IBS worse in morning... (long)

[Hunter's Moon]

I have a combo of IBS-D and IBS-C. I take 1 TBSP of Miralax every morning (usually mix it into cereal) and 2 TSP of Benefiber in the evening. I used to get colon spasms all day long (as in, I felt like I needed to go constantly) and the fiber has helped with that.

 

On M, W, and F, I have to be out of the house by 8:45 (if I take the bus) so I used to wake up at 6:00 to give my stomach about 2 1/2 hours to digest the food. On T and Th, I have to leave the house at 6:30, so I wake up at 5. I noticed yesterday that I only have stomach trouble on M, W, and F, when I give myself 2 1/2 hours, and I thought maybe because I was dwelling on the issue. Today I woke up at 7 instead of 6, and I had the same issue of colon spasms. Not painful, but I was scared to leave the house at 8:30 in case I couldn't ignore them, IYKWIM.

 

My mom said she'd take me to school, and almost immediately I felt better. On T and Th my father drops me off at the bus terminal on his way to work. I'm guessing this is an anxiety issue, but I don't understand why, because I am not afraid of taking the bus and I do on T and Th without issue :confused:

 

My biggest worry (obviously) is having to go while out and not being able to. I don't understand though why having a ride to school makes me less anxious.

 

Since this all started (May) and until now, I noticed that if I were going out somewhere in the morning, I didn't have this issue. For example, if I ate breakfast and then had nothing to do all day or until later on, my bowels were quite active. Not painfully, but having the colon spasms all morning. If I had somewhere to go and I ate and then went, I had no colon spasms and no BM until I got home.

 

Should I just get up the courage to leave one day while having colon spasms and hope for the best? That makes me very anxious and may make it worse, though. Should I trick my mind somehow?

 

I don't know. My IBS doesn't really bother me the rest of the day except minor things, but nothing I would have to miss an outing for.

 

I'm just :confused:

[swellmomma]

Mine is worse in the am. In fact I never eat sooner than 1 hour after waking up becuase 1 hour after waking I am running to the bathroom. As why the days you don't have a ride it flares I would guess due to stress. Mine is 100% worse if I am stressed, even things that most owuld consider a minor stress can make it flare. The anxiety/stress on the flare days is likely due to a worry of not getting to the terminal on time, even if you don't realize it. Having a parent offer to drop you off eliminates that concern and therefore the stress/anxiety of that is gone.

 

Also on the mornings you take yourself are you injesting anything differently? Do you always eat pretty much the same thing, or do you prepare different food depending on if it is a day your dad drops you, or that you are going on your own? What about caffiene intake on those mornings?

[In the Rain]

Does IBS have an anxiety or stress component? I know many medical conditions are exacerbated by stress. If you are eating the same thing every morning, it seems like the spasms must be triggered by the stress of not having a bathroom accessible. I don't know what to do about it though. Being stuck without a bathroom could be bad. :001_huh:

[LuvingLife]

You know, your anxiety could be one of the underlying causes of your IBS. I have anxiety issues sometimes when I am going to new places or have problems, and this is now way related to IBS, but I used to get terrible acne (on pills now so it all stops thank God). But before if I was stressed out if I was going some place new or trying a new thing, and the stress would cause more acne. And then when I saw that, I would stress out more because of it and then the acne would continue to get worse!!:glare:

But do you see what I mean? The extra anxiety could be causing more issues that don't need to be there. I don't know if this helps any, but I tried to relate my experience to yours. I think maybe instead of anticipating things, just try to go about a normal routine as if nothing unusual was going on.

 

Although I don't have IBS, I know how anxiety and stress can affect a person.:tongue_smilie:

 

:grouphug: and Blessings.

[Desert Rat]

I've never been diagnosed, but I have similar symptoms and anxieties. I think the reason you don't worry so much on days you do have a ride to school is that you know you could always stop if you had to. In a bus, you couldn't just pull into the nearest McD's to go.

I panic on long car rides and if I get stuck in traffic. I schedule my eating around my activity/work schedule. I've been working on battling my anxiety and pushing myself out of my comfort zone bit by bit.

Hope this helps a bit.

PS I sometimes take extra clothes with me.

[Slipper]

Mine is worse in the am. In fact I never eat sooner than 1 hour after waking up becuase 1 hour after waking I am running to the bathroom. As why the days you don't have a ride it flares I would guess due to stress. Mine is 100% worse if I am stressed, even things that most owuld consider a minor stress can make it flare. The anxiety/stress on the flare days is likely due to a worry of not getting to the terminal on time, even if you don't realize it. Having a parent offer to drop you off eliminates that concern and therefore the stress/anxiety of that is gone.

 

Also on the mornings you take yourself are you injesting anything differently? Do you always eat pretty much the same thing, or do you prepare different food depending on if it is a day your dad drops you, or that you are going on your own? What about caffiene intake on those mornings?

 

I agree with the above. My daughter has IBS and sometimes the simplest of things can set it off. She loved school but had a lot of tummy problems. We pulled her out and she became much better. She didn't see the stress but I was able to see parts of her day that stressed her.

 

We're also changing her diet in the mornings since eating right when she wakes up seems to cause problems.

 

I think worrying about getting to the terminal on time was causing you stress, even if it didn't seem like it. I also wondered if your diet was different.

 

If you want to test it, ask your parents if they can drive you for a week or two. If you have no problems, then that's give you some info to work with. :)

[*********]

You know, your anxiety could be one of the underlying causes of your IBS.

