Hi,
Fodmap doesn't work for everyone, including me. Consult a Gastrologist and or Dietitian for help. There are treatments ranging from fecal transfere to dietry changes. I use laxatives and any food source that I have found helps, such things as green pears, green netarines, prunes, peanuts, tinned peaches with bran flakes and liquorice etc. There are pros and cons to such foods like too much liquorice is not good for us, red is better than black, prunes are high in sugar and calorie content, not great for diabetics like me. I don't do it all with laxatives for fear the muscles will get lazy and require more laxatives. Obviously stay away from foods that bind you up and keep drinking plenty of fluids. Try to eat more fiber, not something I have been able to do. I eat a lot less and try to consentrate on high protien foods like eggs and sardines with a little red meat once a week, you should be fine with chicken. I have problems with a lot of veggies and only eat carrots, onions which are mainly cooked but raw occasionaly as they are a prebiotic and a digestive, peas are on the list I shouldn't be eating, but I'm fine with them and bread, I do use wholemeal with seeds as my main food item.
Alot of medications have constipation as a side effect. I use omeprazole, domperidone and acidex to try and be comfortable. I have found I can tolerate foods that are not supposed to work with IBS and foods that are supposed to be good don't work for me, so it is vey much an individual thing. Have your B12 levels checked as with stomach problems this can be low and can lead to more serious health complications. To soothe fissures around the rectum I use Johnson and Johnson's aloevera hand moisturiser, it gives instant relief and is not messy like vasaline.
Life very much becomes a balancing act to keep myself between C and D, too much or too little and I can go either way. I increase fluids and fibre in the summer to offset the increased fluid loss from the heat. In the winter I mainly consume home made veggie soup finding I can tolerate more veggies that way and it is not high in sodium as canned soups are. I have found garlic and ginger helps to settle the stomach a little but when it fails to do the job it is into the hard core treatments. I will not go more than 2 days without taking serious action to empty the bowels as after 2 days it starts getting critical for me. I can be constipated and still have D, this is called flow past which can leave me blocked but still expelling something. Definitely not a place to be. When this happens it is supository time.
The worst thing you can do is nothing, the sooner you work around, manage IBS the better you will cope. I have been through it all and now have a totally corrupted digestive system from IBS and Autonomic Neuropathy. No cure and no treatment, just left to manage as best I can. My rule of thumb, if it makes me comfortable, eat it, otherwise don't eat it again.
Cheers

Thank you… my life is the same.. have not been as successful as you yet. I had colon cancer 12 years ago & was doing fine with oxypowder but then it stopped working. One nutritional GI told me that inter abdominal pressure from Pilates may have twisted my colon.

Hi,
I'm not sure I would say I'm successful at it as I just do what I have to to get through each day. I have just taken a massive hit after being sucked into the lattest Covid vax. Four days later and all hell let lose. Worse than a serious bout of SIBO. No C no D nothing, seemed like the stomach was not processing anything, just left sitting in the stomach gassing off making movement difficult. One large pkt of liquorice and half dozen prunes still took time to shake it loose but finally there is movement, much to my relief, both ways! Won't do that again in a hurry.
How was the cancer treated?
Unfortunately the body can become accustomed to various medications, sometimes suspending taking it and then restarting it again later can recover the benefits.
I likely do a lot of things wrong according to IBS guidelines but it works for me. Despite my Gastro specialist having used every trick in his bag I'm not someone who sits and waits for the experts to fix a problem. I tend to research and research a problem and try what to me seems logical. Right or wrong that's the only way I have found my way through the IBS minefield. No it is not successful, just managed to were I can move on.
Anxiety and stress can be a major contributor to IBS problems, something I have not been immune from. Dealing with major health issues can cause a lot of this.
Cheers

