# menstrual cycle and ibs C



## Taylor9080 (Dec 17, 2007)

So a week or two before I start my period I get extremely constipated and so bloated I can not wear hardly any of my clothes and can barely move, I swear it looks like I am 6 months pregnant. I was wondering if there is anything I can take for this.It is taking an emotional toll on me because I am trying to loose some weight and once I get done a few pounds I get bloated and gain some weight because I dont feel like working out because I can barely move, also if I do work out I still end up gaining.Another thing is there any kind of meal plans that is good for ibs c. I am trying to work with this ibs and I have been taking notes and it seems caned veggie soup makes me bloated, anyone else get that too?Thanks :]


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## 22896 (Aug 19, 2006)

Taylor,Hi, been there done that. Have you tried otc stool softeners to ward off the C? The C is causing the bloating and making you not want to do anything which in turn is making you not go to the bathroom. I have had good luck with Philips stool softeners (no stimulants so you won't get cramping). You could also try just doing some slow walking like on a treadmill or around the block. Even if you don't feel like it, just force yourself and it may get things moving for you. Before I had my hysterectomy I was on the Seasonale BC pill where you only have 4 periods a year and that was soooo nice while it worked. After a year of that I ended up having to have the surgery anyway. If you are on the BC pill it may be worth looking into switching to something like that.Fruits and veggies always make me more bloated but I found if I added them to my diet VERY slowly it was ok. I started with an apple and then once I could eat one without bloating I would add something else.Take Care, Mindy


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## 17008 (Jan 21, 2007)

In my humble opinion, birth control pills will only make the problem of constipation worse. In this forum, it seems that many women start to get constipation before their periods. And when they are pregnant. these are both moments in which progesterone levels are very high. All birth control bills contain progesterone to convince the body that it is already pregnant. Therefore, birth control pills will probably make the constipation worse not better. And that seems to be what a lot of women on this forum are saying, that their constipation got worse with birth control pills. I know that there are things you can eat to raise your progesterone or lower or raise one's estrogen. But to lower progesterone, I have no idea what one could do. There is the obvious : don't get pregnant and don't take BCP.I dearly wish that someone would research the relationship of women's hormones to IBS-C. There are some interesting things. For example, high progesterone levels at the end of the period also correspond with PMS. PMS, we have discovered, is a time where seratonin levels are also low. And that some people find taking a seratonin supplement helps. Also, research shows that a seratonin receptor could be a problem in IBS-C. Perhaps that might explain also the reason why more women than men have IBS.This is why I feel that emotions are linked to IBS. Seratonin is a major component of depression etc. Expressions such as I was so nervous I sh*t my pants. Or having "guts" or "what's wrong with him, is there something up their @@" attest to the fact that emotions are very related to IBS. On a side note, there are hormones in our water. We are all drinking other people's birth control pills and anti-depressants that get flushed into the toilet. That cannot be good for our already hormone-fragile system.Anyway, I feel like I am getting a med degree through all of these problems and I am NOT a scientist. But somewhere out there there must be a scientific brain out there capable of explaining whether my theory is cooky or if there is some validity to it!!


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