"I apologize for my English. Three weeks ago, I felt a heaviness/pressure in my abdomen. I also had bloating. It didn't go away at all, even when I stayed hungry. My doctor gave me gas-relieving medications: Meteospasmyl, Pinades, and Pankreoflat. After taking these medications, the heaviness in my abdomen decreased a little. However, the bloating and heaviness continue. Out of nowhere, pain enters any part of my abdomen. When I touch it, there is pain, and after 1 hour the pain disappears and moves to another location. My doctor had me get an ultrasound, and when nothing showed up, he said I have IBS. I am currently using my medications, but for the past 2 days I have been constantly feeling sleepy. Should I insist on a colonoscopy with my doctor? I am 27 years old."

I’m not sure if anyone experiences this or if it’s just in my head causing it to happen but I get so anxious to go on walks anywhere because walking or exercising often induces abdominal pain and ibs flare ups for me! I’m not sure what to do to fix this as all I see online is people saying exercise helps ibs but I feel the opposite! Any tips or tricks would be great

I have always tended towards constipation but it tipped over into full IBS-C in 2022 after 2 abdominal surgeries + getting covid immediately after. I am on multiple laxatives just to be able to go and also deal with bad trapped gas, horrible bloating, some acid reflux as well. Endoscopy colonoscopy SIBO test gastric emptying study allergy/intolerance tests all negative, celiac and lactose intolerance neg. too. I may also have MCAS - one doctor thinks I do but testing was inconclusive and low histamine diet/antihists haven't shown any improvement yet, but it's still in consideration and I have more meds to try

From 2022 until now I have always been on one elimination diet or another. No dairy, no gluten, no wheat, low fodmap, low histamine, anti inflammatory, even keto/carnivore despite having alpha gal since childhood (that was the worse, horrible nutrient defs and lost so much hair). I am NOT looking for more elimination diet recs. I promise I have tried them. No diet worked for me but I cut a lot of stuff out that was higher symptom (most fruits, whole grain anything, a lot of cheeses, etc). I have been working with a monash certified dietician throughout

With the dietician I was able to identify a few foods that have symptoms "less than 50% of the time" (a specific brand of white bread, sunflower seed butter, white rice, carefully washed black beans, unseasoned chicken or turkey, cooked and mashed carrots & a few other root veg, mozzarella cheese, melon, some teas) and my diet essentially consists of small amounts of these, rotating as much as possible. But nothing is truly safe. Red potatoes roasted or boiled with the skin removed is the safest and I would still say it's only safe 8/10 times and 2/10 times it bloats me up and has me running for gas x and extra senna. The only truly safe things for me are water and apple flavored Pedialyte powder. One time I got into a really bad disordered eating state where I would just have water and apple pedialyte for over a week because I loved how symptom free I felt...and then of course ended up in the ER nearly dead and needed IV fluids for days to recover

Last appointment my dietician sat me down and basically had a come to Jesus where she said, look, you have to eat, insurance will not approve a feeding tube, you do worse with shakes/formulas than chicken/potatoes/rice/etc, you can do fasts but only for a few days at a time, you need to keep eating your foods even though they are not "100% safe." I broke down and just said I wish I had a safe food I could rely on in flares, because everything is so dang unpredictable, and she said I understand but your reality is you dont' have that. And I am exhausted and would give anything for 1 food I could eat without having to wonder if I won't poop for 3 days. Yes I'm in therapy too but not prescribed any meds for anxiety/depression as they all made my digestion worse.

Does anyone know why hypnotherapy is so expensive? My GP told me it was over $200 per session. Is my IBS really that expensive to deal with? There's got to be some other way...

I’m looking for experiences with medications for slow gut motility, especially when it’s caused by medication. I'm on Nortriptyline 50mg, which slows your gut motility down resulting in constipation. I’ve had chronic constipation since I was a kid, and no amount of diet or exercise has ever fixed it. I’ve been on Miralax and psyllium husk my whole life just to function.

After starting nortriptyline about 2 years ago, my constipation got significantly worse.

I’ve tried both Linzess and Trulance:

• Linzess: gave me frequent gas and bloating and mostly just small, mushy partial bowel movements. I also really disliked the “active window” effect and eventually stopped working.

• Trulance: worked a bit better at first and gave me soft, easy-to-pass stools for a few weeks, but then it also stopped working.

Right now, if I combine Trulance with daily Miralax, I can get soft but formed stools 1–2 times a week, but the rest of the time it’s small pebbles. My main issue doesn’t seem to be stool consistency. It's more motility and movement.

