does anyone else have bad days right out of the blue?
#325141 - 02/21/08 02:15 AM
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Claudie
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 27
Loc: Australia
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I have been doing quite well for a few weeks now. I follow most of Heather's diet, listen to the hypnotherapy cd's, take acacia and calcium carbonate and most days only have 3 bm's in the morning before school (I'm a teacher). Then I have days like today, 7 urgent bm's starting about 12 noon, the last one I only just made it so I had to leave school and come home. I normally take immodium and lomotil every morning but for the last 3 days I haven't - I think I was using it as an emotional crutch so I very bravely (only you will know what I mean) went to school without it. I have felt pretty anxious each day but I made it. Then today!!! Yesterday I didn't eat anything very different except I had 2 pumpkin scones and a slice of Heather's zucchini loaf with a little bit of low fat butter spread (I can tolerate a very small amount of dairy). Maybe it was the fat? Maybe it was...? I am tired of trying to work out what triggers this, I think I have the answer and then it happens again for no reason that I can see. Its this unpredictability that really gets me down and makes me anxious. At the moment I feel like resigning, curling up in a ball and never leaving the house again. I'll pick myself up and go to school tomorrow but each time this happens the part of me that feels joy diminishes. Does this happen to anybody else and how do you cope?
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IBS D
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Yes, I have bad days right our of the blue. Like this morning. Okay, it could have been a lot worse, mind you, but I've been doing pretty darn well for about 3 weeks now. Then this morning, I went to go have my usual BM and it was VERY soft – not liquid – but way too soft for my comfort level. Then, about 15 minutes later, I had to go again – there was less volume, but it was even softer. Still not liquid, but unsettling nonetheless. In the back of my mind I thought about staying home, but I told myself that, dammit, I'm not going to be a slave to my IBS. I tried to reach my calm, meditative zone, and while I had a slightly nervous tummy the whole way, I made it to work without incident.
I, too, try to figure out what causes it. Last night I had a perfectly safe dinner – grilled chicken burger with homemade "French fries" which I've had dozens of times without incident. Maybe it was the half peanut butter and jam sandwich I had for a snack later in the evening – peanut butter sometimes seems to bother me so maybe that was it. Who knows! 
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IBS-A since age 12, and fructose sensitive; with the exception of my pregnancy, have been following Heather's diet since Nov. 19, 2007.
Taking 12g of Acacia per day. Relatively stable since March 2008!
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I am in the same boat. I too have bad days for no apparent reason. i think it's just the nature of the beast! I'm IBS-D also and probably take too much immodium and Lomotil. I too think I depend on it much so I try to do without. I don't know whether it's the fear and anxiety that kicks in then...(I'm without a net here) or I would have had a bad day anyway. I get tired of worrying about everything I eat, I work at home most days but Fridays I need to go into the office. I try to eat extra safely on Thursdays so my stomach will behave. Of course there are bathrooms but I'm sure you can relate...you don't want to be running to the bathroom every 5 minutes.
I feel your pain! do most know you suffer with IBS? I know it helps me once people know that way there isn't as much explaining. It takes the edge off for me and some of the anxiety.
Sandy
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Yep!
I've been pretty stable for a while now, but yesterday after lunch - boom! D, uregency, cramps, and for no real reason. Unfortunately I can't attribute it to food, but I can to stress. It was busy at work and I feel like a chicken with my head cut-off these days. So after 3 months without an attack, wham.
So yes, unfortunately, for whatever reason, you can have a bad day.
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Cassandra
Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like you've never loved before.
IBS A 20+ years, Chronic Migraines, Chiari Malformation (decompressed June 22, 2010), Brachial Neuritis, and ??? the list just keeps growing, but I'm still shiny side up! 
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Yep, just had one of those the other day. I actually took the imodium. I always have it in my purse, because you never know. I couldn't tell you the last time I've taken it before then. I just felt things stirring up, so I took it and kept drinking peppermint tea, and remembered to breathe and stay calm. Things settled down after awhile. And, I have no idea where it came from. But, I knew how to deal with it.
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Whenever I feel like not taking Imodium, I think of my students and my mom.
I tell myself GET OVER YOURSELF. It's fun to play "You're Normal and It'll Go Away On Its Own." But I'm not normal. I have IBS. I can play my little game and be SICK and feel triumphant. Or I can take a stupid pill and get on with my life!
("I didn't take my medicine that time!  I'm a sick sack lying on the bathroom floor crying! But I'm morally superior to my well self because I didn't take an Imodium!") 
This is SICK thinking!!!  My body does not pull water from my colon, and as a result, I get stabbing, cramping PAIN and explosive D and gas! If I take Imodium when I have an attack, I can be my old self in minutes! 
When I taught English, I had to think of my students waiting for me when I had an attack. But if my student had a headache, would I council against taking a headache remedy that had worked for them in the past? Or would I be like my mother, who would say, "No, no, I don't want to take anything. It will pass..." then sit, whine and suffer all day rather than pop one Advil for a headache...?
Don't be a martyr. (If anything, remember how it turns out for the martyr.  )
~nelly~ (Took 2 imodium this morning as a preventative!)
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Wow Nelly, your post really made me think. When I don't take immodium and lomotil (usually on the weekends) I have a bad, mopey, low pathetic day as I am too scared to go out. However, immodium and lomotil don't work quickly for me. They take around 3 hours. I take them both together. On Fridays I have an early morning meeting I have to attend. I get up at 5am, take one of each and then take one more of each at 7.20am (the meeting is at 8). When I do this I usually (but not always) can make it through the meeting. Unfortunately this constipates me, I don't have any bm's Sat or Sunday so I don't take anything and am scared to go out. Mon am I usually go heaps and have D and am late for school.
