Some Advice Please

Hi everyone, My name is Lisa and I'm new here and I am having a bit of troubles lately.

about 11 years ago I was going through some rough stuff. I was always going to the bathroom (#2) quite often, and after some testing they found out I had a C-Diff infection in my intestines. The doctor said more than likely the cause of it was antibiotics I was on for bronchitis. At the time I was in my 20s. Then after I gone through treatment, I was still having the same symptoms, so I went back again to the doctor and then he told me IBS. So for years I've been battling IBS, I was on treatment for it , but made me worse. I was better off watching what I ate, and so forth. So now fast forward to now, I'm 31 years old and for the past week or so it seems I'll eat and have to run to the bathroom with loose stools within 15-20 after I eat. but it's not with every meal. It usually happens right after breakfast or lunch. I may go 2 times a day like that. Yesterday and today so far it's been once. It's not diarrhea per say, but it is watery and loose, it just looks like a pile of mush. I've been also feeling my tummy grumbling as soon as I start eating. Now I know that caffeine is a BIG NO NO, but I had some iced tea last week, and I don't know if that's part of my problem right now or not, but I haven't drank any this week at all. I also had cereal this morning and as soon as I started eating it my tummy started grumbling at me. So I'm just wanting a bit of input cause I've heard that IBS can get worse as time goes by. I have to also say that April 22nd my husband and I were in a bad car accident, and since then, I was not "regular" at all, and would go without going #2 for sometimes 2 and 3 days.

Thanks for your input. I do appreciate it.

What was the treatment you were on for the IBS? When I was diagnosed they put my own Bentyl and Diyclomine. None in which helped me, but made it worse. Then I ended up going to another doctor that put me on Celexa and the Lexapro. That did help, but I lost my insurance, and couldn't continue treatment. I've been off the treatment for almost 6 years now.

Have you been to a doctor recently about this? No I have not because I've go no insurance/money to do so at this time. I will probably end up going to the ER at some point if this persists. I don't really remember getting like this since I've been diagnosed with IBS. I would get stomach "attacks" here and there, but not have loose stools everyday for 3 days.

Thanks, it was my first accident and it was pretty bad, and the lady that hit us has no insurance which made matters much worse.

I actually went to the ER lastnight. They ran some blood work and did a CAT Scan. Everything turned out normal. No infection or Colitis according to the CT Scan. So now today I've got diarrhea, because of that drink for the CAT Scan. So that just makes things worse for me right now. So the DR. seems to feel I'm just having a bad flare up right now.

If you were put on pain meds after the car accident, the meds can cause constipation.  I've had IBS-D for eleven years and don't think I even knew what constipation actually was until I had a minor surgery and was given oxycodone for pain and a stool softener.  I took the pain med for one day and experienced horrible constipation for two days afterward.  I stopped taking it because the constipation was worse than the surgery pain.  I have nothing but empathy for people who suffer from chronic constipation.  The only other idea regarding the accident is anxiety which can make IBS more troublesome.

With the consistency of stool you're dealing with, I would consider diet and regular probiotic therapy (personal opinion).  Diet does not cause IBS but for me diet makes and breaks my calendar of events for the day.  What I eat, without a doubt, has an effect on how my day will go.  Everybody is diferent, however, and you may consider keeping a journal of what you eat and how you feel after eating.  I have to be the master of change because just when I think I have it all figured out, my digestive tolerances change and I have to do a re-evaluation.   You might want to take a look at what you're eating for breakfast and lunch and compare the foods with what you're eating/drinking for dinner to see what the differences are.  I can't even chew gum.  I take toothpaste/toothbrush to work.  I can't have cough drops without getting that immediate over-stimulated feeling in my stomach/bowels-same with other syrup meds like cough and cold syrups.  Consider everything that you consume...not to eliminate it, but to understand why.  Once I knew what consumable item affected which IBS reaction, I had a lot of moments of "that's why I was so sick that day".  I'm not nearly as sick as I was a couple of years ago.  I have bad days but it used to be every day felt like a hopeless, lonely, uphill battle and the only thing I could think about all day long was my colon -that can be very depressing.  Even if you don't feel 100%, feeling a little better makes the day so much more achievable.