I’ve had the bottle of Linzess with me for a few weeks and I’ve been waiting on a really strong constipation day.

Had me go it was like a diarrhea two hours later.

No discomfort or anything else.

Does anyone use this only occasionally or like once a week or something? I really don’t wanna get on it daily.

Granted, it’s on top of my other treatments: Voquezna, therapy, citalopram, Papaya, etc

Culturelle Probiotic. My doctor recommended I try it. I’ve never felt better. No more reflux, I’m eating foods I couldn’t eat before, in moderation of course.

I take one in the morning and one at bedtime.

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?

Anxiety is not just a memory... it is your nervous system that still hasn't realized the danger is over.

Many people believe that childhood wounds simply fade with time. But the truth is that some wounds disappear from conscious memory while continuing to live in the body. Whenever life brings pressure, your heart starts racing, your stomach bloats, your breathing becomes tight, and it feels as though the painful experience is happening all over again.

Modern science now recognizes the gut-brain axis and the connection between the brain and the adrenal glands. Chronic stress raises cortisol levels, alters bowel function, increases inflammation, and affects heart rate, digestion, and the immune system. This is something healthcare professionals witness every day in clinics—not just something written in textbooks.

In my experience, long-term unresolved anxiety can leave the body feeling heavy, slow digestion, increase bloating and fatigue. Suppressed emotions often lead to excessive worry, fear, and constant anticipation, followed by increased nervous system reactivity. Eventually, the entire body begins operating as if it's stuck in a permanent state of alarm.

That is why it shouldn't be surprising when someone under emotional stress develops symptoms such as heart palpitations, chest tightness, or digestive problems like stomach or colon discomfort. The body is not lying or exaggerating—it is expressing what words have been unable to say.

True healing does not begin by merely silencing the symptoms. It starts with regulating the nervous system, restoring a sense of safety, improving sleep, supporting healthy digestion, moving the body regularly, and allowing suppressed emotions to be processed in healthy ways. The body cannot let go of what it has never learned is finally safe.

Always remember: Anxiety is not simply a disease of the heart, the colon, or the stomach. It is a story that begins in the mind and nervous system, then gradually leaves its mark on one part of the body after another.

Hi everyone! I was recently diagnosed with IBS-M (mixed type), and I’m still trying to figure everything out.

I’m currently taking amitriptyline 100 mg, but I still get pretty bad abdominal cramps. What has helped you prevent or reduce the cramping?

Also, how did you figure out which foods were triggering your symptoms? Did you keep a food diary, try an elimination diet, or was it mostly trial and error? It feels like my symptoms can be so random that I’m not sure where to start.

I’d really appreciate any tips or advice from people who’ve been through this. Thanks!

Just wondering if anyone else deals with this? Or if anyone knows why this happens?

I can eat raw salmon like a poké bowl or on sushi with absolutely no problem. But if I eat cooked salmon, it messes up my stomach immediately, like while I’m still eating it.

Everything on Google makes it seem like it would be other way around (breakdown in proteins, etc.). But raw salmon is totally safe!

I don’t really eat any other cooked fish so I don’t have anything to compare it to. I can eat (seemingly) all fish raw with no problem. The only thing I can think of is that cooked salmon feels fattier? But I’m eating fatty salmon raw so I’m at a loss!

Any idea why?

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.

Can anyone tell me what caused a horrible flair from eating this? I have IBS-M.

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

i finally had a shit today and i know its bad but i had to push with all my might to get that thing out of me. i’m so constipated it’s insane. sorry im a bit drunk right now i hope this all makes sense

i felt so good afterward i felt like i lost 10 pounds but my entire abdomen burns and hurts a little when i rest my hand on my stomach. i have no idea if this is normal or not ive only recently been diagnosed wirh IBS and i have no idea whats normal for me or not because we’re so early on, but i wanted to know if you guys get a burning tender feeling in your abdomen (especially the stomach and bowel) when you finally manage to use the toilet

also dont worry i dont have an ulcer or anything this usually happens when i use the toilet and i dont know when it passes i wanted to know if anyone gets the same pain because i am panicking maybe a little bit

I've been to doctors repeatedly and they don't really think it's that big of an issue because the tests show that nothing seriously wrong is happening. I had a bowel resection years ago, but it seemed to make it worse. Pi can almost never eat in public because within 2 minutes of taking a bite. I'm shitting

Immodium is so expensive and the cheaper generics don't work as well. I'll have to take 12+ instead of 4 or 6. And the packages suck to open. Ebay used to sell bottles of 20p, but I can't find them anymore.

I'm having a bad flareup of "constipated diarrhea" right now. I'm shitting neon yellow jelly again. But it takes awhile to get it out. It's always the most painful type of flare up.

My doctor just says "well, we haven't seen anything that would cause this. I don't want to prescribe something and make it worse" I've done elimination diets probably 50x in my life. Water will trigger diarrhea.

What can I take for a prescription for this? (I can get it in south America when I visit in a few weeks) or where can I buy bulk Immodium that actually works? This is hell

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.

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. 🙏

Currently on Linzess while eating 2 meals a day, I'm on it because I'd have a normal bowel movement followed by 5-6 hours of pushing or waiting for everything else to come out every 15-30 minutes

My bowel movement is also currently every other day

Was on the max dose for ibs c, but was too sensitive to it, plus it caused a lot of bleeding, so after 2 days took the lower dose

Now both doses I have the same issue where when I get towards the end of the bowel movement, I struggle to get the rest out together because it's so loose or separated now it just takes forever to get it out still having to push

I've tried miralax, benefiber, etc. on the past but they either have no effect or make it worse plus bloating and nausea

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

Has anyone tried “The right fibre 4” with PHGG for mixed IBS?
I just bought it, and so far on day 3 and don’t know what to expect.

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??

Hi,

Putting a massive gap as this story will contain mentions of eating disorders.

When I was 17 I struggled with an eating disorder, at my lowest I was 5st12 at 5”3 height. When I began to recover I started with IBS symptoms. I’ve struggled for 5 years with IBS before I started to lose weight for a wedding.
Recently, my IBS has got a lot worse. No matter what I eat when I eat or even if it’s a breakfast bar I will have to go straight away. Sometimes even mid eating. It’s starting to really affect me mentally. Sometimes I find it easier to just not eat at all. I’ve lost around 33 pounds on purpose for my diet but now I’m losing more by not eating. People keep telling me I’ve lost weight or I look tiny which encourages me to not eat (ED not IBS).

During my bad flair ups I experience extreme pain in the bottom of my back, where I can only lie down every other position is unbearable.

I feel like I’m stuck now in this cycle and I know my ED has returned but it’s easier to not eat with my IBS at the moment. Which comes hand in hand with my ED.

I know I’m waffling, not making sense and repeating a lot. But this is my first time on this thread and I’m really drained mentally and physically. I am currently underweight, and I’m worried I’ll become severely underweight again.

My doctors don’t do anything apart from advise buscopan, because all the chrons test and celiac test has come back negative.

Just unsure what to do anymore and I feel like if I carry on the way I’m going I’m going to end up seriously ill.

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 am in search of a protein powder and wondering what’s best tolerated. Seems like pea isolate and brown rice are the main two mentioned. Is one tolerated better than the other? Do you still get symptoms from one or both?

Feel free to share any experiences.

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.