Once you’re a bit further on in your IBS journey, you might start to think you’ve cracked it. But sometimes, even your winning formula will fail and you’ll have a flare-up.

For those who are used to being in control of their condition, these flare-ups and the uncertainty of what caused them can be incredibly frustrating.

Whilst they might be confusing and annoying, IBS isn’t a static illness: one year you may experience constipation whereas the next it might be diarrhoea. Nick, one of our members, shares how he tackles those occasional boomerang IBS moments.

You can also watch Nick talk about his experiences in this video.

 

Since being diagnosed with IBS in 2011, I’ve been on an ongoing journey of discovery to do with my insides. From cameras down the throat, up the backside, even in a swallowed pill, to supplementation, stool tests, acupuncture, and electrocution, I’ve tried most things.

Today, I manage my symptoms via diet and lifestyle and I’m largely in control 90% of the time and I feel good. However, despite being disciplined with diet and lifestyle, I still have flare ups and symptoms that don’t correlate with anything that I can identify.

This lack of correlation really REALLY does my head in. I used to overthink what I’d eaten and drank to the point it caused so much anxiety it made my symptoms worse.

Here are the three main things I’ve learned when it comes to changing symptoms and hopefully some of these can help you too.

 

Lesson 1: if your symptoms change when all things are equal i.e., you have done nothing out of the ordinary and maintained a strict diet etc, don’t overanalyse why and just accept it.

Why? Because you can’t go back in time and change it and besides, you may not even know what it is you need to change. I find that a change in symptoms lasts for 16-36 hours once it happens so from this moment you should aim to give your guts a little TLC, which leads me on to lesson 2.

 

Lesson 2: learn to listen to your body and track the symptoms.

Why? I tracked two years of data on a daily basis, capturing everything that passed my lips as well as how I felt, quality of sleep, and what my poops were like. Within a few weeks I started seeing patterns in the foods I ate (inputs) and my energy levels and poop quality (outputs). Become curious and answers will appear.

 

Lesson 3: reduce ingredients.

Why? When symptoms change and you don’t know why, I limit the number of ingredients on my plate. I choose whole, natural, and unexotic foods without sacrificing taste. Cutting out processed and refined items takes the guess work out of identifying why things have changed and provides less work for my guts to do. I’ve realised that my guts just aren’t as robust as they were prior to 2011 so I’ve adjusted my options accordingly.

 

Changing symptoms impacts the mind as much as the body. You can control what passes your lips but digestion starts in the brain not the mouth and how you think about the food is as important as the food itself. If you’re stressed, maybe this is the trigger for the symptom shift.

My IBS journey continues but so does life and I try to not let the symptoms define me.