men suffering diarrhea - page two
The tale of...Martin
Seems I've had this for a few years. I think irritable bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance, celiac disease etc are all related. About 26 months ago I got a stomach bug while working under my car when the dog kicked up a bit of dirt from around his hut, caught me on the lip, about 30 minutes later I was sick.
A week later a small notice was in the paper about a sudden increase in food poisoning cases in our area and not to use public swimming pools etc... I'd pasted out on the toilet a few times, by two weeks later I felt OK.
About 20 months ago I got another bout after eating at a BBQ at a friend's place. Somebody (and I know who it was, like it seems it was intended, I can remember it so clearly) hadn't washed their hands before handling the cooked meat. I wasn't the only one to be sick. I got over this like the last bout in about two weeks.
But the bouts of constipation/diarrhea stayed. I thought that it was a bug in my stomach because after eating I would swell up and feel terrible. I was travelling by car to work (two days travel - one to three weeks work - two days travel), eating lots of McDonald's on the way.
About this time I started to find there was a connection between food/stomach/sickness. Dad had been diagnosed with cancer six months before. I went to a doctor who took blood/faeces tests, but when they came back negative they didn't bother to tell me. Did this about five times. Finally he said about IBS and how it can be induced with flour/gluten. Aha... so I tried a gluten free diet.
Gluten free was the way to go, my stomach stopped heaving all the time after about a week. After three days my indigestion disappeared. I'd been using Mylanta or quickease everyday for about five years beforehand, haven't used it once since! So after about three weeks gluten free I was dismissed from work because of lack of work output and being sick all the time (fair enough).
I still felt bad but I felt better than I felt before. (Two days before leaving I was asked by the electrician if the welder was working properly because 'sometimes the contactor switch doesn't click in properly leaving the welder to run on two phases instead of three' - explains why it never worked right and caused eight months of stress!) Hope they lost money on that job - I did!
Anyway this was about 12 months ago. The doctor did a Iga + Igg gluten test about six to seven weeks after I'd given up gluten, then upon my next visit proudly told me I was OK because the test came back negative. He never called up with this info and never told me you have to have a high gluten diet for at least three months before taking the test for it to come back with a positive. Anyway I now know the gluten is the main problem.
E-mail Martin: goggenfurty[at]hotmail.com
The tale of....Michael
Well, so I am not the only person in the world dying from this dreaded disease. I have always wondered how I could eat one ounce of food and crap two pounds, now I know, irritable bowel syndrome. It's the kind of illness that wears you down a little at a time. I am going to try some of the remedies I found on this website. Hang in there you all!
E-mail address: 086[at]goldcanyonrv.com
The tale of...Phil
I've only had two girlfriends in my life, thanks to IBS. If my stomach wasn't virtually destroying my life, I'd probably be confident, a bit of a jerk, and happy as a clam, like most guys should be. I remember having attacks as far back as kindergarten. For whatever reason, I thought it would work itself out. I thought it was a fluke...I'd block it out, as though all those moments of agony were isolated incidents. Every time I felt OK it was like an invitation to eat like everyone else again. My stomach was empty, so why not have a few French fries...WRONG!
IBS has humbled me to the point were I appear to have no self-confidence. When I feel fine I have all the self-confidence in the world. I'm just as intelligent and fun-loving as anyone else. Even when I'm in agony I manage to put on a good exterior. I'm 6ft tall and thin. People say I have lost weight, so I would eat thinking...I need to gain weight, but I can't retain large quantities of food. My body absorbs nothing.
I know where every accessible public bathroom is in the tri-state area. But the worst part is that it seems that this condition is only getting worse. This past Saturday we had a huge party at the house I'm living in. I don't eat before I drink, because that would result in catastrophe. This time it didn't matter. I had so much gin and tonic that night...you get the picture. Luckily I was in my own home.
As I type this, well, it's not THAT bad, but I haven't been normal since last Saturday, and it's Wednesday now. Everyone else throws up when they're drunk. I wish I could throw up. I never ever throw up. I was eight years old with the flu the last time that happened.
Anyway. I feel like a pariah. I'm trapped in my own personal hell. I avoid people because of my stomach. It prevents me from having a good time at bars, and I especially fear day-long outings with friends. Through it all I've kept positive. When I figure out what I should be doing I'll be reborn. That's literally how dramatic this problem going away would be for me.
It's embarrassing, and it makes me nervous when I feel an attack and I'm in a bar somewhere, with a gross bathroom and no toilet paper. It's the worst place to have an attack.
The tale of...Jim
10:25am and the symptoms have finally let up...this was a five-hour session. Relatively light duration this time.
Damn, I hate IBS. I've had it for almost as long as I can remember. I'm 56 now so it seems like forever. Must have read every article I could find on it. It's amazing how all fellow sufferers have similar symptoms, but no one seems to be exactly the same.
I'm a morning sufferer. Always have been. Very rarely have attacks at any other times. Do get some distress every so often, but not full-fledged attacks. Can't even say I'm reacting to certain food groups either. Seems like the reaction is actually caused by eating something late the night before (after about 9:00pm).
Just seem to wake up at about 4:30am wondering what the hell am I doing up. Usually don't feel sick immediately. Needs a few minutes to 'kick in'. Then we go into attack mode. NAUSEA...constant rolling nausea. This usually leads to the throne room for awhile, but it's the damn nausea I hate. Just keeps coming in waves for the next 5-8 hours.
Had a million different tests. Tried all sorts of meds. The only thing that seemed to work was Propulsid and they pulled that off the market. I'm not as bad as some of my fellow sufferers who posted here. I feel for you all. I can't imagine the levels of this affliction that some of you are going through. I wish you all the best and hope that they find something for us....