[Maryg48]

I am wondering about this. I have been changing ibs-wise over the years. It seems like it gets worse, not better. I have learned to deal with the changes and have done other things to help with the pain and bloating-Which has been very helpful for me.

I was diagnosed IBS-D, but now it feels like IBS-C. I kinda miss being IBS-D, it wasn't too bad for me. IBS-C is hell on earth.

 

[Positiveside]

Although seniors may feel that IBS is an inevitable part of aging, the opposite is actually true. While sensitivity of the nerves within the digestive system may increase with age, there are ways to help reduce the overall risk or alleviate the symptoms.

 

[Silviegee]

Mine started when I was older. I always had a regular healthy gut before and a healthy diet.

I got a few slight "warnings" in the years before....like inexplicable constipation for one or maybe two days, but always passed and back to healthy routine. Those times were rare too.

But my IBS-d started first in March 2018 for one week only. Then in March 2020 and it never really went away since then. I have just learned to adapt and manage it by a balancing act with fiber, fruits, veggies (which were always my friends before!)

Sometimes (rarely) now I get a slight "C" situation, but it's gone in 1 day. I always think it's because I restricted fiber too much for one day and got the balance wrong.

But I don't know, and hope mine doesn't do too many new dramas. I would love my gut to be peaceful. I am already fed up with it.

 

[bushja1]

I have IBS-D. My doctor told me the good new is that as people get older they generally have more problems with constipation. Hasn't started for me yet.

 

[SedonaDreaming]

It's interesting for me to read this because I literally just messaged my GI regarding severe constipation and hoping he has some insight and suggestion.

Nothing...absolutely nothing I do seems to affect it. Low FODMAP, increasing FODMAPS, gluten-free, reduced-gluten, lactose free, caffeine-free, try small regular coffee in morning, very active, water, prunes....ugh. The list is endless, up to and including Miralax, Benefiber, Senna, Dulcolax. Regular journaling with no new insight.

I have mixed IBS and it IS literal hell. Can't plan anything for fear that the constipation has reached tipping point and will result in abrupt diarrhea.

I have had IBS for most of my 56 years and it keeps shifting, but moving more to constipation recently. I remember being about 8 years old and parents having to stop the car in the middle of the boonies because I had a "tummy ache" again. No school activities due to inability to predict when a flare-up may occur. Can't be in marching band, no theater, nothing that demands full attention without ability to dash to the toilet, getting in trouble with hall monitor for leaving class to run to bathroom without the required "hall pass". Field trips on a bus? 100% terrifying. Don't know how I managed to work at the bedside in an ICU for 20 years with the constant threat of needing to "excuse myself' every minute of every shift. Thankfully, I now have a job that mostly allows flexibility, if needed.

Just looking for some stability in this miserable IBS existence so that I can actually enjoy doing SOMETHING with my family and friends and not have to keep cancelling plans for everything enjoyable. Anxiety? Real. Causes symptoms? Maybe sometimes. But, have a condition that requires the presence of a bathroom, sometimes within seconds and know it's not there. Yeah...

My husband thinks this doesn't affect him, but when he keep suggesting I see a nutritionist, "specialist", and hear him trying to help brainstorm how I can control things, it hurts to hear because it is affecting him and always has. If I could, I would have control of this. It's not a situation of "just don't eat this". He suggests things because he's truly frustrated and concerned. I feel like if I don't send that next pleading message to the GI or don't seek out just one more person to try to address the problem, like I am not doing enough to try to control it. I am so defeated, yet understand the sentiment he shares.

Truly, I am not seeking an ounce of pity or sympathy...just reflective feelings of someone who just can't bust out of this prison. It damages one, not just physically, but emotionally.

I am sure some of you may feel the same way. Here's hoping that today is better than yesterday for all.

 

[Joy]

I started having vertigo with my IBS-D as I got older. My IBS started in my late 30's. It was a pain trying to work with it, but I managed to hold down a job until I was in my mid 50's. I started having vertigo a few days before the IBS set in. I had to go on disability because I had to miss too many days work due to the vertigo and IBS together. Now, my IBS seems to go back and forth between IBS-D and IBS-C. I will have C for a few days with cramps and then D sets in. I am 60 now and I have learned not to really plan anything. I try to get everything done on my good days so I can take it easy on the bad days. I don't do long vacations anymore. When I want to go somewhere and feel like it, I get up and go then instead of putting it off until later because I never know when a vertigo or IBS episode will strike. It has been quite a lifestyle change for me because I was the type of person that planned everything to a tee. I was never spontaneous person before I had IBS, but I learned to be afterward. I have learned to concentrate on the good days and rest on the bad ones.

