teenagers suffering constipation - page five
The tale of...Kelsey
I'm 19 years old and I have been dealing with IBS since I was 17. It started out with panic attacks that I was diagnosed with around the same time. I had my first panic attack and a HUGE storm in southern Ontario came barreling in and collapsed a huge party tent I was at, engulfing nearly 800 people underneath it. Shortly after that, I couldn't have a BM. I would get stomach aches from anything I ate, was robbed of all energy, and would go to bed at 7pm every day because I just couldn't deal with the pain anymore. I lost about 20 pounds, which is pretty bad considering I am only five foot two and 108lbs to start.
I started going to the doctor about twice a week, and he thought it was all in my head of course. He had me on two anti-depressants for panic attacks and stress, which I later became addicted to (Lorazapam), as well as three acid reflux pills, and I was instructed to take multivitamins every day and stool softeners. At this point I was wondering how the heck I went from a normal teenager to this pillhead. I was so depressed I would never go out, I just sat in my room and watched TV, and this all started in the summer time. I couldn't do anything without being toast at around 10 o'clock.
Come May of 2008 I started dating this new guy, and all the pain and BM problems went away for about two months. I was SO happy, I thought it was over with. Then it came back. I have been suffering now for two years, coming up on three. I have the constipation part of IBS, and it is the worst. I have gone up to 14 days without a bowel movement, and the straining and pushing is driving me nuts. I sometimes get headaches from it, and incredibly bad nausea and abdominal pain, especially after I eat something.
I can always tell if I'm going to have a good night out, if I've had a bowel movement earlier that day. If I haven't I'm doomed. My boyfriend thinks I'm selfish sometimes because I always want to leave our friends early and go home and just sleep, but he doesn't understand. It's too embarrassing to talk about. My parents are the ones who truly know what's going on, but they get annoyed too, as soon as I say 'Oh I don't feel good' it's like 'Ugh...AGAIN?!' But really it's not my fault. I guess I will just have to keep on dealing with it.
E-mail Kelsey: kelsey.mf.haight[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Brandy
I'm 17 years old and I have been suffering from IBS my whole life. I can honestly say that it is something I would never wish upon my enemy. These last few years have been really hard to cope with. I feel like no-one understands what I'm going through. Most of the time I feel very depressed because I can never go out to hang with my friends or even just go out shopping. I even have to make up excuses to not hang with my friends.
I feel like a prisoner in my own home because I feel I can never go ouside without getting cramps. I'm always hungry but I never eat because every time I eat I feel like vomiting or I get severe cramping. I've even gone to my doctor numerous times for medications to help but nothing seems to work. And on top of all that I'm lactose intolerant, and I have stress issues as well.
Some days it gets so tough that I feel like giving up, I can't take it anymore. Sometimes I just want to be alone, I feel I can cope with it a bit better when no-one is around. For me, I've found that this condition has ruined my life pretty badly. I've missed out on all my childhood and high school experiences that I can never get back. Some nights I'll cry myself to sleep just because it gets too overwhelming for me. I have no social life, it's embarrassing to explain the problem to your people or friends.
And on top of all this I've missed a lot of school days and now I have to stay behind for another year to get my credits. The school tells me that I need to get over my little problem, but it's not just some little problem it controls and affects your entire life. My school even wanted me to see a psychiatrist.
I know I'm complaining a lot, but it's just nice to know that I'm not the only one who has this problem. Every day is a battle to get through. Anyways, thanks for reading my story, and listening to what I have to say.
E-mail Brandy: brandy_avril_bubbles_16[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Michael
Hi, my name is Michael. I am 13. I have had stomach problems for a while, and recently my doctor says he is pretty sure I have IBS. I almost always have constipation, and it hurts really bad. I also have it so frequently that sometimes I can wipe up blood.
It is also taking me away from my 7th grade class at school sometimes, when I have problems. I really hate this, it makes me moan and scream, it's just horrible. I have tried several medicines and I hope I get better.
