But there are also other ways you can experience constipation, like by having less than three bowel movements a week, straining to go to the bathroom, and feeling like you’ve never really gotten everything out (if you know what we mean). Other IBS-C symptoms include gas, bloating, and stomach pain.
A lot of people get constipated from time to time, but that’s different from constantly struggling to go to the bathroom or always having very hard stool. It’s not clear why, but people assigned female at birth are more likely to develop IBS-C than people assigned male at birth4.
IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D)
IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D) develops when your digestive system works faster than what is considered normal, resulting in liquid-y stools that are very loose, otherwise known as diarrhea. IBS-D is the most common type of irritable bowel syndrome, making up about 40% of reported cases5. Further, people assigned male at birth are more likely to have IBS-D than people assigned female at birth4.
IBS-D symptoms involve having loose stool more than 25% of the time on days when you notice changes in your bowel movements. You’d also have hard stool less than 25% of the time on those days, Shaham Mumtaz, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, tells SELF.
Excessive gas, bloating, and stomach pains that are so uncomfortable you have trouble sleeping are also common. That’s why IBS-D can really impact your quality of life and lead to stress and anxiety around social events. For example, going on a date can be even more nerve-wracking if you’re worried about heading to the bathroom every few minutes.
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IBS with mixed bowel movements (IBS-M)
For some, IBS symptoms may include both constipation and diarrhea (lucky you). This is known as IBS with mixed bowel movements (IBS-M), meaning you can get constipated or have diarrhea because your bowels speed up or slow down at different times. According to the NIDDK, you’ll deal with constipation or diarrhea more than 25% of the time on days when you have abnormal bowel movements.
So, with IBS-M, you might be constipated in the morning and then unexpectedly have diarrhea in the afternoon. Understandably, this can make it really difficult to follow any sort of schedule and cause anxiety about when you’ll have access to a bathroom. As with the other types of IBS, you could have really uncomfortable stomach pain, bloating, and gas that can interfere with your daily activities, like going to the gym or concentrating on work. Research suggests people of both sexes assigned at birth are equally as likely to have IBS-M4.
Post-infectious IBS
Unlike other types of IBS that don’t have one specific cause, post-infectious IBS develops after a person has a gastrointestinal illness, such as food poisoning or a stomach bug, which is often caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria like salmonella or viral infections like norovirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
So, for example, you may get sick with food poisoning and feel terrible with initial symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramping. Then, your illness might ease up so you’re no longer vomiting, but you could still have diarrhea and severe stomach cramps that don’t seem to be getting better, according to the Cleveland Clinic. About 46% of people with post-infectious IBS have both diarrhea and constipation, meaning they also technically have IBS-M—but it’s crucial to point out that their IBS is categorized as post-infectious IBS because it was clearly triggered by an infection. A large number of people with post-infectious IBS (about 40%) only have diarrhea, and 15% are mostly constipated6. All of those common symptoms we’ve mentioned, like gas and bloating, can happen with this type of IBS too.
Source: SELF
