Help

[th0tgirl]

I believe I have IBS-C but I go to the toilet everyday the trouble is I have to go to the toilet 3 to 4 times to feel completely evacuated. However, One time I went out with my friends and felt the urge to go really badly I managed to find a toilet but ever since then I have not been able to go out with my friends normally. It’s really ruining my social life as every time I’m out I feel as if I need to go but I suffer from IBS-C not D, can anyone help me?

[Superzob]

I’m having the same trouble at the moment - not everyday, but difficult bowel movements several times in one day when the bowel decides to move itself! There is a condition called tenesmus, which is evidently common in IBS sufferers, where you feel you haven’t completed a movement. I find it uncomfortable and annoying, but it hasn’t stopped me going out because I don’t generally (though not always) find the feeling terribly urgent, but I obviously can’t speak for your experience; having previously suffered with IBS-D, I know exactly what it’s like to be afraid to go out!

Incidentally, the medical profession considers more than 3 bowel movements per day to be diarrhoea, whatever its consistency, whereas fewer than 2 bowel movements per week would be constipation; everything in between is considered quite normal.

[th0tgirl in reply to Superzob]

Thanks for the info How did you manage to overcome your IBS-D and your fear of going out?

[Superzob in reply to th0tgirl]

I changed from IBS-D to IBS-A then, after taking Alflorex, I went to IBS-C! So I never really overcame anything, I just learnt to live with the uncertainty and took Imodium for IBS-D (and some pads) if I thought I might have a problem.

I'm currently taking a half-dose of Alflorex to see if that eases the constipation, but it's early days yet.