E-mail Michael: michaelleefinnie[at]gmail.com
The tale of...Eliza
I'm 17 years old and I've been suffering from IBS for as long as I can remember. Constipation is my main symptom, and the agonising stomach cramps that come with it. I was told by doctors for a long time that I was imagining the pain, and when I was a child people made out that it was a form of attention-seeking (trust me, if i wanted attention I would find a much less embarrassing way to get it!). Only my mum knows about how bad it can be.
That's probably the hardest part, the shame that comes with it. I feel so alone sometimes. I have many friends but even those I've known for years I still feel too embarrassed to tell. A boyfriend is the last thing on my mind. I've had a few but I usually end it after about six weeks (when they want to sleepover and would witness me in all my glory!). So for now that's a no go.
Last week the pain got so bad that I passed out. I was so scared, I've never felt pain like that before. I now know not to trust people with this embarrassing secret after a friend of mine whom I confided in decided that after an argument she would use this as her source of revenge. Never again.
I'm hoping to go to uni next year and I want to move away, but some days I think how can I?! Sharing a bathroom with eight people is any IBS sufferer's worst nightmare! But I deserve to enjoy myself and I think why should I let bad luck control my life. I've tried every and any medication available, one laxative is too mild and has no effect and then another gives you diarrhea. You go from one extreme to the other. You just can't win! I'm glad to read other people's stories, it makes you feel less alone. I wanted to share mine so people realise that IBS affects people of all ages and that being young and having an illness like this shouldn't be such a taboo! If anyone has any advice for me I'm happy to try anything! Thank you.
E-mail Eliza: lizmc2[at]hotmail.co.uk
The tale of...Menaka
I'm 18 years old and I feel like my IBS symptoms are taking days away from me. I started college this past year at a high-stress institution that prides itself on breaking its students' spirits. Anyway, I've always been really ambitious, driven, and very stressed. Most things that would be easy for most are hard for me.
I started college out just fine. The first two quarters were hard but I was healthy and for the most part happy. I had just begun my first serious relationship and things were going pretty well. In February I got on birth control and for the first month I was fine. No symptoms really...a smooth transition for the most part. The next month I started to feel weird. I started to get abdominal pain, constipation, abdominal bloating, and after a while a broken spirit. That month I found out that I had hemorrhoids which was completely bizarre to me.
After a trip to the ER for pain they told me I had acid reflux from stress and told me to take Prilosec and sent me on my way. I got a CT before the summer to make sure I didn't have any cysts or anything abnormal. After the CT scan I had a horrible reaction. I was throwing up for eight hours straight. They said I had had an adverse reaction to the dye.
I went back to the ER because I couldn't move...I was really dehydrated. After talking to the nurse she told me I could have IBS. I was pretty familiar with IBS at this point. A friend of mine had suffered from it but it wasn't as bad or seemingly as bad as mine at the time.
I went home in June for two weeks and headed back to school because I was working as a research assistant. I thought I would be fine because I was fine at home. There were nights where I was sitting up thinking I really wish God could just take my life because I can't live this way. I was depressed all the time...I didn't want to eat..I didn't want to go out anymore. The bloating just kept getting worse and worse.
I'm not even sure if I am constipated. I go to the bathroom once or twice a day. My dad is a physician and thinks it's all in my head. This makes me want to throw myself off a roof. At this point I'm looking towards the future and not seeing so much in it anymore. I was so ambitious. I was going to do JD MBA...get into corporate America...have a family...be happy...and at this point whatever I have has been taken every day from me.
I have had that CT scan done and blood tests, both show nothing abnormal. I have my first appointment with a GI and I'm scared because he is going to tell me for sure I have IBS and there is nothing I can do, and that's layman's terms for...you'll never get your life back...If anyone has any advice or would like to talk (which would be greatly appreciated) please contact me.
