# Alternating Constipation – Diarrhea



## Arzu Caydere (Feb 23, 2013)

when you have alternating constipation and diarrhea, can the alternation by daily?

i have this alternation daily: sometimes during the day i have constipation and sometimes diarrhea. is this very typical in ibs?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

What do you mean by constipation. It can be hard to get really hard, dry stools that are hard to pass when you go every day.

That being said, lots of people have pain or discomfort every day that may feel like being backed up with any stool consistency, and it is common for IBSers to have stools of very different consistency all in the same day. You could get go from hard dry stools to loose/wet ones all in one day but like I said if you go every day sometimes the really hard pellets aren't going to happen as much as when you have a few days after the diarrhea without any BM's at all. But often after those hard stools you get loose stools right afterward.


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## Arzu Caydere (Feb 23, 2013)

the interesting thing is this: for example, i start to drink a glass of water and immediately (within 3 minutes) my bowel movements and rumbling starts.

that means the bowels understand that something was taken into body and then responds in such a strange way. is this typical in ibs?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It is normal for ALL humans. Everyone's stomach always knows when it gets filled up and when it fills up it tells the colon and intestines to get a move on.

Just in IBS this process is more noticeable to the person. But your guts have ALWAYS every day gotten more active when the stomach gets filled up. It is the gastrocolic reflex, it is a part of every single human (and every animal, this is why you take puppies outside shortly after they eat, they are going to go anyway, you might as well set them up to go where you want to train them to go).


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## storyofmylife (Jan 26, 2013)

Arzu Caydere said:


> when you have alternating constipation and diarrhea, can the alternation by daily?
> 
> i have this alternation daily: sometimes during the day i have constipation and sometimes diarrhea. is this very typical in ibs?


Me too. See my reply to this post -

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/161212-watery-and-normal-stool-in-the-same-bm/


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## Double Trouble (Apr 8, 2013)

I am usually constipated but If I eat something highly greasy or fatty, spicy and sometimes milk and airy products cause very painful explosive diarrhea that will kick in as soon as 10 minutes after I finished eating and then I don't go for more than 3 days in a row after the bout of diarrhea. When that happens I have very hard stools to try to pass. I will have hard dry stools at first to pass at times and then it becomes diarrhea in BM.


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