Trying loperamide (generic name for Imodium) to help with IBS. When I have to poop frequently and it always feels like there’s more in there, it can ruin my day. So I finally went out and got some of this stuff and it seems to help.
I suppose I have IBS - got tested for everything else and it all came back negative. Thankfully, I’m not celiac as I love bread. Got blood tests, ultrasound, colonoscopy (horrible to prep for that), everything seems OK. Doctor shrugged and told me, “it’s IBS I guess”.
Hoping to learn to manage it because I’m trying to get in shape. Not being able to eat because I feel disgusting is derailing me.
Happy pooping, everybody.
UPDATE: Thanks for all the discussion and suggestions! It’s eye-opening to see how common it is to have a shitty time shitting. You all are helping me feel less isolated and ashamed of my condition.
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Get a bidet. If you learn to relax a bit you can actually get some water inside and then shoot it back out to really clean all the bits when you have those bad poop days. It feels incredible.
This guy enemas
Everyone I know who has gotten a bidet became an evangelist for them, so there must be something to it!
Oh yea, also try the probiotic called Align. Most probiotics are bullshit but this one (Bifidobacterium 35624) has been developed for decades now to aide against IBS-D symptoms. I noticed improvements within days but the full effect takes about a month.
The only problem is your buttholes gonna become a diva and be mad as fuck when you poop away from home and have to wipe.
Get a bidet.
Check out low FODMAP, seriously. I’m an extremely stubborn person and would have benefited from this knowledge a long time ago. Big one is garlic sadly. But processed garlic or garlic powder can be ok. It’s a process of trial and error.
Personal anecdote and not a doctor, but mine went away, or rather is managed, with weight loss assisted with GLP-1.
In retrospect I wasn’t being honest with myself in regards to how much I was eating or the quality of said food.
When I first started GLP-1, my appetite (really cravings) mostly went away and junk food beyond a tiny handful made me incredibility sick with flu-like symptoms.
Now that I’m at my goal weight, still taking a maintenance dose of GLP-1, I can cheat a bit more without side effects, but a burger and fries or a pizza will absolutely trigger my IBS to this day if the meal is over ~500 calories.
Eating clean and not overindulging has caused the opposite problem. I have to supplement fiber or I won’t poop for a week. Its not uncomfortable constipation either, there just isn’t a lot of waste there to eliminate.
Good luck on your pooping journey!
edit: Also seconding a bidet!
I’ve heard so many good things about GLP-1.
I find if I stay away from junk food for a while, and try it again, I realize how terrible it makes me feel. Bloated, or sugar crashing, or tired. That’s not even IBS-related, it just has that effect on everybody.
Have you tried psyllium? Electrolytes also might help, and probiotic foods.
Psyllium and flax seed meal are on my list to try. I’m OK for electrolytes, according to my blood tests. Even though I’m lactose intolerant, yogurt is fine, so that’s my source for probiotics. Good suggestions!
A breakfast with kefir, psyllium, flax seed, raisins, oats and coffee and you set up for a good solid poop.
Psyllium is also a prebiotic where kefir is strong in probiotics.
A good balance of soluble and insoluble fibers is key.
Unfortunately, kefir is something that I can’t handle. Odd, because yogurt is fine.
Any chance you have a tricky food sensitivity? You could try a super minimal diet and slowly add ingredients one by one.
At the very least, lactose intolerance.
You might want to try a zero carb (only fat and protein) diet for a few weeks, many many people report their GI issues resolving. Fat and protein are almost completely digested in the stomach with basically nothing going to the intestines/bowels. People with colostomy bags can dramatically demonstrate this. This gives your intestines time to heal.
I know you said you love bread, but it’s worthwhile to give it up for a few weeks, find your good baseline, then reintroduce things and find your triggers.
Regardless of what you do, don’t add fibre - it will just bulk up your stools and increase bm frequency, the opposite of what you need right now. I know the love of fibre is huge and mainstream, but it is the exact opposite of what you need.
Did you get tested for food allergies? I found out that I am allergic to grains and that was about 95% of my problem
I did get a test for celiac, came back negative. There aren’t any obvious candidates for an allergy.
I have a couple of issues down the pipeline. Certain foods like tomatoes or tomato sauce, onion or garlic will trigger heartburn, and hemorrhoids.
