Can anybody recommend any decent "over the counter" IBS medicine? I have been suffering with IBS for as long as I can remember (20 years plus) and have had all the relevant tests to rule out all other possible illnesses and was told 3 years ago that I have "severe IBS" by my consultant.

I don't suffer with constipation but terrible diarrhoea and I can be in the toilet within 20 mins of eating - and that is eating anything. No specific foods trigger my symptoms, it seems to be anything I eat. I take (on a daily basis) Immodium or equivalent which sometimes does the trick, but mostly doesn't! I really bloat out when I eat too - and again it doesn't matter what I eat, anything makes me feel bloated and I can't eat a lot at any one time. This obviously makes my life a nightmare as I constantly have to be close to a toilet. When I visit restaurants the first thing I do is make sure I know where the toilet is! If I am travelling in a car or on a plane I never eat beforehand or during the journey as I know what the consequences are. Sometimes I have panic attacks if I know I cannot get see a toilet or know where the nearest toilet is, so as you can imagine this is REALLY affecting my life.

I know there are loads of people out there who suffer similarly but it is not the norm to talk about it so I am hoping that being new to this Forum will help me understand that I am not alone and hopefully people will read this is give me some hints and tips as to how to make my life better! Living in the UK is also an issue as we don't have the available medicine people seem to have in the USA - I holiday in the USA every year and stock up with as much IBS medicine as I can, but unfortunately not much of it has helped me so far.

Would be great to hear your thoughts and to share any of mine with you all.

:(