Night time flare ups

[binks]

How does anyone deal with bad night time episodes when the pain and churning is so bad you can’t sleep? It’s such a lonely condition and I’ve had a few recently 😢

[buggins55]

hello there I've been through phases of that, heat pads and the headspace app sleepcasts are a great help, getting up and moving around sometimes helps too, in the middle of the night can be particularly scary and unsettling I know so distraction can be good otherwise we can dwell too much on not getting enough sleep and feeling 'orrible and yes it can feel lonely but remember you're not the only one out there feeling rubbish and waiting for morning

[Fergie53 in reply to buggins55]

Yep I have restless nights and stomach churning, sometimes running to the loo in the night but generally it’s anxiety or something I’ve eaten…

I just get up if I can’t sleep but some nights don’t sleep much at all, usually better the next day

[binks in reply to Fergie53]

It's a mystery! And exhausting x

[Hennen]

sorry to hear of your pain at night. I also have bad bouts of IBS at night. I also find heating pads helpful, going for a short walk after dinner, and eating a light dinner. Other things I have tried include peppermint capsules and digestive bitters a few minutes before dinner. I also avoid dairy in the evenings as that always causes abdominal pain! Simethicone tablets can also be useful to help get rid of trapped gas. Do you find certain foods trigger your symptoms?

[binks in reply to Hennen]

❤️

[binks in reply to Hennen]

My flare ups are completely random and the bad ones only happen around 6 times a year but when they do it's horrendous. I can't eat chickpeas, apricots or onions and I can only eat cabbage (if I make a coleslaw) once - if I eat certain things like cabbage and sweetcorn two nights running, that's fatal! Peppermint caps give me heartburn. I've not tried Simethicone - I tend towards IBS-C and I'm not sure whether it bungs you up. xx

[Hennen in reply to binks]

Hi, I have IBS-C as well. Simethicone doesn’t make constipation worse - it just helps to release gas. I’m okay with the foods you mentioned but have to be careful with red meat - I find it very slow to digest.

[JulieB5200]

Yeah I sometimes get severe trapped wind pain which can either stop me falling asleep or wake me up. I usually suck on rennies which eventually shift it but it’s not nice.