I suddenly developed IBS-C last fall. I am 70 and never had issues prior. I am under a lot I'm stressed so I figured that's what the brought this on. After following the low FODMAP diet for months and using miralax daily I still have symptoms. Could barely go on my own. I went to the gastroenterologist and she put me on Linzess. It didn't work real well at first. But then I read about drinking a lot of fluids, and I mean a lot. I shoot for at least 100 oz daily. But in the morning when I do take the medication I drink at least 20 oz of water / coffee first then take the Linzess. Since increasing my water intake daily and especially in the morning I am doing really good. I have complete BM everyday. I still do keep track of what I eat primarily getting fiber shoot for 20 to 24 g of fiber. I get that with eating chia yogurt pudding walnuts and kiwi. I also started brewing my own water kefir I'm not sure how much that is helping but I'm going to continue. Just wanted to share my story hope it encourages someone. Blessings to you all

Hi,
Movment is good as it facilitates the movement of food through the stomach, but not hard core exercise as it will impact the constipation, also keep the fluids up.
Cheers

adrienne9484,

Rectal and anal pain, for me, would be due to hard stool stuck in a pocket of my rectum.

I have IBS-C, a redundant colon (too long) and a rectocele (a pocket of loose muscle in the rectum). My gastro docs didn't even consider a rectocele, surprisingly. I also have no firewall between my brain's emotions and my gut. My IBS-C is triggered by stress/anxiety and the wrong foods. Guessing what might help what you have, based on what helps me:

Hard stool: If I eat the wrong foods, my stool is hard. I also pass mucus. Stool also can gets stuck in my rectocele when I have IBS-C spasms.

Solutions: Once you have hard stool, there are a lot of OTC products out there to soften stool. My OTC is Colace or Colace 2-in-1 (with a stimulant too), and that is after I have tried massage/stretching, sitting a certain way to compress my rectocele so the rectum responds more normally to stool, drinking hot liquids/eating hot cereal, etc.

To prevent hard stool, I do a couple of things. First, as a night snack, I cook rhubarb and some of the other soft fruits I can eat in the microwave with water, for a compote. I add a makeshift crumble crust and cook a bit more. I then top it with a cut-up, fresh kiwi. Rhubarb and kiwi are mild stimulant laxatives. I definitely need them. At bedtime, I take a magnesium supplement and one Colace -- both are stool softeners. I need them too.

Second, I take 1/8 teaspoon of Frontier brand slippery elm inner bark powder with almost every meal. It supports the mucosa, so provides the slip to move even hard stool along.

To prevent IBS-C spasms/misfiring: The anxiety/stress front: Hopefully this is not an issue for you. CBT hypnosis worked for me. I was very motivated. I paid for seven sessions with a therapist. I can relax at will now (almost always).

The food front: Find out what you can eat. The Monash University FODMAP app was my starting point, but I already knew I had trouble with grains such as rice/oats/wheat, as well as lactose. Through trial and error, I learned that I usually cannot eat the quantity of low FODMAP food Monash listed. I also learned I can only eat about "15 things" and that many spices were triggers too (bland is so much better).

Through trial and error, this is what I can eat for a wonderfully calm belly and near-regular elimination ( you should be able to eat a greater variety than I am able to, or it might be a different variety. I also have mild lupus, BTW, so that may be part of the reason I need such a limited diet):

I eat reasonable quantities of green plantain flour, Lactaid milk, egg white powder, fresh egg whites, fresh parsnips, homemade bone broth.

I eat small quanitities of Lactaid cottage cheese, pea protein isolate, extra-firm tofu, shrimp, ground venison, fish, spinach/collards, green onions (green part only), radish, fresh green plantain, potato, dragon fruit, papaya, rhubarb.

I eat very small quantities of fresh ginger, pure stevia drops, maple syrup, brewers yeast, potato flour, olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil, dried seaweed square, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, brazil nuts, Fody-brand condiments, turmeric, oregano, salt and pepper.

I cook all my foods except the raw kiwi at night. I drink warm/hot water and other liquids. Cold water can be a liquids can be a trigger.

I take Intoleran brand digestive enzymes and a fat/protein digestive enzyme, with each of my six small meals a day. I also make sure I sip plan water during the day.

My IBS-C/food intolerance seems to be getting worse with time/age. It could be due to my redundant colon lengthing or if my intolerance is lupus-related. I would be surprised if yours wasn't an easier fix.

I have not tried Linzess or other IBC meds. I don't think my system would like them. Some of the other stool softeners like Miralax make me nauseous and do not help my elimination.

All my best!