# Can't beat it if you can't treat it



## mswest95 (Nov 17, 2012)

So i have IBS A and my doctor has told me that there is nothing she can do to help it. The reason being ,since I alternate so easily between constipation and diarrhea, whatever medicine I take for one symptom just gives me the other. To treat one symptom would put me in a chain of never ending pill popping, so I get to pick a symptom and live with it. It can get seriously frustrating. Just today I wanted to go see the Hobbit with my boyfriend, but I hadn't had a BM in like 3 days and my stomach was seriously killing me. I took a laxative that was supposed to be overnight, so I thought I would have at least 8 hours before I needed to go. I seriously underestimated why they call our disease IRRITABLE bowel syndrome. Within an hour, I was on my way to the theatre and in killer pain because I had diarrhea. My poor boyfriend just had to listen me complain. I missed a good 20 minutes of the movie in the bathroom, then needed to go again on the way home. There's nothing even left in me now, but I still have painful urges to go and nothing comes out but mucous. The worst part of it is, I can't take an anti-diarrheal or I'll be stopped up for another week. I'm not really asking for advice because I don't think there is any, but it's definitely welcome. I mostly just want to know if anyone can relate. It sucks not being able to hang out in public if there's no bathroom. My boyfriend is really supportive about it, but it's still super embarrassing to have to tell him why I took so long in the bathroom everyday. I'm sure plenty of you have the same deal.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Well there are a couple of things that sometimes help people, but it can be more difficult because it isn't just take an anti-diarrheal every day sort of thing.

For a lot of people the key to breaking the cycle is preventing the constipation. If you wait until you can't stand it anymore to take a laxative, your body is already about to push the constipation out with diarrhea/loose stools so piling on top of that can be a problem. And then after emptying out you are more likely to be constipated for a day or three and then the cycle starts again.

Start by looking at how much fiber and water you consume daily and see if there is an amount that will keep you from backing up. Sometimes a mild osmotic laxative daily can prevent the backing up without triggering off the diarrhea. If you want to try that I'd start at 100 mg of Magnesium oxide (in the vitamin aisle) and see if that is enough, if not you can go up 100 mgs at a time to see what will help keep the stool moving during the slower times but without setting off diarrhea.

It is trickier because what you are doing is trying to work towards the middle ground without over-swinging to one side or the toher.


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