women suffering diarrhea - page twenty-seven
The tale of...Liz
I am a 25 year-old woman who has been suffering from IBS-D and sometimes C for about one year now. I just about cried when I came across this website, because it is really comforting to read other people's stories and know that I am not alone out there, which I feel like I am a lot. I think the most frustrating thing for me is that no-one seems to understand. I get the 'Well, why aren't you going to your doctor?' comments all the time...and I do go to my doctor, I have been to my doctor about five times due to this, and I am finally seeing a specialist next week.
My story begins on an airplane ride home from the Dominican Republic. Now, I am aware of the fact that the food and water down in the Caribbean can cause diarrhea in many people, especially upon their return home, but this was my first real attack. We had just landed in Boston and everyone was standing in the aisle waiting to get off the plane, when all of a sudden I got these severe abdominal cramps that I had never felt before.
There was no way I was going to make it, so I told the stewardess to please move people out of the aisle so I could get to the bathroom. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life, these planes are small, and since everyone saw me run to the bathroom I'm sure many of them heard what was going on. I had severe diarrhea, and when it finally stopped I walked out to an empty plane with just the pilot waiting for me; absolutely mortifying.
Anyway, throughout the whole time in customs my stomach was 'on fire' as I described it to my friends. When I finally got home I had diarrhea all night. The next day I went to my doctor to make sure it wasn't a parasite or food poisoning from my trip. They did a number of tests and everything came out negative.
Ever since then, every time I ate dairy or drank alcohol I would have an attack. So I thought well, maybe I am lactose intolerant, and I am just getting too old to handle liquor. But the symptoms got worse, and I finally decided to see my doctor. She told me to start out by taking fiber pills four times a day. It helped for about two weeks; I felt on top of the world. I had no diarrhea, and had a nice solid healthy BM three times a day. I thought wow, maybe this is finally under control. But after two weeks of bliss, it all came back.
But the problem is, I have no idea when these attacks will come on. I could be driving, at work, walking my dog, at the movies and bam, I get diarrhea. It is awful. It has taken control of my life, because there are some weekends when I can't go out with friends because I am in so much pain, and would rather sit at home alone than go out and risk having an attack in public. It has completely prevented me from having any sort of dating life. The last thing you want is to have an attack on a date...so embarrassing. There are times when I am afraid I will lose my job because I have gone home sick or called out.
I have never tried any medications, but I am willing to try anything that may give me my life back. I am just happy that there is this website where I can share my story and get support!
E-mail Liz: Liz.Leclerc[at]yahoo.com
The tale of...Joy
I'm a 27-year-old woman from Essex, and I was diagnosed with IBS four years ago - my boyfriend and I had been on a two-week holiday, and I only went to the loo once, so he insisted I see the doctor. One blood test and rectal examination later I was diagnosed.
Until then, I'd been in denial. Bloating wasn't so predominant (it is now, sadly), I drank and ate 'normal' dairy, spicy foods and fats - the things which trigger an attack now - without really thinking about it. In 2000, I went to Greece and had gastroenteritis for three or four days, and I think it stemmed from that, although I tended towards frequent loo stops during my teens. After that, the fact that I hardly went to the loo is something I can't now believe I ignored!
Now I alternate between IBS-C and D. On the morning of my wedding, I didn't leave the loo. Today, I've made some movements, but they were 'reluctant' to say the least. I suffer right-sided pain and bad wind. The cramps have died down in the last 14 months since I started having Actimel everyday, now I only get them every now and then.
Mentally, this is so challenging. I can't count how many times I've been driving and just need to go to the loo, the times people start a long conversation and all I can think of is how I need to get to the loo. The times I've bought a nice outfit, only to try it on and I look five months pregnant.
I've had at least five doctors since being diagnosed. They have varied - one was extremely knowledgeable and a real help, but the last one upset me the most, saying it was psychological - yes, I've changed jobs, planned a wedding and had a relative die in the last 12 months, but what about the years before that? I came home crying; I wish I had had Sophie's blog to show him.
Love-life - well you all know how sexy you feel when you're constipated and bloated! I've been lucky as my husband is very understanding, he makes my hot water bottles and lends a sympathetic ear. But last night we couldn't got to the pub because I was so bloated from constipation (and therefore uncomfortable), so it has a knock-on effect on our social life.
Other people - dairy's my enemy but people still give me chocolates, my husband buys cheesecake, I'm STILL offered ice-cream as a dessert (I'm not too bad with cheese and yoghurt). My friends have got very used to me moaning, but always question why I'm not drinking (I try to avoid too much alcohol), why I'm not having pudding, and put too much milk in my tea.