The reason I didn't take it for 3 days that week is that on the Monday I went to see a Psychologist (on my Dr's recommendation) to help me deal with the anxiety. She said I need to let my anxiety build up so 'we can grab it and deal with it', this might me standing in front of a class, wearing dark clothing and incontinence pants and have an accident while I am teaching. When I have done this (and it would need 6 sessions seeing her for counselling to do this) we can work on my anxiety. So, my thinking was, (apart from this being the worst advice possible) that I can do this on my own if I have to, so I stopped taking the imodium and lomotil and went to school for 3 days feeling very anxious all the time. On the Thursday I had an attack just before lunch (mine are almost always in the morning) hence the original post. I love imodium and lomotil but they involve me in a constant juggling act which makes life difficult, and sometimes they don't work. Lomotil by itself stopped working for me over 2 years ago. Immodium over a year ago which is why I take both.
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IBS D
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Yes, but mostly in the reverse. I take Metamucil daily as well as lactulose but I have days like today where there is no bm and others like you where I might have three or four in the morning.
I was originally IBS-D and now have diverticulosis as well.
I also take lomotil but I never knew for years that it was a narcotic. I find going off lomotil when C does't help and according to my physician it is because your bowels are now used to the lomotil and stopping it only confuses things
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Claudie,
I totally agree with Nelly. If immodium (alone or in combination) works, be glad and use it!!! I went through a phase where I felt like I was using it too much or was cheating by using it -- as if IBS were just a battle of wills. Then I realized that it works, I feel better, and when used in conjunction with Heather's diet, it actually results in me be relatively stable. Over time, I have had to rely on the immodium less, but when I need it, I take it without reservation. The anxiety is a related but separate issue that is actually significantly improved when you feel like you have some control over your physical symptoms. Taking medication that is safe for you and works does not make you weak - it makes you smart and puts you back in control.
As for it making you C, can you take 1/2 a pill? In the states we have liquid immodium, so you could take less than a full dose.
Lastly, I'm not a doctor, but I question the advice you received from your psychologist. I'm not sure that I am reading correctly what she advised you to do, but I am confident that there is plenty of anxiety to harness even if you are taking immodium.
Good luck.
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This was my first visit to the psych who said there were 2 problems - 1. accepting my disability and 2. dealing with the anxiety and problems medicating myself causes. I have been thinking about what she said ever since. I have never thought of IBS as a disability and I'm not going to start now. I am also not going to accept it. I am going to do everything I can to get better and assume that I will be well some day. As Nelly has posted, I will accept any medication that helps me to be and feel normal. As for the anxiety advice, racking it up so that I eventually stand in front of a class and am prepared to have an accident so the anxiety can be dealt with, in my opinion, is nuts. I think what she was trying to do is to get me thinking about how bad can it be so I can see my fears are over the top. I still think this situation would be about as bad as it gets and something to be anxious about but perhaps I am not rational about this any more. I am anxious enough as it is. What I have been thinking about is that maybe my thinking on this is not normal. It's like the issue many of us have of not knowing anymore what it is like to have a normal digestive system and whether it is normal to have 3 bms in the morning and then to go 2 or 3 days without going at all. I have forgotten. I will try taking an extra half an immodium and I think I am going to try taking one immodium and one lomotil every day even if I haven't been for a couple of days. I just hope it doesn't block me up completely. Thank you all for replying. It means a lot having people to discuss this with who really understand.
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IBS D
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Lomotil and works fast. I have it for emergencies or when I simply can't have a problem. (long car ride, important meeting etc).
Ask your doctor.
Sandy
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Not sure if I can get it. I can't see it (or its active ingredients) listed on any Australian pharmacies but will phone my Dr today - I'll let you know.
Thanks
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IBS D
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Its not available in Australia, I have been searching to see if it is available on line so I can order it from the US but it looks as if it is prescription only so its doubtful I can get it.
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IBS D
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Hi there! Yes I know exactly what you mean. There are times when there is no possible reason for an attack and nothing is going to stop it. A lot is not known about this condition and I put it down to the unknown. But trust me its not your fault.
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I'm sorry about that. Maybe they have an equivalant to that somewhere? I'd ask my doctor to see.
Sandy
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The balancing act!
#326659 - 03/15/08 09:55 PM
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Nelly
Reged: 08/06/04
Posts: 4381
Loc: Within stray mortar fire of DC
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Your system is soo familiar to me. {{{{{HUGS}}}}}
The way I equate it to people who don't know is to use insulin and sugar as an example. Diabetics have to check their sugar and regulate how much insulin they need... if they have too much of one or the other, there are side effects specific to both. Big time effects! Coma! Seizure! Maybe your psychiatrist can understand this example. Debilitating pain and anxiety are no less frightening to me!
Our lives come with a degree of hyper-vigilance normal people can't understand because they don't live it.  It sucks being caught in this balancing act. But we're good at it!! You know your body's rhythm and you know what to expect! This alone cuts the potential anxiety we'd face if we hadn't figured it out!!
Please take hope and strength that you're not alone!!! You know, you can take a gentle soluble fiber like a small amount of benefiber with Imodium. It can help smooth out the constipation effects while not interfering with the preventative effects of the Imodium! Just a thought if you have some time over a weekend to experiment.
~nelly~
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