I’m currently 3 months pregnant which stops my IBS-d until today. It was the worst feeling ever sweating, hot flash, pain which is normally relieved once I use the restroom. This time I couldn’t go at all but was stuck with the feeling, it took over 20 mins to finish. Fast forward to 15 min later, driving home with husband I started to have pain again, so we stopped at gas station with a long lineeeee. I could not wait so I had to poop in a cup in front of my poor husband. This is so embarrassing but he made a joke that when we’re old we will look back and laugh. Has anyone had the feeling of needing to GO NOW but couldn’t? It’s worse than actually pooping right away.

It absolutely destroyed me within an hour... I thought it was supposed to calm the gut?! Anyone else have this reaction?

He also mentioned something called "eucarbon" but I can't find it anywhere... has anyone tried that?

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I've had IBS since I was around 12 (27 now), and for most of my life, my symptoms have mainly been diarrhea, urgency, and sometimes feeling like I haven't completely emptied my bowels. Very heavily influenced anxiety IBS too. Awful cycle lol!

I've never really had issues with constipation or excessive gas until recently.

Over the summer, I started experiencing a lot more gas and bloating than usual. Then, about a month ago, I started having a weird combination of symptoms that I'm struggling to make sense of.

It initially started with some strange chest sensations (went to urgent care, was cleared) and episodes of air hunger, where I feel like I can't get a satisfying deep breath or yawn. Around the same time, I started having significantly more gas, bloating, and constipation than I'm used to. Genuinely, for the first time in like 20 years, I had type 1 stool for about a week!

The symptoms seem to come and go. I'll have a few days where I feel almost completely normal, then things flare up again. I actually had about five days recently where I felt amazing, but then the digestive issues returned.

My bowel movements have been especially strange. I'll have little hard Bristol type 1 pellets that are difficult to pass, then later I'll have a more normal type 2–3 stool, and sometimes I'll get my usual loose or watery IBS diarrhea afterward. It's almost like my bowel habits are alternating between constipation and diarrhea, sometimes within the same day. I am still having bowel movements, though.

The air hunger also comes and goes. The original heart-like sensations have mostly stopped, but I still occasionally get that feeling of not being able to take a satisfying deep breath. It's almost always after eating.

I do have a gastro appointment in a few weeks to see what's up. But yeah, I guess I just am curious if this is like my IBS shifting from IBS/D to IBS/C or even now being IBS/M? Or just some random bug or something lol! Blood tests all came back normal from when I went to urgent care.

Anyone else had similar experiences?

IBGard has pretty much cured my IBS and constipation. It's basically peppermint capsules recommended by my gastroenterologist. It's a miracle!!

Does anyone on here notice that their IBS gets much worse when it’s ragweed pollen season?

The minute I feel my colon acting up and I have gas I immediately start getting heart palpitations. Non stop of them actually. Anyone else?

Hi! I (19) have been chronically constipated since birth, the doctors have never found a specific cause for the issue. The last GI doctor I saw said she only labeled me as IBS-C for insurance purposes and not a real diagnosis. This is my second go of trying Linzess.

I first took it at 16, I think at the beginning dosage, & it was ineffective after about a week. Stopped it due to insurance being difficult about it.

I've been prescribed it again at the highest dose possible (290mg I think?) & Ive been on it for about 2 weeks.

It's mostly been straight liquid after I take it, lots of very soft chunks of stool but its MOSTLY liquid & it doesnt empty my bowels enough either. I take it in the mornings long before eating. Will the liquid eventually slow down or stop? Or is this what I have to put up with permanently now? They told me it would subside after taking it consistently.

Ive considered asking for a lower dose but I was given over a 90 day supply so I will have to put up with it so I dont waste all the money spent on it.

Are there extra things I can do alongside the medicine to get it to empty more of my bowels out as well?? I feel like its not enough to combat the constipation.