 

:iagree:

 

My dh has IBS. He also has trouble with anxiety.

 

If we're, say, going to a friend's house for the day, he is very anxious about his stomach before we go. Basically, he worries more than he should (or more than usual, anyway) that he'll have an 'issue', but not be at home (or at the very least, NOT be at a friend's house, LOL) to deal with it.

 

I suspect you're more comfortable being driven to school by your parents than on the bus because you know that if you needed to 'go', they'd find somewhere to stop so you can. You know that the bus driver can't do that for you, nevermind the fact that one wouldn't want to explain to a complete stranger that they needed to disrupt the bus route 'cause you needed to use the facilities. :D

 

I absolutely think your anxiety is likely aggravating your IBS. Perhaps you could do some research on ways to calm your anxiety?

 

Good luck, hon. I don't have IBS, but my dh and my best friend struggle with it, and I feel so badly for both of them. :grouphug:

[Hunter's Moon]

The first two times it happened, I had been eating Honey Oat Medley which is cereal with granola clusters. I had eaten it for weeks before, but it randomly happened. I switched to just Rice Chex and except for today, no issues.

 

I'm sure it is anxiety related, but I only have limited time in the morning, so idk what tO do really. Our car is iffy, so idk if I'll always be able to get a ride. I will be able to drive myself in Fall, though.

 

I don't consume caffeine (except chocolate, but not in the morning).

[Sandra in FL]

Have you tried glutamine and a good probiotic?

[elfgivas]

you may want to ask your doctor about the benefiber. it may be that the wheat isn't as helpful as psyllium might be (ask your doctor).

 

i take psyllium capsules at 4pm each day, and that helps a lot. if i take it later, then my mornings are lousy. if i take it earlier, then my nights are lousy. so it might be worth experimenting with timing and type of fiber. so the other thing might be to experiment with the timing of it?

 

good luck!

ann

[Amy in TX]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I know what you're going through. My IBS has always been worse in the morning, and worse if I don't know that I have access to a restroom if needed. It sounds like that's why mornings when your dad drives you are easier than mornings on the bus.

 

BUT--I don't know if you've considered this or not, but have you tried eliminating all grains? When I started low-carb eating for weight control, my IBS almost disappeared. Really, it's so slight now that I only notice it if I have a very hectic, stressful, early morning, like having to go to the airport for a morning flight with the whole family on a major trip. And even then it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Mostly I'm unaware of it now, unless I eat a lot of carbs, such as pasta or pizza followed by cake at a birthday party.

 

I hope you find what helps you!

[Hunter's Moon]

Have you tried glutamine and a good probiotic?

 

I eat yogurt daily that contains 6 live cultures.

 

you may want to ask your doctor about the benefiber. it may be that the wheat isn't as helpful as psyllium might be (ask your doctor).

 

i take psyllium capsules at 4pm each day, and that helps a lot. if i take it later, then my mornings are lousy. if i take it earlier, then my nights are lousy. so it might be worth experimenting with timing and type of fiber. so the other thing might be to experiment with the timing of it?

 

good luck!

ann

 

I use Walgreen's brand of Benefiber which is corn, not wheat. I do plan to talk with my GI in March, but I will also be switching from Peds. to Adult, so I'll take to the new GI, too.

 

I used to take the fiber in the morning and the Miralax at night, but I always woke up nauseous until I had a BM, so I switched the Miralax to the mornings. The nausea wasn't ridiculous though, and I usually had a BM within 20 minutes of waking, so maybe I should switch them back around.

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I know what you're going through. My IBS has always been worse in the morning, and worse if I don't know that I have access to a restroom if needed. It sounds like that's why mornings when your dad drives you are easier than mornings on the bus.

 

BUT--I don't know if you've considered this or not, but have you tried eliminating all grains? When I started low-carb eating for weight control, my IBS almost disappeared. Really, it's so slight now that I only notice it if I have a very hectic, stressful, early morning, like having to go to the airport for a morning flight with the whole family on a major trip. And even then it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Mostly I'm unaware of it now, unless I eat a lot of carbs, such as pasta or pizza followed by cake at a birthday party.

 

I hope you find what helps you!

 

For awhile I tried to eliminate gluten, but because of how poorly I was eating, it wasn't going well. I probably should try again.

 

My IBS only really bothers me in the morning. Other than that, I don't notice it. My GERD gets bad if I am not careful though (too much sugar, chocolate, tomatoes, etc.).

[momto3boys]

I used to be an an anti-spasmodic medicine for my IBS-D that helped a lot but I can't take it now due to nursing my baby. I did just start taking the Align probiotic supplements though and they have helped dramatically. I highly recommend trying them. It's way more than any yogurt/probiotic I have tried before.

 

Also, mine was majorly stressed induced, always has been.

 

Good luck!

[juelle]

I have exactly the same problems you describe. There have been a few disasters.:tongue_smilie: Driving my kids to school was torment. Homeschooling has helped tremendously.:001_smile: I certainly haven't found the solution, but I hope you can keep working out ways to cope.

[Lightly Salted]

Have you tried glutamine and a good probiotic?

 

Seconding both of these, and eliminating grains :grouphug:

[mom2samlibby]

I would start taking 2 T of flax seed a day. I was diagnosed with IBS in college. We started the eat clean diet in Jan. and my tummy issues have disappeared.