Fibromyalgia Community

Hello csshughes,
Do you suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? IBS is one of many possible Fibro symptoms & is characterized by either constipation or diarrhea & sometimes both. Many medications (especially those for pain) can cause constipation as well. Could this be a possible culprit?

You don't mention your age but if you are over 50 you should have a colonoscopy performed.

Has there been any change in your diet? There are many good sources of fiber. If you aren't familiar with this essential nutrient, please research this.

Last but not least, please speak with your doctor about this. It is often tempting for us who suffer with Fibro to attribute any new symptom to Fibro however, we should not make this assumption so readily.

Many of us have become educated on the subject of Fibro through websites such as this community. There is so much information on the subject so please take the time & educate yourself on this very complex syndrome. Most of us learn more about Fibro online than in any doctor's office.

Welcome aboard. This website has been an ongoing help to me & many other who suffer from Fibro.

Please keep us posted on your irregular bowels.

Welcome aboard,
georgia

I'm with Georgia, IBS (or spastic colon as my doc calls it) IS a symptom of fibro and/or a medication side effect. It should definitely be discussed with your doctor even if only to put your mind at ease. In the meantime like Georgia suggested get lots of fiber in your diet. If you aren't fond of fruits and veggies there are chewable fiber tablets, swallowable fiber pills and my favorite are the Fiber One bars. They come in so many flavors and are found near the granola bars in stores. I also eat at least one little container of Activia yogurt a day and don't forget to drink lots of water. Hydration is very important.

None of this is a "cure" but it can help ease symptoms to a degree. Don't forget to call your doctor just to be on the safe side.

csshughes, Hi and welcome to the site. I know it's not easy dealing with the DX of fibro. I've have it for over 30 years and having it is a never ending learning process. I have seen so many changes in my body and my over all health over that time nothing new about it surprises me. Fibro is collection of medical conditions, doctors are learning this now, and they ' kick ' up together or by themselves, " flares ". But knowing nothing it can throw at me can kill me I plug along doing each day, fibro flare or not, My Way!

And yes, if you have fibro you will have sluggish days in the restroom or day when you think you should just move you bed in there. IBS is so common with those of us with fibro. The smallest change in our lives kicks it up. ( too much tea or coffee is bad for me for example and will cause IBS issues. )Winter and winter foods get me in trouble. If you have IBS you will be given a list of foods that will ease the flare ups. I have learned mine flare ups are medication induced. Having gotten off most of the offensive medications I have had few to no IBS events.
Two suggestions then: change the things you eat and see if that helps. Research the side effects of your current medications and see if only one, or more , cause sluggish gut and if you haven't been DX'd with IBS and think you may be having IBS ' events" constipation, diarrhea or both together. I'd ask my Dr to exam/ test me for that.

Wishing you a fibro issue and pain free day. Linda R

Thank you Georgia. No, I have not been diagnosed with IBS and it's been a little bit since I've seen my primary care physician (she seems to be too busy to answer my questions so sometimes I don't bother). I'm only 23 and have only been diagnosed with FM for like 3 moths or so. I'm not currently taking any pain medications because I'm wanting to avoid them as long as possible and there have been no real changes in my diet. My mother keeps telling me that (1) I'm "exaggerating" my pain levels and fatigue and (2) she keeps pushing me to go to a pain clinic here in SLC, UT. I don't want to go that route just yet because my dad is an addict and I have struggled with my own addictions in the past as well. Since I am a single mother of an almost 4 year old son, I don't want to be drugged up and miss him growing up. I'm also a college student and the Fibro-fog makes things difficult at times and I know opioids would just make that worse.... I get really depressed because it seems like if one thing goes wrong, they all go wrong. In January of this year I was diagnosed with Manic Bi-polar disorder, and have been on Lamictal and Zoloft since then. I also take an iron supplement daily because I'm always borderline Anemic. Then the pain started in March, and I didn't complain or say anything (it started in my feet after I was tilling my garden and digging up new ground for more garden boxes and I figured I had just hurt my foot, but the pain never went away). I went and saw a foot specialist and he found nothing major and so they took blood work which showed no signs of RA or anything other than a heightened white blood cell count (I was not ill at the time but shortly after became very prone to infections ( I had strep twice and a sinus infection all in a month!)). I just want to give up and crawl into bed and sleep forever (and I've slept thru 24 hours once) but I know I cant... This is so frustrating and I have learned so much from this community already. Thank you for your advice.
Cassie

Thank you. I'll try some of those. I just worry that the fiber might affect my Anemia, like Calcium does. Sometimes I have to avoid milk all together (which I hate because I LOVE milk) because the Calcium breaks down what little iron I do have.

Linda, I really appreciate the advice. My tattoo artist told me that her girlfriends flares of pain from FM were caused by tomatoes and potatoes. I've never read that foods can cause pain... but like you stated, nothing surprises me lately.
Cassie

Hi csshughes,

IBS is common among us FMers. It is so healthy overall to follow a high fiber diet. That just means choosing foods with fiber over those without, eg. whole grain bread instead of white bread, etc. I find certain foods help maintain my regularity best. For me those foods are brown rice, legumes of all kinds, greens, high fiber cereals like shredded wheat, etc. You are young and now is a good time to figure out your body. It takes a lot of experimentation as each of us is unique.