New to the forum but not new to living with IBS. I have had IBS for years now and diagnosed as IBS-A for roughly 5 years. Until the last few weeks I have only had small reoccurring bouts of IBS and for the most part I would manage with Chiropractic visits and watching my diet. However all this changed right around the new year. The family all went through a bad bout of the stomach flu and I have never recovered. Now going on 4 weeks of unsettled stomach, gas, mild constipation leading to violent watering stools, and abdominal pain. This is the worst it has ever been. I find some relief with taking probiotics, however it only helps for 3 to 4 hours then all the pain and discomfort comes charging back. It's now to the point of severely disrupting my life and only adds to my stress. Through a lot of research and looking back over the years I have discovered that my worst episodes or longest episodes of IBS all seem to happen around the same time periods and has me wondering if anyone else is like this. I find that January through April are hardest on my system. I'm almost wondering if the winter blahs or a bi-polar problem stresses me to the point of a full on IBS attack. Anyone else notice this? Anyone have some tips on ridding your life of stress? I'm almost 100% positive that my main trigger is stress, but how on earth do you eliminate stress from typical mid life madness? Kids, job, money, all add to the stresses of life how do you find the time to get to your happy place and escape?