I'm 43 years old, and I was diagnosed with IBS after a colonoscopy came back negative. I have had diarrhea on and off for the last five months, primarily in the mornings, worse when I have to get up early. (Strange, but when I can lie in bed until about 9 or 10, I don't have symptoms??) Anyway, I take two Imodium a day and Lomotil if necessary, if I get really bad. The Lomotil makes me very tired and sleepy, which I know is a side effect of that drug. But I'm tired even on the days when I don't take the Lomotil. Does anyone else experience tiredness with their IBS, diarrhea-type? If you could offer me some assurance, I'd appreciate it. I'm going mad with worry that I have some type of other condition that may be causing this tiredness.

Thank you.

I have the same symptoms of having a sleep pattern that is disturbed (ie waking up at 6am, or being forced to get up at 8am) and doesn't allow me to sleep til 10am, or sometimes 11am, I can guarantee I will be bad for the whole day. I've found the general tiredness is more a state of mind in IBS when you get in a rut and it seems the only solution is just to sleep and your body gets used to it. If you had any other more serious medical problems, you would be experiencing more symptoms than this I think.

I have the same symptoms of having a sleep pattern that is disturbed (ie waking up at 6am, or being forced to get up at 8am) and doesn't allow me to sleep til 10am, or sometimes 11am, I can guarantee I will be bad for the whole day. I've found the general tiredness is more a state of mind in IBS when you get in a rut and it seems the only solution is just to sleep and your body gets used to it. If you had any other more serious medical problems, you would be experiencing more symptoms than this I think.

Oh boy, I think God is answering my prayers here with your post! I just realized today that this is the third weekend in a row that I have spent laying on the couch (heating pad in place) or sleeping. I have only left the house to walk to the mailbox and pick up some bread at the corner store. I have been questioning my state of mind today, wondering if I am slipping into a minor depression. I have not even been able to get to Church for the last three weeks and believe me when I say that is the clearest measurement of how awful I've been feeling.

But I agree that the tiredness, the lethargy, the apathy, the sadness, is impacted by my state of mind. While it's clear that constant D or the flip side of severe C can exhaust a person physically, the simple fact that I obsess about the pain and worry about what might happen has got to be even more draining.

I really believe that forcing oneself to get up and move is key when battling the mental exhaustion. Now, if I could just make myself practice what I preach!

Kellysmom - I was not officially diagnosesd with IBS yet but the dr suspects I have it. And let me tell you, 2 days ago, for FIVE days, i spent lying on my bed sleeping and just being tired and lethargic. Ive actually read online that fatigue is NOT a symptom of IBS, but whenever i read stories from IBS sufferes they seem to usually complain of fatigue.

I work from home and often stay up til the wee mornings of 2-5am, and then wake up at 12noon. At times, this is extremely BAD and i can guarantee myself i will wake up with mild abdominal pain and have to get to the restroom to go diarrhea. Its a terrible terrible thing to wake up to, the pain.

If I wake up earlier around 10 and go to bed at an earlier time, I am fine in the AM. How weird?

Also, i can no longer eat "midnight snacks" which sucks, if i do I risk the chance of waking up with ab pain and having to make a BM.


So, now i restrict myself from eating no later than about 9pm, and i try to wake up before 12, ive found my morning pain and BMs disappear, but now im left with, at times, pain during the day and also extreme lethargy (Is that a word?) and such. If things were worse for me i could see myself being thrown into not only tiredness, but also anxiousness and depression.

I'll bet the reason a lot of us feel tired when we have a flare is the stress and anxiety, and possibly depression, from having chronic pain.

Here is something that helped me with my BM problems. I started taking probiotics every day. What a HUGE difference this has made. I take Jarro-Dophilus EPS. It is in an orange box and you can get it at GNC.

Jesse, I don't think it's unusual to have your gut affected by the time fluctuations in your morning shedule. I would guess that even "normal" people experience this to some degree. Even though IBS folks are pretty "goofed up" with regard to bowel habits, I still think the gut has some sense of regularity and if it is used to springing into action at a certain time of day, it will whether we are awake for that or not.

I find I do much, much better if I wake up the same time everyday. Not only is it beneficial for the body in general to get into a groove, but it's great for the gut in terms of self-regulation. On the rare occassions when I have to drive someone to the airport at some unholy early morning hour, I can be sure that my tummy will be unable to function and disagreeable all day. Also, for me, if I miss a morning BM (even if it's a pathetic little cat sized deposit!), I will be in terrible pain all day long.

Glad you are feeling better today! Hope you can take advantage of it!

Thanks belly, im definitely taking advantage and getting as much work done as i can as ive no idea when the next session will hit.

I should have knocked on wood befor my last post heh, for this morning i woke up with pain and within minutes had to rush to make a BM.

Thanks belly, im definitely taking advantage and getting as much work done as i can as ive no idea when the next session will hit.

I should have knocked on wood befor my last post heh, for this morning i woke up with pain and within minutes had to rush to make a BM.

Jesse, if knocking on wood acutally worked, I'd have broken knuckles!

This seems quite like my problem aswell, going from 4-6am -> 12-2pm sleeping to 11-12pm -> 8am threw me off balence a little bit. I can barely ever eat in the mornings, but the more I get used to my new sleeping pattern, the better I feel in the mornings(From terrible to bearable)

Hope you feel better tomorrow. :)