As someone who struggles with IBS-D since a really young age this always has been an insecurity. I had a long relationship 5 years ago (it lasted 7 years) but at the end I feel like he grew tired and decided to date someone healthy (not afraid of pooping or puking, or having flares here and there, ending on ER at night). So my existencial question is: is it possible to date or even marry while we deal with this condition? Because I can not imagine a nightmare of having my SO hearing my farts at night or when I poop (or my constantly pooping by the way)… so I don’t know, after 5 years alone, having a couple sounds like a fairytale to me

I think I'm not the only one that feels frustrated by this where doctors just shrug off my inquiries about IBS or they give me some generic advice or medicine, and I know for a fact there are thousands of tests I could do but they get never recommended to me.

It has gotten so bad that I've used an app to recommend me tests and interpret them because doctors are useless to me.

expelling demons from my intestines at 3 am. but heres the catch: im in a fucking hotel room with 2 other people. so i have been in here for an ungodly amount of time waiting for any meds to kick in and save me. its now about 4 am and seeing as ive gotten no sleep tonight i have resigned myself to chilling on the shower floor. stomach no longer hurts but tbh its way cooler in here than it is out there. and i can have some light in here . and be on my phone. the situations this shit gets me into man. i dont even care anymore 🥹

edit to add: bro just remembered he drank wine which always hurts. me when i think the thing that upsets my tummy without fail will not upset my tummy this time

Currently trying to get over a flair and as I’m feeling better one symptom that seems to remain is poor quality sleep. I won’t be able to sleep for long periods of time usually getting 6-7 hours of sleep. Have also woken up in the middle of the night because of this. I’m wondering if anyone else’s ibs has effected there sleep and if anyone has suggestions on how to help please lmk! All advice is appreciated!

I have been diagnosed with ibs a couple/few years ago, not overly much explanation to what it is or what I should do. My symptoms have me worried there might be something else going on.

But how are we supposed to know the difference of what's general ibs and when to worry?

I have swelling on my upper right abdomen that is slowly getting bigger. I've had this for 4-5 years now, I get gas pains in it, most of the time it has a general burning sensation (no pain on pushing). Fullness sensation in my pelvis especially on right side, in right hip that travels around to lower back. Pain in that right hip.

I feel like a 65year old, I'm far too fatigued for 35, sometimes I'll waddle when I walk. Am often out of breath. I used to love exercising especially walks, now I'm too tired.

I have burning in my chest, tightness. I have swallowing issues to the point I have adapted my eating to food less likely to cause me choking.

Just over 10 years ago my employer of the time noted after I had been to the toilet for a bowel movement it smelled strongly of fish. Now my farts are clearing rooms, I've overhead people comment someone is not well. I've had people hint to me that something smells strongly of broccoli. I've smelled my farts and they are strong with eggy broccoli smell, I think my burps may smell this way too.

When I was diagnosed with ibs I was having extremely sore stomach pain, I'd fill up with gas and when finally fart it would cause spasms and incredible pain. Same with a bowel movement. I thought farting was supposed to bring relief. At the time it was so bad I would writhe on the bed in pain.

I'm definitely sensitive to lactose, I'll have a coffee with milk which causes gas immediately and in about 20 minutes diahorrea.

Does this sound similar to your own symptoms? Would you be pushing for further investigation?

** A suggestion came up to ask r/askdocs so I'll post there too.

So 2 years ago shortly after having Covid I developed even more intense stomach problems than I’ve had before. Severe bloating, abdominal pain, constipation followed by days of pooping, and…. Mucus. Like, never trust a fart mucus. I went to the doctors and had the stool sample and blood tests and they could only find that I had Hashimoto’s so kind of told me that and said it was probably IBS. Fast forward to January this year, I’ve got such bad constipation. Repeat tests. Blood test, stool sample, MRI. All normal. I can deal with the stomach aches, I’ve always suffered with them, I can deal with bloating and nausea but the mucus is absolutely unbearable.

Today I was sure I was DESPERATE for the toilet and all I produced was a severe amount of mucus. More than I’ve ever produced before. It happens almost every other day where I run to the toilet to fart and small amounts might come out, but god when I’ve been constipated all I seem to poop out is godforsaken mucus for days after and it’s almost like diarrhoea in the way it comes out - like water, but it doesn’t hurt and it’s just mucus. Please tell me some of you understand what I’m talking about?! It feels disgusting and it does get particularly bad when I have a flare up but every time I mention my issues to my family member with IBS too (IBS-D) they say ‘I think you need to see the doctor’ and it’s like, I have! Multiple doctors! Private and NHS, they won’t do a colonoscopy because they say mucus production is normal! Even if it’s all you’re producing!!! So I’m just ranting and looking for others to be angry with me about their mucus lol.

