Irritable Bowel?

I get diarrhea a lot - pretty severely about once or twice a month, with abdominal pain and feeling kind of sick - plus I have a lot of stuff that could be considered "borderline" diarrhea, which happens about once every 1-2 weeks. This has been happening for most of my life, and I just realized that it's not completely normal. Do you think I could have irritable bowel syndrome, or some other kind of digestive disorder?

Irritable bowl syndrome can be cause by several things. I don't think it is necessarily an illness itself, but a side effect of a condition. BEWARE OF DOCTORS!!! They will call it irritable bowel syndrome but won't treat the cause of it. I've been there.

Start by keeping track of the things you eat. Certain foods can cause allergic reactions that leads the body to quickly rid of itself of the allergen...in the form of diarrhea. MSG...mono-sodium glutamate and preservatives get me.

Too much sugar in a diet can cause digestion problems. In that regard, the natural "good" bacteria level in your system may be out of balance and yeast may be taking over...causing diarrhea.

Watch your diet and keep track of the things you eat and the reactions. You may want to start taking a good pro-biotic...good bacteria....to balance out your system. Avoid excessive sugar and alcohol....and be patient.

have you ever had your gallbladder checked?

It's possible, however digestive problems can be helped by controlling your diet. You may also be allergic to some type of food, drink or ingredient in food (i.e.: gluten, lactose, etc.). If you have had this problem most of your life, you should consult your doctor (and ask about seeing a G.I.,Gastroenterologist). The G.I. specializes in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and can help you stop or control this condition. I wish you luck.

Sounds like IBS but try this suggestion while waiting to get into a Dr.
Limit your intake of caffeine and chocolate and increase your fiber. Buy the cereal with the highest fiber content you can find. Eat whole grain breads other high fiber foods.Also stay away from any carbonated drinks. This worked for me and a friend who suffered from IBS. My doctor made these suggestions and I followed the diet and have found relief.
Good luck.

Sounds like me! I've noticed that it is connected to the food that I eat. Probably an allergic reaction to the food I'm eating. Start keeping a log of what you're eating, and try to narrow it down to the types of food that effect you. For me it seems to be red meat, (especially grilled) fried food, Dairy products, sauces at various hamburger chains, and the list goes on, it's taken me years to identify the foods that effect me, some I avoid, but some I refuse to do without!! And suffer the consequences of my actions.

You should get it checked out. I had symptoms like this years ago and it ended up being Colitis, a serious colon disease. I'm not trying to scare you, but it's better to know. It could just be IBS, which is not as serious, but still quite painful. Anyways, it's always better to get it checked out then to let it go.

Good luck!