This has been bugging me for some time, and no matter where I look I can't find an answer, so I thought I'd ask a community of IBS sufferers.
I have had ibs since 2006, at first it was constipation, bloating and according to an ultrasound excessive amounts of gas. As the years went by it developed into diarrhoea, rather than constipation. A lot of cramps, as usual relieved by going to the toilet.
I tried finding out if I had intolerances, by excluding foods etc. The only one I think could be was lactose, as I used to get attacks after drinking milk, eating cheese etc
But as soon as I thought I'd found the issue, suddenly I was able to eat dairy again with no issue. However attacks became irregular and random, I could never work out what was causing (ie i could eat ice cream one day and be fine. A week later I could eat the same amount and I'd be in agony.)
A year ago I started to get a new kind of ibs attack. Pain beyond belief, sweating, white hot, dizziness, vomiting, light headedness, all whilst sitting on the toilet with diarrhoea. The attacks were rare, I had about 5 last year, whereas a normal ibs attack for me is usual 1-2 a month, mild cramps, diarrhoea, lay in bed for an hour and it's gone.
Naturally I worried. What if one day I collapsed, home alone etc. I took to the internet and read about Vasovagal Response to a sensitivity to pain. I thought that sounds about right and just put up with it (found that steady dee breathes and sitting upright helped). Until my Mum told a friend who said she once had an ibs attack like that and went to A&E, the doctors told her she was dehydrated, gave her dioralyte and she was better. So my Mum bought some and said, I should try it next time I have an attack.
I agreed that it was very possible that I was dehydrated, I tried the dioralyte (but I'm sure you all know, it's a bit hard to make a drink when you're stuck on a toilet, and had no idea this would be the bad attack beforehand) so we never really found out if dioralyte helped, but I started to ensure I drank more.
I stopped fizzy drinks, opted for alpro soya, no sugar fizzy water, fruit teas etc. I haven't had one of the bad attacks since October (and actually a low amount of normal attacks too), so maybe she was right and dehydration was the key.
However, this past 2-3 weeks I've had weak ibs attacks, loose stools and on/off diarrhoea, mild cramps. Until last night when I had a sudden bad attack, and nearly fainted on the toilet. Now I had eaten a lot of ice cream last night, but as I said above, dairy suddenly became a non-issue a few years back.
I realised however, this past few weeks my water intake has dropped (circumstances kept me from keeping track and on top of my fluids), and maybe that's what caused the weak attacks and the bad attack. Since yesterday I hadn't drank all day until 8pm and only had about a litre. So again dehydration is looking like the cause.
So I did some more research, but I can't find anything, anyone or anywhere that says dehydration could be a trigger for ibs. Now understandably constipation and dehydration go hand in hand, as well as dehdration caused by diarrhoea, but diarrhoea caused by dehydration doesn't seem a thing.
I should add, I do have stress and anxiety issues, which I have found cause an increase in ibs attacks, when I'm suffering from stress/anxiety. However I'm not stressed or anxious at the moment, so know these past few weeks weren't from that.
Now this is where the question comes in (sorry for the long build up)...
Can dehydration cause (exasperate) diarrhoea ibs attacks, especially severe ones? Anyone found this?
Or could a food allergy, say lactose intolerance, be exasperated (maybe even caused) by dehydration?
Because I'm wondering, maybe I was dehydrated for a few years (ie when I first got ibs I was a teen/young adult, and didn't care much for making sure I drank water) this exasperated my lactose issues, which made it impossible to eat/drink anything dairywise without an ibs attack. As I grew older, I learnt to drink more so the dairy attacks grew less and less. So say I became tolerant due to my water intake?
Ie last night I was dehydrated and had ice cream, and ended up with a major ibs attack (which included 4 trips to the toilet). Possible? Anyone thinking the same? Anyone know if it's a thing medically?
Anyone who read the whole message, thank you.
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