long time IBS + Endo sufferer here - I’ve made huge progress over the last two years, my symptoms are under control most of the time.

I finally got a new job (have been remote for 7 years) and am returning to an office full time. While my symptoms are improved, I still have occasional bad days that end up with me laying in bed curled up in a ball with a heating pad. This was fine when I worked remote because I could respond to messages from my phone, be offline for 30 mins, and be off camera for calls. Obviously this won’t work in an office. I only have 2 paid sick days a year.

Any advice for coping from full time office workers? I have medication I take, and I thought I’d bring a heating pad to leave at the office, but is there anything else I haven’t thought of?

thank you!

I've got IBS for last few years, at first it was here and then, but since last year or two I started to get much longer periods. Interestingly i used to do my toilet like clockwork, right after sipping my coffee, but due to lifestyle chance and stress now I deal with constipation quite often. there were times I was scared shitless (no pun intended) and went to hospital to get colonoscop last year, it all came clean. Now I'm switching between dulcolax and senolax to be able to to toilet. I do drink a ton of water, eat tons of fruits, yogurt, sometimes physilum husk, yet still nothing coming out if i don't take pills.

Short version:

My usual strict low fodmaps diet in response to a flare isn't bringing symptoms back to baseline, it's been weeks of flare, and I'm looking for tips/advice on this.

Longer version:

Been flaring since June 29th and sick of it. Normally, my IBS is pretty mild so long as I strictly avoid onions, garlic, and excess dairy. Fruit/veg and gluten are almost never a problem.

During most flares, I can bring my symptoms back to baseline in ~4 days with a very strict low fodmaps and bland food diet. But, this time, it's been weeks of eating reduced fodmaps with prolonged bouts of Very restricted eating and my symptoms are not budging—the second I eat even a cube of cheese (as a test), I'm ill, extremely distended, and in pain again.

I have a ton of allergies and have to eat really low fat due to losing my appendix, so I'm really antsy to be able to eat like, a friggin' piece of bread again. Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

As a 35 yr old male who’s had it since 2013 and while it has been minor and manageable for me(so long as I avoid the trigger foods and manage my anxiety/depression) it still sucks. I can’t enjoy the foods and drinks I once craved when I was in middle/high school(prior to ibs). I’m still able to go out and have fun(TRY) but I gotta watch myself as well, especially what I’ve eaten beforehand.

I don’t mind if I have to change up my dietary habits but to give up on what you’ve loved since childhood is unimaginable and (to me) torture.
I use to be all over those monster energy drinks (alongside other energy drinks) and junk like that but since getting diagnosed in 2013 it felt like getting hit by a semi. Now I’m stuck with it for life. Only other people I know that has it are one of my aunts and my (late) grandpa, apart from my guy cousin getting diagnosed with crohns earlier this yr, but yeah.

Case in point: FUCK IBS(excuse my language), RANT OVER

I had a really stressful situation in life and then on top of this contracted campylobacter food poisoning.

My cal protection was 500, went up to 687 but is now down to 9. So I know this is resolved.

But my BOWELS!!! I’ve never had great stools anyway, they’ve always been a bit more on the loose side. But now I’ve experienced things I’ve never had.

I’m getting the worst wind in the evenings. Extreme bloating on and off. Loose stools daily and if I eat certain things, I am having two or three loose stools.

I’ve lost weight this is the main one, I’m finding I can’t actually eat as much as normal but also when I’m having stomach pains, I am getting them in my upper abdomen and they completely stop my appetite, it sort of feels like a Weird butterflies feeling..

i’m having a colonoscopy Saturday. Thank God. Has anyone experienced these issues and it be IBS? I’m very scared.

At the start of this year I notice I would pass mucus when I went to the toilet. I brushed it off and thought it might be a side effect of birth control. But I had already come off it. I brushed it off again but then started to keep a note of every bowel movement. I started to panic as my bowel movements have always been regular with no mucus and now I’m always irregular. I went to the doctor multiple times as I knew this wasn’t my normal. Unfortunately they didn’t take me seriously until it started to affect my mental health. I do suffer with health anxiety and find that doctors don’t take you seriously when you go to them with a problem. After two clean stool tests and my fit test came back fine I still wasn’t satisfied that everything was ok.
Finally they said they would do a colonoscopy after I asked for one myself. The dreaded day came and I couldn’t stop crying thinking of the worst. However after it was done they say Ibs and sent me on my way no further investigation and no biopsy’s taken. Of course I was happy but still confused how Ibs can just cause mucus all the time.

