IBS D/C and Stress

Stress is my IBS trigger. About 5 years ago I started to have problems with indigestion. At first it was about once a week for 2 hours. As time went by the stress from moving overseas and economic challenges affected my health. At the beginning I didn't understand how IBS is very different in different people.

From once a week it went to twice a week and then every other day.

Looking for answers

I went to a great Doctor and he did all the tests in the world, including colonoscopy and endoscopy. Everything came out normal.

But my flare-ups continued. But I noticed that when I traveled out of town or country I never had flare-ups and could eat and drink normally.

But when I returned home after a few days healthy the flare-ups would start again.

In my case when I say flare-ups it usually happens after lunch and my stomach starts feeling weird, and if I am constipated and can't go, I start to feel nauseous. If I manage to go, it starts hard and then turns into watery diarrhea like 5 to 10 times until nothing is left [about 2 hours] that's when things go well. If I can't go at all, in about 30 minutes the nausea turns into vomiting, and after I vomit I always get the watery diarrhea.

Then I have to drink Pedialyte or I start to get muscle cramps. It generally lasts about 2 hours. The weird thing is that half an hour after my flare-ups finish, I get hungry and can eat or drink anything without problems.

Experimenting with different remedies

After years of this and no solution from Drs or friends, I began to experiment with different remedies.

Since the constipation was a major factor I bought a local natural stool softener and took it before bedtime. In the morning things came out well and that day I had no flare-ups.

After 5 days with no problems, I started getting that weird feeling in my stomach and if I could go to the bathroom again after lunch I felt better.

Since I didn't like the after lunch weird feeling I started also taking an activated charcoal pill after each meal and found that it really helped me. I went back to my stomach doctor and explained the whole case and my self-treatment.

He said that I should continue with my treatment and said that since it was obviously caused by stress, he explained that in the colon there is a connection direct to the brain and it can send messages that cause nausea. He proposed that I also take one 25mg amitriptyline before bedtime with the stool softener.

After about 10 days, I feel much better and have learned to not take as seriously the daily stressful events. I still get a flare-up from time to time but it is only like 4 times a month. And after 2 hours of laying down on the bed and pooping I feel normal. I hope this information helps others suffering from IBS.

One last point, a friend suggested taking 2 drops of THC cannabis oil under the tongue at night. I tried it at bedtime and it seems to help calm down the brain to sleep better and wake up fresh.

Good luck everyone. Give us hope.
Kevin