i started taking xifaxan a few days ago, prescribed by my doctor, and today i have felt really dehydrated and shaky despite drinking plenty of liquids. i have bright yellow stools and a very mild fever at 99.5 and my kidneys feel a bit sore and feel like i have high blood pressure, which is abnormal for me. i dont have any blood coming out so far so thats good i think.

i just am wondering when i should worry and seek out care, i guess. my partner is out of town so i dont have anyone i can call to ask for advice. im hoping its just side effects but i thought i would ask the community if my concerns are valid before i reach out to my dr. has anyone else taken this and experienced something similar? i have a poor immune system so maybe im just getting hit by the medication hard. thanks in advance.

All day long, even after changing to new clothes, I can smell bad gas smell out of me. Even when im not farting.

Is it coming out of my anus?

Will characol underwear fix it?

Thanks

Hi,

My coworker says they have IBS and is going to the bathroom for a minimum of 15- 25 minutes at least once a hour during their 8 hour shift every single day.

It may seem weird that I’m so invested in their bathroom habits but me and them run a classroom together so I’m being left alone to take care of 16 kids ages 2-4. three of those kids have high support need all by myself multiple times a day for long periods of time.

There is also a pattern of when they go to the bathroom. for example: the second after their hour long lunch break is done they will step into the class to relieve the lunch break staff and will then go to the bathroom. It also happens everyday that five minutes after their shift starts they will leave to go also whenever we start transitions with the class from one activity to another they will go to the bathroom leaving me alone to do transitions by myself.

There was on time I had asked my coworker if they could just wait a second because it was meal time and children were eating but one child needed help in the bathroom and i didn’t want to leave children unattended while eating but I also couldn’t not help the child in the bathroom. my coworker got mad and yelled at me infront of the children for being insensitive and rude for asking before storming out.

We are also friends and often hang out for long periods of time outside of work. It almost seems like their IBS only seems to act up at work, there was one time we spent six hours together and they went to the bathroom twice during the whole six hours and both times were I had to wait for them for less then five minutes.

It’s becoming frustrating and I’m getting really burnt out, trying to do the job of two educators but I don’t want to be insensitive and bring up what’s happening to my manager because I don’t want to be insensitive of my coworker health issue.

I just want to know if this is normal and I’m in the wrong for feeling frustrated and I’m being insensitive?

If I am being insensitive how can I better educate myself?

Hey all,

I just wanted to take a moment to advocate for something I think a lot of people are aware of, but might still be on the fence about getting: a bidet.

There are days where I end up getting what I can only describe as "fire hole"—typically during a bad flare-up when I'm spending way too much time in the washroom.

Setting up a bidet in my bathroom has been an absolute life-saver. It helps you get so much cleaner with way less irritation, and honestly, the refreshing/cooling effect is a massive relief.

If you've been considering one, this is your sign to go for it!

Hello, I'm suspecting I have Ibs-d (currently in the process of getting tested) and I read that psyllium helps with diarrhea. For me, it seems to make things worse though. Does anyone know why or had the same experience?

I saw some people on here with methane sibo talking about acv. With all the things I've tried this seemed to simple to work. Plus ive always thought acv was a weightloss tool more than anything but...... one post i saw from a girl talking about taking acv she ended off the post saying it wasn't for her, but her stomach was always flat. I've always struggled with bloating BAD. . Like enough to get a "when is the baby coming " comment. Super embarrassing 😳. So I decided to try it consistently in the morning one tbsp diluted in a cup of water. I also added it to my drinks with meals. I now have BOWEL MOVEMENTS in the morning . LIKE THATS CRAZY FOR ME. Without laxatives, straining, or pellet poops. No bloating, no big balloon stomach after meals for hours and smelling lunch burps at night. I Am so happy. Honestly thank God.

I encourage any one with ibs-c to try it daily not just people that might have low stomach acid because its actually a triple threat. Acv(with the mother) increases your own production of stomach acid even when you stop taking it, it's a prebiotic and a probiotic. Also the only extra thing I did was have some cheap cultured yogurt from the store with lacto bacillus and bififo blend. Although I started doing that way before starting avc it would help me go but I would never feel cleaned out or not bloated after eating. Digestion was still slow. I also own a vibration plate but I don't have a bowl movement immediately after like I do with acv. It's best to have it with water only.

Tldr: Acv, 1 tbsp in a cup water daily, or have with any beverage if you like the taste like I do.

I am going to my first colonoscopy and I would appreciate all tips and advice! In my country you are not put under or sedated, just gotta raw dog it 😬 So no nap time here… I have 4 days before taking my emptying meds. I have bought various clear drinks for the house so I can try and make the meds taste a bit better and hydrate. 🙌🏼🙏🏼

Whenever i have flare up, i feel out of breath a lot quicker then usual. Maybe it's the bloating, i don't know. Anyone experience the same?

