i hate ibs

A collection of reasons why we hate IBS! All submitted by suffering IBS Tales visitors...

'I can't stand it. My stomach is always getting bloated and the effects of it (ie: releasing gas in the most inappropriate times and most of the time) are quite beyond my power. I've tried cutting out milk etc but it's not working, I'm on tablets but they don't help! I'm only 16 and it just gets in the way when I want to have fun with my mates because it makes me feel low and too uncomfortable to do much!'

'I hate IBS! I am a 13 year-old girl from Leeds suffering with IBS. I hate it as I am a dancer/actress - I recently starred as a main part in the show Chicago and it was so hard for me...I love acting and dancing and am very good at them but it is just so difficult when I suffer from IBS! I have been on the stage since I was three and I am not going to let IBS ruin my acting and dancing career!'

'I'm 14 and have had IBS for about a year now. I get the most intense stomach cramps and bloating...I don't think I will ever see my flat stomach again! It's really getting me down...I'm 14! I don't deserve it!'

'I have had IBS ever since I can remember. My friends used to joke that I would overdose on Imodium one day! Now I'm 29 and it has pretty much ruined my life. I can't work a normal job anymore because of the fear of being in the bathroom constantly. I used to be a dental assistant which I liked, until IBS kicked in and would have me in the bathroom up to 16 times a day. Now I'm a maid, so most of the time I'm alone and don't have to worry about embarrassing things accidentally happening! I truly hate IBS!'

'I'm a 39 year-old male. I've had IBS since I was 18. IBS has been a major factor in my life since I was a kid. I've been seeing doctors since I was 25 only to be given a number of different pills which take the edge off the urgency, but don't take it away. My biggest problem has been my ingrained fear of not being able to get to a bathroom. It affects my job, social life, family, you name it.

I recently bought a van which has a bathroom built in. This has helped me tremendously, enabling me to travel for work and with the family. I no longer have to have panic attacks on the road if I'm stuck in traffic and feel like I have to go. I still have to deal with IBS like at business meetings or if I'm away from my van, but it's helped a ton. I still dream of the day when I grow out of IBS. Until then I learn to deal with it day by day.'

'Bloated stomach for hours, random cramps, the worst thing is not being able to eat the foods you used to eat and worst of all going into a restaurant and knowing you can't really eat those great foods and watching others eat to their heart's content with not a worry after.'

'I was just told that I have IBS. I am 39 and it makes me feel like I'm losing my mind. I've been taking a pill that costs a lot of money that doesn't even work, it just drives me nuts. I think even the doctor thinks I'm crazy. I guess you have to live in your house and not bother anyone so they don't know.'

'Hi my name is Becky, I am 18 and I live in the small town of Glencoe. I have had IBS for a year and it has completely taken over my life. I live in fear, hoping my boyfriend won't leave me because I am always in and out of the hospital because I get so dehydrated from the IBS. It's taking over my life and the pain really hurts. Not many people have heard of IBS but I can tell you the pain gets worse and not better for me and each day I pray some med will come along to help ease the pain. Until then I must deal with it. My heart goes out to all who suffer from IBS.'

'It costs me so much money in underwear because I'm always having accidents. Shops, long phone conversations, just walking down the road, trying desperately to find a toilet...I'm sure everybody is laughing at me. It makes me feel so dirty - often I get up in the morning, spend time getting ready and dressed nice, and an hour later I'm back in the shower. Right now we have no food in the house because I'm too anxious about going to Asda. I wish there was a pill to just make it go away.'

'I have had IBS since I was 13 years old, and now I'm 15, so yeah I have had it for two years and it has completely ruined my life. I used to have it everyday and I couldn't go to school. My whole life was a mess, I ended up with no friends and hated school. And when I'm on my period it's even more hell.'

'I'm a 37 year-old wife and mother. I hate IBS because it is so painful and uncomfortable. I have to go to the bathroom five to six times within 30 minutes. I have been a vegetarian for 16 years so how the hell did I get this disease. I have received conflicting information about this disease. I also hate that there is no known cure. I'm stuck with eating applesauce for breakfast and rice for dinner. I know someday I will jump off the nearest bridge if I don't find a viable solution.'

