Bad sleep = IBS attack?

[Kweh123]

Hi all,

I was wondering if having a bad night's sleep triggers your IBS?

I've noticed if I hardly sleep I'm very likely to have diarrhoea the next morning. It's so frustrating as it ends up ruining my plans for the day if I'm either excited or dreading something.

Thanks ☺

Emma

[Poorlypatient]

Yes I definitely find a bad nights sleep always means a bad ibs next day and cannot think of a solution to it.

[Kweh123 in reply to Poorlypatient]

It's awful as now I've made the connection I lay awake worrying about being ill the next day ontop of what I'm anxious about. I think perhaps the only way around it might be taking an imodium on those nights to help prevent the consequences. I did this when having a job interview as I didn't sleep well due to nerves and it did the trick.

[applecat]

I completely agree !

[Kweh123 in reply to applecat]

Glad that I'm not the only one but it's so upsetting that it's a trigger as you can't control it 🙁

[Just-hanging]

Yes! All the time. I struggle a lot with sleep problems and find I have a very bad flare up the next day after a particularly bad sleep.

I’m often left feeling exhausted and drained the whole day!

[Kweh123 in reply to Just-hanging]

I've been struggling with sleep too recently and after my attack today I feel awful. Luckily it didn't completely ruin the plans I had today but I would've enjoyed them more without the nausea and stomach pains. IBS is ruining everything at the moment 😑

[Hidden]

I know my latest flare up was due to stress/anxiety, this in turn gave me real sleep problems!!! I don’t think it was actually not sleeping well that caused my flare up but the anxiety/worry that I was going through. It’s a vicious circle!!

[Kweh123 in reply to Hidden]

Yes stress/anxiety has been stopping me from sleeping well for a while now. It's so annoying how we can't help these things and our body punishes us for it.

[Fioona]

Yeah, definitely find that sleep deprivation is a trigger.

[Fergie53]

Yes I think this is very common, if I have a bad night then I will have IBS next day, either cramps or running to the toilet

[Laeth]

Hi guys. I don't know if it's common, but I'm experiencing similar issues.

[Poppywoman]

I have suffered with ibs d for many years but it is always worse if I have had a poor nights sleep. I guess it's the worry of whatever event, travel etc. I will be going to the next day particularly if it's an early start! I now take 2 Imodium tabs before I go to bed & then 2 more when I get up. It certainly helps me get from A to B without panicking about loo availability!

[Kweh123 in reply to Poppywoman]

That's what I've started to do now and it really helps

[Lulububs]

Yes i find anything that upsets my system will give me ibs flare.

Ie stress anxiety emotions and also my period... il always get both on first day .. so not only period a bad case of ibs to.

I think it our systems there hyper sensitive

[Kweh123 in reply to Lulububs]

You're probably right. It's annoying how we can't go through normal emotions without our bodies freaking out.

[Budgie5]

Hiya. I had a v v bad bout of insomnia recently esp last week when I had one night when I literally did not have a second of sleep! One or two hours last week was a triumph. What sorted it in part was listening to a podcast on insomnia on bbc radio 4 woman’s hour, which my sister directed me to. Have a listen. Also check out the free mediation things online that can help you drift off. Wishing you a restful sleep tonight x

[Kweh123 in reply to Budgie5]

Thank you so much for the advice 😊 I've been having insomnia too recently due to stress over my studies so I've been trying to find meditation videos to watch on Youtube before bed to relax a bit. I'll definitely give the podcast a listen. Thanks again! X

[Pthom50]

Hi...yes I agree lack of sleep is bad for IBS. In fact it seems to magnify everything! It's one of my main problems just now but I dont want to take anything so am trying deep breathing/nice thoughts/no technology before I am ready to sleep. I read if I wake up and that helps me to get back to sleep.

[Mascot68]

The funny thing is when I have a flare up my IBS causes really bad nights sleep , think it must be I am so anxious when I have flares which are really bad at the moment ! When I go to bed , then my health anxiety kicks in and then I spend the night worrying that I have cancer , God I hate this disease !

[Kweh123 in reply to Mascot68]

Oh no! That sounds awful! Perhaps try to do things that calm you down before sleeping like having camomile tea or reading a book to take your mind off your worries? Anxiety does make IBS a lot worse so if you reduce it I'm sure your symptoms will get better. I hope you can control your anxiety soon and feel better x

[BabblingBrooks]

I find my sleep is affected when my IBS flares up.