I hate the mornings as I never know how things are going to be.That dread feeling.
I try to keep busy to take my mind off of it.I don’t eat breakfast only have a cup of tea.Then all of a sudden I have to go.It starts off a normal bowel movement then the last little bit is hard to pass but it’s loose.I don’t understand.
I then find it hard to get clean.Lots of wiping.Then in the shower.Then putting on Trimovate cream from the doctor or Vaseline or sudosalve or sudocream.Take it from me I’ve tried everything.Still feel itchy and sometimes sore.No piles so myG.p says just after affects from irritable bowel.
Taking Amitriptyline for anxiety but doesn’t seem to be helping now.Feel at my wits end at the moment.
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BlueDevon
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Hi, this is my first post. I’m 56, female, UK based. I just wanted to offer sympathy, for what it’s worth, and to say that I’ve had phases of having that dreaded morning feeling. And the multiple, increasingly mushy stools. My theory is that the mushy poo shouldn’t really be coming out - it’s not been in there long enough - but anxiety speeds up the gut. And if that last bit is tricky to get out, maybe that’s because it doesn’t have enough bulk to stimulate the evacuation muscles. Just my theory, of course.
At the moment, I’m finding huge relief from this in Loperamide, and I wish I’d not been so afraid to take it in the past. I thought it was only for acutely ill people with ‘proper’ diarrhoea. But for me, the morning unpredictability has almost completely gone away since taking loperamide - everything has slowed down and bulked up - so my anxiety is better. Forgive me if you’ve already tried it, as I suspect you probably have. But as for the ghastly emotional feeling, perhaps a new morning routine would help a bit - you obviously have a routine now, but maybe some changes might interrupt the habitual misery - when I was at my worst (after a bereavement) I took Claire Weekes’ advice and changed what I saw when waking up - she advises taking away the old dressing gown hanging mournfully on the bedroom door…good music of course…I find journaling massively helpful, reading the latest self-help books, comedy reading material by the loo, affirming ‘well done’, ‘I’m doing really well’ and ‘I’ll feel better soon’ after those difficult moments on the loo.
Claire Weekes also used to encourage people to go to bed not with the hope that they’ll be better the next morning, but with the hope that they can accept whatever state they find themselves in. That’s a tough one, but it does counteract the tension which perpetuates anxiety.
This is the challenge of a lifetime, isn’t it?! All the best, and hope things feel a little brighter for you as the day goes on.
Thank you so much for replying.Do you take the loperamide before going to bed?I will take a look at Claire Weeks.I think I’ve got myself into a cycle of anxiety and panic.What a life!
I too suffer badly with anxiety and wake with a horrible surge of anxiety in the morning. I recently started doing the Nerva bowel directed hypnotherapy course. I'm on week 4. I find it really has helped with my anxiety and is making it easier to cope with the symptoms. I also just bought Wype, which I saw advertised online. Its a pump dispenser with an aloe Vera gel. You use one pump on the loo roll and it helps with making you feel cleaner and fresher.
I keep a jug of water next to the loo. I have to rinse every time I pee because I have vulvadynia as well as IBS. I woke with wet tissues not toilet paper. For soreness I use a steroid ointment. It also sound a like you need to be on the Low Fodmap diet. A dietician once adviced me not to fruit or acid things like tomatoes. If you have to have fruit have half a banana.
Do you have intolerances such as dairy, yeast or wheat?
Try having something to eat as well as a cup of tea ,it may help to stop the loose movements , as tea on its own is a stimulant & on an empty stomach may be causing you more problems .I’m doing CBT through the NHS for my anxiety, which has really helped to stop that awful morning anxiety & calm me down as getting anxious causes the diarrhoea bursts .
Ask your doctor about CBT is give you useful ways to put the anxiety into prospective & helps you stop it from happening & dealing with it when it does occur x
Sounds like you need some fibre but not too much and it will be important what you have for dinner, not breakfast. The hospital dietician where I am advised only 3 fruits per day (generally 1 of these should be green kiwi fruit- you can get frozen or tablets also) but not 3 together, 5 vegetables per day. Some people react differently to pulses, beans etc. I can handle a tablespoon of chick peas and maybe a few fresh broad beans or peas, for instance .And plenty of fluids. Tea and coffee are generally not a great idea, I have decaff coffee and plant milk. A warm drink is supposed to be helpful in the morning. If you aren't already stick to the Monash low fodmap diet and steer clear of most fats and sugars.
Anyway, this is just general advice, I used to have very urgent, loose morning bm, horrible if I delayed or didn't make it in time. Since I had a colonoscopy ( read complete cleanout and rebuild) I haven't had this problem and occasionally get a bit of constipation or slow to come movements, but they do come and I am pretty pleased at the change and lack of worry. I have a bit of plain yoghurt with all the good probiotics about twice a week, haven't so far started any probiotics tablets.
I'm not trouble free but at least these measures have helped with the morning routine. I eat a variety of things; chia, seedy or grainy bread, low fodmap cereal, tomatoes on toast, Oats. Generally I feel slightly nauseous after all of them but it passes after half an hour or so.
Did the dietitian tell you about soluble and insoluble fibre? They both play a big part in food digestion in the colon. If you have a you watch any you tube take a look at Michelle kenway she covers fibre and IBS issues on her Chanel.
