[One Fine Day]

My IBS symptoms are not the same every day. They tend to be a mix of bloating, dehydration, tiredness, some cramping and discomfort and occasional loose stools but there are various different combinations I get at different times. To try to get some understanding to this I have been monitoring my IBS symptoms very carefully over recent months and this has helped me realise that there are probably 3 or 4 slightly different reactions my digestion has to various things (food, exercise, stress) which together equal my overall IBS experience. I mention this because I have been able to work out one cause and effect that seems very peculiar and that I have not seen commented on elsewhere - and I am hoping someone may be able to help explain it !Basically if I eat meat (or fish) it acts like a diuretic on my body and causes me to visit the toilet to urinate frequently over the following 12 or so hours. (but doesn't generally lead to any significant change in bowel habits). I am absolutely 100% certain this happens to me.- Since working this out I have experimented a number of times to test it and always with the same result. So basically if I eat rice and potato only for my dinner tonight I will sleep normally for 8 hours, at most needing one visit to the toilet to urinate during the night. However, if I eat for example grilled chicken as part of my dinner - then I will likely have to visit the toilet 5 or 6 times during the night to urinate (i.e. I will be up every hour and a half or so all night) By morning I will be tired and dehydrated - which means a very difficult day ahead follows. On the one hand knowing this is helpful - I can avoid eating chicken etc particular in the latter part of the day. However, having isolated the issue it would be great if I could understand it and do something about it ! Not being able to eat meat or fish without this happening severely curtails my diet - whilst poor night's sleep and the resulting tiredness and sometimes dizzyness are a real handicap to my life if I do eat some.Does anyone have any suggestions as to why this should happen? what the bodily link could be between my eating these protein/fats and then my body deciding it needs to urinate frequently to the point I get very dehydrated?

 

[WonkyColon]

I'm not sure how these foods might specifically affect your urine flow, but I know that I pee like a race horse when I'm constipated from IBS. I think that it's because of the extra matter pushing against my bladder. I end up having to pee about 10 times a day if I'm constipated, and I know I don't have a urinary tract infection.Waking up several times a night could signal a different problem. What's your gender? If you're male, it may be benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate), which is annoying but ultimately won't hurt you. If you're female, it could be a chronic urinary tract infection-- they're pretty common in us ladies. You might wanna see your doctor if it doesn't get better.

 

[One Fine Day]

Thanks very much for the reply

)I am male. However, I am fairly sure I don't have a urinary tract or prostate issue. There is no pain or other issues associated with my needing to urinate and most days it is simply a case of the more water I drink the more I need to urinate which is fine.I have seen others also comment how wind/bloating etc can cause external pressure on the bladder and then more frequent urination - it may be part of the explanation for me but I am not totally convinced because the wind I have on these occasions is not really any worse than normal - certainly doesn't seem enough to explain the significantly greater diuretic effect I experience and the fact I keep needing to go until i'm completely dehydrated. So I think in some way it is my body reacting to these foods by telling my kidneys to significantly increase the amount of urine they produce but how, why etc I don't understand. Maybe something to do with the foods affecting electrolyte (sodium, potassium) levels in my body although I had a blood test recently and the doctor said these were normal.

 

[onyx]

I seem to whizz all the time, the worst being at night. I believe the two meds I take - imodium & questran - are partly responsible but I've never figured out anything else (other than the obvious one, coffee). I definitely don't have an urgency problem per se, it's simply a high volume for some reason. I have asked my dr. about it but all he did was check for diabetes and otherwise said Don't drink too much water, um thanks. Anyway your correlation with consuming meat is interesting, I guess maybe it would be protein-related? I'll have to experiment with that.