[September_Wifey]

Hi Everyone! I'm new here and don't know a whole lot about IBS. I did some Internet research but am still a little unsure so I thought I'd come straight to the experts - those who live with it everyday! I'll try to keep this short...Several weeks ago, I went to my doctor with constipation. It was only the second time in my life I've ever been constipated. An X-ray showed that things were pretty backed up so he prescribed a two-week dose of miralax to be taken with 64oz of Gatorade within a two hour period, along with 2 correctol. Let's just say it worked. It was a miserable night, but I got relief.Two days later, I was constipated again. I dealt with constipation for another 1.5 - 2 weeks. And then the diarrhea started. Today is day 14 of diarrhea. I've had a urinalysis, blood work, x-ray and ultrasound - all of which came back normal EXCEPT - the X-ray shows I'm still full of stool?!? I'm not sure how that's even possible as I've been having diarrhea an average of 4-5 times a day for two weeks! They did stool cultures as well, but my doctor's office seems to have 'misplaced' the results. (At this point, I'm just praying I don't have to collect more samples)He told me today that it sounds like IBS and that I should eat more fiber. We then had the conversation (AGAIN) that I eat 25 - 30 grams per day. I drink 2 - 3 times the recommended amount of water per day. I do EVERYTHING that should prevent constipation and/or diarrhea and it just seems to be getting worse. He's sending me to a GI doc but I can't get in until next Tuesday. I don't know how I'm going to live like this for another week - it's absolutely MISERABLE! I cried right there in his office when he told me they couldn't find anything.I'm at my wit's end. I'm super frustrated and I feel so defeated. Not to mention the fact that I'm just exhausted from what my body is doing to me. Anyway, I apologize for the ramble. Does this sound characteristic of what you all deal with everyday? Anything different that fits? Should I be pushing for more/different tests?Thanks in advance - I really appreciate it!

 

[Kathleen M.]

Sounds like IBS and if it isn't IBS it is something you should see the GI doctor for, so keep that appointment.Some people get constipated enough to get paradoxical diarrhea where loose/watery stools go around the stool that won't move in an attempt to get it to move.

 

[Autosaver]

I got a X-Ray and it said I was full of stool too...Could that be causing the gas...?

 

[Kathleen M.]

Everyone has a lot of gas (average of 14 farts a day).Most of the gas is produced when the stool enters the colon from the small intestine and the bacteria get a shot at a large amount of food.At some point you do use up most of the bacteria food so the gas production goes down by a lot.Gas moves faster than the stool, so usually if you eat something with a lot of bacteria food you will start farting that out shortly after the gas is produced which is shortly after it gets to the colon.A lot of IBS symptoms are not necessarily from a lot of gas (bloating, pain, fullness, etc). Now sometimes because you are more sensitive to even below normal amounts of gas, but often those symptoms are from colon activity, not the proportion of gas to everything else in the colon.Most of the symptoms people who are full of stool complain of you see in people with severe diarrhea predominate IBS who generally have very little stool in there.

 

[JessiNoMoreMartini]

Hi Everyone! I'm new here and don't know a whole lot about IBS. I did some Internet research but am still a little unsure so I thought I'd come straight to the experts - those who live with it everyday! I'll try to keep this short...Several weeks ago, I went to my doctor with constipation. It was only the second time in my life I've ever been constipated. An X-ray showed that things were pretty backed up so he prescribed a two-week dose of miralax to be taken with 64oz of Gatorade within a two hour period, along with 2 correctol. Let's just say it worked. It was a miserable night, but I got relief.Two days later, I was constipated again. I dealt with constipation for another 1.5 - 2 weeks. And then the diarrhea started. Today is day 14 of diarrhea. I've had a urinalysis, blood work, x-ray and ultrasound - all of which came back normal EXCEPT - the X-ray shows I'm still full of stool?!? I'm not sure how that's even possible as I've been having diarrhea an average of 4-5 times a day for two weeks! They did stool cultures as well, but my doctor's office seems to have 'misplaced' the results. (At this point, I'm just praying I don't have to collect more samples)He told me today that it sounds like IBS and that I should eat more fiber. We then had the conversation (AGAIN) that I eat 25 - 30 grams per day. I drink 2 - 3 times the recommended amount of water per day. I do EVERYTHING that should prevent constipation and/or diarrhea and it just seems to be getting worse. He's sending me to a GI doc but I can't get in until next Tuesday. I don't know how I'm going to live like this for another week - it's absolutely MISERABLE! I cried right there in his office when he told me they couldn't find anything.I'm at my wit's end. I'm super frustrated and I feel so defeated. Not to mention the fact that I'm just exhausted from what my body is doing to me. Anyway, I apologize for the ramble. Does this sound characteristic of what you all deal with everyday? Anything different that fits? Should I be pushing for more/different tests?Thanks in advance - I really appreciate it!

It sounds like you may have IBS-A, in other words, you alternate between constipation and diarrhea. Do you suffer from abdominal cramps an bloating as well?As far as the amount of fiber you consume, there's much more to it than that. IBS can be triggered by a variety of food, which is different for each person. Stress, some medication, as well as other factors can contribute to IBS. You should probably keep a food diary from now until your GI appointment. It may help you to see if certain foods aggravate you more than others.Definitely keep your GI appointment, a GI can run a series of different tests to see if this is something serious at hand. GIs can test you for Crohn's, Celiac disease, Ulcerative Colitis, etc. GIs tend to do endoscopies and colonoscopies. When I went to a GI, he did an endoscopy and at the same time biopsied to test me for diseases.Hope your symptoms ease up!