I wouldn't necessarily say I have diarrhea or constipation... But when I am "triggered" let's say stressful event, doctors appt. my stools will become erratic...
The shape, thickness, length will change. My stools will go from well formed to shapeless, blob, cow piles...just all over the place
Does this happen to you?
How long until things are back to normal?
Have you had a colonoscopy done?
Mine usually resolve within a few days, possibly longer depending on if I’ve took loperamide or not and what’s triggered it.
Yes, "cow pats" can happen.
Have you definitely been diagnosed with IBS?
Stress seems to always make IBS worse. I have even found that just physical stress can have that effect, even in the absence of emotional or mental stress. If I overworked my body, for instance. It's like we get sensitive to being just a little bit pushed beyond our limits of comfort, whether that is mentally, emotionally, or physically, and the gut is the part of us that feels the strain.
I was getting that "cow pat syndrome" (!) in 2020, and went to my doctor which was amazing to get a one to one appointment owing to us being in lockdown then. My doctor ran 3 stool tests and did a blood test. He said if there were red flags he would send me for a colonoscopy, whether there was a pandemic going on or not!
Everything in my tests came back "normal". Plus I wasn't showing bile acid diarrhoea symptoms or even symptoms of microscopic colitis (or many other things) So he tentatively diagnosed me with IBS and told me to go back to him if things got worse in any way. All I can say is things have improved since then. Fingers crossed (!) I am no way as bad as I was then.
If you haven't been properly checked out I would recommend it.
Thank you for sharing
I was diagnosed with IBS when my father died more than 15 years ago. But I feel like mine acts up when I'm stressed, anxious.
I just recently moved a month ago and I feel like since then my bowel movements have been erratic. I just always worry when the bowel movements are erratic for a longer period of time like on this occasion where it's been over a month
What helped you improve?
Yes, I know, Deep grief for a loved one plus stress can trigger IBS. It won't happen that way for every person. A practtioner of homeopathy once said to me thatwe all store deep pain in different areas of the body. For some it gets the joints, for others, maybe the heart, and for some it gets you in the gut.
I believe grief was one thing that triggered my IBS after years of living with that loss, but there was more to it than that. It seemed I was getting "silent migraine" ....well not so silent as I was feeling unwell with it, though I never got blinding headaches. It seemed the migraine was more centered in my tummy than in my head.
What helped my IBS? I am not certain. I went for homeopathy treatment and it took quite some time but I did seem to improve very subtly on it. My treatment focused on the migraine aspect and symptoms I felt with that.
Also, there could be an emotional aspect on a deep level, as I discovered over the past year that someone who had badly abused me in awful ways 30 plus years ago was brought to justice, and I think that helped me to let go of some pain I was still holding.
Also I worked out a diet that suited me and caused fewer symptoms, and gradually found I could extend the range of foods so long as I did that slowly and carefully. It wasn't any "diet" plan that has a name, it was just built on what my body liked and happily digested! But it's always fun to branch out, and try a food I used to be able to eat, and find it works in different portion sizes, or with tweaks, such as peeling certain vegetables etc. For instance, I always thought peppers didn't suit me but I found that they did if I peeled them!
Mine definitely reacts to stressful things. In fact, my gut knows I am stressed before my head does. I recently had a court case, which my rational thoughts were OK about, but guts thought differently. (I won (!) against a rogue parking company which relentlessly pursued me through the terminal illness and death of my husband). I find loperamide is helpful when I know something is coming up, starting a couple of days ahead. Yes, I have had a colonoscopy in 2018. Some small polyps (non cancerous) and a diagnosis of microscopic colitis.
Can you tell me What is lopermide? Does it have another name? I can't find it in the shops.
Hi Edgar, yes it does. Loperamide is the generic form of Imodium. It is the same active ingredient, but may have slightly different minor ingredients. If you ask at the pharmacy counter for Generic Loperamide, that should be what you get. It is much cheaper than the branded equivalent. Usually about a third of the price. This also applies to a number of other common licenced medicines. We tend to perceive the branded product as superior, which is rarely the case, but just good marketing. I only know about this because I used to work in the technical department of a company that made over the counter medicines. I know Lidl and Tesco have it, and probably the others too.
Thanks for the information. Very Interesting. I'm not surprised to hear that many branded meds are the same. I didn't realise imodium was more or less the same, I do take it occasionally.
ongoing stress and anxiety
Can probiotics ease diarrhoea and daily loose stools?
Can IBS cause constant mild pains all over abdominal area 24/7? 
