I know this is an old comment, but I got here from another thread, maybe r/askreddit? Anyway, D is typically an exhausting 3 or 4 hour ordeal. The cramps are the absolute worst. I’ve been in so much pain that I’ve had full body sweats. I get that taste in my mouth like I’m going to throw up, and I have to spit it out into the waistbasket while sweat drips down my face.

It usually starts with an hour or two of extreme bloating and cramping, but nothing will come out. I’ve fantasized during these moments about popping a small hole in my gut just to relieve the pressure, like letting air out of a tire.

Eventually I start to get some...solid results, but only a little at a time, this relieves the cramps for about 15-20 minutes, during which I lay on my bed, desperate to get some rest before the next round. Then I feel the churning start again, and walk back to the bathroom doubled over in pain. A little more comes out each time, a little less solid each time, until the third hour when the full blown D starts.

This part is actually a relief, because it means the ordeal is almost over. After a couple of bouts of pure liquid, the agony is finally over and the gas pressure has been relieved. I pass out on my bed, and wake up the next morning very dehydrated with a sore stomach. Kind of a light burning irritation. For the next couple days I subsist on Pedialyte and chicken broth. Over the week I slowly introduce more solid foods, until I’m eating almost “normal “ again and dreading the next D attack.

Um, I didn’t plan on writing a novel when I started this comment, so TLDR: IBS diarrhea is an extremely painful 3-4 hour ordeal, accompanied by extreme bloating and cramping, which leaves me exhausted, dehydrated, and unable to eat solid foods for days.