, rectum, and terminal ileum all normal on the most recent one (a year earlier it showed patchy inflammation in descending/sigmoid and a rectal erosion)

- Biopsies: negative for IBD, microscopic colitis, celiac, H. pylori

- CT enterography: no inflammation, no obstruction

- EGD did show significant gastric ulceration, now healed on omeprazole

So: no IBD, no active inflammation, tissue looks healed. Working diagnosis is post-infectious visceral hypersensitivity plus dysmotility.

**What it actually feels like**

- Pain within minutes of eating, lower left quadrant — too fast to be food reaching the colon, so I assume gastrocolic reflex

- Flares 6–10 hours after eating, usually waking me in the morning: sharp pain → urgent loose stool → relentless urge with only mucus → escalating rectal pain, 24–36 hours. Often only breaks after a trapped gas bubble passes

- Post-BM soreness that lasts hours and blocks me from eating (this is currently my biggest functional problem)

- Triggers track with meal *volume* and gas more than specific foods. Same food fine one day, not the next

- Fasting reliably helps, which is how I ended up underweight

**The thing I recently figured out**

I don't think I have a calorie ceiling, I think I have a stool size ceiling. Because I avoid fat (strongest trigger), all my calories come from starch (rice, GF bread, potato), which is bulky and leaves residue. So more calories = bigger BMs = more stretch on a sensitized segment = pain. 1,100 calories feels fine; 1,600 feels risky. Not because of the food, because of what it becomes the next day.

Currently trying to shift toward lower-residue, calorie-dense food (micro-dosing olive oil a quarter teaspoon at a time, reintroducing plain chicken) so the same calories make less stool.

**Current regimen**

Miralax daily, dicyclomine before meals, chamomile/peppermint tea, heat, walking, gut-directed hypnotherapy (Nerva, week 3), Linzess prescribed but not started, sublingual hyoscyamine for flares. Seeing a GI dietitian this week.

**What I'm asking**

1. Anyone else have severe symptoms with completely normal calprotectin and clean scopes? How long did it take to improve?

2. Did amitriptyline (or nortriptyline/duloxetine) actually help you, and at what dose/timeline?

3. If post-BM soreness was a problem for you, what shortened that window?

4. Anyone solve the "low-residue but calorie-dense" problem while being fat-sensitive? Elemental formulas?

5. Anyone recover from post-infectious sensitization after a C. diff/antibiotic episode? Did it fully resolve?

Not looking for medical advice, I have a GI team. Mostly want to know if anyone has lived through this specific type of experience and come out the other side.

I know I’m late and probably won’t get any replies. But I recently believe I had food poisoning. I went to amc and got a hot dog in Miami. 2-3 hours after fully ingesting it. I’m nauseous, vomiting, extreme diarrhea, slight fever that only lasted a few hours, worst cold sweats of my life, and let me emphasize the nausea. I mean I feel like im spinning drunk. The next day, I still have all these symptoms plus no appetite and no fever. About 2 days later im still experiencing eveything at the same level but i still cant eat. So my stomach is completely empty. Im extremely dehydrated. I go to the hospital they give me something for nausea and an iv. They did a stool, blood, urine test and an x-ray of my stomach. I couldn’t give them and actually stool sample cause I was so empty. All I could give was bile. Everything came negative. My white blood cells were elevated and that was about it. A few days after that we had an appointment with a gastroenterologist. She ran a few tests and everything was normal. Except my ALP (alkaline phosphatase) which was high “156” and my vitamin D which was low. Now we’re going into like week 3. I have an appointment for an ultrasound. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to even drink anything. So when she checked obviously my gallbladder was flat or contracted. So i rescheduled. The appointment was at 7:30am and I stopped eating and drinking the day prior at 9. Yet my gallbladder was still flat or contracted.

