Curious about IBS

Post Reply New Topic

I have had (untreated/undiagnosed) IBS since I was a child. I know it is common among people on the spectrum....and I was just curious as to whether it was more common among spectrumy men or women...so if you please, humor my wee poll. Thank you.

I say I have a history of IBS, BUT that needs to be taken with some leeway.

I was having problems with stool being more like constipation or painful in how it came out almost like diarrhea.

I tried several things, and this issue emerged in the last couple of years, not life-long.

This year (beginning) I tried a "colon cleanse" with products from Dr. Natura (http://www.drnatura.com/) chiefly because my research indicated their products were the best rated.

I did a 3-month cleanse, but considering it wasn't the first time I tried cleaning myself out, I probably would have been fine just doing it for one month.

Their Colonix colon cleansing package works great. If you don't use anything else but that, also pick up some of the Flora Protect Probiotics.

Basically, you take herbs, special whole grain fiber, and drink herbal tea every other night to promote regularity. You drink at least 2 liters of water a day for proper hydration. You may or may not flush some gross stuff out (I didn't), but you'll notice in a week or so that your bowel movements are easy, solid, productive and predictable. I think the probiotics are an important part.

After the colon cleanse, I made it a point to make sure I drink enough water every day, and I watch what I eat. If I eat some foods I normally avoid, I wind up with bowel movements that are harder to pass. When I eat the right foods, even without their fiber (I use OTC fiber from the store off the program) I have much easier bowel movements.

So, my "IBS" really was a matter of my body being out of whack. Once it started working right again, the IBS seems to have gone away.

So you are saying that your IBS has improved, but it requires maintinence..correct?

That is the way it is with me.
It can improve...but I ALways have to watch it...any slip up and it goes out of whack again.

I have tried various cleanses, but the results are always temporary.

I have had problems with my gut ever since I was a toddler.

Yeast infections, lactose and ballast matter intolerance, GERD, IBS, you name it I got it!

I started having GI symptoms after I took antibiotics about two years ago. Alternating constipation and diarrhea, oil in the stool, clumpy stool, difficulty passing gas, itty bitty little pieces that look like coffee grounds, etc...

Wheat seems to cause constipation and bloating and incomplete emptying. Probiotics seem to help with that.

Chocolate and refined sugar seem to cause urgent bowel movements and so far I've found no way to prevent this other than not eat sugar.

Oily stool comes and goes. I can usually replicate the problem by eating very fatty foods such as peanut butter. But sometimes it comes on its own.

I've been to three doctors and they don't know what is wrong. I strongly suspect bacterial overgrowth/imbalance, but tests for that came back negative.

IBS is just a codeword for our own ignorance: something is wrong but we don't know what!

A Paleolithic diet plus massive amounts of ascorbic acid have done wonders for my IBS. I even get a little constipated now which is a welcome change from what I had before.

Stress, or strong emotions of any kind will set mine off.

Have learned what foods to avoid and not had to have any medication for a long time.
Lately, though, it looks like medication is going to be needed.

Yes, this program is awesome. I use it myself, on an annual basis. I am always telling people about it.


I use their probiotics, too. Expensive, but worth every penny, compared to other probiotics that I have tried.

I started smoking over a year ago to try to counteract some of the medication side effects I was having, and quit smoking a bit over a week ago. my gut has been freaking out since I quit though, and I've been very nauseous for a week. finally today I bought some cigarettes because my gut was cramping really bad. smoked a couple and I feel better now.

I got the IBS dx many years ago, about the same time I was dx'd with fibromyalgia. both have become more of a problem lately so I'll probably be going to a doc to see what can be done.

Well, the fact is that proper bowel operation requires adequate hydration and a proper diet. Many people can eat garbage when they are young, but as you get older, the bowels are more sensitive. So, I can say I got IBS-type problems a few years ago (35-40) and now I know I need to generally eat right and do bowel maintenance to keep the plumbing clean and happy.

Few things in life feel as good as a nice productive BM in the morning.

Digestive problems - where to begin?

I've never been diagnosed with IBS, but I've had some pretty bad digestive issues in the past 5 years. I am ver limited by the foods I can eat. Foods that are too hot or too cold will create a massive explosion (if you know what I mean). Foods that are too fatty, greasy, oily or spicy have th same effect. Very few, if any, foods cause constipation. That said, if I can go well over a week without going number 2. I'd be willing to seek treatment.

Aside from gastrointestinal problems, I also have severe acid reflux (or gastroesophagel reflux disease, GERD, as they call it these days).

It's interesting - my digestive problems didn't start until about 3-4 years ag. Prior to that, I had no problems whatsoever.

I don't personally suffer, but at the Autism specific school I went to, a good 30% of the pupils there had IBS and/or digestion related problems. The 2 seem to go hand in hand don't they. There was one guy in my class, and without going into details, he used to provide us bored, small minded ones with a butt for every fart & poo joke out there, because he couldn't control himself and had frequent accidents.

Lest we forget why he wasn't allowed in the public swimming pool

i knew i had ibs issues long before i knew i had AS. based on my readings on autism, it seems that ibs and other gastrointestinal ailments are often common among autistics, be they low or high functioning.

i wouldn't say though that my problems with ibs have anything to do with AS necessarily. my entire family suffers from one kind of stomach problem or another and the lot of us aren't on the autism spectrum. hmm...but we've all had very stressful lives.

They are more common among autistics than NTs, but not more common than among people with other developmental disabilities. So it's not the autism specifically; it's just that we're prone to all sorts of physical and mental weirdness, and so are others with all sorts of disabilities. There's a huge long list of things that are more common among atypical humans in general, and this is one of many.

If you think IBS is bad, try having IBD.

i have lots of problems with my digestive system.