women suffering diarrhea - page seven
The tale of...Fiona
I had just turned 15 and was taking my 'mock' GCSE exams in December of 1988 when my symptoms started. The terrible wind and rumbling noises seemed ten times worse when sat in a silent room with 50 people sitting exams for sometimes three hours at a time. After the first experience I thought it was just an upset stomach and once I'd been to the toilet I'd be alright. That was nearly 14 years ago and I'm still here and still suffering.
I found your website the other day at a time when I was feeling particularly low. I am about to start a new job and of course the main task of my first day will be to locate all the ladies toilets. Some of the stories I have read on your site have made me realise that my symptoms (alternating diarrhea/constipation/spasms/wind/pain) are not as bad as some people's.
But one thing I find difficult to live with (and this is getting worse, not better) is the fear of an attack happening even if I start the day feeling OK.
After the problems didn't go away once my exams had finished, my last few months at school were terrible. I used to starve myself some days thinking if I didn't eat anything I wouldn't need to go to the toilet. But of course it doesn't work that way. I left school and once out of the restricted classroom scenarios I thought I would be okay. But my parents insisted I went to college and that meant two more years ahead of me.
I didn't spend too much time studying whilst at college - I spent every day and night worrying about what would happen if I had an attack. I hated sitting in the classrooms or lecture theatres with people close to me and spent many an hour with my legs crossed worrying over the rumbling noises my stomach made and trying to deal with the constant need to pass wind.
I couldn't tell anyone what I was going through. I just find it very difficult to talk about, embarrassing most of all. I failed most of my exams at college and told my parents that I wasn't interested in Uni. They were disappointed but there was no way I could put myself through the stress of another three or four years of sitting in classrooms and sitting in exams. I need to be able to go the loo when I want and not just because 'it's breaktime'!
So I started work and with the stress of having to sit in classrooms all day gone I thought I would be okay...how wrong I was.
I enjoy working and socialising with people at work but the worry of my IBS is very depressing. I suffer from claustrophobia (as a result I think of feeling 'trapped' in the classrooms as a teenager) and now, when a manager asks for a private word about something and wants to go in a meeting room, I have a panic attack.
I walk into managers' offices/meeting rooms and my heart is beating so rapidly and hard against my chest I feel sometimes it will explode. The fear of being in a room with someone/some people where I can't just get up and leave if I need to, is ruining my life.
The constant worry is on a par with the symptoms of my IBS and sometimes I think I'm going mad. Sometimes I look back to when it started and think to myself, if I knew 14 years ago that I'd still be suffering now, would I still be here??? I have recently been made redundant and have had to sit through several interviews in order to get another job. One interview was at 2pm and after getting up at 8am and eating only one piece of toast I was in and out of the bathroom all morning.
Stress is definitely the main factor in my irritable bowel syndrome but it is a vicious circle. I panic if I have to attend a meeting or go somewhere where I won't be able to go to the toilet right away if I need to, and this panic brings on my IBS. So I try and relax and not panic and eat all the things I'm supposed to and stay away from the things I'm not and then sometimes I feel quite alright and I'll go into the meeting... and then have an attack. You can't win.
I am sick of feeling sick with worry and often have to remind myself of the good things in life. I have a wonderful fiancé who knows about my problems but, as with a lot of non-sufferers, he thinks if I just forget about it and don't worry about it, it won't happen.
I have only ever told one other person about my IBS - my boss from the job I just left. She was very understanding but the only reason I told her was because I am leaving and don't have to face her again. There was one final meeting she wanted me to attend and I was suffering badly that day and just told her I couldn't go to the meeting and why.
I now wonder if I should have told her earlier and perhaps I should be more open about it in my new job? Would it make a difference or will I just feel even more self-conscious of people counting how many times I go the toilet each day??
As for doctors, I am still working up the courage to go and see one. You might find that crazy after 14 years of suffering but I am so mortified and embarrassed by it that the only way I can discuss it is in writing.
Thanks for putting this site on the web and thanks to the other sufferers who have shared their story. The buzz I get from reading them and realising I am not alone in this is incredible.
The tale of...Karen
I just discovered this website and just reading your stories helped me. I have had IBS since childhood! I can remember sitting on the white throne groaning and crying and then having to get up and carry on without having been able to go. Yep! The old constipation! It would get so bad that my mother would end up having to give me a soap water enema.
The irritable bowel syndrome (even though I didn't know that's what it was at the time) continued off and on and then after I was married and gave birth to my first child it got progressively worse! I would have rectal pain and severe cramps on my left side and alternate constipation and diarrhea. When I was having an attack, anything with tomatoes would give me the trots.
I finally went to the doctor and he gave me the barium enema and sigmoid tests but didn't really tell me anything. I was 22 and thought I was dying! Then the symptoms would just mysteriously go away.
I changed doctors when we moved to another state and the next time my IBS flared up I saw him and got the whole gamut of tests again. He was the one who finally gave me the diagnosis of IBS and assured me that although disruptive and painful that it was not life-threatening. For the last 20 years I have gone to him when I have had flare-ups for that reassurance. Having a caring doctor seems to help a lot.
Two weeks ago I started to have another flare-up and have been miserable. I have had rectal pain and pressure and cramps on my left side along with gas, bloating and some diarrhea. I went in yesterday to see good old Doc B again and he thinks it's IBS again but since I turn the big 50 next month he set me up for a colonoscopy. Thrills! He also gave me some Bentyl and more reassurance.