After much reading and testing various things, I’m pretty sure it’s an allergic reaction. Regardless, one of the things that really helps is yoghurt made of L. Reuteri.
Sure other yoghurt bacteria mixes help. But L. Reuteri is definitely a star. Find it, get a yoghurt maker and make some. Amazon sales large pouches that have tiny starter pouches enough for a year’s supply. They suggest to cook it for 36hrs, I usually do mine for 24 or 30hrs. It comes out super creamy and tastes like a strong cheesy yoghurt. It will loosen up your stool and appears to help ulcers and hemorrhoids.
Is that a different bacterium than the usual yogurt? I usually buy stuff with active cultures.
Yeah, there are many cultures. Reuteri supposedly is present in babies. At some point we all end up with a course of antibiotics or other things that kill off Reuteri.
Well, loperamide definitely helps, particularly with IBSd.
But there’s other ways to minimize troubles. The first is to figure out if you have food triggers (most people with it do) and then eliminate them. Food diary is the fastest way to narrow down exactly what sets you off. You’ll likely figure out quickly that acidic foods are a trigger (because they almost always are for everyone with IBS), so tomato sauces are a great thing to start eliminating.
However, there’s what’s called the FODMAP diet, which actually reduces FODMAPs, so it’s kinda weird that it’s just referred to that way. But elimination of FODMAPs tends to drastically reduce or even eliminate IBS flare ups.
However, diet alone isn’t always the culprit. Stress plays a big role in flares. So does hydration (which isn’t always thought of as part of diet, so I mention it separately). Mobility factors in; being sedentary makes IBS d and c worse, though it’s counter intuitive with IBSd what with walking stimulating bowel motility.
Fiber is often recommended, but I say be very cautious when you try it. Psyllium fiber in particular has a habit of making gas and cramping worse with some IBS sufferers. I tend to favor improving soluble fiber while minimizing insoluble to be more effective than just increasing fiber overall. But there’s a degree of insoluble that’s necessary, so don’t go crazy eliminating it.
Because IBS is kinda individual, it’s always a journey. Something like arthritis, you know what’s going to help it or not; you break a leg, there’s a very small range of options and they are all certain to work. But IBS? It’s not really a single disease as much as having bowels that are reactive to “stuff”, and that stuff just isn’t the same for everyone. So be prepared to deal with a good bit of experimenting until you figure out what works for you.
Thanks for the advice! I agree that it looks like IBS is what doctors label you when they throw their hands up in frustration. It’s still up to me to find out how to deal with it.
Stress is a BIG factor for me, I’ve made changes recently to help reduce that.
Soon I’ll be speaking to a dietician, they might recommend the low-FODMAP diet. I’m wary of elimination diets, though, as I am worried about losing weight. I worked hard to get from underweight to a healthy weight and my quality of life improved a lot as a result.
FODMAP is only temporary. I tried it and I noticed a handful of triggers for my IBS, which have helped me a lot since.
I don’t have celiac, but there are some sorts of wheats I cannot eat or I will become sick immediately. I didn’t really notice it before my IBS was cured, as I was sick all the time.
Look into Nicole Sachs, in this podcast she mentions IBS specifically among others.
https://art19.com/shows/the-jordan-harbinger-show/episodes/dd28c067-b6a6-4691-96b8-483d9e5c6967
Thanks, I’ll look into it.
I’ve definitely been through Some Shit that has been traumatic, not gonna say PTSD because I don’t have a diagnosis. But it’s apparently common IBS to come along for the ride. I notice when I’m more stressed, the symptoms are worse.
Try slowly increasing your fibre content. Wholegrains beans and crunchy veg are easy ways to start. Most people don’t eat enough and are chronically constipated to some degree.
I’m glad you got checked out that incomplete emptying feeling can be a red flag so good decision there.
For me, it was worse when I was eating a lot of beans. They always made me poop a lot and get gas, even after when there should have been some gut adaptation to all the fibre. I do eat whole grains and fresh fruit & veg, nuts etc so I get a good amount of fibre. I just think that beans don’t sit well with me. Tofu etc is fine though.
That’s to stop bowel movements. Did your doctor recommend it?
Yep, the doc suggested to keep some on hand for days when I know I’d be going frequently.
Oh I misunderstood your post! Best of luck to you!
