women suffering constipation - page seventeen
The tale of...Jan
Reading all of these stories has made me feel lucky because I am 48 years old and I was only diagnosed with IBS two years ago, so I have had 46 'normal' years. My heart goes out to all the young people who have to live with IBS and are missing out on so much. It's not so bad for me but I have missed out on a lot too in the past two years.
My family know that mum 'has a bad stomach' and are very understanding, but they don't know the half of it. I have waved them goodbye so many times to go to theme parks etc because mum was 'too busy' (in reality too scared to leave the house and wishing I could go too). What is hurting so much is my daughter is 18 in November and for a very special birthday treat she wanted me to take her shopping in New York (we live in England). It should be a mother and daughter special time.
Well, I made excuses again saying I couldn't cope with the travel arrangements, but in reality I would love to go so much - the fear of IBS just makes me feel safer at home. So, Dad is taking her instead of me. I used to be so outgoing, now I am becoming a recluse and almost agoraphobic. I would love to e-mail with both women and men and hopefully share support with each other.
E-mail Jan: Jan321005[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Priscilla
I have been suffering with IBS for five years now. I am 25 and living in England. My symptoms started after a bad case of cystitis where I was given antibiotics which were so harsh they made me sick. Soon after that I started to develop problems with my bowel habits.
Originally my problem was pain and the ability to go to the toilet passing small stools. I would swell up and feel horrid, often resulting in difficulty walking. It took me 18 months to see a specialist in London and when I did he said that he could help me, and he did. He put me on anti-depressants, a low dose of amitriptyline, and I took that with amazing results. I was having a bowel movement once a day for a year. I felt fine and was in great shape.
Then my doctor changed. This was two years ago now and I have been struggling. They insisted that I come off the amitriptyline which I had to do myself, and since then I have been worse than ever. I did come off the amitriptyline, but it was a struggle because the symptoms got worse, and when you know something can help it is difficult on your own to try to come off it.
I am now worse than I have ever been. I see a homeopath and no matter what he seems to give me I am getting worse. I suffer now with chronic constipation with soft clay-like stools that are difficult to pass and are covered in mucus. I am also seeing a dietician and that seemed to help, but now I am not so sure as I am on this elimination diet and I am still suffering from the clay-like stools and constipation. Re-introducing food is difficult because I am always constipated so how can I tell if the symptoms are getting worse?
The worst bout of IBS has been in the last two weeks. It got so bad that I had to go to the doctor because I was so constipated, despite using Dulcolax, pessaries and also enemas, that I could not breathe. I had to visit my doctor in an emergency and he gave me some Picolax, the stuff they use before a colonoscopy. This cleaned me out completely and I felt fantastic for a day.
I am now back trying to pass these soft mucus-covered slimy stools that are impossible. I have been unable to exercise recently as I have got so bad with the IBS that I just wanted to curl up and die at times. I have been known to break down and cry, although most people don't see it. I rarely take time off work because I try not to let this affect my life, but it really does.
People say I am strong for coping with this but I don't feel it. It ruined in part my last relationship and I shy away from relationships, even though I would like one, because of this. I don't know about anyone else but I have a really crap sex life because of this as well. I even hate food because the way that I look at it is...if I don't eat it, it cannot get into my bowel and cause me problems. I am getting skinnier by the day and for a tall girl at 5' 11" it is not a good thing. My family are always on my case about that.
I would love to have just one month without any symptoms - it would be fantastic. At the moment it is day in day out with no let up. I am very depressed about it and I don't see any way out. I am also going to see another specialist and having more tests done because the other hospital failed me. My current doctor took an x-ray and showed me that my bowel was not emptying as it should do. I felt like saying...well duh...I already know this.
Now they are sending me for another test where I have to swallow a pill and they do a test to see how quickly the food passes through my system. I am not sure how that is going to help or when they will get around to seeing me as it all takes so long.
Currently I am taking psyllium husk capsules, magnesium and vitamin B. On top of that I am a regular user of Dulcolax and suppositories. Nothing seems to be working and I cannot have another attack like the last one, as the breathing thing scared the life out of me. I wanted to go on holiday this year but I am terrified about going. The last attack which is still going on was just so horrid. I don't know how long my body had been holding the food to get that bad.
All day long I seem to have this uncomfortable feeling in my bowel and not the slightest thing I do can relieve it. I am very worried about becoming reliant on laxatives. But more so I am worried about cancer, as it is in my family. The worst bit is explaining it to the doctors because they see constipation as a problem passing hard stools. I don't have that issue, mine is passing soft greasy stools. So all they give me is stuff to soften it further. It is a nightmare.
I know that my body is capable of going to the toilet normally as I occasionally have a bowel movement like everyone else, but I am getting to the end of my rope on this one. I hate my body and I hate myself. I long for the days of the amitriptyline which helped and I want some form of a life again. I am only young and I hate being like this. I want to have normal relationships and enjoy sex and feel confident in myself but at the moment that seems like a distant dream.
I am now resorting to extreme exercise as a way to get my sluggish bowels moving. I am going back to kickboxing this week in the vain attempt that the severity of the exercise might help. It used to but that was when I was on the anti-depressants. Sometimes it does involve being kicked in the stomach but to be honest that is nothing in comparison to the pain that the IBS gives me. Also it is a way of forgetting for one hour a week as it is good fun. I just hope that it does not mean that I get any skinnier otherwise I really will be in trouble.
To read an update on Priscilla see this page in the Happy tales section.
E-mail Priscilla: priscillathealy[at]yahoo.co.uk