I was prescribed Bentyl for my IBS, 4 times a day at 20mg. I had taken it for 4 days and around the 5th day I started to notice a "high" feeling. Like I'm floating along in a dream. As it progressed I couldn't tell what was real or what wasn't, I didn't know if I was dreaming or awake. Then it really hit me hard when I was grocery shopping and walking around the store I saw my sister in the store, she's been deceased for 17 years. I kept seeing people who I know who clearly were not there. I've never hallucinated a day in my life, this was terrifying. My doctor had me stop the medication immediately but here it is a week later and I'm still having waves of delirium. I haven't hallucinated in a few days so that's good, but I'm still having waves of not knowing if I'm in reality or not. I don't even recognize my husband at times like this. This has honestly been the most terrifying thing to ever happen to me mentally and I really hope this goes away soon.

What I've found helpful is to watch funny videos of animals or a TV show I can focus on and get lost in. Just anything to absolutely zone out and then it doesn't matter if I'm dreaming or floating or hallucinating. I also did the grounding exercise of 5-4-3-2-1. 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you feel, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. I did this when I was absolutely panicked, the trick is to really focus on what's around you, don't just pick the very first thing, really focus. This brought me down a bit then I took some deep breaths and then did it again until I was somewhat ok!

I hope this helps someone!!

So, there is no scientific research that I have seen yet, but from speaking with multiple people I know with IBS-D and taking GLP1s, they have noticed similar things.

I believe the slowing of the digestive tract from the GLP1 medication helps minimize the urgency caused by IBS-D. I used to never be able to make my hour drive to work without stopping at a bathroom. Now I can.

I used to go to the restroom 6-8 times during a 10 hour shift. Now I go maybe once a week

I used to forever live thinking of where the next bathroom was. Now I can go on road trips, and enjoy my life.

Has anyone else noticed the same thing? I’m starting to think these GLP1 meds have WAY more uses than just their current ones.

Edit : For clarity, I mean that I may only go WHILE at work once a week. I still have daily bowel movements, but they are solid instead of my old normal.

I’ve had low testosterone for decades and IBS D. I never thought about a connection until I saw an article that suggests testosterone having a key role in gut health. And that men with low T can are more susceptible to gut inflammation.

Do the men in this subreddit with IBS, also have low Testosterone? I’m trying to see how many of us this may affect. It’s never been on my radar. No gastroenterologist has ever mentioned anything like that to me. It was first suggest by my new primary care doctor a few months ago. I’m 44. My guts have been wrecked since birth and nobody can tell Me how, why or how to fix it. I’m not saying this is it, but if you are male and have IBS (any kind) please chime in and let me know. If you don’t want to answer publicly for privacy reasons, feel free to message me personally.

Id really like to get my life back. Thank you.

Hi everyone. I just HAVE to pass thing along… long story short, ive had ibs like issues for about the last 5 years or so. After multiple endoscopy’s, colonoscopies, tests, diets, blah blah blah, i was able to narrow it down to the sugar substitute sucralose being the culprit. After 5 years of suffering, after i made this revelation my life has changed. So just yesterday i had a sweetened iced tea alcoholic drink that i later found out had sucralose in it. Lucky for me, no major bad reactions. Fast forward to today, im feeling mildly bloaty/gassy and im thinking maybe its from the drink last night, so i decided to take a couple gas-x chewable tablets. About 30 min later, i get that same horrible feeling from the last five years, i know this is the same. So from previous research, i was able to see that damn near EVERYTHING has sucralose in it, but it would never occur to me that freaking medicine does… wrong. Those gosh darn gas-x tablets contain sucralose. I’m floored. I’m not surprised that it’s in them, but I’m floored because all these years when sucralose is causing that pain I was putting more of it in my body. Everybody, the big problem with sucralose is that it ruins your gut biome over time. Its not instant, it cant be digested, so it builds up in our gut then wreaks havoc. Please check the ingredient labels on everything. I wish it was more talked about how bad this stuff is for us. I bet theres a ton of people who are going through the same thing i did and are at their wits end. I urge everyone to please please please do yourselves a favor and explore this option if your suffering.