I have ibs-c/chronic idiopathic constipation. I've had it for a few years now, and it's only gotten worse. I've had every scan and test in the book, and nothing has given me any answers.

I'm young right now, 23, and have a pretty good medication regimen to help me stay normal, passing stool once or twice a week. However, I am SO SCARED to get old.

As we age, gastric motility slows down and absorption changes. This, along with decreased mobility, makes it pretty common to experience constipation as an elder. I am so scared to experience normal GI slowing associated with age on top of the constipation I already experience. I am going to be so constipated and uncomfortable when I get old. I am not looking forward to it.

Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is a naturally occurring fatty acid amide produced by the body and found in some foods. I’ve been reading some research which has shown that is has some potential in treating abdominal pain is some GI disorders (including IBS).

PEA functions as an "endocannabinoid-like" lipid mediator. Rather than acting as a direct painkiller, it manages pain by turning down the cellular volume on inflammation and overactive nerve pathways. For us suffering from IBS we often have visceral hypersensitivity in which the nerves in our intestines have become overly sensitive to normal digestion and send pain signals to our brain over stuff a normal person wouldn’t.

Here is how some of the research has described how PEA could help:

Mast Cell Stabilization (ALIA Mechanism): Organs prone to visceral pain (like the bladder, bowels, and uterus) are densely populated with mast cells. When these immune cells become hyperactive, they release a cascade of inflammatory chemicals that irritate local nerves. PEA acts via Autacoid Local Inflammation Antagonism (ALIA) to "calm" these mast cells, reducing the release of histamine and pro-inflammatory cytokines.

PPAR-α Activation: PEA binds primarily to the Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Alpha (PPAR-α) inside cell nuclei. Activating this receptor turns off the master switches for inflammation, reducing the production of painful, pro-inflammatory compounds

The Entourage Effect: While PEA does not directly bind to classic cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2), it prevents the breakdown of the body's natural endocannabinoids (like anandamide). This enhances the body's native pain-relieving endocannabinoid tone.

TRPV1 Desensitization: PEA helps desensitize the TRPV1 channels ("capsaicin receptors") on sensory nerve fibers, which are heavily involved in transmitting cramping and burning sensations from internal organs.

I’ve just started taking it following the clinical trials dosage so it’s too early to tell if it will help with my IBS pain. PEA is similar to other IBS pain management like amitriptyline in which is takes 4-8 weeks of consistent daily use to build up its accumulative effects on visceral pains. Its effects on anti-inflammatory responses start much earlier on though! I tried looking up PEA on some of the forums but I haven’t seen much people talking about it. I’ve seen some posts on r/MCAS and r/fibromyalgia talking about it but not much on IBS, sibo, or IBD.

So I would love to hear from others on if they’ve heard of this supplement, tried it before, or overall results. My amitriptyline used to help keep my pain in remission but has recently stopped helping, which was discouraging :/. I’ve read that I could be experiencing therapeutic breakthrough in which my nerves are too inflamed or sensitive for the amitriptyline to fully quiet down. I’m hoping the PEA’s anti-neuro inflammation will help bring that down enough for my amitriptyline to start working again!

I’ve decided to try and take a break from probiotics and focus more on prebiotics recently to try and just help feed my gut and hopefully balance things out on its own without probiotics. I was recently trying benefiber and I felt like it worked pretty great for about a solid month, but as with most things for me it seems like it’s stops being effective and not working after a while.

Trying to get my gut back on track again but looking to try something new, I recently came across Sunfiber and it seems like it’s also Low FODMAP and apparently easier on your gut and could help with Diarrhea or Constipation.

Anyone have any success with Sunfiber and if so how long did it take? Any tips or suggestions?

My bowel was fine after struggling for a long time and then it just started being horrible again, every time I poop it’s almost like diarrhoea it’s like goop, it sticks to me and the toilet and I can never fully get all of it out so I literally leak poop during the day. Today it happened and I’ve been crying and I’m so sick of it. I feel ashamed and gross and dirty and like it’s never going to get better. It’s impossible to clean myself afterwards too unless I take a shower

I bought the first product but just wondering if it’s worked for other. I’m in the elimination phase of Low FODMAP diet so not sure I’ll try it just yet.

I have had IBS most of my adult life. I’m 55 years old now and it’s been very well controlled through diet for about 20 years now.

I just went through a very stressful period and I had a bad IBS attack (D). The next day I ate a cabbage/kale dill salad which I can normally eat with no problem.

Today I woke up with a deep ache in my upper left abdomen. Some gas this morning but none today, but that ache has been there all day, especially when I take a deep breath.

I’ve had this ache there before, especially when I eat fermented foods like sour dough bread or Greek yogurt.

I have read about Splenic Flexure being a notorious spot for pain and trapped gas.