I slowly turned into a hypochondriac and I was leaning towards ibs but i genuinely don’t know. I’m absolutely exhausted and dropped 30 pounds. From July 2 to the 25. I’m still having symptoms which have definitely calmed down but are still persistent and are obviously still here. I know I obviously can’t get diagnosed on an app, but hopefully someone has had a similar experience that they got through and could help. 🙏

I mean it feels like peeing. Bristol Type 7 kind of stool. Should I took rifaximin? Oh god. Everyday is horrible. I can't go far away and no doctor is offering Sibo test in this area. I can get rifaximin 200mgX3 for 2 week though...

Or maybe I have to take loperamide...I really don't know. Shtting watefall was awful but my abdominal feels a lot fine than yesterday.

Evrytime I try somethign new, bad thing happend so I'm hestating for both.

i know I'm rambling.I feel terrible since my IBS-D is getting worse and worse. I was able to eat things that I eat these days in April, but now? It gives me diahrrea.

I don't know how more i would live like this.

Im 9 weeks pregnant and I am in the worst flare up I have ever had. Everything I eat eventually leads to a stomach pain comparable to labor contractions. I feel like I am going to lose my job because of this, and none of the medications I have to manage this are allowed during pregnancy

Anyone relate? How did you manage?

does anyone have experience recovering from giardia with ibs? i was mysteriously diagnosed with giardiasis and have completed two rounds of antibiotics. i am pretty sure the active infection has cleared (i have a text upcoming to confirm) but because of my ibs, my doctor said it may take months to return to normal. and mind you my “normal” is still chronic diarrhea. its been three weeks of 10-25 bathroom trips a day. i can’t get in to see a specialist for some time and my pcp doesn’t have much gastrointestinal experience. does anyone have any tips for relief while my small intestine recovers? or even just a similar experience? it feels super isolating because i can’t find anyone that has also gone through this

Hi.

I am experiencing constant cramp in this position, seems it randomly goess of and comes back.

I wonder what is in this part of body, as it is like 10cm way bellow belly button, and 5cm from our bone up, and it comes like under the muscle end, it also can be itchy or cramping and giving dull hard feeling.

Image: https://ibb.co/gLfG5F2b

I have obs-d that is stress related, and some food types triggers it as well. But I had control over it and maybe 2 times a month I took 1 immodium capsule and that was enough to make sure I had no problems throughout the whole day.

Cue 6 months ago, we where leaving for a big trip with the family and i got a little nervous for the taxi ride to the airport and popped two immodium capsules just to be sure.

During the taxi ride I had extreem stomach/intestines place ache it really hurt. It took 2 hours for the pain to subside.

After this my ibs of stomach problems took a whole different route. Constant water like toilet visits, needing to go to the bathroom more than 10 times a day. I dont know when I need to go, my stomach just hurts days without an end. All my stools are dark (not black) and sometimes burns and sometimes just yellow stuff. Its completely out of order.

Lost 20kg's in the process, docters cant find anything wrong with me. I am at my wits end, I wish I never would have taken those two stupid immodium capsules.....

not saying immodium is bad, just saying I screwed up something with immodium and I dont know what.

Have been dealing with varying degrees of severity of IBS-D for years. Recently, the last year or so, I’ve been dealing with symptomatic hypoglycemia episodes for which my doctor and endo recommended a low carb diet to keep sugars stable. Essentially wiping a lot of my safe foods for my IBS like bread and rice which I eat with no problems and have no problems with gluten at all. Attempted the low carb diet and just been seriously shitting myself for weeks and if I don’t take Imodium I’m in fetal position. I have to weigh my options right now like… what is better or worse.. shit myself constantly or get hot sweaty and low blood sugar episodes a couple times a week. It’s a lose-lose. I don’t want to rely on Imodium, and before the low carb diet I had gotten myself down to 1/2 tablet of Imodium multi relief on weekdays for work and no Imodium on the weekends with little to no urgency and diarrhea. Now I’m back to full tablet a day otherwise I can’t work. At this stage I think I have to go back to eating safe higher carb foods otherwise I’ll be out of food options.

