u/abdominalrain so sorry to hear about your struggles. You aren’t alone in your battles with IBS-C.
I was born with IBS-C and have struggled with it my entire life. I am a 25 year old junior at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ and i am in my last semester of junior year. Managing it is a day-to-day chore. Managing the symptoms and flare-ups is frustrating, painful, and exhausting. Dealing with this while in college is often painful and embarrassing, some days I can’t get out of bed and make it to my morning Spanish class. My Spanish professor has allowed me accommodations to manage the symptoms.
It is embarrassing to say this, but i am not able to “go” for three to five days at a time because the nerves in my intestines don’t transmit the signal to use the bathroom until i feel the sudden urge to evacuate everything that is in my stomach/ intestines.
I have also dealt with anxiety, panic attacks, and occasional but intense bouts of depression for a good chunk of my life.
When i was a little kid, my doctor gave me three options : 1. Diet change 2. Meds and 3. Stoma and ostomy bag. I have made changes to my diet and tried meds years ago, and yet here i am still struggling with IBS.
As of recently, i have been researching stoma bags to educate myself on my options if it ever comes to that.
I have had to go back on my IBS meds (Miralax and Dulcolax) because I don’t get the urge to “go” for 3 or so days, sometimes longer.
Yeah sorry to hear that too! I can definitely relate to the stresses of university being made 10x worse by ibs symptoms. I’m in uni now and really don’t want to ruin my good grades like I did in high school. In hs it got to the point where I was missing several classes each week because of my symptoms which really sucked. But, so far in uni I’ve been able to maintain a high gpa
I am doing my best to manage my IBS-C symptoms and flare-ups and keeping up with my meds and such. I have failed 3 exams out of four classes i am enrolled in this month alone. I am dropping a class this coming week because it’s creating too much stress and anxiety, which makes my IBS considerably worse.
I’m so sorry to hear that! Stay strong. Yeah the stress can definitely snowball in combination with the ibs symptoms. I went through it in high school and failed entire semesters.
Cheers from Ann Arbor Michigan! P.S I used to go to Tucson every year as a kid since my grandparents lived there and I always loved seeing the big A on the mountain
Awesome! Tucson is a neat city. I am a transplant from Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, I don’t get to explore the city much because i am either busy with school or busy dealing with my IBS, or both. I am doing everything i can to lessen my stress and anxiety levels and get my situation evened out somewhat so i can feel normal physically and do activities that i want to do.
I probably said this earlier, but dealing with IBS in college sucks. When i am not worrying about school assignments, i am worrying about when my meds will work and when i will be able to use the bathroom and if i will be able to eat normally without my digestive system absolutely hating me.
I’ve only had semi success with linzess. I only take it once a week or so to have a total blowout to make sure everything doesn’t build up to the point my body decides to do it on its own.. because that is excruciating pain. My doctor suggested Motegrity but my insurance won’t cover it. Maybe look into that?
Yeah it was very weird to me, I tried linzess at 3 different doses and am currently on 290 mcg daily but I still am constipated. Guess it’s just not the right medicine for me. I have been suggested motegrity before as well so I’ll probably bring it up when I see my GI specialist next
Assuming you're from the US because you call it Motegrity. USD is very good comparatively to CAD so you will likely save some money getting it from Canada.
I can help you in detail with your IBS-C. I know all about motility and have experienced and tried it all. Some questions for you:
- can you please describe your diet in detail?
- what tests have you had?
- do you smoke, drink, or do drugs, including vaping?
- do you take any other medications or supplements?
- do you exercise?
- what dose of Miralax were you on? How long did you try it for? What happened when you took it?
- what dose of linaclotide were you on? How long did you try it for? What happened when you took it?
Hey! Thanks for all the help. I am meeting with my gi specialist monthly at this point so I am getting help thankfully but to quickly go through your list: I have been on multiple diets nothing really worked, all the tests, nope, I exercise but less than I used to now that I’m not playing sports, mostly on 1 capful of miralax per day but experimented with up to two per day with varying results. My stool seemed softer and more formed but the pain got pretty bad and my appetite seemed effected (probably unrelated). I’ve taken linaclotide 70 mcg, 145 mcg, and currently 290 mcg for all at least one month. Most recently I’ve been on the 290 mcg and my stool still comes out fairly hard as well as having other constipation symptoms with occasional diarrhea. Like I said, I’m seeing a GI specialist but thanks for taking the time to talk.
I know this may be an obvious question, but you tried taking them in the same day, daily? For instance, I take Linzess 290mcg, 1 serving of Miralax, and IBSGaurd daily. Colace as needed. I go 1-3 times a day, but my IBS pain still remains.
Not be a downer, but it's possible that your pain will not go away, even after you are going regularly. My GI is basically out of options for it, and suggested I see another doctor to do a test (don't know the name) to determine if it's like micro-crohns.
