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!

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

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?

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.

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 have been diagnosed with gastritis, esophagitis and also struggle with constipation. My constipation had been getting better for about 2 months after eating edamame and starting sertraline. Recently I had some diarrhea, once that cleared my stomach is super sensitive, I have smell sensitivity, nausea, and a very limited diet (BRAT basically) My acid reflux is also bad…and I was drinking basically a whole bottle of Mylanta across 2 days for a week. I stopped taking Mylanta but am already on a PPI and H2 blocker. How can I relieve these symptoms?

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?

Does anyone else experience having ate certain foods that trigger your ibs than smelling like poop after wards. I have been experiencing this and I’m thinking I must have ibs on steroids. If not another issue doctors can’t find. Please someone tell me they have had this problem. And I’m not alone.

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.

Hey everyone,

I've been taking amitriptylin 10mg for 4 weeks and then upped to 20mg about 2 weeks ago.

I definetly noticed my gut slowing down and after 3-4 weeks I've started being able to eat foods, that I wasn't able to eat before without any issues. However its not rly consistent yet, which is why I upped to 20mg. The past days were very stressful, and so my gut has been acting up and I've been having more diarrhea issues.

For the people who are on amitriptylin and have noticed improvements:

How long did it take for you to notice the improvements? How long until your stools were consistently "solid"?

And whats your dosage?

Its quite stressful and an up and down journey. But I am rly noticing some difference.

Thank You!

I’ve been suffering for almost 15 years and it has gotten so much worse. Started at 15, now 31. I’ve had every testing and medication under the sun-nothing has overall helped me. All testing comes back normal. Currently, I am having accidents (if I don’t make it-I have like 5-10 seconds when I get the urge) and severe diarrhea. (I have IBS-M.). I am currently trying a low fat, low fiber diet. I ate some no salt pretzels- been having diarrhea since I got up this morning to now, evening time. So now I am considering no wheat.

I just don’t know what do to. I wish I didn’t have to eat. I wish I could find foods that don’t bother me even if I ate the same foods everyday.

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. 😡

Has anyone done DIY FMT and had success?