Right – finally I am again living in a world where men are men and intestines are intestines rather than instruments of torture. Hurray.
I’ve been quite strict about keeping to a going to bed/getting up schedule over the last week and that seems to have done the trick. It’s still annoying to have to tailor your life around your stomach, but if it avoids the kind of experience I had last weekend then who really cares, it’s worth it.
I got to the lovely stage where (this next bit is not to be read by people of a nervous disposition) it felt like the waste was actually crawling further and further up inside me, and the middle of my stomach was starting to feel like it would much rather explode than push anything downwards. (Look, I’m sorry if this is disgusting, but as I’ve said before – this is a blog about irritable BOWEL syndrome, so I’m gonna have to talk about bowels. I wish it was a blog about ladybirds or something, but it isn’t.)
I think that “three-day constipation” feeling is one of my most hated feelings in the whole wide world. It feels like your stomach is constantly tensed and nothing you do can relax it, and the only way you’re gonna get relief is if you go to the bathroom, and you have no way of knowing when that miraculous event will occur. Yuck, and, if I may say so, bleurghh.
Still, gotta count my blessing – I feel fine today, I felt fine yesterday, and I may well feel fine tomorrow. That’ll do for now.
I was feeling great yesterday. I thought finally, maybe this nightmare is over. I thought finally, maybe I feel like my normal self again. Then, last night, in the middle of the night, I got a horrible pain in my lower right pelvic area. I didn’t know if it had to do with IBS or if it was something else. Then I started my period (sorry for the details) which made me wonder if maybe I have Endometriosis. My stomach pains do seem to come around my period time. I just don’t know anymore. So I took a digestive enzyme, and ate half of a goat’s milk yogurt, and that took the pain away, which made me think that it was related to IBS afterall.
So this morning I woke up thinking, “I’m going to have a good day.” My boyfriend and I went to the beach; I was fine. I ate some peanuts–they didn’t upset my stomach. It was really nice. And then when we got home, after ate some tomatoe soup and corn tortillas, I started working on my thesis. Well, it was around this time, that my stomach started hurting a little. It’s since calmed down, but is still a little uncomfortable.
But because of this, my depression has kicked in. I can’t stop crying. I just want to be able to work and live my life like a normal person without constantly worrying about my stomach. I don’t know if life is worth all this.
Sara – as a sufferer of both IBS and endometriosis, I can tell you that it’s very difficult to tell the two apart. The symptoms are very similar, and while I’m sure that I do have both (the palpable intestinal spasms tell me so), it’s hard to tell what the problem truly is. On my two most recent endo surgeries, I had endo on my bowels (just the outside of the wall, luckily it didn’t penetrate), and that can cause a lot of the same issues.
I had about a year of very little IBS after my last surgery, making me think that it is compounding the problem. If you think that you might have endo, I’d encourage you to do some research and talk to your doctor about it. It would be worth it to research specialists as well – the only relief I had came with my last surgery by one. Good luck, and I hope that you don’t have both – it’s miserable.
Sophie – I agree that the constipation is the worst, not only because of the pain, but because I know that the floodgates will be opened when I finally do go. I just ended a 7 day standoff with my intestines on Friday, and I’m still waiting for the aftermath – I know it’s coming, and my weekend was ruined because I knew it would happen.
*sigh*
Lisa
Hi fellow IBS sufferers! I have to say I have found some of your distressing stories rather funny! but hey, if we didn’t laugh we’d cry right? I’ve noticed a lot of you say milk is a problem for you – this IBS thing is all a bit new to me, but I certainly know where you’re all coming from, having experienced a lot of the same embarrassing symptoms and stories. What else should I look out for and try to avoid? Heidi x
Hi Heidi – welcome to the site! I don’t want to come over all strict and “moral high ground”, and I know that some people do find the embarrassing tales in particular very funny – but I don’t think it’s necessarily a good idea to actually tell other IBS sufferers that you’re laughing at their suffering…
As you’re an IBS sufferer yourself though I’ll let you off – it’s just that I’m a bit sensitive about this issue because now and again I find that someone has linked to IBS Tales purely to direct people to the “Embarrassing Tales” section as a form of entertainment.
