IBSers - how do you deal??

[EvilCookie]

I know many others here suffer from IBS as well. Mine has really been acting up lately - I'm queasy really often, terrible bloating to the point where I look pregnant, gas, stomach pains, urgent bathroom runs, you name it. It's awful, but even worse is that even though I should know better, every time I get N or my stomach cramps up, I freak out and think 'what if it's not just IBS this time', and start freaking out that it's a sv or fp. It's especially terrible if it's in a public place, and of course it tends to strike at random and most inconvenient times, when I'm out far from a restroom, with my three year old, etc. And the anxiety of course then makes the symptoms even worse - in fact any kind of anxiety, nerves, or even excitement will send be running to the bathroom. Ugh. So how do you deal with your symptoms and never knowing if it's just IBS or something more?

[chris_alice]

I finally saw a naturopath who gave me a food intolerance test and after I cut out wheat, milk, sugar, and all starches, I feel so much better in the IBS department, and I noticed a huge improvement quite quickly - after about a week or so. Sure, IBS is triggered by anxiety BUT if you have IBS you most likely have some kind of food sensitivity or intolerance if not an outright allergy so you may want to look into that.