men suffering diarrhea - page ten
The tale of...Jim
Although diagnosed by my GP as having IBS about five years ago, I've not read about many people with symptoms very like mine, so I'm writing partly to see if there's anyone out there like me! Also because it might help me to share these difficult experiences. It all began in about 1995 when I noticed I could no longer go regularly in the morning and everything got a bit explosive when I did finally go.
I began to get some mucus and (disgusting!) this began to leak a bit between bowel movements so I was having to wash my trousers a lot. I was having about five or six BMs a day but often felt I had not really finished - apparently this is typical. Plus loads of wind building up especially in the afternoons - often I would be OK in the mornings but bloated and windy later.
None of this has really changed much despite so many treatment attempts and dietary changes. I still have around six BMs a day, more like eight to ten on bad days, and end up with stomach ache almost every afternoon. At work it is worse because it is harder for me to visit the loo as often as I need to. After 5pm I usually sit on the loo for quite a while to try to offload the unfinished business!
In 2005 I ended up rushed into hospital with bleeding piles because of the wear and tear on my backside. My GP finally referred me for sigmoidoscopy and the results were a bit ambiguous - some general irritation and odema (fluid retention) and a small polyp were found. But a later colonoscopy gave me the all-clear, and they couldn't find the polyp this time! Reassuring or what? Still, if it had been serious I would have popped my clogs by now.
I've tried most of the UK treatments going, I reckon, and consider only Fybogel to have been of any use, and that only slightly. As I fluctuate between IBS-C and D, it is not easy to see what to do. Treatments that try to adjust the prebiotic or probiotics in my gut are hopeless for me, they give me diarrhea and even worse wind. That includes Regucol from Holland and Barrett, which also gave me sharp stomach pains. Terrible stuff! As did mebeverine. Peppermint oil capsules seemed to help years ago but don't anymore.
I do take a small dose (20mg daily) of the anti-depressant amitriptyline, officially because it reduces stomach ache, but really it just makes me feel more relaxed and focused. I was once diagnosed as moderately depressed but don't think I am now. However I am quite easily worried by things, especially work, so of course everyone says 'It's all in the mind...'
I've also been under the care of a nutritionist, going as far as a strict exclusion diet in 2007, followed to the letter. The trouble was, the exclusion diet contained too little fiber for me, so I ended up far worse than on my usual diet, blown up and constipated. So that had to be abandoned. If there's one thing I know regarding my diet, it's that I need a lot of good old-fashioned roughage, and the advice towards soluble fiber doesn't suit me. Porridge gives me acid indigestion, and if I don't have plenty of wholemeal and bran flakes I soon start to blow up like a balloon, and spend half the day on the loo passing a lot of mucus and not a lot else.
I also get a horrible 'upwards pressure' feeling when constipated, which is a bit like breathlessness and is presumably caused by my colon being full under my diaphragm. If I get this at night in bed, I can be close to panic and have to do slow breathing. For this reason I stick to the bran flakes - I'd rather keep my problems at the bottom end rather than in the middle, if that makes sense.
As dietary changes have been so unhelpful, I just try to eat healthily in general, ie: plenty of drinks, fruit and veg, and hardly any fried food. Because I drink a lot of water and weak tea, I also pee for England, but I think that my IBS also upsets my bladder.
I do have one or two theories about what really caused my IBS, but won't bore you with that yet. If anyone's even read this far...But stress isn't the cause, or at least not stress in the short term. On holiday, and on quiet days at work, my IBS can be just as bad. It seems to be much more continuous than other people's - although I have some worse days, it's always present. I haven't lost weight or suffered bleeding (apart from piles) so I still have a lot to be thankful for. I'd love to know if anyone has experiences similar to mine, and can shed any light on possible solutions/improvements.
E-mail Jim: jimbo52066[at]yahoo.co.uk
The tale of...John
Well, where to start...I've been suffering from IBS for five years, ever since I had an operation on a fistula. My job is a postman for the Royal Mail which means I have to walk for miles with no loo. My old manager was understanding enough to give me a job inside so I was close to the toilet, which worked great for a while.
