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[honeybun]

There seems to be quite a few of us that struggle with this. Whether it be the D or C type have you hints and tips for diet, medication or just how to get out of the house in the morning.

I think mine is fairly well under control. Until it rears its ugly head and has me scuttling to the loo after a meal. My warning sign is the very loud gurgling tummy. I then know it's not going to end well. It's the randomness that I find hard to deal with. One day fine and the next awful.
I have my trusty drops which stop me running too much but it's still unpleasant.

I had a mild curry for dinner last week and was fine. Tonight same meal and within minutes I was in the loo.


Any hints that we can share that may help everyone.


Honeyb
x

[Joyce]

Do you get cramps too HB? Have a friend who gets horrendous cramps with her IBS.

[lily]

Mine reared it's head a week past Sunday, like you I know by the pain (cramps)and gurgling sounds - from left side of abdomen.  I'd had a normal dinner, not spicy but knew within half an hour that I was going to be ill.  I go very cold before and during it.  I got a period a few days later and I've noticed this pattern before.  I can't drink wine much these days and am wary of spicy food.  I also tend to get it if I've let myself go too hungry and then eat a lot, so I try to graze and not overeat.

[honeybun]

Sometimes I get cramps but more often just the stomach that sounds and feels like a washing machine.
I always used to get the runs when I had my period but now on HRT there is no pattern to it at all.


Honeyb
x

[Joyce]

Sounds like symptoms I get with lactose intolerance. I get no cramps and it can take up to 3 days to hit me. But boy when it does........ I'm very careful with what I eat, but there's always the odd occasion when I cannot figure it out. My stomach is noisy most evenings mind you, especially when I lie down.  My friend takes tablets & has them on her all the time now. Usually hits her within half an hour.

[Ju Ju]

I've had IBS since early teens. Will be 60 this year. The only consistency is the is the inconsistency! I swing from c to d. I fear having accidents. I had to give up teaching, as I couldn't abandon a class of 5 year olds in order to rush to the loo. It got too stressful. I have to be careful what I eat, forced to eat healthily! For many years I was wheat intolerant, but now can tolerate small amounts, which makes eating out less stressful.  I am advised to avoid dairy products, sugar, yeast etc., but to be honest I'm not sure how much that has helped, so treat my self more now. After having 3 lots of ABs this month, my gut is protesting. Yesterday, I had approximately 10 bowel movements. Fortunately not dire emergencies! Took Imodium in the evening so I could go to bed. Finished the last AB yesterday, so hope with probiotics, things will settle down. I suppose this was a change from not going at all for a few days, then make up for it all at once in pain. A normal bowel function is something to be celebrated! Also a sense of humour helps! Took my pension early and used part of the lump sum to redo the bathroom. Might as well make it a pleasant room as at times I seem to spend a lot time in there!

[Taz2]

I have IBS too and struggle some days with work. Eating out is the worst thing for me and I now don't like staying overnight with friends either as the "early morning rush" is difficult if there aren't enough toilets and someone is in there but it is very hard to explain this to people.

One thing my doc has said is that IBS never wakes you in the night and I have found this to be true for me even when it has been triggered by antibiotic use. Night waking for an urgent bowel movement is something that should be followed up apparently - especially once patients are in their fifties.

My doc also frowns on the use of immodium unless it is absolutely essential as it makes the gut lazy - but she has also had IBS herself so can understand how sometimes it is necessary. I hate the cramps that go with it - which is a new thing for me - they are like labour pains with the same squeezing and pushing sensation but I find that Buscopan does help with this as long as I take them as soon as I feel that familiar pressing sensation.

I am becoming much more reclusive and hate making plans just in case. However, I have also found that it is better to be honest with people. The embarrassment over bowels is something that seems to be very common amongst British people!

Taz x

[CLKD]

How awful!  Mine manifests itself in slow transit = acute nausea  so I daren't leave the house.

For years I took Motiliium and Colpermin capsules, within the hour of eating my main meals.  Which meant I had to eat regularly which really annoyed his family 

Then I tried Actimel, 2/4 pots daily.  That helped ease the motions through the system more easily, I haven't used Actimel for 3 months and my bowel is certainly slower 

[leony]

Same here JU Ju had to give up my job as a special needs classroom assistant as I couldn't keep leaving the room with a pupil to look after in the end I ended up with sever stress/depression brought on by the IBS as i thought i was failing the pupils i worked with. Found out later i also have adhesions in small bowel from operation as a child which adds to the problem some good days some bad seems to be if i eat to much fibre get C and then D a few days later and stress makes it worse so now on an AD and see a physchiarist.

[oldsheep]

I've had the opposite version of IBS (blocked up) for years. Diet change helped, although I'm tiring of the low FODMAP diet I was put on, which identifies wheat, pulses and mostly fructose rich fruits as the villains. I also have to have 2 tbsps ground linseed daily. Winter is ok as it goes well in porridge but in summer that's unpleasant to swallow.

I do get on a lot better with gluten free pasta and bread than with wheat. Thankfully it's got easier to get, if not cheaper.
And I miss lentils and chickpeas, although not the pain they brought.

If my tum is off, my CFS and fibromyalgia are way worse and I don't sleep well. The gut controls so much of how we feel. Diet seems to be the best solution though, hard though it is to work out what works for you and what doesn't.

[CLKD]

The gut is the controlling section of most people.  Flight or fight response lurks there.  Nausea.  When we are startled the blood rushes from the gut to the limbs in order to be ready to flee.  So digestion etc. stops.

Today I feel uncomfortable around my belly button, DH keeps telling me it's not enough fruit/fibre intake     (made worse by needing to provide samples for analysis so I can't 'go' because I know I have to  )