Anyone else with IBS?

beff12 · October 2015

I was curious how pregnancy was affecting those of us with irritable bowel syndrome. With my first pregnancy, my IBS chilled out a little. So far this time I believe it's gotten worse. Anyone else having different experiences? I figured if anyone had any tips to share, maybe we could help each other out!

beff12 · October 2015

I should have added - I know that fiber can help, but the times I swing over to constipated are terrible and I don't want to make it worse.

karoline09 · October 2015

I have IBS and it's been worse the last 2 weeks. I was actually scheduled for a colonoscopy before I found out I was pregnant. I have major issues with dietary fiber- I can't leave the house if I eat grapes or raisins or any high fiber cereal.
I've been takin probiotics which seem to help a little. I stopped drinking coffee and that seems to help. Have you done a food diary and bm log? That helped me figure out my trigger foods.
I can't have milk, high dietary fiber foods, or sugary drinks- especially cokes. I'm going to mention it to my ob at my next appointment.
I understand the struggle. Probiotics and Zoloft have helped in my case but my ob wants me off Zoloft by 20 weeks... I'm a little scared about that because my IBS is somehow linked to my anxiety.

seasalt123 · October 2015

I do. I have the constipation form of it though which is not being helped by pregnancy. Fibre is pretty much the worst thing for it as well. The month leading up to getting pregnant, I had moved to eating the same thing each day once a day (over a lb of ground grass fed beef, fresh homemade salsa and guac) and it had completely resolved my issues. It was extreme but I was so grateful for the complete and total relief. My intention had been to stick to it for a while and then slowly introduce some necessary foods back in for extra nutrients. However I then found out I was pregnant and had to introduce those new foods way sooner than I had planned. That was ok but then I also developed a beef and guacamole aversion. So now I am back to eating a healthy but varied diet, but all my constipation issues are back in full swing. It's definitely aggravating. On top of it, I now swell up far more than I did previously.

beff12 · October 2015

Ugh it sucks, doesn't it? @karoline09 I haven't tried a food diary but that's a great idea. I feel like I eat a little bit of everything these days and tracking it might help. @seasalt123 Its great that you found a system that works for you but so sad that you couldn't continue with that as you had planned. Not that pregnancy is sad - you know what I mean. I feel as thought swell up easily these days too. Blah

beff12 · October 2015

@karoline09 I forgot to add that my IBS is triggered by anxiety too. I don't take meds for it, but there's a definite correlation there. I'm a worry wart, too, so that's probably not helping either. Like many others, I worry about pregnancy a lot more than I should!

seasalt123 · October 2015

Thanks @beff12! I wish I could force myself to eat it but I have read that forcing yourself to eat something you have a pregnancy aversion to will make you hate it for a looooong time. Beef was always one of my favorite foods so I am playing it safe by avoiding it for now to protect its spot on my menu later on. The swelling is now unreal. If I eat anything but a very small amount before evening, I blow up to like 5 months pregnant by the afternoon. It really means I need to be careful about what outfits I wear to work and what I eat during the day.

nerdymama15 · October 2015

I've got it too, but for the most part it seems to be behaving.

mrszoess · October 2015

I have crohns...I've been more regular except for here and there. it just takes all my energy on days I can't stop going....

Astraphobic · October 2015

I have ibs that tends to rear its ugly head when stressed. So far I've just had constipation minus one bout of a tummy bug this week that was quite miserable and almost made me pass out. I'm going to get started on some extra fiber once my system gets back to normalish.

2.red.heads · October 2015

I have Crohn's disease. I have an 8 and 5 year old and for both of those pregnancies things were pretty smooth sailing. It's AFTER when I flare - stress often triggers me. I think I've mellowed out some and am hoping I can keep things under control post-partum.
I have felt ok this pregnancy, but uncomfortably bloated. I'm either constipated or have diarrhea - no in between.

doozer1345 · October 2015

My first pg "cured" mine. This one I haven't had an attack necessarily but I'm extremely constipated. I had the kind of IBS where I'd be constipated for long periods of time and then have an attack. I've been using Miralax and it's threatened to throw me into an attack.

beff12 · October 2015

@doozer1345 your IBS sounds a lot like mine. Over the summer and before I was pregnant I started drinking Benefiber regularly to see if it would balance things out. I clearly wasn't drinking enough because I had the worst constipation that I had had in a long time. It takes so little to mess things up sometimes!

conrkm38 · October 2015

My doctor hasn't actually diagnosed me with IBS but she said basically she was out of ideas and that's probably what it is. I've had issues with diarrhea for around 7 years now and it's usually linked to stress.

Someone mentioned grapes..I had about a cup and a half of grapes at work yesterday and about an hour later I was rushing to the bathroom at work 3 or 4 times. I haven't had an issue like that in a long time. I've been pretty regular with a morning bm (or 2) since becoming pregnant but holy cow! I had to leave work early since I didn't know if it would continue and I had three more classes to teach. Luckily, I didn't go again until this morning.

Does anyone else take a fiber supplement and can share their experiences? I'm considering asking my midwife about Metamucil. I had been taking it this time last year when stress from my final semester of grad school had me beyond stressed and my stomach a wreck and it seemed to help.

Anyone else with IBS?

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