Well we just got a new manager, what a nice kind understanding person he is, not. He asked why I couldn't go out on delivery and I had to explain the constant tummy pains, the one-minute early warning to rush to the loo, why I couldn't ride a bike because half the time it feels like my back end is hanging out due to the amount of times I've had to pass a nice sloppy stool which made my piles grow like button mushrooms or if I was lucky one or two might burst to relieve the pressure. I also explained why lifting was a problem sometimes due to the bloating and pain. I told him I had seen doctor after doctor.
Well, all he said was 'John I don't have any work for you' and sent me to the company doctors, which I'm still in the prosses of going through for medical retirement. This made my IBS worse with the extra worry. Anyways I spotted this site and wanted to just get it off my chest, and wonder if anyone else has been through the same thing of losing their job.
E-mail John: darvill7[at]msn.com
The tale of...Neil
I have suffered periodically from IBS for 15 years. It began after I was working in South Africa when I was wrongly diagnosed with typhoid and prescribed double doses of chloramphenicol by a doctor who I now know to be a scoundrel! My work took me all over the world, but due to IBS I can no longer tolerate long-distance flights. (I have been told by cabin crew that they are advised not to fly if they are suffering an IBS attack.)
My symptoms can last for a few days to several months, with a 14-month attack by far the longest. I've virtually given up trying to work out why it happens and, having tried a host of prescribed drugs, am still no wiser as to which one helps - if any! One thing I've constantly had from doctors, GPs and specialists alike, is 'Are you stressed?' I always tell them I am one of life's most laid-back people - the only thing that's stressing me is them and this bloody IBS! Sorry I don't have any answers but I hope that by joining this site I can share advice and hopefully some hope!
E-mail Neil: neil[at]neilcooper.co.uk
The tale of...Timothy
I have had IBS for a while now, and I have been rushed to the emergency room many times. On top of that, I also have acid reflux disease and a sinus arrhythmia (my heart skips a beat). I have found out that I am partly lactose intolerant, but that doesn't cause my stomach pain.
Countless hours have been spent crying and in a suicidal state from this disease, but there is a product that helps me a lot. It is called Activia. That stuff literally works miracles. I take it once every day for a month. I'm not a spokesman for them or anything, but it truly does help your system to regulate. But I don't EVER miss a day, or it won't work properly.
I do NOT take any antacids (such as Tums or Rolaids). I have also found out that Tylenol doesn't work much, at least for me, but you and I are made different so it may be worth a shot. Also, I stay away from lactose, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, carbonation (a big one - this will really screw your system up) and cream-based foods. I hope this helps. If you have any questions or comments, email me.
E-mail Timothy: submerseowot[at]msn.com
The tale of...Ken
I developed stomach problems 22 years ago. It all began with diarrhea, and I lost 65lbs in two months after many doctor's appointment and different diagnoses. I learned to live with the symptoms. I would take Imodium like candy, and I had bathroom locations plotted at different points on my way to work. If I went to lunch with friends I had to be to a bathroom in 10 minutes. If there was not a bathroom close I just didn't eat. When I took long trips I would take five or six Imodium and that would give me 10 hours or so of security most of the time.
About nine years later I started getting severe chest pain, I thought it was a heart attack. I would go from the gastro doctor to the cardiologist and they would point the finger at the other. After about four years I was told it was esophageal spasms. So I lived with the severe diarrhea and the severe esophageal spasms which could be a daily occurrence to a monthly one.
Then about two years ago I got a severe constant pain in my lower right side of my abdomen. They first thought it was my appendix, but the CT scans said no. Then I started getting consistent esophageal spasms all day along with the right-side pain. So the doctors suggest getting a Nissen Fundoplication surgery and having my appendix removed. Neither one of the surgeries has help any of the pain. All they can say is this is all tied to the IBS that I have had for 23 years. They tell me that I have one of the worst cases they have seen.
The pain is now so bad that I had to stop working and go on disability. I started going to a pain clinic, and they have tried nerve blocks and shots with no help. I have had to start taking Morphine and Percocet to dull the pain but it does not take it away. My life has been ruined, I spend a lot of time in bed in so much pain and so sick to my stomach that I just can't get up. My wife has to work so that I can have insurance, I miss a lot of my kid's sports events. There are days I wish I could just curl up and die. Is there anyone out there who has had these kind of symptoms and has found anything to help with pain relief?