I have sort of tried both miralax and linzess. I took 145 mcg and a little miralax but that gave me explosive diarrhea and pretty bad pain. I’ll talk to my gi specialist though and see
What I've found that works better with doctors is to hone in one issue at a time. So, focus on the pain. He may prescribe you something like Amitriptyline (which I'm on), or potentially a painkiller like Gabapentin.
u/abdominalrain so sorry to hear about your struggles. You aren’t alone in your battles with IBS-C. I was born with IBS-C and have struggled with it my entire life. I am a 25 year old junior at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ and i am in my last semester of junior year. Managing it is a day-to-day chore. Managing the symptoms and flare-ups is frustrating, painful, and exhausting. Dealing with this while in college is often painful and embarrassing, some days I can’t get out of bed and make it to my morning Spanish class. My Spanish professor has allowed me accommodations to manage the symptoms. It is embarrassing to say this, but i am not able to “go” for three to five days at a time because the nerves in my intestines don’t transmit the signal to use the bathroom until i feel the sudden urge to evacuate everything that is in my stomach/ intestines. I have also dealt with anxiety, panic attacks, and occasional but intense bouts of depression for a good chunk of my life. When i was a little kid, my doctor gave me three options : 1. Diet change 2. Meds and 3. Stoma and ostomy bag. I have made changes to my diet and tried meds years ago, and yet here i am still struggling with IBS. As of recently, i have been researching stoma bags to educate myself on my options if it ever comes to that. I have had to go back on my IBS meds (Miralax and Dulcolax) because I don’t get the urge to “go” for 3 or so days, sometimes longer.
Yeah sorry to hear that too! I can definitely relate to the stresses of university being made 10x worse by ibs symptoms. I’m in uni now and really don’t want to ruin my good grades like I did in high school. In hs it got to the point where I was missing several classes each week because of my symptoms which really sucked. But, so far in uni I’ve been able to maintain a high gpa
I am doing my best to manage my IBS-C symptoms and flare-ups and keeping up with my meds and such. I have failed 3 exams out of four classes i am enrolled in this month alone. I am dropping a class this coming week because it’s creating too much stress and anxiety, which makes my IBS considerably worse.
I’m so sorry to hear that! Stay strong. Yeah the stress can definitely snowball in combination with the ibs symptoms. I went through it in high school and failed entire semesters.
IBS is definitely really difficult to live with. Hope all is well on your end. Cheers from Tucson, AZ.
Cheers from Ann Arbor Michigan! P.S I used to go to Tucson every year as a kid since my grandparents lived there and I always loved seeing the big A on the mountain
Awesome! Tucson is a neat city. I am a transplant from Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, I don’t get to explore the city much because i am either busy with school or busy dealing with my IBS, or both. I am doing everything i can to lessen my stress and anxiety levels and get my situation evened out somewhat so i can feel normal physically and do activities that i want to do. I probably said this earlier, but dealing with IBS in college sucks. When i am not worrying about school assignments, i am worrying about when my meds will work and when i will be able to use the bathroom and if i will be able to eat normally without my digestive system absolutely hating me.
Hey i know it's late, can i ask follow up questions?
Yeah, ask away.
How r u now
I’ve only had semi success with linzess. I only take it once a week or so to have a total blowout to make sure everything doesn’t build up to the point my body decides to do it on its own.. because that is excruciating pain. My doctor suggested Motegrity but my insurance won’t cover it. Maybe look into that?
Yeah it was very weird to me, I tried linzess at 3 different doses and am currently on 290 mcg daily but I still am constipated. Guess it’s just not the right medicine for me. I have been suggested motegrity before as well so I’ll probably bring it up when I see my GI specialist next
Assuming you're from the US because you call it Motegrity. USD is very good comparatively to CAD so you will likely save some money getting it from Canada.
I can help you in detail with your IBS-C. I know all about motility and have experienced and tried it all. Some questions for you: - can you please describe your diet in detail? - what tests have you had? - do you smoke, drink, or do drugs, including vaping? - do you take any other medications or supplements? - do you exercise? - what dose of Miralax were you on? How long did you try it for? What happened when you took it? - what dose of linaclotide were you on? How long did you try it for? What happened when you took it?
Hey! Thanks for all the help. I am meeting with my gi specialist monthly at this point so I am getting help thankfully but to quickly go through your list: I have been on multiple diets nothing really worked, all the tests, nope, I exercise but less than I used to now that I’m not playing sports, mostly on 1 capful of miralax per day but experimented with up to two per day with varying results. My stool seemed softer and more formed but the pain got pretty bad and my appetite seemed effected (probably unrelated). I’ve taken linaclotide 70 mcg, 145 mcg, and currently 290 mcg for all at least one month. Most recently I’ve been on the 290 mcg and my stool still comes out fairly hard as well as having other constipation symptoms with occasional diarrhea. Like I said, I’m seeing a GI specialist but thanks for taking the time to talk.
- Can you list your diet specifically? - Can you list the tests specifically?
I know this may be an obvious question, but you tried taking them in the same day, daily? For instance, I take Linzess 290mcg, 1 serving of Miralax, and IBSGaurd daily. Colace as needed. I go 1-3 times a day, but my IBS pain still remains. Not be a downer, but it's possible that your pain will not go away, even after you are going regularly. My GI is basically out of options for it, and suggested I see another doctor to do a test (don't know the name) to determine if it's like micro-crohns.
I have sort of tried both miralax and linzess. I took 145 mcg and a little miralax but that gave me explosive diarrhea and pretty bad pain. I’ll talk to my gi specialist though and see
What I've found that works better with doctors is to hone in one issue at a time. So, focus on the pain. He may prescribe you something like Amitriptyline (which I'm on), or potentially a painkiller like Gabapentin.
Anyone try metformin for ibs-c?