I took some pepto-bismol caplets when I got home and it seemed to help. Today I still feel crampy and sore but no diarrhea or constipation. If IBS could speak I guess it would quote Arnie S and say, "I'll be back!" cause it is always in the wings waiting to spoil the quality of your life.
E-mail Karen: karokster[at]aol.com
The tale of...Christine
My IBS began in my early teens. I was prone to getting throat infections and every time my doctor would prescribe antibiotics (this may just be a coincidence but it's the only thing I can attribute to the onset of my symptoms other than puberty). After taking the courses of antibiotics I began to urgently need the toilet on a regular basis (oddly this usually occurred mostly on Monday mornings - maybe worsened by the stress of going to school?).
This progressed and after a while the school complained that I was missing too much time. I was sent to a specialist who prodded and poked my stomach, asked me questions then declared I had IBS and told me to up my fibre intake.
I've now had irritable bowel syndrome (if that's what it really is) for 20 years. I've tried just about everything I can think of and nothing really seems to help. For years I lived on kaolin and morphine (which I'd take as soon as my stomach gave its first warning symptom) but I've gradually reduced this and now take it rarely.
Over the years my symptoms have changed slightly in format/intensity, but I think this is because I know what to expect and try not to get so stressed when it happens now. I seem to get most (but not all) attacks in the morning. I can get up feeling fine and usually have up to about an hour when I'm OK.
Then, quite often just as I'm about to go out the door to work, I'll need the toilet. So I go, and it's OK, not much pain just urgency but I know it will get worse. I continue to try and get to work but within five minutes I need to go again! This time I get the lower back and front ache, achey upper arms, and progressively looser bowel movements, often with a lot of wind and later on mucus.
I also get what I feel is like an adrenaline rush through my body (which in the past has caused me to get worried so much so that I tremble/shake - I just let things happen now and this has helped lessen it). At this point I know there's no point trying to do anything until it clears up (this normally takes a couple of hours). If I get off the toilet during this time I know that within 10 to 15 minutes I'll be back.
Moving around definitely brings the symptoms on faster than sitting/lying down. This can be useful if you can put up with it, as it enables me to get through an IBS episode quicker and get on with my work and social commitments. Eventually my bowel movements lessen in quantity and the main symptoms subside, but I'm always left feeling washed out and if I can I often sleep for an hour or so.
I know when an attack is coming to the end because my stomach starts to grumble hungrily. I usually stick to sips of water during and just after an attack which seems to help the queasiness a little.
Interestingly, I often get attacks when I'm supermarket shopping (some supermarkets cause it more than others). The only thing I can relate it to is the smell of some of the products (which becomes more intense/annoying just before an attack). I do get migraines as well and a heightened sense of smell is often an indicator that I'm about to get an attack, so this could well be linked.
As for dealing with the pain/aches, I find the best thing is distraction. I use a combination of breathing exercises, rub my outer thighs with my hands and recite (in my head) the lyrics from a song (some work better than others!) This may seem ridiculous but it does seem to work.
The worst thing about IBS for me (apart from the symptoms) is the inconvenience and thought of letting people down. It's very difficult to explain to people at a meeting (work or otherwise) that the reason you're late is because you've been stuck on the toilet for several hours!
I can't say I've come to terms with my IBS even after 20 years, but I'm slowly learning to live with it and live in the constant hope that I will find a cure eventually! Good luck to you all, no matter how bad it gets try not to let it get you down (or it wins).
PS: I've tried fibre, Colpermin and other antispasmodics, antidepressants, sugar-free and fat-free diets etc....none seem to work. I'm convinced that something changed the way my gut reacts to food and until that is reversed or I can retrain my gut I will still get IBS.
I'm currently three weeks into a no added sugar or sweeteners, low fat, no processed food eating regime. I feel healthier but still get regular IBS (it's quite bad at the moment but I'm sticking with the altered diet to see if it gets better over time - after 25 years of sweetened, fatty, chemical-laden processed foods I reckon it will take a while for my gut to realise I've stopped trying to poison it!).
PPS: If you haven't given up sugar yet then do. It provides no nutritional benefit to the body as it so pure and actually robs the body of vitamins and minerals so that it can be processed to be stored as fat. Next time you go to the supermarket look at all the food labels. Manufacturers put sugar in EVERYTHING! You body doesn't need or want it. There is enough naturally occurring sugar in natural foods.
If you don't believe me check out the internet for the true story about sugar! (Warning - coming off sugar is not easy but well worth it, your body and your dentist will thank you!). It's your choice!
The tale of...Jennifer
I'm a 27 year-old who has been suffering with IBS for about four years now. The last year has been the worst. This is hell! I don't know how I'm going to live with this. My doctor told me I had fibromyalgia, one of the symptoms is IBS. So I guess that is how I got it. I never know what to expect each day. I only know a little about it, and am trying to learn more. I feel for everyone who has this.
I'm trying to exercise, drink lots of water, and the doctor said Metamucil would help. So far it hasn't. If anyone has any tips, please send me an e-mail, I'm always looking for ideas. My life is on hold right now because of this. I need to get my life back. Thanks for listening.
E-mail Jennifer: tarabell26[at]yahoo.com