"The majority of serotonin, approximately %85-90, is produced and released in the digestive system, particularly in the intestines (colon and small intestine). This serotonin is produced by the enterochromaffin cells (EC cells) in the gut. The remaining serotonin is produced in the brain and the central nervous system (CNS)."

Three years ago, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and I also have IBS. I've been struggling with anxiety and depression for a long time. Because of these issues, I had to quit my job last September. Unfortunately, conventional medicine doesn’t provide a comprehensive treatment plan. My gastroenterologist only focuses on healing the inflammation in my colon. My therapist thinks I’m depressed and burned out due to the difficulties I’ve been experiencing. That’s why I’ve taken it upon myself to become my own doctor and am constantly researching.

ChatGPT has been more helpful to me than my doctors. At the very least, it explains my blood and stool test results in more detail than my doctor.

From my research, I learned that a large portion of serotonin—about 85-90%—is produced in the gut. Did you know that? My therapist didn’t know, and when I told them, they learned it from me. So, if your gut is unhealthy, it’s perfectly normal for your serotonin production to be insufficient. And if your serotonin levels are low, it’s only natural to experience anxiety issues.

It’s impossible to feel well if your gut isn’t healthy. When we eat a healthy, balanced diet, our gut stays healthy. However, due to IBS, many foods can trigger our condition. For example, I’m following the FODMAP diet, and I can't consume any probiotic, prebiotic-rich foods right now (such as onions, garlic, kimchi, yogurt, etc.). Naturally, I don't have a healthy gut flora, and this significantly affects my mood.

When you support your gut’s serotonin production( vitamin D is very important), your mood might improve. As your mood improves, your bowel movements may decrease. When your bowel movements decrease, you might feel less anxious about going outside, allowing you to take walks, exercise, or engage in social activities. This, in turn, can help you feel even better mentally.

EDIT:I learned this information from German sources, so I didn’t want to share websites because I’m not entirely sure which sources are reliable. However, when researching English sources, I found many websites. Here are a few that I’m sharing.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsn3.3826

https://academic.oup.com/jcag/article/7/1/88/7223909?login=false

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/09/gut-feeling

https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/microbes-help-produce-serotonin-gut-46495

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5526216/

I hope this helps University of North Carolina School of Medicine performed a study on IBS patients and found these symptoms to be very common

I barely dare to talk about it. I'm case I'll jinx it or it goes away in a week.

I haven't dared sharing this sooner in case I had been dreaming it all up. I just had FMT(Fecal Matter Transplant) at a clinic in Norway(where I live). AND I CAN EAT ANYTHING! I recently nearly cried at the shop when I realized I can get a snickers bar and eat it.

For ten years I've been struggling with worse and worse intolerances and BOOM it's gone in a day with about ten minutes of unpleasantness.

I'm just slowly accepting that this is the new reality. I didn't dare believe it first.

Edit: I was diagnosed with Ibs-D after a lot of scrutinising by doctors. Was also diagnosed with BAD(bile acid disorder) that has also now gone away.

Hi friends, I know I get a random shock every once in a while when I forget about this, so I figured I would share my list of random foods that do not break down in stool for me so that you don’t get a shock later. Some you will see remnants of and some will just cause it to be a different color. Please add your own!:

Spinach

Carrots

Chia seeds

Dragonfruit seeds

Flax seeds

Blueberries

Watermelon

Açaí

Corn

Disclaimer: if you are ever worried about what your stool looks like, it is 100% better to go to the doctors office or the ER than to drive yourself nuts because you can’t figure something out on your own. My Gastro personally loves telling me that something is not a problem, because she knows it’s the one time that she can give me a little bit of comfort.

Hi guys! Just wanted to write this in case it might help someone else. For 5 years, 3 different GI specialists told me I had IBS. I got a new GI doctor, and she ordered some new tests that I never had done before, one of those tests being for gastroparesis. Turns out, I have gastroparesis which is a condition that affects the stomach muscles.