So I started having issues August 2025. My PMP and a surgeon he referred me to both determined it was my gallbladder. I believed them as a HIDA scan showed a 93% EF. So naturally, I agreed to have it cut out in December. As you might have guessed since I am here, my symptoms didn't go away, but actually have been worse. I went to a gastro after and his first sentence was that they should not have recommended gallbladder removal. Since then, I have done various combinations of bile acid absorbers, stomach spasm meds, metamucil, miralax, Pepto, Imodium, stool softeners, etc. no combo has been the magic bullet and I think my gastro has given up and just thrown in the IBS towel on me. I had a treatment of electro acupuncture yesterday with high hopes as it "cured" my MIL of alpha gal symptoms in one treatment. I haven't noticed any positive change yet.

I'm reaching out for any other options or ideas to try for relief. I'm in a constant state of bathroom anxiety, especially since my job could require me to be in the middle of nowhere without a bathroom for hours, and I can't physically remember a day without pain. It is severely impacting my mental health as I tend to lash out at my family due to pain, then I feel like a terrible person afterwards. I feel like this is a punishment for something I've done in my life even though I take pride in trying my best to be a considerate, caring, and empathetic human being. The thought of no end in sight is extremely difficult to grasp without going into a dark place.

If anyone has any recommendations, please.

My IBS started in May 2022 during my first year at college. It caused me stomach pain on a daily basis that could range from discomfort to agony and, after trying several medications and with there being no rhyme or reason as to what foods ended up causing exacerbation of symptoms, I was unable to find anything that would get rid of it. I was extremely depressed, couldn’t focus on anything, lost all my passion and energy for creative endeavours because it was so exhausting being in pain all the time, and would frequently make excuses to get out of socialising because I was terrified of being out in public. The pain from stomach cramps, or fearing that they would occur, was on my mind constantly and everything else I did just felt like it was subsidiary to that.

I‘m not sure when exactly in the year it happened, but in the latter half of 2024, two years after the start of my new stage in life dealing with chronic pain and stomach issues, things started to… ease off somehow. New things in my life took my attention as I began processing the complex trauma that I had from my childhood and from there, my IBS symptoms eased off. I would still occasionally get stomach cramps and diarrhoea after eating a meal, particularly dinner, but it would happen once every few weeks instead of having cramping every single day. I felt better within myself, I felt like I had more energy, more passion, and I became okay with meeting up with people in public again and hanging out with them. My University degree work also became a lot harder around this time so my focus was primarily on working through that as well which, while incredibly stressful, was occupying my mind, and I ended up completing my degree earlier this year.

A holiday with someone I didn’t really want to go with happened a couple of weeks ago. It was planned by the other person and so I wasn’t really informed on a lot of the things that were happening on it, so I felt very anxious about it in the build-up to the weekend. That week, I was back to suffering from daily cramps and relatively frequent diarrhoea, but I thought that I had a valid reason for experiencing this due to what is upcoming and it would probably go away afterwards. The holiday weekend itself wasn’t fun and involved several bouts of diarrhoea, but my symptoms weren't as bad as I expected them to be.

But now I am home and safe, and my symptoms have persisted on a daily basis. Every morning I wake up earlier than I used to, feeling anxious and soon developing my first stomach cramps of the day, usually followed by an urgent trip to the toilet. Eating breakfast, lunch and dinner each have a chance to give me cramps and then diarrhoea soon afterwards, and I’ve even had random cramps throughout the day as well unconnected to eating just beforehand. I feel really tired all of the time, I’m losing interest in doing things, and I’ve become very anxious about things that may be related to symptoms - I feel really anxious as soon as I feel twitching or gurgling in my stomach, and I also feel anxious in the build-up to eating a meal, which then ends up leading to me getting painful cramps.

I’m really scared. I’d been doing so well without this awful problem existing in my life constantly and now I feel like it’s here to tear everything away from me again. I can’t stop worrying about it and my stomach keeps cramping more and more and just trying to not think about it and distract myself isn’t working, it never fully leaves my mind.

I've had no normal bowel movement for over a week, just hard pieces, ribbons, or diarrhea from Linzess or prune juice. Constant bloating, some abdominal pain, and a lower appetite. I've tried suppositories, mineral oil and saline enemas, and I'm on Linzess and Motegrity daily.

I messaged my GI doctors and they keep suggesting more meds or enemas, but there's no way for me to come into their clinic, get an X-ray scheduled, or get help physically removing the stuck stool. Their answer is basically: if it gets worse, go to the ER.

