Weird bowel movements controlling my life : (

Some tips i've use to deal with this issue: all thur school i would wake up early and slowly drink a cup of coffee...sometimes followed by something cold and that would allow me to empty my bowels for the day. I would sit on the toilet with some reading material till it went. It kinda trained my system to go the same time every morning.
..Imodium or gas x pills help quiet everything....I don't want to use these regularly but they do help on occasion when i need a little more help. I also practice meditative techniques to try to stay calm and relaxed. I find it's somewhat self-hypnosis. It's definitely the anxiety about not being able to get to a bathroom in time ...or excitement about a going to a new place or event that cause my stomach to get worked up and peristalsis to begin. Controlling the anxiety controls the bowels.... I find it helpful to establish and cultivate a technique of keeping my mind and body peaceful gives me something i can go to in stressful or anxious situations that would be a trigger. It's kinda like exercise...training the muscle on a daily basis so it's strong when the occasion arises that i need to rely on it. If i fail to develop this muscle then i can't remain mentally strong and disciplined in these moments. It's something that you have to make the effort to develop.

It's good to see that I'm not the only one dealing with this embarrassing issue. I like to think that I'm a strong-minded and non-anxious person, but in many ways I can see how the anxiety of not knowing whether or not you'll make it to a restroom drives the irregular bowel movements. Often, I feel as if I need to hit every restroom I see prior to getting into a car or going out somewhere with friends because I'm not sure I'll be able to "hold it" until I find another one. This has just started to really affect my life on a daily basis and I'm searching for any techniques that will work to make it better. I probably could watch my diet more, but I can sit around the house all day and never have any problems. However, if I want to go somewhere it's almost immediate that I feel like I should use the restroom. So, I know at least part of it is in my head and I've been trying to correct that little by little. It appears to be working some, but I wouldn't say its controllable yet. Any techniques or ideas that have worked for anyone else?

After I had my gall bladder removed I developed bowel incompetence and if I had the urge to move my bowels I had go immediately. I found that if I took Psyllium it helped me to at least add bulk to my movement.

Hi Everyone,

I see this is an old topic but hopefully i can get the ball rolling again..

Ive had exact issues for 15 yrs...
i dont even know where to begin.. but all your posts say it all.. basically in the comfort of my home im fine but as soon as i need to go out i start to worry about the bathroom.

If anyone has had any success or would like to chat about things ive tried, please get back to me..

ive posted on many sites but it seems that no one really has the magic cure and alot of people stop visisting forums and stop asking questions because they may feel there situation is hopeless.. but its not we all need to communicate as just communicating with people who understand is a slight relief in itself..


Good Luck to all..

Coda

I beleive you may have social anxiety.
Zoloft may be able to help you as it can lower anxiety and symptems of IBS.

I want to say thankyou to everyone for [posting and talking about a difficult subject. It helps to know that I am not alone. I have been going through this for about 3 years. I do suffer from anxiety and depression and im sure it may be part of the problem. When it happens to me i get this strong urge accompanied with cramps, pain and dizziness. I feel like im going to pass out. When I go its not necessarily diarreah. However, its a whole lot, like a mountain in the toilet sorry :-( I feel like an explosion and if i dont get to the bathroom in time i will have a accident, it has happen before and at work to my horror >:( I still need to consult my doctor and get some test done. I am also a mother of 6. I suffered with constipation since i was 16 and now this problem i also suffer from hemerroids. I also suffer from incontinence which maybe all these factors are connected to my problem. I am just tired of the maybe's. I need to know why exactly and how we can improve the quality of all of our lives. Just keep posting your thoughts please someone outhere has the right answer or answers Thank you

Doesny hurt to try this....

Do a Search for Dr Albert Snow or go to web site..

***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed

Click on tab "Next Teleseminar and listen very Interesting information..

i have been having this problem for over a year now. i have to ride a vanpool in the mornings to work and have such a hard time meeting it because i feel like i will have to use the bathroom while i am on it and not be able to hold it even though i have already gone 2 to 3 times before i left my house. this only happens to me in the mornings when i ride that van because it doesn't seem to happen to me when i drive or when i don't have to go to work. please, if anybody can help me get past this anxiety, i will so much appreciate it. please help me!!!!

I started crying when i read these post because they all seem like what i am going through i have 3 children and i take them to school in the mornings and my fear is going on myself and most mornings i have to pull over.... not fun when they are in the car worndering whats going on with mom my husband is talking about leaving me because i want leave the house ...... only if its really really important i feel everyones pain and i just Want MY LIFE BACK PLEASE SOMEONE HELP..../ sometimes i do go on myself its uncontrolble. i have talk to 2 doc and both wanted to give me med for deppresion. i just want to find some kind of answear

 