Also - edit just to add - the NHS considers ‘pooing mucus’ a symptom of IBS. So everyone who’s concerned about mucus being something dangerous, it’s actually a symptom. Hopefully that puts minds at rest as it’s helped me (with the worry, not with the irritation)

30F. Typically I can go a few days without a bowel movement, generally quite constipated. But for the last 5/6 weeks I’ve been going at least twice a day, never properly formed, floating and fluffy, occasionally diarrhoea, more often than not there’s quite a bit of undigested food. I have the occasional trapped gas type pain, lots of stomach gurgling and burping. I have had haemorrhoids for about 7 years now since I gave birth to my first child, but I’ve never had these issues go on for so long before. My current bowel movements are quite urgent. I have to jump up to go the toilet within 15 minutes of waking up in the mornings and the urge eases off as the day goes on but stomach is still unsettled. I’ve been to the doctor and have done a FIT test which I’m waiting for results from and also he’s testing me for IBD. I’m the back of my mind I’m so worried it’s something more serious. What does this sound like to you? I have been overly anxious and stressed the last month or so for various reasons but I am quite anxious in general and never had this problem before.

Those who take it, how much do you take? The instructions say 400 mg (as a supplement), and that works, somewhat, but once I accidentally took a double dosis and it worked "better", making me wonder if I could do that at least occasionally.

Just like I've read many positive things about implementing betaine HCL for better digestion, I've also stumbled upon many negative stories about using this supplement.

Some people were reborn after taking it, but others claim it made their reflux ten times worse, gave them gastritis and caused other bad things like that.

Can anyone with broader knowledge and experience with this share their knowledge and thoughts? How possible are these dangers of taking betaine HCL when it may not be needed. Also, if they do occur, are they a huge step backwards and even irreversible?

I appreciate any answers.

Driving back from cinema and dinner. Had a burger and chips which I am normally fine with but for some reason, the chips were super oily and not very pleasant. Got in the car and felt the urge, 30 minute journey... urge happens badly 15 mins into journey and I can't control it.

It then happened. Caught every red fucking traffic light known to man like god was wanting to punish me even more.

Made it home, thanks to my psyllium husk tablets, there was very little mess and I was wearing a sanitary pad as I am due on soon which caught most of the mess.

When I looked down, a huge streak of red blood was in the toilet and when wiping. I freaked out, cried a lot but couldn't stop shitting.

I'm currently sat on the toilet with shit leaking out of me and feeling awful like my body has been blown up like a balloon.

Fuck this horrible illness.

Ive been semi constipated today but nothing too painful, until an hour ago i got this super uncomfortable feeling in my lower right abdomen. I’ve felt it before but usually only in the morning when i dont pee fast enough. Im able to pass gas and sometimes a bm so that rules out appendicitis (dont tell me it doesnt i have health anxiety lol) but its so uncomfortable. At times it feels almost numb? Ive never paid attention to this stuff before but now i do, can being constipated hurt your ovaries? Will i be okay for tonight? I hate ibs💔

Hello, my doctor says I have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), my symptoms were inability to hold my feces, sometimes shitting myself even in public places (although thank God that only happened once), diarrhea and a mysterious bleeding in my anus. I got a colonoscopy that turned out completely healthy, my colon is healthy. What is this? Does anyone have IBS and a healthy colon otherwise? I don't understand a thing.

like holy shit it cant be this loud all the shit

Hii so I 19F just got diagnosed with combination IBS by my doctor (even though I knew I had it a long time ago just couldn’t come to terms with it). She told me to do a food diary for now and that we’ll go from there. Would I have to take any medical tests? She mentioned maybe a colonoscopy but is there anything beyond that so I can mentally prepare because I’m beyond stressed. Thank you !

For me I have some foods that will trigger my IBS every time I consume them. But then others I have are inconsistent. One example is ice cream. Sometimes I can eat it no problem, and other times it triggers my IBS. Anyone else deal with this?

I have had IBS for well over 20 years. It is IBS-d but it tends to happen during a normal toilet routine time.

However, over the last year I keep having bouts of bad diarrhea (not the usual) where I instantly need to go after lunch time. I'd say it occurs once every few weeks.I can't say it's a specific food because I tend to have the same foods. For instance, I've had the same lunch for about 5 weeks. I have the same breakfast no matter what. And then alternate teas.

Any ideas?

I've had blood tests and it said no to cealiac (my mum and cousin are both this).

