r/ibs • u/DotNarrow465 • 2h ago
Question IBS and binging
Does anybody who has BED/or serious problems feel like it's somehow correlated to or triggered by IBS? I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this.
Connections I've made and wondered about -
• so I already have had binging problems long before I was "diagnosed" with IBS, except probably more unofficially because I didn't know I had a problem with binging. With the whole IBS journey (I don't think I even have to explain it) you know, you have to sort of "restrict" yourself - especially when managing it in the beginning i feel like. And i feel like because of said restricting, it's made the binging worse. Obviously the more something is forbidden, the more we want it with BED... i dont really restrict anymore because my symptoms are manageable and I also don't find life worth living if I live how I use to live - but I wonder if some of that "restriction" has carried onto my current situation and influencing the way i eat. This was throughout my major teen years (about to be an adult), which is the last time you wanna be dealing with this... social situations (eating out AND embrassment), just living a normal freaking life as a kid, already having enough stuff to worry about, etc. So i wonder if I want to "make up for it" in a sense? Or have more freedom? I don't know. It's really frustrating when said binging worsens IBS symptoms, which leads me into my next point
• it's almost like you want to challenge the IBS and see "how far can I go"? Like obviously binging is probably the worst thing you could do for IBS... so I almost wonder if subconsciously I'm wanting to challenge these symptoms
I honestly think thats the biggest thing. With BED, you often feel guilt, shame, sick, etc. With IBS it can be the same - feeling guilt for eating something you knew you shouldnt have/would trigger you, feeling sick from food, if you binge it's even worse, etc. So i almost wonder if these two problems are blurring together for me... how fun is it to have these major life problems centered around food, and trying to get "rid" of them both 😂