'I have ended up in the hospital five times. I am 19 and my pain is so intense, it feels like someone is ripping out my digestive tract. I get cold sweats and hyperventilate when I am in pain, then I get really weak...my hospital bills are going to be so much...I ruined my good credit I guess (sigh). I need help!'

'I am 15, and I have had IBS almost my whole life. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I'm not, and I don't think I ever will be. Aside from loathing the pain, the worriment and the exhaustion, I hate when everyone thinks I just have a 'little stomach ache' or that I'm exaggerating. It really hurts! And it's serious. But not many people know that.'

'I hate IBS because I have lost one job because of it and fear losing my current one. I live in fear because I never know when I will be embarrassed by an untimely release of gas. The sniffing noises of co-workers or someone making a comment makes me aware that I have unknowingly expelled odor. The stress of work and the fear have caused me to suffer an acute stress reaction and to be on short-term disability. Now I feel my job is more endangered.'

'At work, there is one bathroom for 15 people which is directly across from my boss's desk. The rumor is that I am pregnant. I have a 45 minute drive to and from work. I have to hide my underwear for fear that my boyfriend might do laundry. When I get home, I sleep. This is terrible and very painful.'

'I am 30 and I have been dealing with IBS for the past nine years. It has been a problem the whole nine years but when I am really stressed out it does not matter what I eat. Running to the bathroom all the time is stressing in and of itself. I do home visits with my clients and it is not appropriate for me to be using their bathrooms, they are all drug addicts.

I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and saw some young physician assistant who told me that I need to take time for myself everyday. I said that is not possible because I have a four-month old son. I have a house and a husband to care for, there are not enough hours in the day. Good luck to everyone out there with your treatment seeking.'

'IBS sucks because it just takes your life and flips it upside down. I get severe constipation and bloating and in the hot weather, I have to wear a big t-shirt because my stomach gets so huge. It's embarrassing! Boy, and the cramps. Sometimes, I wish someone could just take out my bowel and give it a good shake. I honestly sympathize with everyone who suffers from IBS here, I truly know how it feels to be a prisoner to your own bowel.'

'I'm lucky in that I don't have bowel urgency hardly ever - my problem with IBS is that my stomach almost always makes really loud and lengthy noises which everyone can hear. It's incredibly embarrassing, not to mention painful, and the stress it causes exacerbates the symptoms. I take pills for it which stop the cramping but not the sounds.'

'I hate IBS because it has ruined my life. I have four children and it affects them too. I can't see my children at football matches because I'm scared I will have an attack. I won't go on buses, I won't go on holiday or on days out. I feel like a total freak and old before my time. Sometimes I wish they would take my bowels away and have done with it.'

'I'm 17 years old, this should not be happing to me - elderly people worry about if they have a bowel movement or not. It sucks that I have to watch what I eat and always be in pain because of it and nobody really understands me except other IBS sufferers.'

'Other people are sick for a week and they get fussed over, food made for them, blankets brought to them, and generally an amazing amount of sympathy. I'm sick for years and years and somehow I'm less deserving than they are. Is that because I'm making it up? Or because IBS isn't real? Or I should just snap out of it?'

'Oh I have good days, and sometimes good weeks, and occasionally a good month even, but it always comes back and gets me. It's such a struggle to know that there's really no end in sight, that I'll have to deal with this tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.'

'I'm sure all my friends think I'm weird when I always refuse to go stay with them, or sleep over, or because of the fact that I never go on holiday. It's just one night, they think. What's the problem? What do you mean there might not be a bathroom, there are bathrooms everywhere! What do you mean you might not be able to have a bowel movement with the pressure of other people around? What pressure? Are you nuts?'

'The pain is usually so intense that focus on school or work becomes impossible! There are many days and weeks that I spend curled up in a ball because the pain is so intense.'

'I hate IBS because people think you are just a worrier looking for sympathy, and that you could just ignore it, ha ha.'