E-mail Menaka: mhampole[at]gmail.com
The tale of...Abby
I am 19 years old and I think that I have IBS. I have been to the hospital several times due to constipation and severe pain in my abdomen and sides. When I get x-rays they say that my bowels are full (no surprise there). They then give me a laxative which never works.
After that they try soap suds enemas. They put a liter of this solution into my anus through a 'thin tube'. When it expels from your body it is supposed to make you have a bowel movement, but it never works for me. Then they make me drink a gallon of this awful liquid laxative, and once again it fails to work. I spent four days in and out of the hospital; finally, after 15 days, I had a bowel movement. It isn't always this severe, only once every two years or so.
I have a swollen stomach all the time. I look four months pregnant, even though I am only five foot one and weigh 122 pounds. It controls all aspects of me. I am so worried about my figure and the fact that I am always swollen drives me nuts.
It is not uncommon for me to go four days without a bowel movement. If I have a BM two days in a row I get excited...lol! It pretty much sucks all around!
The tale of...Megan
I'm a 14 year-old girl suffering from...sigh...IBS. Unlike most IBS sufferers, I don't get much constipation or diarrhea - just horrible burning, stabbing, agonizing pain. It began about a year ago. It wasn't so bad back then; it would just hurt after meals and then it would go away. But now it is constant. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night crying because the pain is so bad...
I'm doing badly in school because I'm too tired or in too much pain to focus. I've been to two GI doctors, and so far they haven't been able to find anything wrong. By default, because they saw some constipation on a CT scan, I have been diagnosed with IBS-C. I feel like no-one - especially not my doctor - listens to me or cares about how I really feel.
The main advice I've been given is to cut down on stress, and I've been told several times that it's just all in my head. What a laugh. If any doctor tells you this, tell him or her to swallow some flesh-eating bacteria and see how stressed that makes them feel. Or just reach over and bite off their ear. Well, you probably shouldn't do that - but you can still imagine doing it!
Every day is torture. My whole body is in constant pain. I pray that they find a cure for this condition, because I don't know how I can live my life this way. Feel free to e-mail me at any time - I know how isolating IBS can be and my heart goes out to anyone who has been diagnosed with it.
E-mail Megan: funkyferret7[at]yahoo.com
The tale of...Jerracah
I've been suffering with IBS for about four years now. I have read other people's stories on here and I'm pretty glad I don't have it as bad as some. I was diagnosed with IBS about four years ago when I was 11 years old. My mother finally took me to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after much complaining of nausea and abdominal pain.
IBS has put me through much trouble since then. I was put in the hospital for a full week because I could not eat anything, and when I did eat my stomach would either kill me or I felt like I would vomit. I have been scoped multiple times to check my intestines and have been on several medications that really haven't worked. Laxatives don't really affect me that much unless I take the maximum dosage and stool softeners don't help at all.
I think the most effective medicine I have taken is Zofran. Zofran is used for kids that have chemotherapy. It helps with severe nausea and pain. IBS has also given me panic attacks when I get the pain. I get nervous when I go out to the movies or anywhere where I know I won't be home for a while because I know I will get discomfort.
For a while my IBS settled down but has recently flared back up. At the moment I look slightly pregnant and the left side of my stomach is bigger than the right. I feel discomfort and I don't even want to stand upright because it puts pressure on my stomach. I haven't gone to the restroom in about five days now and if I do it's not very much and doesn't take my bloating away. I am very thankful for my family and friends for helping me when I get my IBS 'attacks'. I am also very thankful to my boyfriend, who will sit there and talk me through the pain.
I have been looking toward the medicine called Zelnorm. I am the right height and weight for it but the doctors say I am too young to take it. My Mom is planning on taking me to the doctor to see if I can get on it. If anyone has any information about this medicine please contact me, if it has helped you or done the exact opposite.
E-mail Jerracah: in_incognito[at]hotmail.com