women suffering diarrhea - page ten
The tale of...Tanya
I'm 30 years old and have suffered for many years with IBS. I've also been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and gastritis, all of which together has made my life at times unmanageable.
I was diagnosed with IBS shortly after my chronic pancreatitis diagnosis. I've had every test under the sun and for a while was at the doctors at least once a week. I have diarrhea predominant IBS, and some days I cannot be too far from the bathroom, and if I have to leave my house I have to take two Lomotil and wait a good half hour before I even attempt it.
As for eating, I usually cannot get through any meal without taking a visit to the bathroom. The pains are so bad I sometimes will come close to vomiting, I sweat and feel so weak some days. The Lomotil that my doctor gave me gives me some relief, and I'm able to have some peace for at least a few hours out of the day, I find that I can't go even one day without taking Lomotil at least twice.
This has really affected my life, I can't make plans at the last minute to go anywhere unless I know a toilet will be nearby, and even if I go out for only a short errand without taking my Lomotil, I find myself in trouble with the cramping and always dread an accident.
I also often run daily low-grade fevers and feel exhausted a lot of the time. Since being diagnosed I have researched and learned as much as possible, and it also helps to know that I'm certainly not alone! Thanks for letting me tell my story, I hope I can someday write a happy tale ;)
E-mail Tanya: tannilisa[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Beth
I'm a 26 year-old female from Lancashire in the UK and have suffered from IBS for the last six years. The worst part of it, I find, is hearing my own voice complaining on a daily basis and feeling like no-one believes me. It's annoying when doctors say 'cut out the wheat', or 'cut out the dairy'! DON'T YOU THINK WE'VE TRIED CUTTING OUT EVERY FOOD GROUP UNDER THE SUN!!??
No matter what I eat, or don't eat, I wake up to instant nausea followed by diarrhea, stomach pains, cramping and bloating. It's amazing that I can still go to the toilet even after I haven't eaten for two whole days, purely because the thought of food makes me want to vomit! I also suffer the other end, constipation, and it's a close call to which is the best to be suffering from.
Does anyone else feel cheesed off by doctors having this huge umbrella called IBS, and anything stomach-related is just put under it?? I hate it. My doctor said to me that I 'should be grateful I had IBS and nothing more sinister'! Cheers. Thanks for the empathy. Not!
Well, I suppose I'll just keep analysing my diet and my lifestyle until I find something, somewhere that ties to this misery called IBS, 'cos you know something? There isn't a doctor out there who wants to know, because it's JUST IBS!!!
E-mail Beth: milliemac123[at]yahoo.co.uk
The tale of...Mer
Hi all. I thought I was alone until my sister was looking at this site when I was at her house last night.
I've been to three doctors, who know nothing in my opinion, and they all say the same things ..."lose weight" (I barely eat, "stop smoking" (NO!), "more exercise" (I have two young children, clean, cook, run errands. Enough said), the list goes on, and none of it causes the painful, stabbing-like stomach cramps that have me doubled over, the "liquid" that calls itself a bowel movement.
All this started when I was 22, right after I had my first child. Twenty hours of labor, four hours of pushing did major damage to my system, I am sure of it, even though my doctor told me everything would go back to normal in a few months. Seven years later and I want to find that doctor and punch her in the stomach, just to show her what pain I'm in because of her ignorance. If I only had a C-section sooner, I wouldn't be where I am now.
I spend more time in the bathroom then anyone I know. At least one night a week I will SLEEP on the toilet letting nature take its course.
As far as my diet, I have cut out many things, for weeks or months at a time, just to bring them back and take something else out when it did nothing. Although, I added clams (white clam sauce over wholewheat pasta) twice or three times a week. And, now, I only have these bouts once a day, around dinner. With little pain now and then. I think it's the high iron count in the clams. I tried taking iron pills but they just made me sick, I don't need it coming out of both ends so I stopped taking them.
My husband is now starting to understand, or at least is starting to learn live with it. My mother believes it's all in my head, or cancer (God forbid). My kids are used to it, but shouldn't have to live with Momma going to the bathroom and being in there for 20 minutes at a time. At least I'm a stay-at-home Mom, I always have a bathroom nearby, but still ...this is no way to live.
I have no advice for anyone. I really don't know what would help other people, considering I have heard many times that "IBS is constipation, not diarrhea", even though I have read proof of it being both. All I can say is don't take the advice or words of people who do not believe your problem IS a problem. They will never understand.
AND, to the people who smoke...If you're like me, never quit because that's the only relaxation you will ever get.
The tale of...Amy
I feel like having IBS is destroying my life. My boyfriend and his folks think I'm a hypochondriac. They told me the doctors just tell me what I want to hear. That's stupid, I want to hear that it's going to get better not that there's nothing they can do. Four doctors have told me I just need to cope with it. I'm also told don't eat milk, bread, spicy foods, salads, etc.
I feel so sick, nauseous and exhausted. Sometimes I have to go up to nine times in six hours, sometimes every 20 minutes. Work is a nightmare. For those of you with office jobs thank God. I work in a factory on an assembly line. My supervisor is the most hateful woman on the earth and nobody cares. If I lose my job that means moving back home. I just don't want to do that.
My boss delights in embarrassing me at work by announcing to the whole line that I have a note and can go to the bathroom when I want. That is against company policy. She is only allowed to tell my foreman. When I reported this I was told they keep her because she gets the job done. She was yelling it to my co-workers across the line. She also took my job from me the day after I had surgery and put me in a much harder job stacking boxes. When I complain guess who gets moved? That's right me.
I would like to know what kind of jobs are available for people with IBS. If things don't get better I will have to start working from home either using my phone or computer. I'm sick every day, I just seen to get worse. I guess I better work on my typing. Sometimes I fight the sickness and other times it's the embarrassment.
I feel robbed of my life, of all the times I want to go out and am just too ill, of all the times I go to a good restaurant and have to cut short the night because I'm sick. I feel sorry for those around me who have to put up with cancelled plans, but mostly I feel sorry for me because the factory is working seven days a week now and it's mandatory. I expect to lose my job soon having too many marks against me, but you never know it all may happen for a reason.
I keep on hoping for a cure. I've tried a lot of them but it always comes back. I'm glad I have never had an accident in public but I think the fear may turn some of us into recluses. I don't believe stress causes this. I've had it on some of my happiest days. I think it's a doctors' cop out.
My last time I cornered my doctor. I said I'm miserable, what causes this? Then he looked at me and said honestly we don't know. Some doctors say stress but that's speculative. I believe that because Crohn's and colon cancer run very strong in my family and we think it's caused by heredity.
E-mail Amy: butterfly117081[at]yahoo.com