'I am usually constipated, but when I have to go there's no stopping me. One of these unstoppable occurrences happened the day of the Chicago marathon this year - and I was a participant. During my 18-week training program, I would often think that 'it' could happen that day, but simply hoped it would not. Well, it did and it truly was unstoppable. It was so angering after such long, hard training. I finished the race, but not happy with my time or my comfort.'

'I hate the fact that it hits at the most inconvenient times.'

'Walking through Wal-Mart or other large store...your heart beating faster as you approach the restroom....Will I make it in time? Only to the see the 'This restroom closed sign' when you arrive. That horrible moment when you know you have to find a place to relieve yourself quickly or it will be the most embarrassing moment of your life.'

'I can really identify with this list of how 'I hate IBS' because basically it has ruined my life the past year. I have lost a job, a house, most of my family and friends due to this crippling 'so-called disease' that nobody understands. If I appear angry that is because I am, terribly so. I also have crippling migraines and I am going for surgery for a severe carpal tunnel problem, next week. I live in chronic pain in the left side of my pelvis. It has made life very difficult to say the least.'

'I just had company come from New York and I had to stay in bed during most of the visit because of IBS. They think that I am crazy. The gas and explosive bowel movements sap any living energy out of me. I am a single parent now living on social services which doesn't even cover my rent. I am so angry at my body betraying me like this.'

'I am sick of living with constant fear and never being able to plan anything in advance. My long-suffering husband has to book holidays as late as possible, cancel theater trips and always go for aisle seats or none at all. I'd just for once like to say 'Yes, I will definitely be able to go that day' and do it.'

'Can't have fun with my friends, because how do I explain having to go to the bathroom every half-hour, and oh! If I don't make it to one, that's it!'

'No-one understands when I say I can't go out or I can't go on that trip. I am now trying to volunteer my time on the weekends and it is even interfering with that. I get nervous because there is no way I can use the bathroom without being completely humiliated. One time I even held up a plane because I was in the bathroom - talk about embarrassing. The pilot made the announcement as I was walking out of the bathroom to stay in your seats because we missed our take-off window. I think half the anxiety that triggers my IBS spells is the anxiety of worrying when it will strike next!'

'Eating becomes something I must plan for fear of making a run for the bathroom immediately after (or even during) a meal, so if I know I have somewhere to go and haven't taken my Lomotil, then I won't eat until I know the med. has kicked in.'

'I am 12 years old and last year I found out I had IBS. It stinks because I have to go to the doctor more than all my friends and I have to go to Wisconsin children's hospital every month or so. I have really bad days and I can have great days but the bad ones are hard to deal with. I can't concentrate in school and I can do some sports that day or week or sometimes I have to even quit! I hate IBS and I wish I never got it!'

'My name is Jesse, I'm a 34 year-old male IBS sufferer. My life has been a living hell for the past 15 years. It started when I was in the air force. I haven't known a day without pain since then. At times, because of lack of sleep, I doubt my sanity. I have an appointment at the local Veterans' Hospital in Lubbock soon. I pray they don't dismiss this as a 'mind' problem. I've been to the VA. before without much success. I'm at my wits' end with this terrible condition.'

'I am 17 and I have been dealing with stomach problems since I was eight. A couple months ago my doctor said he thinks it's IBS. Through my whole life I have not been able to travel, and I miss more days of school than anyone I know. My stomach hurts mostly in the mornings, and forget about eating McDonald's.

I hate it mostly because of moments when I'm at somebody's house, and have to use their bathroom, and then the thought that I'm at somebody's house makes my stomach kill more, I don't even care about the pain though because I have not had many days in my life where I feel no pain, so I got used to it.'

'I have had this problem for almost a year. I have constant bloating, pain, discomfort, constant trips to the bathroom and everything else that comes with this problem. I had every test in the hospital, only to realize that I have IBS. I've had many, many bad days when I just want to lie in bed and not do anything. I'll get fired from my job soon, I am sure of that.'

'I have many bad tales. I am a lecturer and I have to take many days off. I am in China now, but I am returning home to start a business because I can't do lecturing anymore. It is a big shame because I like it. Even on days when I have no pain I have chronic bloating.'