hi garry, thanks for your post. sorry to hear you've been having a tough time of it with the ibs and the shy bowel together.

i can relate strongly to your experience of you using a toilet and then people making a fuss about how smelly it is in the bathroom. i think ibs can really affect the smell factor in a person's poo.

you wrote that it was even embarrassing writing about it, and that probably has a lot to do with our society's prudishness and immaturity around gut problems and bowels in general. as members of society, we can't help but be affected by the taboos that are maintained around us.

still, hopefully that is starting to change as more and more people are getting affected by ibs.

are you based in the uk? if so, then you might be interested in attending a workshop we aim to run next spring in the uk. it will probably be a one day event, but we will aim to book it in a hotel meeting room or such like, so that people can if they want, book a room for the night, so that they know they've got a 'safe' place to retreat to if things get too difficult.

btw: what is ibs-d? is it the same as ibs?

best,
baz