Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: urgency to have bowel movements

In addition to what AtomicRose said, there are a couple medications that may help directly with urgency. One is Imodium - you just buy it over the counter. Some people take it every day or even twice a day as a preventive. I take it as needed. If I know I'm going to be in a stressful situation, I take it beforehand, usually one about an hour before whatever is going to stress me out, then another about a half hour beforehand. Some people take four. If you take too many you'll probably pay for it with constipation for a few days afterward but sometimes it's worth it to get through what you need to do.

You can also talk to your doctor about anti-spasmodics. These calm the muscles of the gut making it less likely to spasm. They may make you a little spacy so if you decide to go this route be sure to try them before your big presentation. I take Donnatol but that also has phenobarbitol in it so you may not be able to drive while taking it. There are other anti-spasmodics, though, that don't have any type of sedative in them.

I think reading through the Diet guidelines and starting to follow them is crucial, though. Before I began to get my symptoms under control using Heather's diet, medications did little to help me. Now I don't need them most of the time and when I do they can provide that last little bit of help.

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