Is this IBS??

[WorriedtoDeath356]

Hi , i have had persistent dirreah for the past three months .. it has come during a time where i have had the most stress ever in my life. i have been constanlty filled with stress and axiety for the past three months. I have dirreah about 2-3 times a day and usually small loads. although there are no other syptoms besides occasionally mucus in my dirreah stools.. does this sound like ibs to you??

Any advice would be greatlyy aprreciated

[lagoya]

when the body is under stress for whatever reasons the whole digestion flow get disturbed and may speed up or slow down also when we eat when we are stressed and i mean chronic stress our enzymes get all messed up and hence the diarreha ,do discuss this with your doc ,but learn ways to relax ,unwind and find ways to control the stress be it with exercise ,reading ,music or whatever u like and makes u feel good but make sure it is something u will enjoy.
be careful trying avoidance diets unless u have a true allergie to a specfic food ie lactose,gluten etc as this is the reason why most with ibs lose weight and make symptoms worst
ibs is not the same as ibd ,celiac etc and there is very little inflamation involed and so it should not cause malabsorbation in the gut ,it is simply a rhythm problem in the bowel and eating smaller meals ,eating fruit in between meals and watching fast sugars will help in the long run .also try pro-bioicts with every meal they are the way forward in ibs

i hope u feel better soon and let us know what u feel

[FurballsMom]

It does sound like IBS, and stress will certainly aggravate IBS.  Have you seen a doctor for it?  Usually, a GI will have a person go through some tests, like a colonoscopy, to rule out any other causes for your symptoms.  Although it's most likely IBS, you really ought to see your doctor first of all.  

If you find out that this is IBS, there are some things you can do that will help it.  One thing that doctors almost always try is prescribing an antispasmodic drug.  These drugs tend to be sedating, though.  

Usually, doctors suggest using Metamucil or other OTC fiber supplements.  These things contain psyllium fiber.  Fiber is supposed to help balance out the water content in your bowels.  When I switched from using psyllium fiber to flaxseed meal, my colon didn't cramp so often.  Unlike psyllium fiber, flaxseed meal can be added to your foods that you eat.

You should also consider finding out which foods bother your gut.  This can be done by following an elimination diet food challenge plan.  The foods on the list are the ones that are most common foods that people have problems with.  These are called food sensitivities, since they are not true allergies.  When you find that a certain type of food causes your symptoms to worsen, you don't eat that food again.  The best way to follow this type of plan is to find a naturopath and get proper guidance to go through this kind of elimination diet.  The concept is simple, but it does take a long time to go through the process.  It's worth the effort, though.  

The top two foods that cause people problems are wheat and dairy.  You do not have to eat wheat or other gluten types of grains in order to be healthy.  In fact, people with Celiac simply can't touch these types of grains.  You need not worry, though, because there are plenty of other grains to eat.  At first, avoiding wheat will seem to be a daunting task, because it's in so many foods.  Avoiding corn is harder than avoidng wheat, because it's in places that one doesn't expect to find it.  You either become an avid label reader, or you simplify things and shop for whole grains in the bulk foods and avoid packaged and processed foods as much as possible.  In fact, health and nutrition experts advise that people only shop on the perimeter of their grocery stores, where the real food is, which is also less expensive, and avoid shopping in the aisles of the grocery stores, where the expensive packaged and processed foods are.

I hope this information helps you get started.  Do see your doctor first, though, to err on the side of caution.  Try not to worry, because it's probably IBS or Celiac or both, which can be stablilized and maintained through some dietary changes and modifications.  And, remember that stress will only aggravate your colon, because that's where our emotions go to.  Call your primary care doctor and make an appointment as soon as possible.  Then, your primary care doctor will make the referral to see a GI doctor, or other specialist to run the tests that rule out other problems.  This is required by most insurances to go through your primary care doctor, eventhough we both know you need a GI doctor.  Go figure.