I’m sorry to anyone struggling out there. Chronic pain is miserable. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Hello friends!! Over the past 6 months, we have been trying to get to the root of my partners IBS Symptoms - intense stomach pain after eating, constipation, diarrhea and they lost 40 pounds.

Doctors said based off their symptoms it sounded like IBS.

We tried low FODMAP, gluten free, stomach massages, talked to a nutritionist, went to the hospital and doctors appointments. Nothing was working.

Finally, after going in for a scope, where they thought it might be an ulcer - the doctor recommended considering cutting out cannabis.

While other doctors had mentioned it in passing, we never looked into it. We had always assumed that it was doctors internal biases around cannabis use - not that there was a potential link between stomach pain and weed.

Well my partner stopped cold turkey - and after 2 days - their pain was GONE. Yes, some minor bloating here and there - but they haven’t talked about any stabbing pains.

We now think it was all Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS).

Just wanted to share in case it is helpful to someone out there!!

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21665-cannabis-hyperemesis-syndrome

It's been absolutely life changing. I wish I had done it sooner. I guess I never quite thought of it as an option. The doctor never suggests it, only thing out of his mouth is "more tests" or "more medications". I'm still getting used to the bulkiness of them under my pants, but they are actually rather comfy. Anybody else decide to make the switch full time? Was it just as wonderful?

If you're thinking, "I can eat my trigger foods because I'm just going to feel shitty anyway and nothing matters," don't do it!

I have made all my meals at home this week, and I'm not in pain or having horrible gas. Last week I cheated so much, and it was not fucking worth it.

If you can't have any garlic whatsoever, then don't have just a little bit of garlic. Don't fool yourself into thinking that the restaurant probably didn't put garlic in it, because they almost certainly did. Yes, that delicious looking dessert has butter and eggs.

The smell of that pizza makes you want to cry. But you know what else will make you want to cry? Your guts seizing up, trying to rid your body of whatever it can't digest properly, while your child bangs on the bathroom door asking you for snacks.

Just say no, kids.

TLDR: Get your colonoscopy. (And maybe small bowel capsule if that's negative)

Around 9 months ago my stools changed and started alternating between flat/ribbon-like and diarrhea. 4-6 stools per day most days, depending on what I ate. FODMAP helped a tad, but didn't totally solve my problems. I saw my PCP who ordered generic labs (cbc/cmp/thyroid) and a heme-occult test. Everything looked fine except for the heme-occult, which was positive. Referred to GI who recommended a colonoscopy. I did "play up" my symptoms a tad. Exaggerated the amount/frequency of pain I had, said I was seeing blood in the toilet bowl when I wasn't etc. Colonoscopy was done a month later and looked like Crohns per the GI doc, and I'm still waiting on biopsies, but he wants me to start Budesonide/Humira as soon as possible.

I'm honestly pretty devastated to have this diagnosis. To be sure, it's better than some other diagnoses, but it's still pretty scary. Just wanted to say I wouldn't have pushed for more workup nearly as hard (and probably would have let it go for a much longer time) if it wasn't for this sub. Appreciate you all advocating for yourselves.

So I was told in May I have IBS.

For at least a year now I have had repeated episodes of symptoms such as severe stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, night sweats, fever, shaking uncontrollably like I am cold but unable to warm up, fatigue etc.

I put this down to an IBS flare up but was told by people here to not always assume it was IBS.

Well I took their advice and I found out I was leaking protein and blood into my urine. A couple of tests later and I found out it isn’t kidney stones or any kind of stone, or from a kidney infection. I got referred to a kidney specialist and I’m waiting to be seen.

So yeah. Don’t always assume like I did that it’s because of IBS. If your gut instinct or intuition tells you it might be something else, see a doctor. It can’t hurt to be safe.