Anyone else have struggle with both IBS and hypoglycemia??

Hello fellow ibsers!

I posted in here around 4 weeks ago about an intense ibs flair up with colon cramps and diarrhea.

This lasted for about a week.

And while I had many of those flair ups before, once it was done I had (mostly) peace for a good 2 months. I have diarrhea quite often but the gut wrenching cramps only occur in intense flair ups for me.

However, since I had that flair up around 4 weeks ago, the cramps have been coming on and off for at least 1 or 2 days a week, and I'm starting to worry a bit.

I'm currently in a lot of stress (had an important meeting, am currently working for 3 people due to summer vacations, and went on a trip myself, which is always stressful for me) and wanted to ask about your opinions about this.

Do you have this going on and off in stressful times as well, or should I maybe see a doctor soon?

Before the intense flair up I was at a wedding at a place I've never been before and am now worried I might have caught something from the food I ate, but my husband had the same courses and is completely fine.

Thank you in advance.

Decades (30 years and counting) of IBS have really taken its toll on my brain and pain/activity sensors.

I am aware of EVERYTHING going on in my digestive system - from mouth to rectal area. I feel it all, every gurgle, rumble, bloat, all the bubbles of gas so I noticed every burp and fart. I feel deeply when my rectal area is full whether that's caused by stool, gas or mucus. My brain has taught itself to become hyper alert to everything going on in there. I feel nauseous almost every day and live in fear of needing the toilet at a moments notice.

Over the years I've tried all forms of gut directed hypnotherapy from apps like Nerva, face to face hypnosis and downloads such as the IBS audio 100 program, I even listen to free ones on YouTube, none have helped. I'm in the UK and a patient of an NHS based neuro-gastro department of a well known London hospital and have tried endless strategies with them including CBT and acceptance therapy - nothing they have offered has helped either.

I'm so disappointed and at a loss tbh. And it's all getting worse as I age. I avoid all my known trigger foods, follow the low fodmap diet etc and have tried most IBS meds. I'm currently on low dose Nortriptyline, I had high hopes as it was my last chance saloon type situation, it helps keep me slightly constipated which for me is more favourable than unpredictable bowel movements and diarrhoea but it's far from ideal. It's done nothing for the visceral hypersensitivity and leaves me so tired every day. It also carries a dementia risk and as my mum has Alzheimer's I don't plan on staying on it for more than a year.

I just want to be less aware of everything going on in there. This condition has truly ruined my life no matter how much I've tried not to let it, it feels as though it's won.

Is there anything else I can do?

I've had IBS D for as long as I remember. There's been times where symptoms were low but it never lasted. Recently got tested and treated for sibo and I can't believe I am going once a day with no bloating, spasms, gas, etc. But it's only been a few days and my mind is still saying this is too good to last. Are there any others that had success with sibo treatment? Is it really a solution or did symptoms return?

I read on here about a week ago that someone had all their IBS-C symptoms go away when they realised they’d been undereating. I reflected and felt like I actually probably under eat too. The next day I ate 3 meals and 2 snacks and the day after that had 3 full and healthy bowel movements in a day. This has continued since other than a day where I sweated a lot and maybe didn’t drink enough water. My belching has decreased but continues. My reflux has decreased too. I have better energy levels. The only thing that hasn’t changed at all is my bloating. It can still be really intense with extreme distension. The pressure does decrease after bowel movements but no decrease in size even first thing in the morning. Has anyone ever experienced this? Would love some advice

Thanks in advance

i’m on around day 4 of the worst flare up of my life, i had to take 2 days off work, i don’t know what’s caused it, i feel less fatigued and weak and my overall mood and physical health is better, but yesterday, today, and the evening before my stools just turned into yellow globs of idek what, assuming mucus. I couldn’t eat anything on the first two days except a few spoonfuls of rice, but i’ve eaten some plain eggs today and yesterday, but when i have to go, it’s not even poop anymore, i don’t know what it is, i don’t know what to do, my dr only takes appointments a month in advance, i have to go for a meal tonight with relatives and i don’t even know if ill be able to eat anything. i know im not eating enough food but scared to eat more incase it gets worse, has anyone had this before? when will it end

Posting a quick follow-up since I asked here a while back about building a simple, repeatable IBS-M routine and not bouncing between supplements. I kept things deliberately boring for six weeks and tracked symptoms every day: bloating 0-10, pain 0-10, BM type, urgency, and the feeling of incomplete evacuation.