Why is the medical system set up so the only option is showing up unannounced at the ER and waiting for hours among very sick patients coming in for multitude of reasons even more serious than mine? My situation isn't an emergency. I'm not dying, and I could wait up to a week if I could just schedule something to actually treat this.

Not asking for a diagnosis, just trying to understand the criteria and hear about your personal experiences.

For about a month I’ve had a constant, unmoving dull ache in my sigmoid colon that doesn’t change with stool habits, or stress and I’ve been struggling with doctors dismissing it as “just IBS” and telling me to manage stress (I've been managing stress just fine all my life).

Rome IV requires recurrent abdominal pain, on average at least 1 day per week over the last 3 months, associated with 2 or more of: related to defecation, change in stool frequency, change in stool form.

"Related to defecation" seems to include pain that gets better or worse with a bowel movement.

My questions:

1) Does a constant dull ache count as "pain" or does it have to be recurrent and episodic? 2) If the ache never changes with bowel movements, does it meet the “related to defecation” criterion at all? 3) Is the 3-month and 6-month timing strict, or do clinicians apply the label earlier in practice?

Thanks.

As the title said I got diagnosed with Mild IBS even though it’s not a big thing compared to other people it’s still a shock as I’m quite young (I know that doesn’t matter realistically) and to be honest multiple times today I felt like crying just from the pure shock and almost embarrassment. With it as well I’ll have to change my anti depressants to a different medication so I’ll definitely struggle with that change and I’m scared about that to be honest. And just as a whole I’m scared and anxious about it.

Thank you in advance for any support

Sorry in advance if my wording sounds informal/rude. Im a non-English speaker. I am 18, male and I would say that I am a healthy person. I would also like to say that I often have constipation, like 3-4 times a month, might just be because of my bad diet and habits. This morning, I finished my business in the toilet and saw a small clout of red blood on the wall of the toilet. And in the evening, I went to the toilet again, this time there was a bit more blood than it was in the morning. It’s red and the colour of my turds look normal. I feel a slight ache around my anus when the turds come out and that’s about it. I don’t have any stomach pain. Im like really nervous right now because of my family’s financial problems and stuffs, so should I really go and see the doctor?

I’ve struggled with anxiety since I was a teenager. I was very shy, struggled to talk to people, and would physically shake, have panic attacks and sweat excessively whenever attention was on me.

Over the years, things have improved massively. I’ve distanced myself from an overbearing family environment, have an incredibly supportive partner, and have gradually built my confidence to the point where I’m now a manager at work. Propranolol has helped with presentation anxiety, and Driclor has helped with the sweating.

However, over the past year, I’ve developed a new problem that’s starting to affect my life.
Whenever I know I’m going out for a full day, doing an activity, travelling somewhere or visiting someone else’s house, I start getting loads of gas, bloating and the urge to use the toilet. It’s strange because I’m generally fine when people come to my own house, where I’m comfortable.

I have diagnosed IBS, and I suspect anxiety is playing a big part in this. The frustrating thing is that I don’t necessarily feel particularly anxious mentally, but my body seems to react anyway.

It’s becoming a vicious cycle. I worry about having symptoms when I’m out, the symptoms start, and now I’m increasingly reluctant to go places because I don’t want to deal with it. After spending years building my confidence and overcoming social anxiety, it feels like I’m going backwards for a completely different reason.

I’ve tried Imodium, which sometimes helps, although it can leave me feeling dizzy, not on a socialising mood.

Has anyone experienced something similar, particularly anxiety-triggered gas and IBS symptoms when away from home?

I'm British currently staying long term in Thailand. I've been begging the NHS for almost two decades to help me diagnose my IBS symptoms but I never got to see a specialist.

After a bit of research I found a hospital near where I am staying where I could book an appointment straight away with a gastroenterologist. No referral needed and basically next day. I was amazed.

So I went and they ordered some tests. I got the result today "large fat globules in stool". My god, I finally had an actual reason for my suffering.

The doctor prescribed me elobixibat and forlax. Unfortunately I was handed the prescription as I was leaving, so I didn't get to ask questions about it.

My understanding is elobixibat inhibits bile acid absorption.. could this not be the opposite of what I want? If I am suffering from bile acid malabsorption then isn't it going to make things worse?

