What Causes Alternating Constipation and Diarrhea

IBS-M is when the transit time throughout the digestive tract fluctuates, causing patients to experience a mix of both diarrhea and constipation, often alternating between the two. These extreme stool consistencies can sometimes even occur within the same bowel movement.

Is it possible to have diarrhea and be constipated at the same time?

It is possible to have diarrhea and constipation at the same time. This is called paradoxical diarrhea or overflow diarrhea. It happens when watery stool leaks out around hard stool in the rectum.

Why do you get diarrhea after being constipated?

Severe constipation can cause a blockage in your bowel. Because of this, the bowel begins to leak out watery stools around the blockage from higher up in the bowel. The leak from the bowel can look like diarrhoea.