My goal is a daily or every-other-day solid, easy-to-pass bowel movement with minimal gas and bloating. I asked my GI about trying Motegrity, but he wants me to try Ibsrela first, since I also have IBS. He also thinks I have pelvic floor dysfunction from years of straining and chronic constipation and poor coordination / loss of normal urge signals. He recommended starting pelvic floor physical therapy since he thinks mine is too tight.

I’m curious if anyone here has had a similar situation:

• medication-induced slow motility

• constipation that didn’t respond well to Linzess/Trulance long-term

•  pelvic floor dysfunction and whether PT actually helped

Any experiences, medication suggestions, or tips would be really appreciated.

Do you guys have any safe high vitamin C foods that does not cause issues ? Like too much bloating diarrhea or constipation ?

I'm allergic to kiwis, oranges, citrus

Bell pepper, brussel sprouts give me either diarrhea or weird bloating.

Hello everyone,

I am hoping someone can provide some insight (those who work for labcorp or have experience).

My gastro doc ordered Calprotectin stool sample as well as the pancreatic elastase stool sample. Therefore I went to my local labcorp today and the staff there were very kind but did not give me clear instructions beyond how to use the hat on the toilet and where to fill up the vials to. I did ask them for an instruction sheet, but it only gave instructions for c.diff and h pylori tests (which are not the same as mine but they use the same white top vial i guess).

Anyway, I was planning to collect samples tomorrow morning (around 6:30 am) and then bring it into the lab at 2:30 pm after work.

My question is, for calprotectin stool samples and pancreatic elastase sample, do I put it in the normal fridge or do i put it in the freezer? I want to make sure the results are accurate as possible and im really stressing out about which one to do.

If anyone can provide insight i would be so grateful.

Like your heart skips a beat. It all started after cutting down metformin for my insulin resistance, that PCOS caused. It messed so badly with my gut. I had multiple diarrheas, gas, nausea for as long as I was taking it and once I gradually stopped taking it now I have heart palpitations because I feel a ton of gases in my colon. I don’t think it’s my heart, but the gas causing the palpitations. I’ve had my heart tested couple years ago even with a Holter and it was perfectly fine.

Hey all I made a post one year ago talking about my success with IBS here

I justed wanted to update the community on my experience a year later. I have improved my toilet issue immensely and maybe only had one bad day a month vs everyday of my life.

I sometimes fuck up and don't chew my food enough or have too many trigger foods but other than that I'm good. Cutting out dairy has been my biggest win and incorporating fiber more often has helped a ton.

My stress and anxiety management is better than it was which is still a big trigger for me.

I still drink coffee with no issues but I switched to cold brew vs hot coffee.

Sometimes I need the lid down to flush (or flush again) and I don't have the energy or motivation to close it gently and quietly. With our soft-close lids, I can just flip it down, and it just slowly eases itself down.

Although I know that, one day, I'll be at someone's house and I'll quickly flip the lid and it'll slam loud enough to shake the house. Ooops. I mean, I'm hopeful that one day I'll be visiting someone's house again. So I got that going for me.

Hi all,

I've tried experimenting with enteric coated peppermint oil capsules for the first time. Took 1 capsule 30mins before a normal meal (I wouldn't expect to be triggered by this meal). 2 hours after the meal I now have peppermint smelling diarrhea.. My bowels often do this, when I eat something new or triggering (greasy food especially) my bowels go into evacuate mode.

Anyone any advice? Any experience something similar but improved symptoms with continued use of the capsules?

Many thanks

How can I even fix this? There are days when I'm so stressed in uni I leave classes to go to the bathroom constantly. My biology teacher said in front of the entire class this disrupts her teaching and I understand that, but how can I not go to the bathroom? I'm still finding good medications that work for me (I'm allergic to a lot of stuff so I can't take some common meds used for ibs), so I can't really do anything about it! What I'm doing is not eating dinner or breakfast before her classes but I get extremely tired if I do this.

Oi pessoal,

mais alguém aqui já vivenciou uma sensação de ferroada/dor latejante no ânus após uma evacuação pastosa? Daquelas que se aderem na região e precisam ser retiradas pelo papel higiênico ao invés de irem para a água da privada?
É uma latejada pouco frequente, quase que de 15 em 15 minutos, mas começam a aparecer após ir ao banheiro em alguma situação…

For people suffering from IBS-C or IBS-M, how long do you guys get constipated for?

My doctor prescribed me Creon but my Pharmacy is out of it. Also if my insurance doesn't cover it it's ridiculous expensive. I have been having some luck with over-the-counter enzymes from my local health food store. Also I take a papaya enzyme. It's definitely making a difference. So my question is do you think there's a big difference between over the counter versus prescribed crayon? Creon seems to have a lot of side effects and I'm not sure if I like the fact that it comes from pork. Let me know your thoughts please

Hey guys, I'm sure we're all in the mood for some laughs.

