How Was Your Gut Health Before IBS?

By Karina

3 min read

I’m wondering: how was your gut health before IBS? Were you able to eat anything and everything? Or was your digestive system always a problem for you?

My gut health was never great. Only the 'not great' part looked entirely different. During my entire childhood and adolescence, my digestive system has always been my weak spot. This manifested in many different ways over the years.

Motion sickness

I know that motion sickness is very common, but not everyone gets it. I always did. It was so bad that I would regularly throw up on school trips. I was the kid who had to sit right at the front of the bus every time—the kid who tried various types of motion sickness medication and remedies. From homeopathy to chewing gum and sour candy, I've had it all. In the end, the only thing that really helped was getting off the bus.

Throwing up from nerves

I don't know if I've always had anxiety, but I was definitely always prone to stress. Even when I was younger, exams stressed me out so much that I would regularly throw up beforehand. Up until high school, I remember fighting through nausea and a gurgling stomach during every single test.

This got a lot better when I was around 16 years old, even though I was just as anxious about exams as before. Nausea and vomiting just went away over time.

Nausea triggered by fatigue

You usually get enough sleep when you're a child, and your parents are in charge of your schedule. That's why my memories of nausea triggered by fatigue mostly correlate with going on vacation (my parents loved to leave super early in the morning!) or sleepovers.

Being a terrible sleeper, I could never actually fall asleep at a sleepover. I would lie awake for hours, afraid to move because I didn't want to wake anyone. Sometimes I drifted off in the early morning hours, only to wake up again before everyone else and not know what to do with myself.

Not only was I extremely tired the day after a sleepover, but the fatigue also triggered my old friend, nausea. Breakfasts after sleepover parties were the worst for me. Sometimes, I would even throw up, making my friends' parents wonder if I had caught a stomach bug.

Over the years, I tried my hardest to get out of sleepovers altogether. I still do, but now it's because of my IBS.

Morning sickness without pregnancy

I never had breakfast before school, even when I was little. Eating in the morning would make me throw up. I also used to feel sick every morning, so much so that vomiting before school became almost normal to me.

I distinctly remember that my friend in middle school would regularly carry my backpack to class for me in the morning because I was so nauseous. And I can't even tell you how many hours I've spent outside during the first lessons, trying to get a hold of my nausea.

Writing this now, I don't know how this has never seemed strange to anyone. My parents never had me consult a doctor, yet this morning sickness impacted me for years. Maybe I just never told them how bad it was at times.

This morning nausea usually cleared up after an hour or 2. Sometimes it wasn't bad. Very rarely did I have to be sent home, only to feel perfectly fine in the afternoon.

I remember having these issues all throughout middle school. Then they must have stopped. In high school, I mostly threw up after drinking too much.

Then, IBS happened

My constant nausea and sickness disappeared in early adulthood. However, this is when I became more prone to diarrhea and the fun stuff that comes with it. Even before I had IBS, I would use the bathroom at least once a day. I wasn't sick, but I couldn't just go every couple of days like some of my friends.

In my early 20s, my early morning bathroom trips had already begun. These then turned into morning IBS when the illness ultimately started.

One might say that not much has changed over the years for me. My digestive health was never great, and it has always prevented me from doing things. However, having actual IBS is still on another level. I'm just glad that I got to experience childhood, teenage years, and early adulthood without it.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The IrritableBowelSyndrome.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

hateibs Member
I was always slightly inclined to be a bit constipated as a child. I remember my mother gave me an apple every day to eat at break time. I can't remember much about it, except she would always be asking me if "I'd been this morning". In my 20s and 30s I vaguely remember times when I didn't "go" every day, but never remember any actual issues or troubles with it. It never made me uncomfortable or ill that I remember, and my body managed to keep a natural balance (what didn't happen one day would work out the next, just fine.) I never gave my gut a second thought. From being in my 30s I ate very well -a perfect balanced "healthy" diet as a regular thing. My health was good, and my gut never ever had any problems. That continued until just before I was 60, when I was bereaved. I'd also had a LOT of bereavement over the 20 years before. The last bereavement caused me to feel an awful deep grief. I thought it was a "heartfelt" thing and didn't know it was about to affect my body. During all that time my gut was fine though and I could eat any foods at all. My diet was as usual, full of healthy options. Then, at the end of the year 2017, I had two strange gut upsets very early in the morning, but not diarrhea, just an unusual time for me to need the bathroom, and it passed in a couple of hours. Each time I blamed it on what I'd eaten the night before (too many lentils....an unusual red wine which had been a gift....greasy tofu...) But after that, gut health seemed completely normal....until suddenly in spring 2018 when it wasn't. It felt like a flu bug that wouldn't go away, but in the 4th week my gut was very upset for a few days, and it was then I had to eat different food choices for a week or so. That went away, and my gut was completely normal again until Spring 2020. I've had IBS-(D predominantly) since then. I have to be very careful how much "healthy" food I eat now. A low fibre diet makes me feel better, but I have to be careful with that and balance things constantly. There are so many foods and drinks I can no longer have -healthy or not.
1. Elizabeth Alvarez Moderator & Contributor
 What a journey @hateibs It is so wild how IBS can come on. We are all so different. I am sorry about dealing with grief. The mind-gut connection is such a real thing. It is common to hear these symptoms appear during times of trauma. Mine definitely did which occurred in my early 20's. I hope you get relief soon. Sending strength your way, Elizabeth (team member)
hateibs Member
 I am sorry you had trauma <inline-mention username="Elizabeth Alvarez" user-id="2297012"/> when you were so young. I often wonder if healing modalities which address the root cause (such as trauma or grief, etc) will be an answer for IBS. But they would have to work on a deep level. It's something I'm interested in. I am currently working with homeopathy (with a qualified practitioner) with some amount of success but not so far, a complete cure. But homeopathy does take all aspects of the person into account, and any past traumas or emotional pain. May strength fly right back to you too! 
1. Elizabeth Alvarez Moderator & Contributor
 Thank you @hateibs You bring up some great points. I really believe that a root cause for this condition is trauma/grief etc. Of course this is just my opinion. Definitely other factors are involved and but I really feel this is a huge factor. Glad you are working with homeopathy. I think you have to target this syndrome from all angles. I hope you feel better soon and find the relief you deserve. Big hugs, Elizabeth (team member)