diarrhoea every morning for 6 months

[anxiousjomo]

Hi,

I am hoping someone here can help...

I had IBS-D, relatively mild, for years - I knew what my relatively few trigger foods were, and could keep it all managed (sadly I discovered that even a few sips of champagne would immediately set my insides going crazy - so no more billionaire lifestyle for me!)

But, after I went on Citalopram for about 3 months, and had really bad side effects (including massively increased anxiety and associated increases in BM), and then came off the meds (I am now on nothing and my anxiety is not too bad), I have been waking up around 5-5.30am every morning, regardless of when I go to bed, and then having 3 or so urgent (and explosive - feels like a lot of gas build up) BM (somewhere between a 6 and 7 on the Bristol scale) about an hour or so later. But I can feel my stomach going as soon as I wake up.

It seems to have no relation to what I ate the night before, and I go before I have breakfast.

I am then relatively fine for the rest of the day, but my stomach always starts getting very noisy around 8-9pm.

Sound familiar to anyone? Any suggestions/help? I am just so tired from lack of sleep and from having every morning start in such an unpleasant way...

[daisyflower]

I'm IDENTICAL. Exactly the same. I'm waking up at 5am almost on the dot every morning. I will feel my intestines start to squeeze (I can literally feel them with my hand) and then within minutes I have to go the toilet urgently, which is loose unless I've taken Imodium.
I was out until 1am the other night and thought I definitely wouldn't wake at 5...guess what, 5 o clock on the dot.
Like you, I have to go a few times and then usually feel better for the rest of the day. My stools usually get looser the more I go so that if I have to go more than 3 times, it's pure water.
I'm also getting upper stomach pain (above my belly button) and burping a lot. Feel like I need to swallow all the time, which is really annoying and probably leads to the burping.

Was it you who was going to see the endocrinologist about it?

[anxiousjomo]

Yes - they took about 4 vials of blood, and I did a 24hr urine test, and am waiting on the results. I will let you know if they find anything.

I am going to ask for an appointment with a Gastroenterologist to discuss too, and will let you know.

I am starting to think the IBS is triggering my anxiety, rather than the other way round, as it seems like I feel my stomach going first and then start to feel anxious...

I don't know. I had a rough night last night (only about 2-3hrs sleep) so guess i am feeling more down about it than usual because of that...

[daisyflower]

Yes, I never know which comes first with mine, the anxiety or the IBS.

I have a massive phobia of doctors and tests so although I know I should go and get checked out, the thought literally gives me diarrhoea.

---------- Post added at 11:09 ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 ----------

Btw, you will subconsciously be anxious. I know that even if I'm not 'thinking' of my tummy at 5am, my subconscious will be.

[anxiousjomo]

yeah - it was obviously no coincidence that I had some unexpected bills come in yesterday, and money worries is my big anxiety trigger. But the good thing is I managed to keep the anxiety from spiralling during the night, so it was not that unpleasant, I just could not get it down to the point I could switch my brain off and sleep. Just wired, and then the IBS kicked in.

[daisyflower]

Lack of sleep is a killer for both my anxiety and tummy problems. I actually feel hungover if I haven't had enough sleep.

[anxiousjomo]

Yeah. And then, for no apparent reason, I got a good 6hrs last night and we are an hour past my usual BM time and, apart from some gas and gurgling, nothing. No idea why, and no idea if my gut is going to suddenly wake up in a minute. I have downloaded an app on my phone called Cara which lets you track food, BM, sleep, anxiety etc all together. First day of using it, but it looks useful.
Now I am trying not to be anxious about the fact that my gut could suddenly wake up when I am on the way to work! The only good thing about the usual morning process is I get it done before leaving the house...Wish me luck!

[daisyflower]

Good luck!
I made it to 5:30 and have been twice since.

Maybe make a note of what you ate yesterday and try it again today?

That app sounds useful for noticing triggers but perhaps not good for someone with anxiety who should be distracting their mind form it and not paying it much attention attention/giving it importance?

[anxiousjomo]

I agree re the focusing point - I think I just want to do it for a week or two to see if I can notice any pattern.

It is now 10am and I still no BM, which is really weird. Maybe I am going to be constipated instead today for a fun change of pace lol.

Did not eat anything particularly different yesterday, though I did eat about an hour earlier than usual. I do sometimes wonder if part of the problem is eating too close to bedtime.

[80schild]

Pretty similar here too. It started with a bout of constipation about 3 months ago which I think was down to lack of fibre and also quitting drinking (my laxative) . This triggered some anxiety after googling and caused me to get obsessed with my digestion and bowels.

I now go every morning when I get up-it's not diarrhoea but its quite loose. I then go after breakfast in a smaller amount and sometimes a third time in a small amount. All day long though I am thinking about my bowels.

I get some pain and tightness under the ribs and around my belly button that comes and goes and is mild but noticeable. When I went to the doctor yesterday he said its anxiety and has put me on citalopram again. These helped me in the past with anxiety but my only concern is if they have gastrointestinal side effects it might make my anxiety worse. The only thing that eases my worries a bit is if I think back to all the times I am worried or anxious it always gives me loose bowels.