[S3210]

I've recently been really noticing that I get gas almost daily after dinner and I have diarrhea 1-2 times a week (sometimes more). It's been going on for a while (a couple of months) but I haven't been thinking much of it. Lately, I've been hanging out with friends a lot after dinner hours and i end up being quite uncomfortable because my stomach rumbles (though I am not hungry) and I have to excuse myself to the bathroom to relieve some gas. Every now and then I get myself stuck in a situation where I have diarrhea. It's starting to get to me, bother me in daily life, and thats when I thought that I need to look into getting help.What I read on IBS, it seems that it should be painful. I don't have any pain or discomfort. Like I said, it's just really a gas problem with diarrhea 1-2 x/week Does it sound like IBS..a mild case perhaps? Is there such a thing? I only want to go to my doctor if they can actually help me. If its just "oh well you have gas", then I dont want to go because that's pointless. My understanding is that there's a little more a doctor can do if you actually have IBS than just send you off with nothing.Anyway..thanks for any replies!!!p.s. nonsmoker and I dont know any specific foods that set it off. I'm getting a feeling it might be caffeine sometimes, but I'm never sure...and it happens on days when I don't have caffeine either..just seems a little worse when I do...maybe.OH! I almost forgot..I DO know that when I drink a lot of water (I don't drink enough in the first place but on the days I actually do drink enough ["a lot", to me]..), I get really gassy. I tried to find any sites that mention this and I'm not having luck. Am I the only one like this??

 

[Clancy Garner]

IBS comes in many shapes and forms. At times there is not pain and just frequent D.... but IBS can be Constipation or even alternating between C and D.My trigger is stress... and if I get too stresssed, without knowing it conciously, the D moves so fast it seems to kink the colon and as it goes around a corner it can really hurt and make a lot of abdominal noise.My gas usually comes after a bad D attack... but many have it before.Still, be careful, there are many very serious ailments that share IBS symptoms. Only true IBS diagnosis is one that eliminates the others. Even then, when symptoms get stronger they will retest because the symptoms are so similar and some are extremely serious.Find a good GI

 

[Kathleen M.]

I can't imagine how water generates gas in the intestines (no bacteria break water down into gas) but it may alter stool consistancy and that may change how gas moves in the GI tract...just a guess based on how things work.Have you tried probiotic bacteria suppelements. It may be that this is not IBS but that you had a shift in the colonic bacteria. Different species of bacteria produce varying amounts of gas (assuming that diet is relatively consistant through all this, which it may not be). You get exposed to these bacteria all the time and so the population can change over time. Probiotic bacteria (acidophilus is one common name for these in the store) produce no gas from the digestion of the carbohydrates you do not digest.Now the rumbling after dinner may be a mild kind of IBS. The colon gets more active after meals, and larger meals like dinner usually cause bigger results, so you may be having those issues...and that it sometimes go to diarrhea that may be the mild edge of IBS. Discomfort could include the loose stools being overly urgent, and if you find holding the gas in uncomfortable (rather than just embarassing having to leave the room) that is also in the tending to IBS pile.But you should see the doctor as various diseases/disorders cause GI symptoms and this may be a sign it is time for at least a standard physical to get things checked over. And for woman they should also include a female check up if they haven't had one of those for awhile as some Gyn issues can cause GI symptoms.K.