Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Large Bowel Movements

Question:
First of all let me say that I am a 40-year old male who, about three weeks ago, had my first stomach bout and I figured that I had a bug. Then the D would go away a day or two then come back. Imodium seemed to help. This pattern continued - a day or two of nothing then a day or two of D. I finally went to my Dr. and he ran some blood tests and basically chalked it up to IBS and gave me something for the cramps and Xanax. The pattern has continued now for about three weeks. Can anyone else recall when their IBS began? Was it sudden as mine was? I must admit that it is really starting to play on my mind and I know that that is likely making things even worse.

Answer:
I am a 33 year old female.  My symptoms did not come on immediately; it was over a period of time.  When my ibs started (over 10 years ago), it was only with certain kinds of foods - like tomatoes or tomato sauce, bacon, peas, corn, etc. Then it seemed to act up with more and more foods. Eventually, I had to take and am taking medicine daily for this (and of course adjust my diet).   However, since your symptoms have only been going on for a couple of weeks, it very well could be a stomach virus which will go away soon enough.  It is cold season, and there are a lot of strange viruses in the air.  It could also be stress related which will pass soon enough as well..  Have you checked over your diet?  Is there 1 particular food or beverage that is causing this to occur?  (such as dairy (lactose intolerance), coffee, soda, etc) You may just be allergic to one kind of food and don't realize what is causing the D.  I would try not to panic as it will probably just pass on its own or if you make a slight change in your diet.  If it does turn out to IBS (and it probably won't), then realize that there is a lot of medicine on the market that can help you and new medicines come out every year.  I'd say to try to think as positive as you can.  If it doesn't go away or if the symptoms worsen, then make sure that it is not an ulcer or anything like that.  (Check with your doctor.) Unfortunately, thinking about it does worsen the problem so your best bet is to stay positive and realize that you are not alone with this problem. So my advice is:  Be happy; don't worry!  And chances are - yours is most likely just a bug or upset stomach. It is my impression that before a doctor makes an IBS diagnosis, they should do a colonoscopy to rule out other possible causes of the D. My problem started about 12 months ago now, i was 19 at the time, had a lot of stress on me and also was drinking a LOT of water from the tap (Sydney, Aus), so the drs thought it was just giardia, - nope.  I have been through so many different tests and had all possibly examinations done, nothing seems to be wrong! So all they can say is IBS. Over the last 12 months, I have had diarrhea - 4 months straight, constipation for about 2 months, and a combo of both currently - also have had increased bowel movements - up to 10/day! errrr. It was a sudden thing, One day I was fine, next day sick. The stress was getting to me so much I couldn't even get into a car (Massive panic attacks. I still worry when I do have to do something, I always ask if there will be toilets about when I go out - and that’s only if I HAVE to go out, how embarrassing. I went from having a great life, now its screwed, everything I do I am worried about what my bowel may do, my friends don't understand ... especially at my age, and I can't tell girls... too embarrassing. All I can say - anyone who is reading this ho has a good working bowel/ digestive system - look after it, and appreciate it. The only medication I have tried is Metronidiozole, great stuff... it did jack! and I was allergic to it.  There hasn't been any doctors who recommend medication - and I have seen plenty of them. The current gastroentroglist suggested nature takes its course So I have NO IDEA what to do.. I haven’t been put on a diet either. I was thinking Chinese herbal doctor, can anyone suggest something for me?? Mine began in 1986. I was a senior in high school. During the first period English class the teacher left the room and a thought went through my mind, what if I need to go to the restroom before she gets back. And BAM, suddenly I broke into a sweat and I needed to get to the restroom BAD! I sat in my seat squirming until I just couldn't take it any more, and just walked out. A passed another teacher in the hall and told her I was sick and kept going. After I went, I was fine. The next day, I thought how embarrassing it was to get up in front of everybody during a quiet class like that, and it hit again. I went again. Every morning it kept happening. It embarrassed me to death. Rarely there were times when I could wait, but most of the time I couldn't. If I made it through the class without going, the pressure would suddenly leave when the bell rang. The teacher thought I was doing it to get out of the English class. I went to a doctor, who ran tests on me, and told me I was actually the healthiest person he knew. He started seeing me as early in the morning as possible, which meant I missed quite a few classes. Each one with a written doctor's excuse. There were many time she and I had words over this situation, and finally she had me thrown out of her class. I lost my English credit, and failed my senior year. At that time I thought it had something to do with the time of day and what I had eaten, but later I realized it was the stressful situation in that class. It's been with me ever since, and I live my life on a leash. Now, I want to return to school and make a change in my life and have a carrier, but all I can do is be afraid of what might happen if I sit in a classroom full of people 10-12 years younger than me. It seems that most of us who have IBS live a what if it happens when I do life. It has been shown that after a GI infection you are about 10X more likely to have IBS start than if you haven't had a GI infection recently. Now at 3 weeks it is really a bit early to diagnose it as IBS. It is fairly common for the colon to be a bit touchy for several weeks after a GI infection (if it is going to resolve it will clear up in about 6 weeks or so). Usually it takes a few months of symptoms to be sure it is IBS vs just the colon healing up from the damage that can be cause to it and it's nervous system from fighting off an infection.