[cwrightw]

Hello,I am 24 yr male 160 lb healthy in great shape. Ever since I was about 18 (I don't really remember if I had it before this) I have had stomach problems which I think are IBS. I have to go generally between 5-6 times a day, and when I do go a normal toilet sitting is about 25-30 minutes. If I stay on toilet for less time, I don't feel totally empty. After about 30 minutes I feel fine and can go on my way. Obviously, though, this makes for a very hard time for work and school.Many of my friends always ask me 'how come it takes you so long to go to the bathroom?!' However, I am usually NOT straining when I go to the bathroom. I just have to wait for everything to be emptied. So I know I am not too constipated, it just takes a REALLY long time for everything to come out. I have found some things make me have to go right away: alcohol, coffee, fried foods, sodas, high-fiber cereals, and maybe peanuts/nuts and dried fruit, although I am still investigating this. I also just tried drinking Kefir, a dairy yogurt with probiotics, but it just makes me have to go right away and and a lot comes out. I have also found that when I eat a big meal (which I do often because I am active), I have to go a lot of times after eating, sometimes within a half-hour of finishing eating. My stool is often soft, small, narrow (and a LOT of it) and is very rarely large and well-formed, however it is very seldom watery. The biggest issue is how much stool comes out and how long it takes to empty. I drink a lot of water and am always very well hydrated because I know how important that is. My family is very healthy and they eat a lot of nuts, dried fruits and high-fiber cereals and they have no problems. When I eat these things it seems like I have problems so they don't understand then, they ask me why I take 30 minutes in the bathroom? I am at a loss of what to do. I would appreciate any advice! Thanks for reading this.

 

[Jillywindy]

I'm no expert but I wonder whether the fact that your stools are as you describe because they are coming from higher up in the colon rather than waiting around lower down as normally occurs. In that case, maybe you are hypersensitive in that area and feel the need for emptying when you really don't need to. Have you tried not waiting around for it so long. Try to get on with something that takes your mind off it but stay close to the bathroom just in case.In the morning, I might need to go 4-5 times in an hour sometimes (not D either) but I don't sit there waiting for it. It can be a bit inconvenient but that's all.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Everything you describe sounds consistent with issues IBSers have.However you should discuss this with a doctor and get any medical tests you may need to rule other things out. You aren't really mentioning symptoms of other GI disorders so it is likely to be "just" IBS (which is more than bad enough on its own).Foods and meal types that cause a bigger gastocolic reflex (colon much more active than usual) seem to be what trigger you. Big meals, or ones that are fatties. Alcohol, coffee and sodas are also common triggers for diarrhea.