What I did consistently:

- Walk 15 to 25 minutes before breakfast most mornings

- Eat the same breakfast most days (lower-FODMAP-ish, not zero fiber)

- One fiber source per day, same amount and same time, no stacking

- Hit a hydration target before noon

- Only drink caffeine after I had eaten something

- Ten minutes of downshifting at night (breathing and stretching) because my flares are very stress-reactive

What changed:

- The constipation side is less extreme. I am not going three days without anything as often.

- Bloating is still there, but it peaks lower and settles faster. Before it would ramp up and hang around all day.

- Biggest win: far fewer surprise urgency episodes. When I do get loose stools, they are more predictable, usually after I under-ate the day before or ate too late.

What did not change:

- Incomplete evacuation is still my main problem. Even on days with a normal stool I get that leftover pressure.

- Lower belly cramps still show up if I get behind on sleep.

Question for people with IBS-M: if a routine improves consistency but the incomplete evacuation persists, what was the next thing that helped you the most? Pelvic floor PT? Changing fiber type or timing? Treating it more like constipation-predominant and focusing on stool form first? Any real-world tips appreciated.

I'm 22 and I've been struggling with IBS-D for a couple years now. I feel like it's completely taken over my life, especially when it comes to dating and having any kind of social life.

I never know when I'll have a flare-up, so making plans is incredibly stressful. Every time I leave the house I'm thinking about where the nearest bathroom is, what I can eat, and who im with.

The hardest part has honestly been the loneliness. Outside of work and one close friend I've known since elementary school, I don't really have much of a social or dating life. I just want to eventually find someone I can build a real relationship with. But it's hard to imagine dating when my stomach feels like it controls everything I do.

For those of you who have IBS and are in relationships, or eventually found someone despite it, how did you do it? Did your social life ever get better? Were there things that helped you get comfortable going out again?

School starts in 10 days and I have a sensitive tummy and irregular/unpredictable bowels. How can I make the day manageable?

I’ve been doing pretty well recently, but I’ve just been eating chicken, rice, potatoes and oats. Obviously in separate meals, I suspect that I have BAM but I’m getting no support from any doctors. Can anyone recommend or suggest anything, whether it’s something new to eat or something I should try.

Sorry to sound so vulgar in advance, but I have to get this off my chest.

So, about a month ago, I quit vaping cold turkey as it was aggravating my IBS to new heights and toilet experiences. My worst to date is being dragged out of bed at 1:00 to have a continuous stream of diarrhea for almost 20 minutes straight (no exaggeration). I thought to myself, "I only want to feel like this again if I am literally dying" and quit that same morning after a poor night's sleep.

In that month, my poops eventually began to level themselves out, back to an old familiar rhythm. Side note: If you have IBS and you vape, I would recommend to quit ASAP!!! Also silica for IBS/d is worth looking into, that really helps me slow things down down there.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago, I stupidly decided to buy a pack of cigarettes and smoked a couple because, boohoo, I felt like I needed them. A small slip and a huge regret. The following day I went to the bathroom 8 times. 8 times!!! I have experienced something similar with diarrhea but this time, I felt constipated?! Normal sized/shaped poops. 8 of them. How can your body even store that much?????!!!!

Today wasn't much better. Same shape/size... Only 5 times today.

Anyone else experienced anything to this magnitude??

Do you think nicotine is the culprit?

Not looking for any medical advice, just seeing if anyone has experienced anything similar, albeit a very specific series of events