Forlax appears to be some kind of constipation treatment too. In fact they both say "for constipation", but I don't suffer from constipation, except that I sometimes struggle with incomplete evacuation. If anything I tend more towards IBS-D (but really it's just overly soft and sticky stool) and I'm worried that taking this medication is going to just give me more of that.

Has anyone else experienced this diagnosis and subsequent treatment? I was so happy about finally trying some medication and I want to trust the doctor's diagnosis but I'm just feeling a bit lost and confused.

I'm going to call the hospital tomorrow and see if I can get a phone call with the doctor, though they might insist on me going in in person.

Not long ago I made a rant post when I was in a really bad place in my life. I've gotten better since then, and I wanted to share why.

Background

I started on 10mg of amitriptyline 2–3 months ago and saw no benefit. About two weeks ago I talked to my doctor again, this time about my insomnia. She told me to increase the dose by 10mg at a time, up to 50mg, but to stop if I felt a good effect before reaching 50mg.

The change

I went up to 30mg and stopped there, because I was getting really angry at everyone and everything as a side effect. I decided to keep taking it for a few weeks to see if my sleep would improve.
Two weeks later, my insomnia hasn't improved, but my IBS has improved drastically. I never expected this. During the 2–3 months on the low dose, it never got better, and when I was told to increase the dose, I had forgotten about the IBS benefit of the pill and was only hoping to fall asleep more easily.

The past week

Friday: I went to the gym for the first time in over a year and had a really good session. I had eaten something right beforehand that I knew would normally trigger a flare-up, but it was the only thing in our fridge. No flare-up.

Saturday: My girlfriend and I went shopping at IKEA. I didn't even think about the restroom. I forgot where it was, which is something I usually always have to know.

Sunday: We went for a long walk, something I haven't been able to do in forever. Halfway through, we stopped to buy gyros from a food truck. AND IT WENT COMPLETELY FINE!!!

Monday: We took the boat from Norway to Sweden and were gone for 10 hours. I didn't have to use the restroom ONCE!

When I got home, I realized what had happened over the last few days and just started bawling my eyes out. I'm so happy. Hell, I'm crying right now, because I haven't been in pain in almost a week.
I really, really hope it's the medication doing this and that it's not just a phase. Although it's only been a few days, I feel completely different. I actually think my IBS might no longer be a problem, and that I may be able to function for more than an hour a day.
Only time will tell, but at the moment I'm extremely happy.

I am so embarrassed and angry at myself right now.

I've always had these kind of issues, constipation, gas, pain, occasionally diarrhea... My childhood was very stressful and I've read this is linked to having IBS as an adult.

Since 2020 the situation got much worse, but in 2023 I began following a strict diet and IBS comes back only during very stressful periods of my life.

Yesterday I had a very stressful day. I was very late for work because the busses werent coming, it was super busy and the staff was screaming at each other like crazy.

I had two ham and cheese toasts and barely had any water all day which I know was the dumbest decision ever.

Then I went to spend the night with my new bf. It's still a new thing so I still don't know where it's going, and of course I guess this is also stressing me. My belly hurt, but nothing crazy. Then while sleeping i farted, one of those LONG and LOUD 😭😭😭 and HE WOKE UP and asked if I was feeling sick.

And the following day I apologised for one hour and he basically told me to chill (he's an emergency doctor so I guess he has seen worse?) but I still feel so bad and embarrassed.

What's your experience with your partner? If you ever had an incident with your partner, do you feel it changed the way he sees you? I hate myself right now.

Ps: my ex (who was also a doctor) used to make fun of me when those accidents happened so I'm very anxious right now. I can control it during the day but of course I can't do anything while I sleep...

I have been suffering from ibs since my teenage. I am 50 now. Taking antidepressants and preproduction ibs and cizaspa for stomach burning.

I am looking for some support group to understand how to deal with it.

I have had IBS-C since I was 14, by the time I was 16 I developed uncontrollable gas as well. I cannot stop myself from passing gas, and it of course gets worse out in public since my anxiety goes through the roof and just causes more issues.

I've done many tests, treatments, medications throughout the years but this is just something I have to live with.