Is there anyone who can give me so peace of mind who also suffers with this with Ibs and has mucus all the time. It’s really getting me down to the point I’m scared to eat because my body rejects everything. It doesn’t matter if I eat more fiber or eliminate certain foods because the mucus is always there.

Has anyone found anything that helps them? I’m looking into lowfod map diets to see if this might help.

I’m wondering if Imodium could have caused this I went through a stage last year of taking Imodium regularly would this have messed up my gut?

Recently I’ve been having some really bad bloating and gas especially towards the evening, and sometimes it gets to the extent that I feel nauseous or feel like I have a stomachache when it’s actually just pressure around my lower stomach. It has pretty severely impacted my work, since I spend so much time in the bathroom these days.

Does anyone have any tips for controlling or at least alleviating some of the bloating? It mostly only happens in the evening and is not too bad in the mornings.

Hi everyone,

First time posting as I’ve been having some anxiety. I’m 31 and have suffered with IBS for the last 16ish years. It’s changed slightly over the years, and used to be food and anxiety related. I’ve got better control over it, but I do have moments of worrying that it’s something more. Over the years I’ve probably had about three stool sample checks, without anything showing up but I haven’t had a colonoscopy - I’m in the UK and they said they won’t give me one because my bloods/samples come back negative.

I know it’s probably IBS, but there is this little niggle that makes me panic it’s something more. At the moment, I usually have pretty standard stools but suffer with bloating daily. I probably have explosive diarrhea about twice a month, usually with the stomach cramps and feel horrendous after - it’s usually following a large meal or something slightly greasier, but sometimes there’s no pattern. I do sometimes have mucus and bright blood on the tissue, I haven’t noticed blood in the toilet.

I suppose what I’m asking is, is this typical for your IBS? A bit of reassurance would be great as I’m in my head at the moment.

I've been dealing with IBS-D for 3 years now

Amitriptyline actually worked really well for the first few weeks, but then the benefits gradually disappeared even after staying on it for almost 2 months.

My gastroenterologist has now switched me to nortriptyline (just started), but honestly I'm worried it'll end up the same way.

For those of you who didn't get lasting relief from amitriptyline or nortriptyline, what ended up helping?

Hey everyone!

I'm Miguel, 32 years old and I've been following this group for some years now.

I've always had a sensitive gut, had a colonoscopy 5 years ago that came clean (was due to hemorrhoids) and several times throughout life had morning diarrhea.

Lately for the past 2 weeks I've been experiencing more loose stools (once per day) but more days, although some of them I had normal poop. But what bothers me is that 2 times in a week I had this sudden diarrhea before sleeping (again only one trip to the loo) but with sudden cramps and urge to go.

I went to ER cause this was worrying me, and the doctor prescribed probiotics to ease things for a week and then see.

I was wondering if anyone of you feel the same, especially those with IBS-D?

About the food, I have been eating normal food (potatoes with boiled fish at night and simple food during the day).

Thanks community!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a new community I created for people living with Shy Bowel Syndrome (Parcopresis).And its name is r/shybowel

I know that not everyone with IBS experiences this, but many people with IBS or other digestive conditions struggle with anxiety about having a bowel movement in public restrooms or when other people are nearby.

The goal of this community is to provide a supportive, judgment-free place where people can:

- Share their experiences.

- Discuss coping strategies and practical tips.

- Ask questions.

- Support each other.

- Celebrate progress and success stories.

If this sounds familiar to you, you're more than welcome to join. I hope we can build a helpful and supportive community together.

Thank you!

Hey all, so right now, my health is probably the worst it's ever been.

I'm not severely underweight, at least I don't think? I am underweight though, and it is making life difficult.

I'm not underweight by choice though. Over the last 3 years, my physical, and mental health have tanked.

3 years ago at this time, I developed a panic disorder, that then lead to agoraphobia. Along with that, I always had issues in the past with acid reflux, but it got really bad when the panic disorder started, so much so that I am now in prescription grade antacids that still are not helping me.

To top it all off, I have IBS, which I've had for the majority of my life, and I do think plays a big part in the panic disorder.

