PI-IBS affecting my night out

[Avrilphillips]

I previously had food poisoning around 3 years ago and have never been right since, I went to the doctors and was diagnosed with having IBS and have been exploring ever since with the type of foods i can manage! However until recently (around 6 months ago) i went out with some girlfriends having a few drinks....at the start of the night i was fine however as the night progressed i had an urgency to go to the toilet and felt some slight nausea. I hadn't experienced this before with alcohol and has since happened again..... the only thing i can think of is on both occasions i had eaten? Has anyone else experienced this? Don't want to believe that i now can't drink alcohol!!??

[zoelinaa]

Until recently I never had an issue with alcohol but now I struggle with it. I don't get hang overs I get really had stomach cramps and diarrhoea for a good 24 hours after with extreme tiredness. All I can put it down to is the drink. Spirits i seem to be fine with but anything else is a big no no!

[tiredmum]

My son has post infection ibs too. He can't drink alcohol at all any more as it gives him really bad diarrhoea for a couple of days. The alcohol is supposed to increase the level of bad bacteria in the gut, making your symptoms worse. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[lizwhitebillwhite]

Alcohol can have many effects on our bowels etc. So yes, I think you should try not drinking when you go out and see if it happens again. Alcohol is not necessary to have a good night out, in fact it is really not needed at all. I stopped drinking about 25 yrs ago, and I still have great evenings, and entertainment, in fact, it is sometimes more funny when you watch what the alcohol does to some people. Anyway, try it without the booze, see if it makes any difference to your night out.

[Avrilphillips in reply to lizwhitebillwhite]

Thanyou

[IronGiant63]

Look into SIBO. I was told I had PI IBS and thought that was a load of crap, no pun intended. After a course of antibiotics, I'm about 96% back to where I used to be. Antibiotics are cheap, ibs diets are not, give it a shot!

[patientj]

Alcohol can be an irritant but like others have said it may depend on the type of alcohol, too. A couple of personal observations:

- I find rum particularly troublesome. I suspect this is because of its high fructose content which means not all fructose gets absorbed and can get digested by bacteria instead causing IBS symptoms. Watch out what you're mixing it with as well. Apple juice in cocktails could be just as bad for instance...

- I also find that it can depend on how I'm currently feeling. I had a small flare up this week. On Thursday night I went to a pub quiz and as well as having a couple of G and Ts, also had some chocolate. This exacerbated some heart burn which had been brewing for a couple of days and caused a couple of trips to the bathroom in quick succession back home. This is all a convoluted way of saying that I think some underlying anxiety (manifest by the heartburn) may have been the bigger reason. For example, as well as affecting the sphincter muscle that stops the gastric juices causing heart burn, the anxiety might also have affected other parts of the gut, perhaps causing my diarrhoea. Which is yet a more convoluted way of saying if you're currently suffering from a bit of anxiety (maybe you don't even realise you are) the alcohol could be exacerbating things.

And finally, as someone else said, you don't have to drink to have a good time

[Avrilphillips in reply to patientj]

Thankyou

[missymo]

Yes.i would love the odd glass of wine but not only does it cause stomache pain but dreadful heartburn!! No christmas drinks for me again this year!!

[AMHardulak]

I used to love a glass of red wine. Have had IBS since October and sure can't do that anymore! However, I found that a White Zin or a Rose do not bother me at all.