bottled water/tap water

[Louisem11]

I’m wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with water. My IBS had been very manageable for years but I recently moved to a new city and shortly after, I began to experience daily diarrhoea and discomfort in my stomach. My doctor put it down to an IBS flare up due to stress (moving, starting a new job). However, I noticed that when I went to stay with my parents over the weekend from where I had just moved from, my bowels returned to normal. The only thing I can put my worsened symptoms down to is the tap water.

I have been on bottled water for a month now and my IBS is definitely a lot better. I don’t have the constant loose stools and diarrhoea, but it’s still not back to complete normal. I did read that different bottled water can make IBS symptoms worse. I was drinking smart water (distilled spring) and I’ve moved onto Buxton to see if that helps.

Any advice or similar experiences would be much appreciated.

[Luisa22]

Could you get a water filter? I was talking to someone today who has one with a carbon filter on it, which removes all impurities from her tap water, She even said any water even river water could be safely filtered through that. Unfortunately she didn't tell me the name of it, and I only bump into her every few weeks.

A "Berkey" water filter is also a good one.

They might seem expensive to buy but cheaper than bottled water in the long run.

I am drinking Aqua Pura which has a lower Magnesium content than most others. Too much Magnesium can give me loose stool. But sometimes I am okay with drinking any bottled water. That's just the way my IBS goes....worse for a while, then better for a while.

I worked out that I get enough Magnesium in foods, plus a daily vitamin-mineral tablet, so drinking water with a lot of it on top of that made my IBS worse .

Highland Spring also isn't terrifically high in Magnesium (if that affects you.) That seems to suit me too.

[Louisem11 in reply to Luisa22]

I did consider getting a water filter, it’s maybe something I’ll try since it will be cheaper in the long run and reduce waste. I also read that magnesium in bottled water can affect IBS. I was still having regular loose stools when I initially switched to Evian bottled water, it might be high in magnesium. My bowels have improved since drinking Buxton, I’m not sure how much magnesium counts as high but Buxton has 19mg magnesium per litre.

[Fade2Grey]

I recently read on here the possible link with tap water and IBS so trialled bottled water as well as cutting out snacking🤤I noticed an improvement in just a week. Almost completely gone is the uncomfortable bloating, diarrhoea not as constant through the day.

I wanted a sustainable water filter so I could carry on without the plastic waste, I’ve just received a PHOX V2 jug for my birthday so will start using that and hope the my IBSD continues to lessen.

[Louisem11 in reply to Fade2Grey]

Can I ask what bottled water you were drinking ? I know that different types can still lead to loose bowels. Hopefully that works, it’s something that I’ve considered too to reduce waste and cost.

[Fade2Grey in reply to Louisem11]

To be honest Louisem11 I just bought the biggest bottled spring waters 5L from the supermarket (Morrisons&Tesco)to see if any affects. My thinking was keep the cost down and one big bottle is marginally better for recycling than 2/3 smaller ones. During the week experiment I did notice an improvement along with eating consciously. I also felt it confirmed to me some trigger foods and eating habits.

I’m not saying it’s a miracle cure but I feel at the moment that if I continue and eat sensibly alongside, I could get back to going my morning local walk which I had to stop due to the ibs 🙂🤞🏻

Good luck sweetie

[Luisa22]

I have been doing some more correlating symptoms with what water I have drunk recently. For 5 weeks or more I 'd had minimal IBS symptoms, and normal bm's, and had been drinking a low mineral content water all that time....but most importantly so I discovered...one with low bicarbonate!

Sadly I am finding it very difficult to get that particular water now. I experimented with Highland Spring which has much higher bicarbonate than the one I'd been drinking (Aqua Pura) I expected nothing to happen, but it did. The next day my gut was much more unhealthy. I only have a small supply of the aqua pura left and no results from trying to buy any more.

You would not believe how hard it is to simply find a low bicarbonate mineral or spring water by googling. Silly results, or finally after 2 days of constant internet search, finding one which works out at £20-ish for 6 x1 litre bottles!! Or one that costs £4.95, yet the final cost with shipping, VAt etc comes to a LOT of money! Nope. I wish Tesco would get aqua pura in again but it's always out of stock. Contacting the aqua pura company three times didn't even get me a polite reply!

I had to go to another company who are behind the actual water producer in Cumbria UK, and they are located in France...translate my email to French via yandex, and they were polite enough to reply. But they said if I didn't get a further reply in 4 days they couldn't help me.

But anyway, watch out for Buxton. It's lovely water but is quite high in bicarbonate. My research also found out that any water where it says "good for healthy digestion" usually means it "makes you go". So, in my case, actually works the opposite way and makes me worse.