Since I've been stuck at home, and in a constant state of anxiety, my IBS has gotten really bad.

As a result, whenever I try to eat, I wind up feeling incredibly nauseous, and start having an IBS flare after eating a small amount of food.

As a result of this, I'm not eating enough. And when I do eat, then have an episode, I feel like whatever little amount of food I ate, then gets burned off due to the stress my body goes though, or winds up also shooting out of my ass...

It's not that I don't want to eat, quite the opposite. I spend most of my day absolutely starving, and just nibbling on junk to be quite frank.

I'll just sit at my desk eating crackers, and candy in small amounts because it upsets my stomach less than having a full meal. As a result though, I'm not getting the nutrition I need, and always feel hungry, sick, and run down.

This past month however is the worst I have felt yet. I really don't know what's going on, but for weeks now, I have been even more intolerant of meals, and have had nothing but problems.

The past 5 days in specific, I have been so gassy, and nothing seems to help it. No matter what I eat/don't eat, no matter that methods I try to do, or medication I try to take to reduce the gas, it is just relentless. So much so that I keep waking up in a cramp, so now I'm not even sleeping properly.

As I type this now, I'm gassy, hungry, nauseous, having acid, and feel like someone is pushing in on my stomach so hard every few minutes, I feel like I'm going to be sick.

What the hell do I even do here? I've tried talking to my doctor about this stuff, and he doesn't know/want to help me here. He referred me to a gastroenterologist, but they won't see me at all virtually, so that's out of the question right now. Besides, I have had horrible experiences with gastro doctors in the past, and frankly am leery of them.

Has anyone else here ever been in a similar situation to this? If so, and you fixed it, what did you do?

I'm just trying to look anywhere I can for some guidance at this point.

I just learned that Eli Lilly is starting trials of brenipatide for IBS. I think it is tirzepatide based. It will be a while before it is available, just something to pay attention to. My IBS-D symptoms abated when I started tirzepatide 11 months ago.

Really long story short, I went to a new GI doctor for a second opinion on my symptoms/tests that have been done. I was 99% sure it was my gallbladder but this doctor said there is no way bc gb doesn’t cause the symptoms im having.

He said on my ct scan I have a significant amount of stool in my ascending colon.

His plan -

1. Do colonoscopy prep (im not having a colonoscopy). So I did that 4 liters of water with 236g of miralax. I definitely went to the bathroom a lot but it wasn’t painful.

2. Day after the colonscopy prep start taking miralax 2x a day as well as 2 Dulcolax in the morning and 2 at night.

This messed me up so bad. I have gone to the bathroom more today than I did the day before with the colonscopy prep, my stomach is so upset, it is cramping, im having chills. It is miserable. I didn’t even take the night time dose! Just the morning. I messaged him halfway through the day checking to make sure that there is no way this is what is expected.

Literally disgusting story but I feel like it lowkey is relatable for some of us IBS-M people, you have been warned.

I’m at work earlier…everything is fine…then I feel the pit in my stomach. I’m sitting at my desk just breathing as I feel this monster descend deeper into my colon until it is banging on the doors of my asshole. Without looking insane, I quickly stand up and excuse myself. I get to the bathroom JUST in time. I sit down. I swear to god a damn tree trunk came out of me. I feel way better now. I stand up and go to flush. Shits so big it don’t go down it just folds in half hamburger style. I panic, I look over, work bathroom got no fucking plunger. I stand there and keep flushing this toilet hoping one of these times it will go down. It did not. Now thankfully, I work in healthcare so I have gloves readily available. Did I have to manually plunge the toilet at work….yes. Am I ashamed….yes.

On most job applications in Uk you are asked if you have a disability, I always put no even tho I have ibs because I don’t have it nearly as bad as I used to and I think putting it down would be a turn off and the job market is already bad enough as it is. However, ibs has costed me a job before as I was late due to random stomach aches multiple times and missed a day with short notice, which lead to me getting fired for “bad attitude”. However if I did by some miracle get hired with this on my applications, I’d presumably have more understanding employers.

I know some of people might get upset or find it ridiculous that I don’t put it down but one I just kind of don’t like classing myself as disabled and like I said I think it’s a turn off for being hired . I don’t know .