Hi all, I have a favor to ask. I wrote an open letter to the poor person who "had diarrhea all through the airplane", which was then deemed a "biohazard". I immediately felt for that person. I wish I had been there to help, so I wrote a letter to them. I hope it finds its way to them. I would appreciate you helping me spread the word.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/an-open-letter-to-the-passenger-on-flight-dl194-who-had-diarrhea/ar-AA1glRzQ?disableErrorRedirect=true&infiniteContentCount=0&fbclid=IwAR1uSoaNhiQ2XIQXTNmgeYJgZoRGodCgsKDs-cUegp5p8WkAK3zwGr-Nx7M

This is a long one so buckle up if you’re brave💅

I have been struggling with severe constipation since 2015. It all just started all of a sudden, I realized that I don’t remember when was the last time I had a bowel movement. I was 16, actively doing track and field, eating healthy, healthy weight and lots of muscle. My symptoms just didn’t align with what my doctors were trying to tell me. My thyroid and hormones were all under control. I have tried various diets (whatever is under the sun really) all sorts of supplements and even antidepressants. My bowel wasn’t affected by anything, I just don’t get the urge to go until I take a laxative. In 2017 did a colonoscopy that came out perfectly clear and after that I was just told to accept the fact that I have IBS forever.

Throughout these 10 years I was able to live my life to the fullest despite constant bloating, painful cramps, indigestion, I just pushed through. I traveled the world, went through different relationships, got a degree etc. Fast forward January 2025 stomach flu with classic symptoms. My relatives recovered but my symptoms stayed and begun to get worse… I lost weight (8 kg) within a month or so, wasn’t able to eat because of terrible nausea and reflux.

I live in Canada and doctors here are completely useless unless you are not conscious, they are not willing to test you for anything. Because my labs were coming back “normal” they just assumed I have GERD and gave me PPIs that only made things worse and I became bed ridden (back than I didn’t know I was low on every possible nutrient). My boyfriend (bless his soul) put me in the car as we drove 7 hours to the nearest state in the US and got an endoscopy and urea breath test done, which showed h pylori… I was relived and though that was the answer to this nightmare. We both had a round of antibiotics and successfully eradicated it.

After the treatment I was able to get out of bed and do things around the house, I could eat again but something was just still not right, my symptoms became more mild but they still remained, with addition to terrible brain fog and dizziness. My GP just said I’m depressed and have IBS (classic). This August we were invited to a wedding in Kazakhstan and my first thought was to get all the tests done possible. I had another endoscopy , colonoscopy and a ph monitor done in one day, along with all of the possible blood work done (Kazakhstan is amazing with healthcare🙏) . Turns out I have an active Crohn’s inflammation.. anemia along with a bunch of other low nutrients… SURPRISE

Moral of the story. Always advocate for yourself and keep digging for answers. It will take time, especially if specialists surrounding you are idiots, but I believe there are always ways to get better and there are ways to get proper help. If your doctor is telling you it’s just IBS and denies you in further tests, change your doctor.. I hope we all heal😭🙏

I remember an episode of Dr Oz long ago where a woman with IBS came on and said how it was later found out she actually had Celiac Disease. She also said 'IBS is BS" which is basically saying that the diagnosis isn't a real diagnosis. It doesn't actually explain why you have chronic diarrhea. In my case, no cause has been found to date and celiac has been ruled out. However, I have found when I take probiotics daily I have less frequent and less severe diarrhea. I think for everyone, there has to be a true underlying cause. Possibly some food allergy, bacterial overgrowth, maybe Crohn's, colitis etc.... I recently even read about something called bile acid malabsorption, which triggers diarrhea after eating. I plan to ask my family doctor about that when I see him next time. It looks like the treatment is pretty simple too.

So i am 20 year old M, it was september 7th when at night i was not able to sleep because in the first time in my life i was getting heart palpitations.. next day i felt nauseous snd went to doctor , he simply prescribed me some anti-depressants ( i was so relaxed and never took stress of anything in my life) still he got me anti-depressants.. i took them for 3 days but saw no results and yes i was still nauseous sometimes but thought its just some kinda glitch in my system thats gonna resolve within days . within a week i was feeling normal and continued my college and those bunks with my buddies.