Positives - I find exercise helps, four times a week doing running or aerobics. I try to keep relaxed and not to literally tense up my stomach; but I can be on holiday very relaxed and only worrying about where the next ray of sunshine is coming from, and I'm still affected. Linseeds before I go to bed have helped, and I've just started using Regucol so I'll see how that goes.
Anyway, that's far too long a story for anyone to read, but at least I've got it off my chest, and I am so relieved that this website is here for me, and us.
An update on Joy...
Earlier this year I was going to write that my IBS really has almost stopped to the point I was only using over-the-counter Movicol if I hadn't used the loo for a couple of days (I was C to D usually). I wasn't sure whether to attribute it to turning vegan (as I'm on the fence when it comes to IBS related to diet) but certainly since last December I had noticed I didn't really suffer any bad spells, and just got attacks when I'd had too much fiber.
All of that ended last month, and my doctor now says I'm having a bad spell. My flatulence knocks grown men over if they're walking behind me, I've felt nauseous at times, and I can't remember the last time I saw my toes (my stomach has suffered less bloating this year). My appetite is also really out of kilter. A pharmacist prescribed Colpermin which worked for a couple of days, then the doctor prescribed mebeverine which I've taken for a week with very mixed results (overall, no change unfortunately).
I'm so unhappy about this - the only things that have changed for me since the beginning of September is that I now eat apples (I wore a brace until then) and I wear a retainer since the brace removal. Perhaps apples were always a culprit but they never caused me such a problem in the past. Perhaps my retainer hygiene isn't what it could be, but then having a brace was hardly the height of infection control.
I guess I should have 'touched wood' when I caught myself thinking 'maybe the IBS has gone away for the foreseeable future'. If anyone has had a similar experience of going at least a year without too much hassle, then suddenly you get what you've been told is an attack, I'd like to swap shoulders to cry on.
E-mail Joy: jpsmiley[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Lisa
I started suffering from IBS five years ago, brought on by stress from a nasty divorce. I've been to my doctor, well several, and no joy. I was told to take Imodium for the rest of my life. Stomach cramps generally mean get to the loo now and quick. Very embarrassing. Bloating and cramps that hurt like hell. I hate food and basically eat salad, meat, fish and veg. Very boring.
I panic if I go out for a meal. I've just split up with my boyfriend of three years, and I think he found the whole situation tiresome and restrictive at times. Funnily enough it's my boss who advised me to look on the web whilst at work, and see if there was some sort of advice group. My IBS seems to rule my life and it really isn't fun.
The tale of...Julie
I have been suffering with IBS for seven years now. My IBS symptoms have always been the same, but over the last three months I now have other symptoms, some of which I was not aware could be linked with IBS - the lower back pain especially. My symptoms are running to the loo in the morning, bloatedness (to the point where I look seven months pregnant), wind, nausea, and back pain. I don't really get many stomach aches bizarrely.
It seems to have got steadily worse and I feel like I am at my wits' end with it all. I was diagnosed by my GP after I went to see him as I thought I had some sort of stomach bug. I told him the symptoms and was told I had IBS and was given Colofac. As the years have gone by it has got worse and worse and I am now at a stage where I feel I can't go out as I have to be near a bathroom!
I have recently been back to my doctor and she has decided that as I have never had any formal tests (other than bloods) she has referred me to the local hospital gastro unit and thinks they will recommend I have an endoscopy (which I am absolutely terrified about). I am also now going for a gluten intolerance blood test to see if that can be ruled out.
I am worried (like a lot of other people are/have been) that there is something else wrong with me (endometriosis is a big concern). I will be honest - I am a complete wuss with medical things - it takes all my courage just to see a doctor so if I make it to the hospital it will be a miracle.
My IBS is completely ruling my life - it is turning me into some sort of nervous wreck. I have tried Reiki which hasn't really done very much apart from making me feel extremely sick during the treatment, but apparently this is normal. I will probably try reflexology as I have heard that can be helpful.
I don't really know what I am asking you for - it is helping a bit reading other people's stories - as I say above I was not aware my back pain was an IBS thing - this has only come on in the last week or so and I was getting panicky that it was related to something else, but as my stomach has been so bad over the last three weeks I can understand it now.
Hopefully I will have a happy tale to tell about this at some point. I am just terrified about what I have to go through first and what I am going to be told is wrong with me and whether I can get any help with it. This is such a degrading, debilitating problem that is hard to both explain and to make people understand.
E-mail Julie: julie.richardson[at]cobbetts.com