Basically soluble fibre soaks up the liquids in the colon so helps it past through easier as it softer and it helps to control diarrhoea, where insoluble fibre don’t soak up food, look up NHS website for soluble fibre they have lists to help you, I first came across it when we started picking kale out the garden each day and my diarrhoea was terrible, it was made worse by the kale as a lot of greens are insoluble so the stool is more liquid
Hi BlueDevon, so glad you’ve ordered a Claire Weekes book! There are a few and I recommend them all. They’re quite old books now and dated in a way, but sometimes her old-fashioned turn of phrase will make you smile, which is so good! Keep reading, and sometimes a phrase will just hit you between the eyes and become your personal motto. Loperamide: I take it at bedtime, then I’m fine for the next couple of days. Be brave, take a full dose, (two tablets) then see how you feel. I was a bit constipated at first but now it just seems to slow things down so I don’t have to worry. I don’t take it every night, but definitely before any sort of outing, work, social, travel.
Personally I have tried adding soluble fibre to my diet, hoping to bulk up stools, but it made me worse. But this is clearly a very individual thing.
The only way I zapped the diarrhoea morning nonsense was by
1. Using glycerin suppository after evacuation to clear any residue.
2. Plastic bidet wash. Cost about ten pounds on amazon.
3. Cream or lotion of choice to make myself feel more wholesome.
4. A quarter of a cup of sauerkraut or kimchi to cause the gut to slow down.
5. Half an hour later a cup of tea or coffee.
6. Complete abstinence from food till six o’clock in the evening.
7. Start evening meal with sauerkraut or kimchi.
I take one loperamide every other morning.
I have only been taken short once in two years and I don’t wear incontinence pads any more. If I feel nauseous because of low blood sugar I suck a glucose tablet or a piece of crystallised ginger.
Same, I have a limited time to get ready on weekdays and waking up earlier doesn’t help much. I usually just take Imodium and hope I can last the rest of the day but when I can I will take a hot shower, it helps calm my nerves and my stomach
Agree with several things mentioned. Sauerkraut, kimchi, basically you’re wanting fermented foods. They help with the gut biome balance by feeding beneficial organisms. As for the plastic portable bidet wash filled with warm water, that was a game changer for me to deal with the pain and intense itchiness caused from wiping. The only wiping I do now is to dry myself. And now I don’t need to apply any cream or gel or some such in that area. Also agree with the abstinence from caffeine. Anytime I consume caffeine in the morning, I will need to be close to a toilet. Especially if it’s got a bit of sugar in it — curse you Chai Latte!
Tea and coffee are stimulants. They will get things moving sometimes a little too much. I have gluten free (I'm a coeliac) porridge with lactose free milk. A good soft fibre recommended by the hospital dietician. I drink only water and lots of it. We are all different and my problem is mostly constipation. Funny last year it was diarrhoea??
I read this and felt so bad for you, as this is exactly how I am. I have tried all kinds of things, increasing insoluble fibre, definitely bad, increasing soluble fibre better. I am also pretty sure that this causes a cycle of anxiety. The fear of being 'taken short' set up the anxious feeling then away we go, a vicious circle.
I had managed to get my issues under control, but then I booked a 2 day coach trip to London. Against my better judgement but was persuaded into it. Now it's getting nearer, the anxiety cycle has started up again. Fear that the coach won't have a toilet, or it'll be unavailable. Fear all the time that there won't be a toilet (and often there isn't). It's almost soul destroying.
I have taken on board from the replies about loperamide. I haven't tried these, and I'm going to give them a go. Even if they make me a bit constipated for the weekend, that will be better than the fear of having to go, and not being able to.
I hate this condition, I have had it for years, but it's never been this bad before. Maybe a few days of it, then everything settles down. It's been nearly 6 months now, most of the time. I've seen the GP to exclude anything else it could be, all the blood tests came back normal, and a recent routine bowel screen (the one they send through the post), was normal as well, as they have always been.
This group is so helpful as it just keeps reminding me that I am not the only one with this.
Thank you for replying.Its a nightmare isn’t it?Im totally fed up with it.I’ve got a doctors telephone appointment Friday and I’m going to ask for blood test and stool test and something for my anxiety.x
That seems like a good plan. I put up with this for several months, because I do believe it's my irritable bowel that has been made worse by the situation we are in currently. I am not generally an anxious person, but I defy anyone not to be just now. However, I did in the end think that I should probably exclude other things it could be, and the GP was more than happy to order a set of blood tests.
Once they all came back clear at least I know what I am dealing with and try to manage it as best as I can. I haven't tried loperamide but I'm going to buy some and give it a go. I already know what my food 'triggers' are and avoid them whenever I can. I found that keeping a food/mood diary for a couple of weeks, and equated it with what happened in the bathroom department during the following couple of days, did help with working out which foods made it significantly worse.
Maybe one day we'll be pandemic free and at the least one of the major concerns that's been affecting us will be gone. And I am not especially vulnerable health wise, and am not especially affected by it on a day to day basis, but there's no doubt it gets to us even though we don't think it is, and don't see why it should.
Get a portable bidet from ebay/amazon. Very cheap. You fill it with warm water and clean yourself gently with your hand. More hygenic, Not only leaves you feeling really clean without scraping, it saves on loo paper.
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