Whenever this happens I can hardly believe it. Someone who doesn’t have IBS is actually sitting there, reading through stories of people in terrible pain, sometimes as young as 11 or 12 years old, and falling about laughing over it. What is wrong with these people?! All I’m saying really is that just because IBS involves bathroom issues doesn’t mean that we deserve to be laughed at.
Hi Sophie – how I agree about the regular bed times and meals – when I have a less busy week, and can keep to a planned routine, I often say to myself ‘ Wow! I am back to normal’! but then on thinking again, I have really forgotten what ‘normal’ is!! perhaps I will substitute with the word ‘manageable’ Though I enjoy planning my holidays, and in retrospect, have good memories of them, there is no doubt that jetlag and the change of diet, upset the ‘normal’ routine. It’s okay when I am staying with relatives, they understand and are very good about not forcing red meat on me ( my biggest digestive bugbear!’) and usually lay in a whole poultry farm in the freezer for me, as chicken is absolutely fine. Sophie – I am going to nit pick – it’s the retired teacher coming out in me !1 why do you keep referring to you ‘stomach’? It’s the bowels that are prime sinners in this condition – stomach is the preceding organ in the process and it is left to the bowels – small and large intestines – to undo the stomach’s good work !! I’ve got that off my biology teacher’s chest !! Keep smiling and writing your blogs – they do good work, as they serve to remind us that there are other victims out there, all trying to cope in our personal ways.
Hi Juliet – sorry if the stomach thing bothers you. I’m aware that irritable bowel syndrome is a bowel problem not a stomach problem – the clue is in the title! I do refer to my intestines bothering me quite a lot, but when I’ve got pain it just feels like a stomach ache rather than an intestine ache, so that what it gets called.
Had an argument with my boyfriend about “stomach”. I said I had a stomach ache and he said do I want some indegestion tablets? (follow mass argument about why the f*** would I want some indegestion tablets for my IBS).
IBS = irritable boyfriend syndrome (as he calls it) X
Hi Sophie, thanks so much for all of your help and experiences with this debilitating disease. I say disease, as that is the way I think of it. I wonder why it was labeled “syndrome”? I have been following a low fat diet ,excluding anything with wheat, that I know of, and have definitely noticed a difference. Attacks are not so frequent. Also tried Heathers tummy fiber which I ordered throught your website. Read her diet book and tried some of the meals she suggested. Great book and great tummy fiber, really made a difference. IN reference to the comment on things being funny. Your blog, although is filled with terrible experiences, also I noticed has a slightly humorous overtone. One has to keep a sense of humor in these situations or you will be totally consumed with depression. So don’t be too hard on someone who may get a chuckle out of their otherwise difficult day.
Hi guys – sorry if I came over all Mr Grumpypants there about the “funny” thing. The only thing really that bothers me is someone who doesn’t have IBS who reads these stories and gets a good laugh out of other people’s humiliation and sufferering, even when the person involved says how mortified they were. That’s just wrong, but it does happen because I sometimes see a referral from some site or other called “College jock humor” or something similarly mature…
I blame whoever it was who decided that bowels were taboo, despite the fact that we all use them. Stupid people. This might be the point to mention that I have also, over the years, received the odd email from someone who found my IBS story rather…well, let’s just say “exciting” and leave it at that. Needless to say those emails were deleted pretty damn quickly!!!
