# How much worse does your IBS-D get at start of period?



## Butch (Nov 16, 2014)

I am on an elimination diet for several weeks, and got my period a few weeks back. Things went completely insane for about 2 days. I went from having slighly improved BMs and less frequency overall to extremely watery and intense. Normally (before I developed IBS-D) I would get looser stools during the first couple of days of my period, but this is way more than I have ever experienced, even during my early days of IBS-D. It's possible this was a coincidence, and that something else I did (I ate a lot of green beans around that time) triggered this, but I was curious if anyone else has this experience either once in a while, or regularly?

Any feedback would help. As would any ideas to cope.

Also, I'm trying to avoid Advil for cramps. I have no idea what else to take. Tylenol doesn't work. Thoughts?


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## kals (Dec 8, 2014)

no, not me, but I change so much, but have always been normal no pain or anything during that time (in the stomach area). elsewheres has always been an issue though the regular painful areas.


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## marleyma (Aug 13, 2014)

My ibs gets HORRIBLE around the time of my period. Everything just gets 10 times worse. I have IBS-A with c majority of the time but usually my bowels completely empty out right before i get it and then also for the first couple days i have d. Ive been told endometriosis could be the culprit of everything (ibs related) but im hesitant to get the surgery to "prove" it.


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## marleyma (Aug 13, 2014)

Oh and for cramps i do heating pad, hot showers and 800 mg ibuprofen. And although gross, having an orgasm helps reduce the cramps.


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## jilliantodd (Jan 20, 2015)

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a collection of symptoms such as cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. People with IBS have some of these symptoms - such as cramping and diarrhea or bloating and constipation - for at least 3 months.

IBS can be uncomfortable. But it does not lead to serious disease, such as cancer. It also does not permanently harm the large intestine (colon).

Most people with IBS can ease symptoms with changes in diet, medicine, and stress relief. For some people, IBS symptoms are more severe. They may get in the way of going to work or traveling, even traveling short distances.


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## Noodles87 (Nov 18, 2014)

I have always (even when normal) had what I would call "period diarrhea", from the research I did it is quite common, the current thought is that the hormones release water retention (that you get before the period) and this causes diarrhea in some people who are more sensitive to it.


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## Butch (Nov 16, 2014)

Noodles87 - that's a great explanation about water retention. I hadn't heard that before. I have had the same issue for years before I got IBS. Now it's just worse.

I see a functional medicine MD and she is going to do some additional hormone testing to see if perhaps some of my IBS symptoms are hormone driven - even the ones that aren't occurring during my period. I should know more in March. In the meantime I am having some success with this modified diet - although I still have random bad days for no reason. Still, it's better than it was before the diet by far.


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## Wileykit (Feb 19, 2014)

Yeah lots of women who aren't IBS sufferers get diorrhea during their period, i've spoken to a few! I find i'm slightly blocked up before period, then i get rid of it all really quickly on the first day  It is all linked to progesterone i think as that slows down stomach emptying among other things


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## Elliebellie (Mar 17, 2016)

marleyma said:


> Oh and for cramps i do heating pad, hot showers and 800 mg ibuprofen. And although gross, having an orgasm helps reduce the cramps.


I know slightly of topic but do u not find the ibs gets so much worse with ibuprofen? My ibs-d flares bad before and during period really bad and if I take pain killers or anti- inflammatorys. And lots of other things bit these two things seem to be when main flare ups occur.


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## AIRPLANE (Mar 15, 2004)

I have never been able to tolerate ibuprofen either- it definitely can make cramps and diarrhea worse. Generally, all nsaids are an irritant to the GI tract, although I know that many women seem to be OK with them.

I usually will only take an Nsaid- in the form of an aspirin/acetaminophen combo like Excedrin or a generic equivalent- when I get a headache which fortunately doesn't happen too often. I make sure to take it with food to try and minimize the GI effects. Otherwise, I have a prescription for Tramadol for pain which seems to help some with cramps and diarrhea.

I am 57 and had my uterus removed 18 years ago. But it still feels like I get pain that is just like menstrual cramps. I strongly suspect that I have had endometriosis ever since I started my period at age 11 since I have had GI issues of one kind or another ever since. Even though I have had surgery, and nobody said that they found any endo, I am not convinced that I don't have it. From what I have read, there is a lot of misinformation and false ideas about it and that there are very few surgeons who have the skills to diagnose and treat it properly. There are a lot of good articles about endometriosis by a former nurse named Nancy Peterson who worked with a top endo surgeon and I think that she might have had endo herself which was diagnosed very late. I also like the website called Endo Warriors.

I do know that I have a lot of adhesions which is a symptom of endo. And then I had a few surgeries that didn't help and probably caused more adhesions. Since Drs do not like to talk about adhesions, or deal with them, I doubt if any surgeon would want to open me up unless it was an emergency. And I know that it is the adhesions that are causing my pain and GI issues but there is nothing I can do about them. Physical therapists and a visceral massage therapist tried to help, but my adhesions were too many and too tough to be helped.


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