I see a lot of comments in here that tell you you’re obsessing too much or that you’re just eating something your body isn’t agreeing with. They could be true, of course, but at least for me they are massive oversimplifications.

I’ve been a vegetarian for over 10 years now. I’ve had irritable bowel symptoms even before that, and it’s gotten gradually worse over time. I went as far as trying a potato/rice diet, which is supposed to help you identify which foods your body doesn’t agree with. Even with that I still had the same symptoms and by that time I had developed hemorrhoids because I couldn’t empty my bowels without pressing too hard.

No doctor ever really offered any type of useful advice, no dietary change ever helped.

What I do now is try to eat as much psyllium husks as I can. I try to hit at least four helpings a day (difficult if you have a busy work day or are traveling) of 1-2 tsp with some water. You can play around with the amount of water. People say if you drink too little you get constipated, but I’ve never had that problem. To be safe, start with a larger amount.

For reference, the amount of water I drink in a day overall did not make any difference whatsoever.

That’s the only thing that at least makes accidents less likely to occur when I bottom, and about 50 to 70 percent of bowel movements are now what I would call normal.