Does anyone else get an ache there from certain foods? I have no idea why the cabbage salad hit me wrong when it normally doesn’t, other than I had the bad IBS attack the day before?

Would Beano help?

Would a pain killer help? I mean it’s not that bad but it is an annoying ache.

Aight short version...I had my gallbladder taken out because it was inflamed real bad. Fast forward about a year I get a colonoscopy to see whatelse is going on. They say, your looking great come back in 10 years. 3 months later im getting a ct scan cause I was uncomfortable....and they send me to the the emergency room with an abcess and infection....they tell me I might need to get part of my colon taken out..I choose not to do that......infection clears up where i dont have to stay at the hopsital after like 3 days....they send me home with antibiotics....those were brutal as well...ever since then terrible "ibs" which is what the digestive disease clinic and my doctor are calling it. Pain/ discomfort everyday, they also say its scar tissue from the abcess that cleared its been a year.....i take like heartburn med, trulance3mg everyday for constipation, probiotic,10mg dispiramine a night and maybe Tylenol once a week, gas x almost daily....? Idk....its uncomfortable.sometimes I cant poop sometimes its loose alllll day. Pain on my left side pretty much constantly. I stopped eating like anything bad at all, im in decent shape, I dont smoke/vape anymore since the ER visit, etc....relatively healthy otherwise dont drink or do drugs. Thinking of traveling to get a second opinion...maybe ordering some marshmellow root...trying low fodmap stuff kinda works idk...

Hey everyone I’ve been dealing with this for almost two months, and I honestly don’t understand what’s happening.

Every time I eat literally anything I feel extremely full my stomach gets really bloated and I experience severe shortness of breath I’ve been going back and forth between public and private hospitals and different specialists for two months I’ve seen respiratory specialists chest doctors and internal medicine doctors but nobody could really figure out what was going on

Eventually I traveled from Baghdad to Erbil with my mom to see another specialist He examined me and ran some tests but he also concluded that I have IBS He prescribed some new medications and I only realized afterward that three of them were related to anxiety or depression:

- Fluoxetine (Prozac)

- Hydroxyzine

- Inderal (propranolol)

- One medication for my stomach

I’m not trying to question my doctor’s judgment but I genuinely don’t understand the connection How can depression or anxiety cause such severe physical symptoms especially stomach pain, extreme bloating, feeling full after eating very little and shortness of breath?

Can IBS really cause all of this or could something else be going on? Has anyone experienced similar symptoms and improved with anxiety medication?

I’d appreciate hearing from people who have actually gone through something similar

A slightly shortened quote from my favorite TV show, Red Dwarf.

I've had IBS for years, it's daily pain, lack of energy and just generally feeling shtty. For the first time in years, I was pain free and full of energy. 2 days ago my mother bought be a take away, it was some kind of Turkish Kebab and flat bread and I ate the whole thing.

I knew I messed up, but it was AMAZING.

I braced for the inevitable pain, bloating, discomfort I will have for the next few days when I wake up. But nothing, literally nothing.

It's weird, does anyone else in pain and discomfort for so long your confused and worried that you don't feel the pain/discomfort or lack of energy?

I woke up like my IBS had totally vanished. I've had days where I'm functional and it's just background mild pain, but nothing like this, full of energy and absolutely no pain or discomfort what so ever.

I'm absolutely dumbfounded, this how normal people feel? I've missed out on so much in life because of this, I hardly function, if I felt like this every day I'd have a totally different life right now.

I'm on day 2 and can already feel everything returning, 1 day of normality just isn't enough.

Hi gang. I was a longtime IBS-D sufferer. Diarrhea was my constant companion and BFF. After some health bullshit and a complete reset of my digestive system, I am now IBS-C and I hate it. I drink a ton of water, take a tablespoon of Metamucil per day, a stool softener in the morning, and eat a lot of salad and leafy greens, and drink a tall boy of coffee every day. I’m still constipated. What are some things y’all have tried that work?

Hi everyone,

I'm going through a flair up with IBS. My stress and anxiety are on an all time high! Can my doctor prescribe anything to help with the pain? It's been years since this has happened.

I (22F) just got diagnosed with IBS-U (described as "bloating type" in my medical documentation) and got sent with a lengthy list of things to avoid: FODMAPs, lactose, oats, sparkling drinks, zero calorie drinks, raw apples, juices, xanthan, guar and carob gum, all synthetic emulsifiers, lecithin (because it can "come from genetically modified plants"), celulose gum, carrageenan and more. The doctor's reasoning for all this is that these additives cause inflammation and they "wash away the protective intestinal mucus".

I don't yet know what triggers my IBS food-wise and implementing all these rules at once sounds incredibly daunting. Can I really not have e.g. ketchup or even gluten-free snacks as they contain these additives? Were her guidelines excessive?

For added context: I'm not from the US (Poland) so sorry if the terminology I used wasn't fully accurate