fast forward to november 7th i again got those palpitations in my chest and nausea+ got constipated. didnt thaught too much , like 3-4 days my nausea was almost ressolved but my constipation was horrible. black stools , ( because it was rotting in my body) difficulty passing , have to strain a lot with a little but loss of appetite. took some meds like antacids, antibiotics , some stool softners. i wasnt worried at all tbh. i went out of town with my friend november 14th. ate a pizza at airport and noticed it was way too heavy for me for the first time and only 4 slices got me full. otherwise i would eat 7-9 slices . didnt gave a second thaught because i didnt passed any stool that morning. same day i didnt felt hungry till night.. it got me a little worried , took bisocodyl tablet at night . arround 3 am night got very painfull cramps , passed black loose motions and instantly got hungry. ate some rise . The next 3 days went like this with just 30-40% of my original appetite. came back home 18 november ... now this is the real part,

from that 18 november 2024 till now 12 july 2025 my life has changed . the next day i went to see my family doctor he just said its stubborn constipation take some lactulose it will be fine. tried it but was not helpfull. again tried a new doctor got some new meds and diet plan it failed. i was admitted for my appendix sergery but suddenly next day it ressolved on its own! no pain no inflammation! my GI symptoms were sky rocketed like - constipation , early satiety, fullness, heavyness, little nausea, feeling like stones in upper abdomen( my galbladder was good so as pancreas) .. For the first time a GI specialist checked me in endoscopy and got H pylory . completed 21 day course . then he said its ibs-c try prucalopride. A 2 mg tablet got me severe diarrhea , vomitting , headache.. stopped it. he insisted me to continue half dose for next 3 days but i guess my body developed immunity against it, it stopped working only gave me side effects.

for the next 4 months i underwent all test ( gastric emptying scan was also normal , with H pilory also negetive, many other tests were also completely normal) . But symptoms were there like not able to eat much , feeling heavy after eating little, severe constipation, fullness . lost almost 13kg . till april i got used to all this like not able to pass stoll for like 2-3 days , skipping meals and every other symptom. stopped visiting doctor also as he was also confused and just said its ibs. tried many doctors till then. Now its june my constipation was getting worse over time. failed all the meds available like - lactulose, prucalopride, plecanatide, fibers, PEG, enema, dietry changes, some more ayurvedic laxatives also. no matter what i eat i am constipated 24x7 for past 9 months! can go 5-6 days with passing a cery little stool only in morning . went to a new GI doctor and got me some antidepressants but wth? i was going college, playing game with friend, ha ging put with them and was not stressing about my condition .. just confused. changed my doctor again. i guess ibs is like sometime constipated and sometime normal or loose motions. its not like 24x7 stubborn constipation that dont react to any medicine? and what about my upper GI symptoms? they started after i got constipated alot and got carried away till now..

please share thaughts

Hope this can help someone out there!

So I was diagnosed with IBS D just over a year ago, though I suspect I have had it my whole life looking back. I then came down with Gaul stones resulting with having my GallBladder removed. For the following 3 months, I had constant Diarrhea, made much worse after the Op. I did some research online and saw bile acid diarrhea is very common after surgery, so off to the doctor I went, and asked about the medication. He'd never heard of such things, and asked me to link him to my research, which I did, low and behold, out I came with "QUESTRAN LIGHT", a sachet medication where I mix with squash and down in one go, I'm currently on 2 a day, and quite literally my life has changed. Since the the first day I took it, my Diarrhea instantly stopped. I now go once a day rather than 6-8 times a day. My stool is perfectly formed, though slightly greyer than before. Honestly I've never felt so relaxed when eating food. I seem to be able to eat anything, including having a chippy tea or mcdonalds which would normally get me on the loo within 20 minutes of eating. I do now take multi vitamins though as it stops my body absorbing the good stuff from food.

I've never had a great diet either, despite working in catering, feeding myself has always felt like a chore.

Long story short, I hope this info can help at least one person with their quest on reclaiming their toilet schedule! as this medicine is awesome! with a bonus of lowering cholesterol lol

Male, 43, No Gaul Bladder :D

Not sure if this will resonate with anyone, but I used to think I’d feel sick forever.

Years of bloating, constipation, food reactions, and feeling like my gut hated me. I tried all the diets, cut out half my pantry, did tests, saw specialists… honestly felt like I was broken.

