women suffering diarrhea - page two
The tale of...Shari
I've had IBS since I was...born. Honestly I remember when I was young, every time I ate it seemed, I got sick. Nausea, sweating, and diarrhea. I am now 33 and have found that I have good days, and BAD days (I call them poopy days).
On these days there is no such thing as safe food, anything I eat, even ramen noodles or a well done hamburger (the two things I can almost always eat without worry) will make me sick. The only thing that works is Librax and three Imodium tablets. I take at least two Librax a week, have been for years. It makes me tired, but it's better than sitting on the toilet for literally hours a day.
Luckily I work in a place without a lot of people, and when I'm traveling I simply make sure I take a Librax no matter how I feel as a preventative measure.
The biggest problem is the nausea that has started to come with it. I have a pitcher in both of my bathrooms, I tell people they're for rinsing off my dogs when I bathe them (I have three dogs) but it's so that I can throw up while sitting on the toilet. I am hoping that it won't get significantly worse as I get older, but I know it will. And that's my story.
The tale of...Tracey
Where do I start? IBS has finally won. After years of running to the toilet at understandably anxious moments, like boarding a plane or going on a fairground ride, I then experienced the next stage. I ran to the toilet at almost any trivial moment, especially if I knew I couldn't get to a toilet (the mind is a powerful tool!).
I then started to suffer IBS symptoms due to the trauma of my bowel movements. I suffered from the "labor" type pains, bloated belly, slimy stools, belching, etc, it was so bad I actually thought I was dying from cancer. A locum doctor's answer was Mebeverine, he might as well have written out a prescription for sherbet lemons for all the good it did me.
I knew I was the prime candidate for IBS, I had two lively boys, a new job on the road whilst swotting towards a new qualification, a clean house and no ironing pile. I thought I was wonder woman, and could keep going and going (how wrong I was).
It all took a turn for the worse this Christmas, suddenly during the starter at my work's Christmas meal (which I, wonder woman, had organised!) I started to suffer from chest pains and had trouble taking a breath coupled with large amounts of sweat.
I went to the toilet (I had already checked them out earlier!) and was very confused as to what was happening to me. The next day the same thing happened in my house when my sister and brother-in-law visited. Before they visited I told myself that I hoped I wouldn't suffer the same feeling as the night before and lo and behold I did.
I then worried about worrying and feared fear. Within just two days I was too frightened to venture outside and receive visitors in my own home. On Christmas Eve, my mum, God bless, took me to the doctors where I saw my own doctor who said I was suffering from panic attacks and anxiety due to the symptoms of IBS.
He prescribed Amitriptyline which has calmed my stomach down and resulted in my first "normal" bowel movement for ages. The drug has also acted as a "chill" pill and I am trying to chill out a bit more and not worry about the pointless things in life. At the moment I suppose I have a happy ending but IBS has taught me to never take anything for granted, it can happen to anybody at any time.
The tale of...Andie
I have had IBS since I was 11 years old. I remember the first time I experienced it was with an attack. It was so much pain that I thought I was dying. I was younger and I had my mom in the bathroom with me and I told her to kill me because I just could not take it.
From that time on I experienced all the signs of IBS. Nervous stomach, always worried that I would have an attack. It was probably one of the worst times to get it too. I was going through puberty, which is already an uncertain time and I had to deal with IBS as well.
I got depressed, I became mildly anorexic because everything I ate hurt my stomach. Eventually the pain got so bad that I would pass out. One of my worst times was in school. I had just gotten my period and was having terrible cramps already and then an attack hit.
I got up to tell the teacher I needed to go to the nurse and all I saw was red. I have the type of IBS where I'm extremely constipated and then have an attack with diarrhea. I feel for other people who have this condition, especially those of us who got it young.
The terror of having an attack when you have no idea what's wrong with you is unimaginable. One positive things I can say is that I feel like such a strong person for being able to get through this because I know that during the attacks I have strong urges to end my life. Over the past few months my pain has gotten a little better and I'm hoping that it stays that way.
E-mail Andie: weezergrl138[at]yahoo.com