To expand on my earlier thought...
I think that knowing that I have options helps. Knowing where the bathroom is, for example. Or knowing that I have Imodium in my purse. Or knowing I have an extra pair of underwear. Knowing that I have some control over what could possibly turn into an uncontrollable situation helps me mentally, and I think that reduces stress to some degree, and that in itself can help during an attack. I don't think it helps PREVENT an attack, but it does take away a little of the stress. I think. Or maybe it's just me. 
For example: When I go into a mall, I like to know exactly where the bathrooms are, both main bathrooms and the ones in the stores. I like to know my purse has Imodium and activated charcoal tablets. I like to know I have an extra pair of underwear in there too. I like to know I'm wearing a long pantiliner covering any possible poopy areas (I get sweaty, I get crampy, I get skid marks...ICK). I like to know these things because invariably when I go into a mall, my digestion wants to go into overdrive, I start sweating, I start feeling "unfresh", my OCD starts going off the charts...it's a chain reaction.
I'm trying to train my body to not go into these reactions when I hit a mall, but the only way I can really do that is to train my brain to "know" all the remedies are in line. MAYBE...if I can train my brain to KNOW that anything I need is handy, then MAYBE I can lessen or even prevent an attack that might be CAUSED by the very act of being in a mall (which, I think, has happened before). Pavlov's Dog sort of thing...go in a mall, have diarrhea...because I mentally think I won't be able to get to a bathroom, I create my own worst scenario. Same thing happens when I go to my local library...go inside, have to poop. Every. Single. Time!
So, all that to say this...I might not be able to stop an attack, but using some coping strategies and some pre-planning, I might be able to live through one.
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IBS-D since...well, a long time
(probiotic acidophilous, SF supplements, IBS eating plan)
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Re: What do you do when you sense an impending attack?