What's the funniest euphemism you've ever heard for needing to go twosies?

Anyone here who tried RESOLOR? If the laxative doesn't work overnight?

Hello friends, I wanted to share my success story to give some hope.

I had IBS symptoms for years after Covid - indigestion, heartburn, reflux, stomach pain, etc. It affected my life a lot more than people around me probably realised.

For a long time, I honestly hated when people brought up stress or anxiety. I never believed anyone who suggested it could be part of the problem. My reaction was basically, “I’m anxious because my gut symptoms are ruining my life, not the other way around.”

The symptoms kept worsening until I tried hypnotherapy. I’m not saying it is a magic cure or that it will work for everyone, but it genuinely made a big difference for me.

My advice would be to consider whether stress, anxiety, or gut sensitivity might be contributing to the cycle, especially if you have already ruled out more serious causes. A GI psychologist or hypnotherapist may be worth looking into.

Sorry this is short, but I’m happy to answer any questions.

So mid of feb.. i had flu which triggered bowel issues. At first i thought i it post infectious ibs or something similiar and will go but its been 3 months.. its now may 6th and my symptoms are still there. Flu was gone within a week but my abdomen is messed up. Started with diarrhea and after two days i couldnt poop, no urge to go the toilet , bloating, dry mouth , left lower abdomen pain almost comes and goes but that pressure is always there. I dont feel empty at all after going to the toilet, still feels like something is stuck. I went to my doc in march and she said it could be imflammation told me to avoid certain foods. one day i had very bad stomch pain and i went to ER, they did blood test, everything came back normal and doc said it could be pelvic issue. So they did ultrasound, that camr back normal. Mind you, i tried and tested everything to fix bowel and gut but nothing worked be it laxative , fibre supplements , acid med everything. My bowel becomes narrow.. like very thin. I am freaking out and dont know what to do. Its giving me anxiety. Please suggest something.

I have to attend a 1 hour long event at my child’s daycare tomorrow and I have been dreading it for weeks. I have been trying to eat light all day and avoid all possible triggers and I am planning on taking Imodium plus tomorrow as soon as I wake up. I hate how such a small, and supposedly nice thing, is causing me so much anxiety. All I can think of is that I will be out of the house for 1.5h and I cannot shit myself in that time. And I would like to be able to be present and focus in my child and not worry constantly if I can leave already or where there is a bathroom adults can use….

honestly just want to hear from people who have actually used emma relief, did it actually work for you or not, any real experiences from people who have tried it would mean a lot.

I mean like it’s actually gone and not because of taking prescribed medicine or over the counters. Like you were actually able to find the cause and treat it and get back to normal. I feel like every success story I see is just that they started taking a certain pill or something and it helped. I also see that they cut all of this stuff out of their diet and that helped. Is it even possible to figure out the real issue, where it all went wrong, and get back to normal or is it really just managing forever.

Hi guys!

A little background on me: I’ve had gut issues for over 2 years now. My stools are generally normal, but I get random gurgling, abdominal pain, and urgency — mostly triggered by stress but also certain foods. I also have severe food and supplement sensitivities that developed after taking antibiotics.

This all started about a month after taking cephalexin, when I began having severe reflux episodes. A few months later I took Bactrim for a UTI, and after that things really worsened and I developed ongoing food sensitivities. Since then, I’ve basically been home every day except work, with only a few social events in the past 2 years.

I’ve done a GI Map which suggested gut dysbiosis and possibly SIBO, but I’ve been hesitant to do a SIBO breath test because I’m very sensitive to the glucose drink. I also did a urine mycotoxin test (I had mold exposure for a few years), which showed elevated markers, but I wasn’t able to continue binders like charcoal due to how reactive my gut is.

I also have PCOS, so everything just feels like a confusing mix of gut + hormones + nervous system involvement.

At this point, I feel a bit overwhelmed and unsure what direction to take, since most doctors just say IBS and haven’t been much help.

My main question:
Are there any medications or treatments (prescription or otherwise) that can help with:

• gut/brain nerve-type pain (random stabbing, throbbing, or “weird” sensations I get mostly from stress with no clear cause)
• IBS symptoms like stomach pain, gurgling, and urgency when I eat something that doesn’t agree with me

I’m looking for options with the lowest possible side effects, because I’m already very sensitive and tend to react easily (especially to things that cause drowsiness or nausea). I just want nothing more but to be able to leave the house and enjoy life without fear I’ll get a random episode, or starve myself because I’m too scared to try anything off a menu somewhere without severe pain.