Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Immodium made me C, Now I can't go, & I'm throwing up.

If you had a bowel movement yesterday, not having one today should not be dangerous. If you had severe diarrhea yesterday, your lower digestive tract may simply be empty rather than your being constipated - when I have a severe attack of diarrhea it's usually 48-72 hours before I have another bowel movement. The feeling of having to go - incomplete evacuation - is common when IBS is flaring. Since you say you have a cold, I would lean toward your having some type of viral infection that explains the vomiting.

All that said, however, you know your body best. For me, Imodium wears off in 24-48 hours. See if your stomach will let you get some liquid down - that's very important in relieving constipation. I usually tolerate ginger ale well even when I'm nauseous (yes, it has HFCS but any port in a storm). If you don't want to go that route, try whatever tea you usually drink or warm chicken broth. You can also see if you can eat a few saltines - take it very slowly. Or put a little cooked white rice in your chicken broth. If you can stand up without throwing up, try to walk a little, just inside the house even just a few minutes at a time. When I've taken something - usually painkillers - that constipate me, I try to drink 8 ounces of liquid every hour and try to walk - just pacing back and forth - for 5 minutes every hour. If all else fails, I eat prunes. That's absolutely, positively NOT a good thing IBS-wise but desperate times call for desperate measures. I get unconstipated and accept that I'm going to have to pay the price with a day of D.

If you can't keep liquid down by tomorrow at the latest then you probably want to go to your doctor or a Doc-In-The-Box to be sure you don't get dehydrated.

I hope this helps. Feel better soon.

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