E-mail Ken: kymartin6[at]msn.com
The tale of...David
I've had random attacks of IBS since my sixth birthday. I used to spend perhaps three hours cumulatively during the day, just sat on the toilet, because when I'd thought I'd finished and got to the bathroom door, I'd have to rush back. I always used to 'joke' that "Number Twos come in twos". Now, 23 years on, each attack comes in threes or fours.
Every two years I'd see a GP or a doctor and be told like the rest of you were told that 'It's all in your head'. By the time I saw the sixth, it took a tremendous amount of restraint on my part having heard those five infuriating words, to not strangle him to death with his own stethoscope as I said 'It's all in your head' to his purple bloated face.
If it were just the diarrhea or soft stools (often covered in mucus, Yummy!) it wouldn't be as bad, but the pain is akin to turning one of those electric ab belts up to full power whilst trying to have a bowel movement. Sometimes I want to reach in through my abdomen and rip out my intestines because I know it would be less painful than enduring the rest of the attack. I've heard that some women have likened severe IBS to childbirth but over and over again. I've had two bouts that were so severe that I vomited suddenly whilst sat on the toilet.
The lack of sympathy from family and friends used to be an issue but thankfully and with my eternal gratitude they're now much more understanding, but I know that they're frustrated and I don't blame them, and I don't even get asked to events anymore because "he's got that stomach thing!" If the pain I felt two hours ago before I hunted the 'net looking for help could be transferred into someone that's never had it simply by touching them, then they'd collapse on the floor screaming for their mothers and demanding an ambulance because 'they're dying'. I just sat on the toilet and quietly shed a couple of tears.
I have no life at ALL and this has led to depression, I haven't been able to have a holiday/vacation for over 10 years because I can't do with the drive to the airport, the wait there, and the flight. Nor can I take more than a 20 minute drive to any destination without knowing that there's a toilet on the route. Which reminds me of a tale I heard from someone that bought a van, so that when they were 'caught out' they could pull over, go into the back of the van and do their business with nobody wathing. If I want to go anywhere over 20 minutes, that's what I'm going to have to do, too.
And Mrs Right has been and gone, because I couldn't go anywhere with her or spend the time with her that she deserved and I became snappy and cruel at every suggestion and comment she made. I felt it best that we end the relationship because she had no life either. I haven't had a partner since, six years ago almost to the day, because it would just go the same way.
It sounds awful and please don't be offended or think that I'm being vile and repugnant because for some of you IBS is just a nuisance and for others they can sympathize with me entirely, but this is something that has affected my family too, but if a person has cancer, they either get cured and go on to enjoy life, or they die within a couple of years if they're 'lucky' enough to live that long, but they don't have to feel that pain anymore and suffer its debilitating effects.
But we, as IBS sufferers, are supposed to live with this excruciating pain on a weekly (and in my case daily) basis and keep our mouths shut for decades? Sorry, but I'd rather have a terminal illness, IBS of this magnitude is a fate worse than death. If a doctor told me 'There's a drug that'll get rid of your IBS, but you'll be dead within 10 years' then I'd rejoice and take it because at least I'd have a full and rich life for those few years, doing everything I've missed like birthdays, my nephew and nieces' school plays, parties, jobs that I'd love but can't have because I'll need the toilet every few minutes, a wife, children of my own, traveling, the theater, pretty much everything. I can't have any of that.
I've tried everything that's been suggested including exclusion diets, stress management, exercise, specialist consultants earning hundreds of thousands every year. All except the hypnotherapy, so I'm going to buy the CDs linked on this site and I'll let you all know if I have any success with it. There's nothing left to try after that, other than accept I'm going to live the rest of my life as I have done since I was six; in pain, alone, and empty.
An update on David...