 

[APR]

Nothing...absolutely nothing I do seems to affect it. Low FODMAP, increasing FODMAPS, gluten-free, reduced-gluten, lactose free, caffeine-free, try small regular coffee in morning, very active, water, prunes....ugh. The list is endless, up to and including Miralax, Benefiber, Senna, Dulcolax. Regular journaling with no new insight.

I have mixed IBS and it IS literal hell. Can't plan anything for fear that the constipation has reached tipping point and will result in abrupt diarrhea.

Your experience sounds similar to mine. Diet seems to make little difference. A few things might make matters worse [i.e., deep fried foods], but diet generally doesn't matter one way or the other.

I have to take Miralax every day to keep things moving, but at the same time I have diarrhea all of the time. I would call it "mixed", even though it trends more toward constipation.

It's hard to plan anything and even fairly mild stress will make things miserable. I couldn't imagine going to a regular full time office job (I deliver newspapers and magazines, so I can get away with being an hour late because I'm stuck on the toilet, etc.).

Mixed IBS seems to limit the medication options. I found Linzess to be absolutely useless (I would get liquid diarrhea for a couple of hours after taking it--which I would be okay with if it was actually doing anything productive or giving me some relief afterward--and then basically did nothing for me the rest of the day).

At this point, I am pessimistic that a different medication is going to help.

 

[char468]

It's interesting for me to read this because I literally just messaged my GI regarding severe constipation and hoping he has some insight and suggestion.

Nothing...absolutely nothing I do seems to affect it. Low FODMAP, increasing FODMAPS, gluten-free, reduced-gluten, lactose free, caffeine-free, try small regular coffee in morning, very active, water, prunes....ugh. The list is endless, up to and including Miralax, Benefiber, Senna, Dulcolax. Regular journaling with no new insight.

I have mixed IBS and it IS literal hell. Can't plan anything for fear that the constipation has reached tipping point and will result in abrupt diarrhea.

I have had IBS for most of my 56 years and it keeps shifting, but moving more to constipation recently. I remember being about 8 years old and parents having to stop the car in the middle of the boonies because I had a "tummy ache" again. No school activities due to inability to predict when a flare-up may occur. Can't be in marching band, no theater, nothing that demands full attention without ability to dash to the toilet, getting in trouble with hall monitor for leaving class to run to bathroom without the required "hall pass". Field trips on a bus? 100% terrifying. Don't know how I managed to work at the bedside in an ICU for 20 years with the constant threat of needing to "excuse myself' every minute of every shift. Thankfully, I now have a job that mostly allows flexibility, if needed.

Just looking for some stability in this miserable IBS existence so that I can actually enjoy doing SOMETHING with my family and friends and not have to keep cancelling plans for everything enjoyable. Anxiety? Real. Causes symptoms? Maybe sometimes. But, have a condition that requires the presence of a bathroom, sometimes within seconds and know it's not there. Yeah...

My husband thinks this doesn't affect him, but when he keep suggesting I see a nutritionist, "specialist", and hear him trying to help brainstorm how I can control things, it hurts to hear because it is affecting him and always has. If I could, I would have control of this. It's not a situation of "just don't eat this". He suggests things because he's truly frustrated and concerned. I feel like if I don't send that next pleading message to the GI or don't seek out just one more person to try to address the problem, like I am not doing enough to try to control it. I am so defeated, yet understand the sentiment he shares.

Truly, I am not seeking an ounce of pity or sympathy...just reflective feelings of someone who just can't bust out of this prison. It damages one, not just physically, but emotionally.

I am sure some of you may feel the same way. Here's hoping that today is better than yesterday for all.

Hi - I've had IBS-C for 30 years; Always have a problem and have tried everything I think; My suggestion is about an app called Nerva that I've been using the past few months; it's a hypnotherapy app for IBS sufferers; 85% seem to have success with it; It's a daily guided meditation about 15-20 min each day w/a informative reading regarding IBS; It was created by Dr. Simone Peters - world leading expert in the treatment of IBS. 1 month-$43.99 or 3 mons-$60.99 or 1 yr.-$139.99; Many studies done at universities that shows it works. You don't have to watch your diet too much while doing it. Success rate last approx 5 yrs then they have a maintenance program for a tune-up.

Add'l info: Dr. Simone works for Alfred Health and the Monash University FODMAP Research Team. It was while working with Monash that she became aware of the potential for psychological therapies to improve gastrointestinal symptoms in people with gastrointestinal disorders and completed her PhD examining the role of gut-directed hypnotherapy as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. Good luck!