I am the father of a 22 year old with IBS. Your blog has been really helpful for me in being able to read about the discomfort and pain that IBS brings. Father/son here do not discuss the malady in such depth. This has been very informative. Seeking advice….my son is accepting that IBS has caused his life to be not be so “preplanned”. No travel or long trips away from home due to constant restroom need and physical discomfort. He’s frustrated and I want to help us become proactive in dealing with this issue. I understand that there’s no cure but what can you suggest as initial steps in terms of medication or seeing doctors. He’s been told by our HMO that he has IBS and it’s not curable. We have added fiber supplements to his daily diet. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Richie – I’m sorry to hear your son is a fellow sufferer. In terms of advice, well, to be honest I always find it a bit difficult when people ask me for advice – I’ve spent 16 years trying to fix my own IBS and haven’t managed it yet, so I’m not exactly an expert on the subject! It’s not really my place to suggest medications either I’m afraid, that kind of thing is really best left to the doctors.
I think the best thing you can do for your son is to find out as much as you can about IBS and the different treatments available. And if his doctor is just telling him that there’s no cure and not offering ideas for treatment such as diet info or hypnotherapy or drugs or anything else, then he should definitely try to find another doctor, preferably a gastro specialist. There isn’t any cure, but lots of people find something that at least eases their symptoms.
Hi Sophie, just found your blog and scanned through pretty fast so I might have missed something but I was wondering if you have charted some of your symptoms in conjuction with your menstrual cycle? I have ulcerative colitis for over 20 years and constipation is a rare rare event for me (a few years back I was silly enough to take an iron supplement as I worry about the constant blood loss with stools and oh my god the pain of the constipation was agony).
I find that around a week before my period I get slightly constipated, I’ve charted this for a number of years now. I’ve talked to a healthy boweled friend too and she says that she experiences this – and she also often gets digestion problems on the days of her period, I think that’s quite common.
Anyway, I’m writing this as I know that sometimes we get really angry with ourselves and search for answers about what we have done wrong, when maybe we have done nothing wrong. I was really comforted when I realised that these mild bouts of constipation were linked to my cycle. OK, it is always going to be worse around my period but I know that it will pass. Interested to read that you have seen that doctor, I’m thinking about trying to see him.
The problem with being a 20 year UC sufferer is that the hospital are not really open into looking into anything new. I recently was suffering a long bout of diarhhoea and when I had antibiotics for tonsilitis, the bowel problems improved too – yet ask my docs for regular CDSA stool tests and the answer will be no, that’s a waste of money.
hi,
i was wondering if anyone had tried colonic irrigation? I know someone who has tried it and it has seemed to have cured her IBS. As much as i dont warm to the idea i am feeling desperate and would do anything to ease/rid of ibs! any thoughts on this would be of help.
i know how you guys feel.i have been suffer from ibs for 8 months now.since i got ibs, i feel so deprsd. i was such a outgoing happy girl before looking forward to doing things, dres up.now i dont see the point especialy when my stomach sticks out like i am pregnant.i am looking to do colonic irigation.i hope this will help.cus i cant carry on with this any longer.it is taking over my life.iv wasted sooo much money,nothing seems to be working,and the doctors keep puting me on medication.please can n1 help.is colonic irigation sucsesful. thanks h.
Please Help Me….I will check that other website also that you suggested. I only have this severe pain one week before my period. I’m having a attack right now and tears are streaming down my face although it’s towards the end of the pain. I’m 46 years old and this started when I was 38 yrs old. If someone would watch me during my attacks they would see me do all kinds of weird twisting and running in place.
During this time it does matter what I eat ..even drinking water activates the pain… usually about 10 to 15 minutes later after drinking the water the pain comes.
Then when I go urinate, about within 2 minutes I’m surfering with pain again located on my right side,lower abdomen, riht about my vagina. This pain even wakes me up throughout the night. I put a heating pad on my stomach that feels good. The only thing I do notice is that I do not pass gas like usual during this time.
I can’t imagine anyone going through this pain everyday.
I`m a 25 yr old female. I was born with I.B.S! It`s genetic in our family, but only the female`s get it in our family! There is hope!!! Mine went away, when i was 23. I don`t have a clue how. (Laughing). When i turned 25, it came back!