ibs flare up

[ibsstruggle]

I am a teenager who has been struggling with ibs for about 7 years now. I am in the middle of a serious flare-up where I feel nauseous, I have stomach cramps and I need the toilet. I have no idea what I can do to manage it and it’s stressing me out because I have lots on over the next few days but can barely get off my bed. I have started keeping a food diary and I am taking bus open to try and manage it but I am still in crippling pain.

[Hidden]

The more you stress the worse it will get. There is no quick fix that I have found in 10 years of IBS. My go to when I get the severe cramps is bland foods only and water. For stress try a product called Rescue remedy, be careful to get the non alcohol fluid or the pastilles. There are also gummies but I have not used them. Usually a teaspoon of honey or a small square of cheese can help settle the stomach. If the cramps are severe I'm not sure these will help a lot, but may be worth a try.

Cheers

[Luisa22]

I got cramps this evening for no reason I can work out, except possible stress which is bad right now with family matters. I didn't eat anything unusual or irritating at dinner 5 hours ago. Just an IBS gut doing its own awful thing I suppose.

So I made a pot of my usual tea (not even peppermint, just ordinary loose leaf China tea) And while it was brewing I held the teapot against my lower belly and gently massaged my belly with the hot teapot! Side to side, while at the same time I took what I call "sleep breaths". That is...a good deep breath in and a long slow breath out all in a natural rhythm, not forced, but just the same kind of breathing you have when sleeping or waking up from sleep. Do you know what I mean?

Five minutes later the cramps went away. But I know...there's cramps....and then there's "cramps"!

I guess anything similar to my teapot would work such as a hot water bottle

[xjrs]

You could try Rennie Deflatine in case the pain is caused by trapped gas. Also Imodium if you have diarrhoea. To give your bowels a rest you could try eating white jasmine rice and lean protein for a couple of days. In the long term, you could try a good probiotic such as Alflorex (which has been a game changer for me), in case your IBS is due to a gut bacterial imbalance which is true for many people with IBS. Plus there is the Nerva gut directed hypnotherapy app to help calm nerves, which also helps IBS. Good luck.

[Frasina]

Go back and see your GP. There are many meds to help relieve the cramping and what works for one may not work so well for another. Buscopan IBS is fine for me and does help but the GP may give you mebeverine to try.