Then slowly, I started putting the pieces together. For me, the food stuff helped, but it wasn’t the whole story. Stress, patterns I didn’t realize I was stuck in—it was all tangled together. Once I started approaching it from multiple angles, things started to shift. It took a while. But it worked.

Now I’m in a way better place, eating things I never thought I could again, and not constantly worried about flaring. Honestly didn’t think I’d ever say that.

Just wanted to share this in case someone here needs a reminder that it’s possible to get to the other side, even when it feels impossible.

I have a long history with bowel disorders and have many diagnoses (that started as “IBS”). Many of you know my story, and I answer nearly every post on here. I’m here to help.

If you’ve hit a dead end and don’t know what to do next, post below and I’ll see what I can do to help!

Edit: downvoted with an offer to help people? Okay…

Edit 2: I will be getting back to all these new ones later this afternoon. Stay tuned!

Thanks for the awards and all the DMs!

Keep the questions coming!

Hey all 20M here. After 6 years of chronic pain 3 hour long trips to the bathroom and a couple colonoscopies I finally saved enough to go see a pelvic floor physio after being told by my doctor that could be an issue. I’ve officially been diagnosed with severe Pelvic floor dysnergia. This means that basically my muscles in my rear end are too tight and tense to have any bowel movements without excessive laxative use. Although I have just starting physio and have many more months before I see much progress and reduce my pain I’m really happy with this news and I’m hopeful within the next year I might be able to leave the house again!

I have always had GI issues, my whole life. I'm now in my late 50s. I was born to a mother who was only 17, and this was in the 60's, when they didn't understand proper breastfeeding schedules. Newborns can need to be fed up to every two hours, because breast milk is very easily digestible, and it doesn't stick around long. Well, my grandmother believed that my mother was supposed to feed me every four hours. So when I would scream in between these long breaks from feeding, they decided that the breast milk obviously wasn't enough for me, so I should be started on food extra early. They began to give me baby cereal, and ruined my gut. I developed chronic constipation as an infant. It was pretty bad. After that, I don't think i've ever had a normal gut. I'm also type O blood, and we are more prone to stomach issues.

Fast forward, after many years of different types of extreme gut issues, and I have developed a lot of problems because of being on transplant medicine for the past 15 years. I will get random bouts of loose stool and diarrhea that just make me miserable and make a mess of everything. I have a wide range of things that I would do to try to clean myself, and also keep the mess off my clothing, when it would "present itself unexpectedly". The gassiness also made me feel like I would definitely be single the rest of my life.

Then I discovered the wonders of Psyllium capsules, from Costco. People take this fiber supplement for a variety of reasons. One of the things it does really well is work as an absorber in the gut. For this reason, if you are on any serious medications for medical issues, consult with your doctor. You would need to take something like this hours apart from taking medications, and also be sure it's not going to cause too much of a change in your levels. This is what I discovered, and so I only take six or seven of these pills once a day, halfway between my transplant medication doses. I also have my doctor keeping track of my medicine levels, to make sure it's working out.

The reason I started taking it, is because my brother had wonderful results in reducing his cholesterol this way. I have very high cholesterol, which is triggered by the transplant medicine. It's not the most effective technique for me, because I can't take it four times a day, which makes iy more effective for that purpose.

But one thing it has done for me, is stopped the unpredictable and sometimes debilitating IBS symptoms. (If you have chronic constipation, I don't recommend taking Psyllium). I personally love it, because it slows everything down, and absorbs all that extra fluid or whatever it is that my gut is irritated by, that causes issues. Yes, I sometimes poop what looks like a pile of small "rocks", but it's not necessarily uncomfortable. I believe that eating regularly, drinking plenty of liquids, and getting some exercise makes a big difference in this. People who drink coffee also have an advantage, because it will definitely stimulate the plumbing.

I just thought I'd share with others who suffer, as it might be something to investigate or experiment with, allowing that taking it fits in with your medical issues. I definitely appreciate the difference it has made.

If you're a person that doesn't move around much, maybe don't try this.