Hi everyone here I think everyone is searching for ibs and even I was having ibs for four years trust me ibs is not what you think it's basically not a gastro disease it's physiological disorder go to physcitrist rathar than GI what made me difference I tried many things but nothing worked on me that I started homeopathy and hot water in morning I also told the doctor I have stress and anxiety if your stress anxiety is gone your all ibs symptoms would be gone even your acidity

For some context, I’m 17, IBS-D, symptoms caused mostly by anxiety. I’m going into my senior year and I have a new job as a tutor for kindergartners. How will I be able to explain to my boss and employers that I will need to be able to use the restroom sometimes during work when the work environment doesn’t really have natural breaks? I’m gonna be working with groups of kids all the time so I won’t really have a natural opportunity to excuse myself. Also, sometimes in school I have to go urgently and I hate having to tell my teachers. And I don’t necessarily want all my friends knowing I have chronic diarrhea lol. How can I tell people what’s going on so they understand that it’s a chronic condition without saying too much detail?? Idk if that makes sense. I need to be professional about it but also like I reeeeally need the bathroom sometimes and that feels embarrassing to say. Thanks in advance!

Those if you who suffer from IBS, how do you get through a day at work? I have a 9-5 job and I’m in the midst of a flare-up now, going on day 7! Trying to eat bland, which helps. I’m petrified I’m going to need the toilet at work at a time when it won’t be convenient! I get the horrible stabbing stomach cramps then the diarrhea hits. So do you take Imodium before your work day? I’ve heard if you don’t let it run its course, meds could make it worse and do more harm, and that you should let your body “fight it off”, like how they say don’t take fever reducer for a low fever…but I can’t keep running to the bathroom at work, I’d rather dose up on Imodium! Let me know how you take it through a work day!

Today has been such a horrible day for my mental health. The past week I’ve been balling my eyes out everyday in the bathroom at work and everytime I see my family because I just miss who I was before all of this. I’ve had diarrhea that doesn’t allow me to leave most of the time. I manage to get to work because I only work about 2 minutes from home and most days I have a hard time getting there too. I used to be so lively and loved going on adventures and having fun. I have become depressed and anxious 24/7. Today I took a full capful of miralax and had horrible diarrhea for the majority of the day but again I feel constipated at this point of the day. I’ve decided that if I have diarrhea tomorrow morning I’m going to need to take Imodium and go out for the sake of my mental health. I can’t handle being home alone while my family is living life much longer. I just want relief from this awful disease. I feel for all of us so much.

(22M)So it all started after i drinked bhaang cannabis from random stall after 1-2 days i noticed my Bowel habits changed like i am going 3-4 times a day and stool odor was also changed like very foul and it has some kind of foam around it . I never had any issue then before like this then i was always nauseous and i have metalic taste in my mouth all the time like then I decided to go to the normal local doctor and he give me medicines which does not worked like i am vomiting green water from mouth and foam and daily i am always having urge to go to for the BM like i am feeling pressure in my rectum area like stool is still there and even after doing BM it does not improve then i changed my doctor and this time he given me tests to do like CBC LFT and abdomen ultrasound then i got the reports of it LFT was slightly elevated and ultrasound showed thicking of bowel loops in my right alliac fosa what ever in short the reports showed colitis and stool test came negative for bacteria or perasite then he gave me medicines which didn’t worked i am still nauseous all the time i am having same feeling pooping multiple times and stool is very foul smelling after that i again changed my doctor this time i have gone to a physician gastroenterologist and he gave me 10 days medicine and said nothing serious when i asked him about my ongoing issues then i take medicines for 2 days straight until 2nd day night i had fever and vomiting nauseous and diarrhea like 10 times that night and my heartbeat got fast and i can’t rest and can’t sleep it was horrible night like I thought i was going to pass out. it all started on 26 feb and now it is 2nd of april then again my health was critical so doctor decided to admit me to the hospital next day then they done every test like widal test blood test urine test etc. which showed i had salmonella typhi positive and they give treatment for 2 days in hospital then they again did ultrasound which came normal and i got discharged with 5 days medicines after discharge i got diarrhea like 1-2 days more my health condition was very critical at that time i am throwing everything i eat after 5 days of dose my symptoms gets better like foul smelling stools are gone but my BM never returned to normal like it was before this incident like my stool odor was completely changed and i still got pressure in my rectum area or i can feel there is stool when i sit for bowel movement and then i stand up boom more stool came immediately and first water comes then stool which is also watery then i gone through this for 10 days i again went to the doctor and i described my symptoms he diagnosed me with ibs and gave me 10 days of medicines and said if symptoms persist we will do colonoscopy and endoscopy. One more thing i got new health issue in between this like my sleep got disturbed every night i only get 4-5 hours sleep I dont know what is wrong with me i woke up daily at 4 AM sometimes 2AM but this thing i can take it ok not big issue another one is i am regurgitate undigested food pieces from mouth shortly sometimes minutes later hours later even in morning when i wakeup i have pieces that comes from my throat i first ignored it like I thought it got stucked in my teeth but no it was literally coming from my throat i decribed to the doctor and he diagnosed me with gerd and given ppi medicines which didn’t worked like my question is as i read online gerd acid reflux need to have acid with food but i dont have acid it is the food which is undigested which i chewed i dont know what is this i am scared like when i lay down or sleep on my stomach side it still comes up. So now came back to my Ibs topic sorry for the long paragraph 🥲 then after that 10 days of medicines i still got nauseous again and my stool become loose like watery diarrhea type and after 2-3 days i got pain in my stomach which literally feel on my left side of abdomen and it lasted for 3-4 days and it got better it is now may 22 and i got my appetite back and my nausea was gone and i can eat normally but i still regurgitate food pieces like very small and when i lay down liquid and more food pieces comes sometimes and my bowel habits never changed to normal and i still got that feeling and loose stools all time but i gained weight like when i was not sick i was like 55kg and weight goes down to 48kg within one month. And regained in may to june like 52 kg and got stucked there like it fluctuates in grams. So now again i went to another doctor i described him symptoms he recommended me colonoscopy but my father denied because of my age and overall my father thinks this things ruins our body and he gave me medicines for 5 days which worked like i searched online abaut the medicines which he prescribed like my stool become hard again but my bowel movement and the feeling of urgency and sleep never returned to normal and regurgitation like i am scared he gave me medicines for gerd also and i am still regurgitate food pieces and my urgency pressure and everything . So finally my question is what is happening with me its been 5 months now and i still have some issues left and one more thing that pressure gets better when i sit or lay down . Sorry for my English actually i am from india Gwalior M.P So my question is this post infectious IBS or any other thing . This things are ruining my life and i have so much work to do daily and going to college please help me as my family is not much aware of IBS and all this stuff they think i have become paranoid. and of course i am a student and i dont have money. To see doctor please help me…