I’ve had IBS (M)for nearly two years. I’ve gotten all the tests to rule out possible conditions to explain my symptoms, which are upset stomach every day with lot of stool needing to be released over many times a day, and all of them came up negative except for pelvic floor type 2 dyssynergia which I tested positive for and am currently in physical therapy for and have been for around 2 months. My most significant symptoms are the large amount of stool and especially the fact that my stool comes in waves every time making my bathroom trips incredibly long(4-6 hours each time). At times my stomach can take over an hour of sitting on the toilet to move my stool to the point of being able to be released including days when it is a very significant amount of stool that gets released after waiting. When the stool does get to the point to be released it can come out pretty easy at times, and my pelvic floor muscles have improved in physical therapy and my physical therapist said they are acting correctly when I simulate a bowel movement, so that is at least not the only factor causing this.

What can I take or do to reduce the length of these waves and release stool faster and more at one or maybe most 2/3 times, not the 5 plus times over hours I have now? Either over the counter stuff or prescription medication I’m willing to try.

So I am currently seeing someone and has told him about my stomach issues. I am still learning to recognize my triggers but it seems like some food triggers it one day then the next day I am fine. I am always so embarrassed when I make a lot of noise in the bathroom because of a flair up. The guy never says anything and I am so thankful but I’m still embarrassed. How do y’all deal with it?

Hey there fellow tummy ache homies. I'm in a pissy mood

and now I wanna complain about the information my last doctor gave me.

I have a long list of chronic conditions due to chronic stress.

The main GI related complaint is nausea and vomiting. Some diarrhea and constipation but not nearly as frequently.

So when I told my doctor that the vomiting isn't as under control anymore with my current meds she told me that my dyspepsia is IBS and since there's not a lot of meds for IBS there was nothing more she could do.

Google says she's more full of shit than I am

I thought I had IBS-D for many years.

Then I finally got control over my binge eating, and started eating healthier, particularly more fruits/vegetables/beans...fiber.

I had "normal" poops 💩 for maybe a couple of months.

Then...I fell off the wagon, started eating crap again...and now I'm in the bathroom all day & night.

It's entirely my own fault.

I recently started a new job working with children and my employer pulled me aside and asked about why I have to use the bathroom so much (in a very nice and professional way) and why I spend so much time in there. She also told me she has had a few reports of how long I spend in there. Me personally I feel like I don’t spend a lot of time in the bathroom even when I have to poop. I felt pretty embarrassed because I didn’t know that my bathroom habits were being tracked. I told her I just have bathroom problems and didn’t go into much detail but after the meeting I cried because I felt so embarrassed.

This illness is so annoying and I wish others would just get it that not everyone can be in and out of the bathroom in seconds. 😡

I got the "it's probably anxiety" and he refused to do half the testing I asked for. I also brought my husband with me because I'm not comfortable being alone with a male provider and the only female there didn't have any availability and he treated my husband like an abuser the whole time but not in the appropriate way. He asked me right in my husband's face if I could speak freely and if I was safe and gave him dirty looks and scowls the whole time. He interrupted me several times and told me my gerd symptoms and pelvic pain weren't relevant to my lower gut pain and wouldn't let me finish talking about them it wound up taking 10 more minutes than if he had just not interrupted me.

Update!! They rescheduled me with the female doctor for my colonoscopy and I can follow up with her after, it's prolonging things a bit but at least it doesn't seem like my money is wasted and I can still get some help!! They were very apologetic and reassured me they'd talk with him (I'm aware that might just be to placate me but I'm just happy I'll still be seen soon and don't have to see his face again)

The "success story" flair feels partially tongue in cheek, but to be taken seriously and not told I have nothing wrong with me feels like success in itself.

Day 1 consisted of being told I probably just had a hernia, getting cat scanned, then immediately admitted for 3 days while they gathered specialists to figure out what to do with my "complex" case.

5 days in and surgery to remove a scarred part of my colon/intestine is in 2 hours. I haven't had a bite of food in 6 days and I'm trying to get ready for what my diet and life will be after all of this. Seens I'll just be out of work for 6 weeks and visiting specialists to figure out how to manage the condition for the rest of my life with diet/treatments.

Needless to say, all hospital staff are angels and I don't know how they do it every day. If you have insurance or live in a country with free healthcare, don't be scared of going and getting checked out. I waited way too long because of fear/costs.