Back on February 14th, I submitted a tale. I'd had IBS for years and it had ruined my whole life, whether it be lovelife, worklife, or otherwise. I'd decided to give the IBS audio course a try, and although it didn't reduce the pain or frequency, it did make me think differently about the condition. I accepted that IBS just happened and there was little I could do about it, so rather than worrying about it and it being on my mind all the time like an obsession, I finally began to focus on other things, accepting the IBS. Though, sometimes, the pain would still be incredible.
I did the course for about a month. I'd never been more than two days without IBS and that was only about once a month. But at the start of June, I noticed I had been three days without, which turned into four days, which turned into a week, then a month, and now four months and not a hint of it.
I can't believe it. It felt bizarre at first, and I kept thinking it was too good to be true. But as time went on, I started to just feel better and better, because I was finally in control. People noticed the change in me and that spurred me on further. I've even completely changed my image and my wardrobe and I'm planning a holiday in France. YES, A HOLIDAY! With a 60-minute trip to the airport and a two-hour wait and a two-hour flight, all without having to worry about where the nearest toilet is!
The only hard part was realising how much of my life I'd lost to the IBS, and what I'd missed out on. But I've got my life back on track and can finally get back to living. The only good thing to come out of having IBS is that it taught me to appreciate life and the world, and I'll be doing a lot more with my life than I would have done, had I not had it.
So maybe it was the audio course, or maybe it just went away of its own accord, I don't know. But I'll tell people to do the course because it helps in lots of ways. I really hope that this gives hope to people who have IBS, whether mild or chronic, and I'd considered myself to have had one of the more severe cases, so there's hope for everybody. Good luck to everyone.
The tale of...Paul
First of all I haven't been diagnosed with IBS yet, but it has been mentioned to me by the doctor several times. It all started after getting food poisoning in January 2007. After that I recovered (or so I thought), but about mid-February time the symptoms came back but for a prolonged period. I eventually went to the doctors in March, and was immediately referred for a colonoscopy. I've now had this done and several biopsies were taken, which I'm now awaiting the results of.
What I'm really asking is for help from anyone else here suffering from this on the basic issues of how you carry on a normal existence with this condition. I have diarrhea and have had it since the initial bout of food poisoning, terrible tummy cramps, and just can't take any food in without having to rush to a toilet 10-30 minutes later. Because of all this I am constantly exhausted, to the point where even getting dressed is a major ordeal.
My doctors have put me on several tablets (Lomotil, Codeine and Imodium, and I also take peppermint oil which is supposed to help), but none of these tablets are working at all. On recent trips to the doctors I've been told that they cannot give me any different medication until the biopsy results are back, but I've been told this can take up to 10 weeks!
I've been off work sick since the start of March, and even if my symptoms were to stop tomorrow this has left me so exhausted I wouldn't be able to face work for a while anyway. As I'm sure everyone who deals with this can imagine it's getting me very depressed, I'm only 24 yet I can barely move around without needing a rest.
What I really need is some advice from anyone about what I should do next. I can only wait for the biopsy results, but are there any tips or anything that someone can give me to help me cope with all this? If you've managed to read all this essay thank you very much.
E-mail Paul: bigpmc1983[at]hotmail.co.uk
The tale of...John
About 10 years ago I noticed a change in my digestive process. I was 33 at the time and never in my life had any issue in this area if you know what I mean. I noticed that I would have to go to the bathroom shortly after eating, several times a week. This was especially fun when I was commuting from NJ to NY via the train and subway where bathrooms are either disgusting or non-existent.
I also began losing some weight, which several of my fellow workers commented on or joked about (they called me bubble boy or bug boy and suggested that since I visited the restroom so much they would move my computer to the handicap stall for efficiency). After several months of this I saw my GP who did a stool test, checked for blood and said she could not find anything and that I should see a specialist.
I then sought out a gastro guy who took a history, ran the same stool tests and said that he thought it was nerves but that to appease me, he would do a colonoscopy which turned out to be fine (ie: no problems detected). As my symptoms got worse and I lost more weight (25 pounds) I got desperate and sought the advice of the one doctor I would trust with my life, my wife's OB/GYN. She sent me to a specialist in NY City who took a history and ran a bunch of blood tests. He discovered that I had giardia and put me on very heavy duty antibiotics. Further tests revealed that the giardia was eradicated but I still did not feel well.
