what is a normal day?

for all ibsers... (ok i guess it is mainly for those suffering d)

on a normal day how many times do you go?  is it different on flare up days?

because i am confused, my 'flare ups' are when i have the poo attacks and i crap my pants, and i hurt for the rest of the day.  on those days the 'incident' only happens once, but the time prior is like every other day.  i go about 5 to 10 times before work everyday.  there were about four days in the past three months that i went only once on that day.  when i go only about 4 to 5 times i call that i good day.  and it is always starts loose, but has a shape to it and by the 5th to 10th time becomes mush--and there is always a lot.  when i go more than 7ish times i call those bad days cause they just get grosser and grosser....and most are 'urgent' but not crap my pants urgent...  also never the 'peeing out the rear'.  that i have only gotten when i had some fluish thing going on...

also my first couple of moves always 'warn' me with pain, sharp stabs, lately were my bladder is, other wise is is the crampy 'got to go' pain.

i am telling you all this because i have two doctors now with contradicting claims.  one says it is ibs and percribed me zelnorm and amitriptylene, now the other says i need to do another parasite test (but have the other doctor do it) and percribed me lomotil and zoloft.

the only thing they have in common is they asked me why i was so upset and perscribed me an anti-deppressant.  I told both that i am depressed because i poo too much... neither seems to understand.

i am having an extremely rough day today, i cannot stop crying, i feel guilty about how much work i missed and i feel like i need to run away for a few days and heal myself--cause apparently i am not important enough for the doctors to work with me...

so i ask all of you, whom are very smart and have excellent bedside manner, what the hell am i to do???  do i have ibs--does everyone poo that much (or more) everyday?  what is the normal ibs poo count for a typical day?

if this is normal than fine, i got ibs and i will shut it, but how the heck do you guys get out of the house every morning?  my routine is already 3 hours long cause there is a possibility of 10+ more all out poops.  i hate the pain, the urgentcy, the cramps and most of all eating breakfast on the toilet.  some hope please.... cause lately this is every single day...

--one ticked bunny...

(ok i smiled, a ticked off bunny?  now that is just to cute...)

 

bunny,
There is such a range of how IBS affects each and every one of us. I have a friend that works at home because she can't leave the house that much because she's always on the pot. When she does leave once a week to pick up paperwork from her job, she always has a bowl with her in her car for that just in case. Her situation is one of the worst. There are others that IBS is just a mild inconvenience for them.

I'm not saying that you definitely have IBS, there are so many people that go for years with a IBS dx only to find out later that they had an IBD all along. There is no way to distinguish between it on how severe the symptoms are though. IBDs cause other problems such as arthritis, eye problems, etc. but when it comes to the bowel... there is no telling (unless you have blood of course).

I'm very sorry that it is getting you so down. I have changed my attitude about it over the years because I have had 16 years to deal with it and I have come to terms that I don't have a choice. My choices are that I can eat well and avoid my triggers and make the most of every day. I don't know if you know but I also have UC which I just found out this year so this is something that I am coming to terms with too. Its like coming to terms with IBS all over again but now its something else.

I think that your antidepressant might help you with your feelings and you may find out that you want to give it a try. It is very common for people with chronic disorders and diseases to be medicated for their depression too because it just gets to be too much emotionally. We are always here for you too, which I find is wonderful therapy as well :)

I totally sympathize, Bunny!  No idea what "normal" is, although when I think longingly back to the days where I'd have nice, formed BMs twice or three times a day, that was probably normal.  Now, a good day for me is up to 5 times.  After 5, I call it mediocre; after 10, pretty miserable; after 15, really have to seriously start slammin' the Gatorade.  When I reach 25-30 I'm usually off to the ER to get something to stop me up, as well as IV fluids.  On my typical days, I get up in the morning, take my probiotics, fiber supplements, zinc, and fish oil capsules like a good girl.  I don't really allow my body any time to "adjust" to being up; just go straight to work and have a small breakfast.  Usually end up in the bathroom at least 3-4 times at that point and all my coworkers start making crap jokes (keeps me real). 

Bunny, you definitely should not be taking Zelnorm.  Whatever GI prescribed that for you is asinine.  Have you had a lot of parasite testing done?  I wish you could see my doctor up here!  When I send off my parasite studies to the guru, I will share the results with all of you and maybe you'll think it's worth it to get that testing done for yourself. 

The Lomotil might be a good idea for you.  I used to take it twice a day and didn't notice a big difference in the D, but it works wonders for some people.  Try taking it for a week or so to see if that helps.  Also, I'd be careful with the Zoloft - it tends to make diarrhea worse, from what I've gathered.  I just tapered off it after being on it for 3 years (didn't start having my D problem until the last year of it, though, so I don't think it's related). 

I'm sorry you're feeling so confused.  It's hard to know what is normal and what isn't.  I've adjusted somewhat to the fact that "normal" for me nowadays could be 5-15x/day and it's mostly unpredictable.  Keeps us on our toes!

don't feel bad, i'm in the beginning stages of my tummy trouble testing.  It seems to have gotten worse in the last couple of years.  I think a lot of it really came on during my last job.  It was a very high stress job for me.  Anyway, it takes me about 2 hours to get out of the house.  I can sit down with my coffee and bam within minutes of being up I'm heading towards the bathroom.  I go anywhere from 4-7 times in the morning these days and I can't remember the last time things were solid.  Yesterday was kind of a rough day went like 6 times in the morning and two more last night, this morning was terrible but that's just how it goes.  I have a feeling it's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride trying to figure this all out, but i start with a colonoscopy next week.  I was already tested for celiac deasise as my doctor said my colon was screaming for a colonoscopy and I wanted to say you think...I just know something isn't right.  I mean yea, I used to have d a lot right before my period, but now its like more often than not any more that's finally when I decided to have things seen about things just aren't normal at the moment.  I'm having issues with more D than C lately, but can be prone to C at times.  I really don't know what triggers it even.  I've thought maybe I was having trouble with the coffee even tried making it a bit weaker, but that didn't seem to have any difference.