Hi all, Seems like we are all in the same boat! I've posted on this thread a long time ago. I get emails when new posts are added and just received one today.. Which shows there is little activity on this post due to unsuccessful treatments or someone has found something that works and has not revisited to post or people are just giving up hope... I have had this condition which has been described by al of you like I wrote the posts my self over 16 years.. Yeah I get depressed only because I know how much I'm missing in life, but I will never say I give up.. Life goes on and we owe it to ourselves to continue to look for answers, even if it something that helps a bit please post as it may help someone else out as well. Like everyone mornings are the worst for me and I rarely get out of the house by noon, so I try to work around my condition until I find the answer to my questions.. And having forums like this helps us all as we know we are not alone. Yes anxiety gets my bowels rumbling, yes certain foods get me going, yes I am afraid to do slot if things. Yes I have lost many friends along the way. But I try to cope and experiment with different tactics, Right now to cope with things I schedule appointments around when I know I will feel most comfortable.. I also take 1or 2 imodium pills depending on my anxiety along with 1 mild tranquilizer (clonazepam) prescribed by my doctor. This has gotten me through very scary situations and made me feel good about myself. Also as a preventative measure I wear a adult diaper you can't even notice it. But it helps lower the what if, feeling!!! I also try to take fiber not any fiber but a soluble fiber.. Fibre smart by renew life and 1 probiotic tablet every day with almond milk. No Dairy.. This seems to help bulk up my stool so it's easier to control and gets rid of that incomplete evacuation feeling.. These things give me a bit more confidence in my daily activity.. Other things that may help are: Calcium Peppermint pills Give things a chance don't expect instant results if it doesn't make it worse continue with remedies for at least a month.. But don't give up hope.. Stay positive and try things that you avoid to build up confidence.. Or we can all move to a town where everybody sh**s themselves and nobody cares.. :s. Please post what things you have tried and found some relief. Good luck to all!!

Hi everyone

Firstly I would like to commiserate with all my fellow sufferers. I have read all of the posts on this forum whilst simultaneously laughing hysterically and nervously. Now that the laughing has passed I thought I woud share some things that have helped me virtually overcome this situation.

The bad news is that we are genetic defects and we are weak compared to the majority of the people on this earth. Whilst they (the majority) can eat what they like and go where they like without fear and paranoia unfortunately we can't :-( . But wait there is salvation and I believe that the answer for people like us lies almost exclusively in our diet.

Out of curiosity do any of you suffer from anything else? any other form of allergy? I have terrible hayfever and nothing seemed to work for that either until I saw a nutritionist who performed a whole variety of tests on me to determine if I was allergic to any particular foods and guess what? I was! I couldn't believe it when I found out that I was allergic to wheat dairy sugar potatoes chocolate , petrol and after shave. ( the last two I didn't eat btw :-) So she constructed a diet for me which involved a lot of fruit, fish, meat , rice and that virtually eliminated my allergies and to a greater extent my bowel problems.

To say I was in shock was an understatement. I had been eating these foods everyday for years and the thought of living without them was almost as horrible as living with them.

There is another ingredient that causes problems and that is ARTIFICIAL SWEETNERS Those things can play havoc with your stomachs and I used to eat loads everyday in hot drinks soft drinks chewing gum etc etc.I am telling you that by cutting out sweetners and probably creating a diet that eliminates a combo of wheat, dairy and refined sugars then it will dramamtically improve your conditions.

I forgot to mention chili's as well. I love chili but unfortunately they dont love me. try cutting them out as well and see.

Of course if we were to cut out all of the above it would make our lives almost as depressing as they are at the moment so what I suggest you do is this.

Do a 2 week detox , no sweetners, wheat, dairy, chilis. Try  some fruit for breakfast like a couple of bananas, for lunch have a nice big salad with some tuna or chicken and for dinner meat or fish and brown or white rice with vegeatbles. If you get hungry during the day eat nuts or rice cakes or dried fruit. Maybe take some calcium tablets whilst you are avoiding the dairy products. Guess what, apart from feeling better you will also lose a lot of weight and clear out the toxins in your system.

Remember my friends that it is almost imposible to live like this forever as we all like the naughty things in life but just to get the ball rolling try this diet and if it works then you know it is always something  you can get back into when things start getting out of hand again.

Eat the naughty stuff on a friday and a saturday but not sunday if you are a worker.

I hope the above helps you guys and I wish you all the best.

ps if anyone knows of a pill that I could take instead that cures this problem please let me know as I would much prefer to take it and eat what I want !

I'm also going through the same problem and it only seems to happen when i'm getting ready to out in public just yesterday was the latest incident i've had this problem for the past 2 years and every time i go to my family doctor she keeps on telling me that its just constipation but i can't see me having constipation for 2 straight years! and i know its not a major medical issue because just a little over 2 years ago i had a colonoscopy done and everything turned up fine so i honestly don't know what to do anymore all i know is that its very very frustrating.

i had a colonoscopy and the symptoms improved afterwards because of the flushout that was required prior to the procedure. Did you get better after your system was flushed out or not?

your post makes me really nervous sir.i have the exact same problem you have.all of what you do.i do the exact same thing.the paranoia to find the near by toilet.and everything.its just controlled my life to the point.i cant live my life anymore.this added to the fact i have a phobia of public toilets.basically i dont go out anywhere.cause this untimely bowel movements just killed my life.and im in a third world country so you know how worse it gets for me too :(

Do have any spine trouble