After several more months, more aggressive tests were taken. I had additional colonoscopies and endoscopies, CTs, and sonograms which revealed that I had H Pylori. This entailed more heavy duty antibiotics to eradicate the infection. While a follow-up endoscopy several months later revealed that the infection was cured, I still felt bad.
That is when I was told that I may have IBS. After a year and a half of tests, drugs etc they tell me that I have this condition. The problems that this caused in my personal life (marriage) were substantial. I was not the best patient during this time and my wife got tired of listening to me complain. My doctor thought that my condition was causing me to be depressed (who wouldn't be after all this) and I agreed to speak with a therapist. This turned out to be a waste of time since I acknowledged that I was depressed but that I would get undepressed if I felt I was getting better, to which he did not have a response.
It has now been approximately 10 years since the outset of my condition. And while I am better now than when the two conditions above were present, I still have many of the symptoms (diarrhea, bloating, etc). I have learned to just deal with the condition and not let it control my life. Luckily it is not as bad as some of the stories I have read and can be largely controlled with common sense.
I normally get a little bit of a warning as to when it will flare-up and I ensure that a bathroom is near. I never discuss it with my wife because I know she does not want to hear it and there would not be much point to it (no sympathy there). Sometimes weeks go by and I feel great and almost forget that I have this issue. Then I eat a meal or for whatever reason it flares up and I spend some time in the bathroom.
I just try and live my life and enjoy it as best I can. If I eat a nice meal and some wine and it results in a bathroom break so be it. I am not going to eat some benign diet my whole life. That is no way to live. I carry Imodium with me at all times and use it when I need for the symptoms to stop (not near a bathroom). Otherwise I let it rip so to speak.
I am not sure this story will help anyone or not but here it is. If I had one message it would be to seek out as much medical diagnosis as you can stand or afford. You may find out you have something else and then can deal with that. Once you have done that you can try and learn to live with it as best as you can, enjoy the good times that life offers and manage the down times as best as possible.
E-mail John: jennfam4[at]aol.com
The tale of...Rick
I've been suffering with IBS for nearly 10 years and it completely controls my life. I live in fear of it. It dominates me and consequently it dominates my family's life. I have the 'Toilet Police' version. I don't know whether the panic triggers an episode or the episode triggers the panic.
I adopt the avoidance method - I always carry some tissues. I check every available traffic system to reduce the possibility of becoming stuck in traffic. I've had my car windows blacked out just in case. I've turned down employment because of possible traffic problems. I check every venue for the number of cubicles. I note every alley, bush, wall, store and bar.
I refuse to take my wife to her favorite restaurant because it is a very busy place and only has one cubicle. I won't take my family anywhere where there’s a chance of no toilet facilities close by and available. I find myself frustrated and becoming aggressively defensive of my decisions not to do things. I'm beginning to think that living within my own four walls is the 'perfect' existence and I have pondered the relief that The Big Sleep may bring. I think everyone at some point mutters the words 'I wish I was dead' but then the gloom lifts and we all carry on.
For all my bravado I feel like I'm carrying a heavy burden of guilt. I've read some of the stories on this site and am humbled. I don't know how our partners can cope with our paranoia (particularly mine). I'm sure there are worse things in the world but I find my condition self-absorbing. I've tried the complementary medicine and have been on medication for years to assist my day to day life. I'm sure you've heard this type of tale a thousand times before but it’s nice to just put it all down.
E-mail Rick: beano1967[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Imad
I am now 24, and I've had IBS forever. I used to go to lots of doctors and have lots of examinations and everybody used to tell my parents that it's all in my mind! At some point I almost believed them, and started doubting myself and my pain.
At last, a couple of years ago I found a doctor who told me I have IBS and gave me some long-term medications which I stopped later because most of them made me lose concentration, especially when I was driving. I lost most of my friends because no-one understands that it's not a normal bowel pain that they have a couple of times per year, while I have it continuously. IBS has changed my life for the worse, but the people around me have made it much worse!
E-mail Imad: madhaddad[at]hotmail.com