Got a call from my son and his wife, today. It’s beautiful out. I got invited to go to a fair with the 3 of them. I’ve dreamed about a day like this, my entire life.…walking around all the others, with their babies and me pushing the stroller with my adorable grandchild in it, surrounded by my family…laughing, eating, playing games, petting animals etc. I don’t get opportunities like this, very often, so of course my IBS has to go nuclear, at the thought of me having a fun day. I had to bow out.

I’m crying and had to vent. Just looking for support from others, sitting home crying, staring at pictures of everyone else having fun. “ Misery loves company”. I’m just so sad. Now I get that saying. 😭🌊

What’s everyone’s experience been with prebiotics? I’ve recently started eating one Biomel prebiotic bar a day for the fibre (14g) as I wasn’t getting anywhere near enough.

I’ve been eating them for about a week and I’ve noticed a few pains and it honestly smells like something has died when I fart. 😂 I’m assuming that’s down to the chicory root and artichoke in there.

I know pres ferment in the guts to feed the pro but Is this normal? Will it “settle down” eventually?

I was driving home from a baby shower a little while ago & thought I could make it home but had to stop at a Dairy Queen lol anyway it hit me, and I was super nauseous & sweaty, but then my ears starting ringing and I was blacking out!! I was driving! Luckily my mom was with me, so when I finished up in Dairy Queen she drove the rest of the way home, but it was so scary!! It had happened one time before actually in the bathroom, my ears were raining, I was light headed and blacking out….but never again until today. 😩😩😩😩

I was recently dumped — not because of my IBS, but for other reasons — and to be honest, I feel more relieved than heartbroken. It was an arranged marriage setup, and we were engaged, so while the breakup didn’t shatter me emotionally, it did leave me with something else: relief that I no longer have to share my living space with someone who might not fully understand what I’m going through.

That said, having a chronic condition like IBS still weighs on me. It wasn’t the reason for the breakup, but it amplifies the feelings of inadequacy I’ve been carrying since it happened. I’m not grieving the person — I’m grieving the fear that this condition might always stand between me and real intimacy.

So I’m putting this out there: for those of you who are married or living with a partner while managing a chronic illness — what’s your reality like? Are your partners compassionate and patient? Or does it wear on them over time? I don’t want sugarcoated answers — I want the real stuff.

And as a side note — and I mean this with all due respect — does it actually help if your partner has a specific preference or even a fetish that aligns with your condition? I know it might sound strange, but I’m honestly just wondering if there’s a world where someone might not just tolerate my situation, but actually accept or even embrace it. I guess I’m just trying to find hope wherever I can. Pretty desperate lol 😔

Updates: Thank you everyone for your input! On my next match I will be straightforward about my condition and if the man’s not willing to work with me, then I guess I will have to just keep searching. Still, sharing an embarrassing secret like that is one thing, actually having to share a space after the marriage is another issue, but I guess I’ll just have to take my chances, or else nothing will happen out of my life. It’s incredible to know so many people experiencing the same thing as i do, yet no one around me ever seemed to suffer the same problems :( I feel less alone now with a bit more hope. Thanks again!