I finally went to the doctor for my "nervous stomach" after a particularly not fun reaction I had in SE Asia. I have always had a very unpredictable digestive system even when I was a kid. I remember having bouts of constipation and bouts of D and very painful gas and bloating. I am now in my 30's and things are somewhat OK but at times somewhat worse. I backpack a lot and travel for months at a time in places where maybe you have a squat toilet and maybe you go out in a field. Needless to say this causes some apprehension, as do the 4-5 hour bus trips on "chicken buses" with no toilets! However, I really enjoy traveling and just try to get by. So far my solutions are to not eat anything all day or just eat bananas/crackers which seem to help "stop me up" since my problem is mainly loose stools with mucus. I go on average about 2-3 times per day and my problems seem to be more apparent in the morning. I can no longer drink coffee or other high caffeine items like I used to. I am concerned that this will just continue to get worse with age, right now it is pretty tolerable for me and I don't take many meds except for the occasional bentyl or loperamide. I also take psyllium husk since I heard that can help "bulk up" your stools. Is that true? Is there anything I can do to prevent this from getting worse and is it related in any way to my allergies? I have fairly severe allergies to pollen, dust, mold and grass. I receive shots for it 2x per month. I have been tested for celiac and this has been ruled out. My HMO does not allow me to see a doctor for GI so I am constantly afraid that I might have something more severe like IBD or Crohn's although I would presume that my symptoms would be much worse. I am just looking for some advice, I know my case doesnt seem as extreme as some others on here but I worry that things might get worse over time. I am in my mid-30's and sometimes I will go months without a D attack while other times I will have 3-4 bouts per month. I especially seem to worry and make things worse on myself when traveling (psychological). Any advice appreciated!