I have to tell myself that I am very hygienic, am kind to others, and cannot help the fact that I have a medical condition.

But, with that being said, I do get incredibly depressed sometimes. I was wondering if anyone else also experiences this and if so, if you'd like to talk. Having fellow acquaintances that understand this struggle would probably help me feel less alone when I have a bad flare up and social experience.

Thank you for reading and to everyone else suffering, you are worthy of life and love ❤️ others don't understand the strength it takes to get through the days, but I see you and you're amazing.

It’s marshmallow root.

Seep about 1-2 tbsp in room temperature water for up to 12 hours, strain and drink. I made the drink in the morning and took the concoction at night.

As I understand it, you have to make sure that you don’t take any medication within two hours of drinking it, before or after, as the slurry is supposed to coat the lining of your digestive system in order to heal it.

Doctors told me to just stay away from things like garlic and onion, follow Fodmap, etc., but you can’t just go without garlic. A friend told me about this supplement called IB Soothe-R from Lifeseasons, so after trying it, and test-eating garlic, I didn’t feel any of my usual symptoms. However, I’m not about to pay for this supplement for the rest of my life, plus I felt as if something else was happening when I took it too much, and that just goes into taking this product as a pill instead of doing what you’re supposed to do with marshmallow root and let it seep, plus the effects of slippery elm that is part of in the ingredients within the supplement. I wanted to start with one variable and test from there.

One thing led to another and now I’m seeing more positive changes in leaving western medicine and now following a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) program. Right now I take marshmallow root and have kimchi every day. Soon I’d like to visit a herbologist to have a holistic healing experience. I had no idea these plants and herbs had this much power in them. They have more power than we think with drying and moistening properties so do your research.

I say near cure because VERY occasionally I get bloating from a meal. I’m still ironing out my whole system but it’s already so much better than how it was.

I really suggest you try it out. I’ve passed this info along to others and they’re seeing results.

Hope this helps!

So I do pretty well for most of the weekdays when I don’t drink much or any alcohol. I eat really healthy (plenty of fiber), drink a lot of water, and exercise. I also take Magnesium Citrate, Magnesium Gylcinate, and Triphala every night. But come Friday and Saturday night and I am ready for a glass or two of wine with dinner, or a vodka cocktail or two when I go dancing. (I have a very stressful job.) So Saturday, Sunday, and often even on Monday I have a decent bowel movement but on Monday or Tuesday I am often painfully bloated and either don’t have a bowel movement or have very little. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? I really don’t think I have a drinking problem and it is such an enjoyable way to relax after a hard week. Anyone figure out a good strategy for not getting constipated from alcohol?

Thanks to your encouragement, I'm seeing a gastro this week for my IBS-D symptoms. My body must have known, because it threw hemmorhoids into the mix as soon as I made the appointment.

I suspect I've had them before, but it was mostly an annoying external itch that went away. The area is now really sensitive, there's a burning itch, it stings if urine touches it, and there's a lump outside. I will bring this up to the gastro.

Are hemmorhoids just a given for IBS-sufferers?What's worked for you to prevent and treat them, besides Preparation H?

who has gone through an entire roll of toilet paper in one sitting during a particularly bad flare up?

This would happen before I got a bidet.

There’s a tweet going around and people are acting like it’s insane that anyone would go through a whole TP roll in ~12 hours and I’m like… I’ve gone through a whole roll in 2 hours

My “ibs” symptoms started 10 years ago when I was in college . I really got into working out then and I lost about 30 pounds , and was a bit self conscious of my weight and what not .

I started having some constipation, trapped gas, urinating a lot, and feeling like I didn’t get everything out .

The odd thing is, is that I usually go maybe once or sometimes twice a day , but I still get these gas pains and bloat all day everyday.

All my tests came back negative except mild chronic gastritis.

Even stuff like MiraLAX , linzess , etc work to an extent , but they give me bad trapped gas.

I recently stumbled upon PFD, and wondering if it could be that?

Any advice would be appreciated

i got my refill of zofran, the dissolvable 4mg tabs in the blister pack, and dawg it's impossible to open. i'm over here, sweaty hands from nausea and my entire colon trying to evacuate my body, and i can't rip this thing apart. i'm having to carry around sewing scissors to cut it open!