Bowel Movements causing anxiety crisis

[Irdrummer]

Hey guys, posted on here a few times and really just seeking a bit of reassurance or some assistance please as I'm having a bit of a crisis at the moment.

I posted a few weeks ago about lots of excess gas and that I was taking Livespo Colon probiotics to see if that helped my situation. Turns out they were making things worse, I stopped taking them for a few days and my gas has settled right down.

I've been in lockdown for a month and was meant to go back to work on Thursday but as of yet have been unable to. I'm a self employed driving instructor and the past few mornings I have had really strange bowel movements without much of an idea of what is causing them.

This morning for example I had a very normal bowel movement first thing; well formed, sausage like, normal colour, one of the healthiest ones I've had in a while. Then I had a shower, got dressed and had breakfast (banana and a plain croissant). About 5 minutes after breakfast I had an urge to go to the toilet again, sat there for about 5 minutes with a little bit of gas and then started a second bowel movement.

This second bowel movement was much looser and filled the toilet bowl, normal colour and still formed but loose and soft. This has terrified me and caused me a lot of anxiety, I have taken 2x Loperamide after this but still don't feel confident to venture outside and teach (being stuck in a car all day with that looming over me does not sound like my idea of fun).

I'm worried this is going to take over my life and force me to change career. I am speaking with a nutritionalist but we are trying Linseeds and more water intake before we move onto FODMAP. Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thanks and sorry for the long message.

[Maureen1958]

Just an idea, would it not be better to have breakfast and then go to the toilet!?

Also, did you eat a whole banana, was it hard or squishy. It can all make a difference plus I came across this:

"Some foods that trigger diarrhea do so because they are ingested in large quantities; for example, a bite of a banana may not cause diarrhea, but eating a whole banana may trigger diarrhea in some people with IBS."

It's all a bit of a balancing act, I'm afraid.

[Ruggerhead]

Irdrummer, i can only give you reassurance on the first part and maybe alleviate some worry, those of us with IBS experience unusual BM all the time. Sometimes Im like you, Im delighted its a good looking stool (ha) then after about 10 minutes another completely loose, other times its constipation followed by stools that fill the bowl, so dont panic too much about that part, as in my opinion that just seems normal for IBS. I also get a lot of wind with probiotics, but for me all wind and no follow through. I hope this makes you feel more normal for being abnormal..

[Josiejo77 in reply to Ruggerhead]

Haha this is so true. My bowels are like an exciting adventure ready to delight me with a new symptom every day!

[suggi in reply to Josiejo77]

Sounds like me. I never know what to eat. Either I am doing the BRAT diet and get stopped up so back to the things that make me go and usually overdo so back and forth. Drives you crazy.

[Irdrummer in reply to Ruggerhead]

Thank you for replying, yeah I was the same with the gas, all wind and absolutely no follow through at all. It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one in this situation, I'm starting FODMAP imminently and speaking to an anxiety counsellor regarding the mental health side of things.

[Hidden]

Might be worth paying out for a full allergy test. Probably don’t even realise what we could be allergic to. Bananas for one!

[Irdrummer in reply to Hidden]

My GP has requested an allergy test apparently as I've had a referral letter about it, not sure how extensive it's going to be or if I've got the wrong end of the stick with it but I've had a letter regarding allergies that is going to send me to Stafford hospital shortly.

[Morzine]

Well sometimes if I haven’t been then eventually I do I can do a normal or hard poo.....then what comes whooshing out a bit later is kind of what’s backed up.....sloshy but healthy color.....I wouldn’t worry too much . It’s a healthy color.

[Irdrummer in reply to Morzine]

Thank you, I'm trying to take each day as it comes now, had a much better 48 hours so I'm hoping it's settled down and this continues.

[xjrs]

Alflorex probiotic is the one that helped me the most. It has been scientifically studied for IBS.

[Irdrummer in reply to xjrs]

Hey thanks for the reply, does Alflorex have a different "make up" to other probiotics? Thanks

[xjrs in reply to Irdrummer]

Probiotics contain one or more bacterial strains. There are a huge number of possible bacteria - there are 1,000 different species, represented by some 5,000 distinct bacterial strains (just googled that). Each strain has a different function and if it is good bacteria, different benefits. These benefits are currently under research. This means that when you have one probiotic, it could have a completely different set of strains from another. Everyone's individual makeup is different - everyone's gut will have a different set of bacteria in different quantities. Some people will lack certain bacteria that others have and vice versa or have particular bacteria in lower numbers. This is why people respond in different ways to different probiotic products.

Alflorex contains Bifidobacterium infantis 35624. This strain has undergone clinical studies for IBS. Many of the people on the trial gained benefit from the product in terms of their IBS.

I once went to a talk by some microbiome researchers and they talked about different strains and their functions. Bifidobacterium is the strain passed from to mother to the baby during a natural birth. The baby's gut bacteria becomes populated with it during the birthing process and it helps the baby's immune system. They explained that bad bacteria in the gut tends to be like the bully in the playground. They tend to be stronger than good gut bacteria (otherwise known as commensal bacteria). However, one of the strongest good strains i.e. the one that is more likely to kick the bad bacteria's backside is Bifidobacterium. This is perhaps why the study showed such favourable results since some/many people with IBS may have a dominat 'bully' in their guts that needs seeing to.

I used to take lactobacillus acidophilus and later lactobacillus & rhamnosus. These helped to a degree, but no where near as much as Alflorex has.

I have also read that IBS sufferers tend to do better on lower doses of probiotics (<10 billion CFU - colony forming units). Alflorex has 1 billion CFU. I once tried a multi-strain probiotic with 20 billion+ CFU and it made me vomit - I tried again and it gave me heart palpitations. I think my body thought is was being invaded by a huge number of bacteria of different strains and reacted against it, but everyone is different.

[Evonne02]

Hi, I know exactly how you feel. Please do not worry about the bowel movements. What you describe is very normal for me. I've had Ibs for almost 30 years. It seems now that food which is very good for you just immediately requires me to open my bowels. The worst culprits for me are anything with wheat or eating more than 1 type of veg with my meal. Cabbage leaves me in absolute agony with almost 2 days of sitting on the loo and having to wear pads as I have no control over my bowels. I've decided to use the FodMap diet but I'm scared to start. This diet tells me that everything I eat is incorrect. I will start buying my food depending on what this diet stipulates. If it doesn't work I just don't know what I'll do. Good luck. Please don't worry. I've had 10 years of worrying then realising that what will be, will be.

[Irdrummer in reply to Evonne02]

Hey thank you for replying, I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. I've found the same situation with broccoli which is a bizarre thing to think about but apparently it's fermented carbs that cause the issue (I think cabbage falls into that category as well).

Reading about the FODMAP diet it does sound very limiting for a number of weeks but essentially it gives your body chance to have a bit of a reset almost and then you can start re-introducing things a few days at a time and see what the reaction is like. It's probably the wrong time to start it around Christmas but if it helps then I'm all up for trying it. Thank you for the message, I'll let you know how I'm progressing with it when I start and I really hope it goes well for you too.

[Evonne02 in reply to Irdrummer]

Thanks for the quick reply. I was told that sufferers of Ibs have issues with how food our body digests food. Apparently on the way to our bowels certain foods take a long time to break down. It causes gas, bloating, pain etc. Continuous eating of these foods causes a blockage and when broken down the diarrhoea, etc begins.I was told this is a permanent diet which will reduce or stop the Ibs issues. To me it looks boring, lacks texture and flavour. I know I can adapt, but I'll be yearning for what I'm used to eating. I'll let you know how I get on too. Take care 😁