men suffering diarrhea page five
The tale of...Joe
Mine started three years ago now. I had a week of stomach pains every time I ate. I more or less fasted for that week. Last year it came back, with the pain starting in the morning and by two or three in the afternoon I'd have to go home. Towards the end of that bout I'd start feeling queasy and throw up.
At the time I thought it was just the pain that made me throw up, since I'd be curled into a little ball wishing that I could die. That went away for no apparent reason, but came back again this year.
This current episode has been going on for four months now, with sweats, vomiting, chronic pain, bloating and gas. The bloating also seems to put pressure on my bladder so I have to pee regularly. I don't seem to get constipation or diarrhea (thank God), but all the other symptoms are there.
The doc has tried me on sulfasalazine, mebeverine, Colpermin, but the only thing that seems to have any (slight) effect is co-codamol (codeine & paracetemol). I've tried a gluten-free diet, but there is no obvious trigger. I've lost two stone this year and I'm now on food supplements to stem the weight loss.
The tale of...Dale
Well I am a firefighter for the air force so you can imagine some situations that I am put in. Anyways one night we had a plane crash so of course I go out to the emergency. About 20 minutes after fighting the fire I have a attack which there is nothing I could do about but suffer. Luckily I controlled myself enough to last till I got back to the station. That's one of many stories that I have.
I do get tired of my friends - fellow firefighters - telling me that IBS is nothing. I'm tired of trying to explain IBS to people, they just don't understand. I tell myself everyday I wish everybody in the world had it so they can understand what we go through everyday.
Right now I'm still trying to accept that I have it. I have not came to terms that I have IBS although I have had it for over 10 years. I just bought The First Year of IBS so hopefully that will help me because I need it. I don't think I have the willpower to stop eating all those foods that irritate my stomach. I just hope that I can get the willpower to follow the diet and hopefully on day I'll be able to control IBS.
E-mail Dale: Dale394[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Mike
I've been suffering from IBS for about four years now, I'm 42. When it hits me I am constipated for a few days then diarrhea for a few weeks. This goes back and forth for about four to five weeks. There are times when the pain is so bad, I just lay in my bed in a ball and scream. Nothing I take seems to help.
By the time I hit my third week I've gone through so much pain that it has now worked its way to my ribs and back. BUT one of the worst things is that no one believes that the pain can be that bad. Friends and family often give me a hard time. I sometimes wish I had cancer or a heart attack, at least then they MIGHT understand that.
E-mail Mike: mike[at]webrnet.com
The tale of...Richard
I am 35 years old and have had IBS for over five years. It started for me over five years ago after a second bout of food poisoning. Unfortunately after this I was referred to a gastroenterologist at the local hospital, to which he diagnosed IBS. I at least had a name for my stomach troubles!
I have seen the changes that this condition, said not to be serious but very debilitating, has made to my whole life. First my job as a postman of 13 years suddenly finished because of the constant bouts of sickness and failed attendance due to my IBS, also relationships have failed because of constantly letting girls down at the last minute, and friends in general who although sympathetic do not understand how much of a disappointment it is to not be able to socialise as often as I would like to!
The main symptoms for me are abdominal pain, bloating, indigestion and troublesome diarrhea. I think it is good to be able to talk to other sufferers, perhaps to offer different views on diet, exercise programmes, lifestyle, and various other ways that might just help the other person with IBS who has not tried a particular option.
I am now at college studying computers and IT to change my working outlook, and I will continue to discover other ways of coping with my IBS!
The tale of...Ryan
I am a 20 year-old male, with no known GI defects or complications that run in my family. For the past two years I have experienced many strange bowel symptoms. I don't know who to turn to. I have seen various doctors about my "condition." I don't know who to believe.
I have done fecal/urinal tests, had a sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, biopsy, barium x-rays and so on. Even at my age, I don't understand what could be wrong and it seems the doctors just think I'm complaining about nothing.
I believe I am relatively healthy. I eat fairly well. I swim as often as I can. I have tried various drugs as well. The one I recently tried, Dicetel, a large bowel muscle relaxant, doesn't seem to have worked. I've been taking it for about two weeks. At first everything was normal, I felt great, then suddenly a few days ago the diarrhea started, then constipation.
I seriously don't know if anyone cares or has any ideas. I don't wish anything like this on anyone else. In this day and age we have the technology to find out what's wrong with us, the problem is the waiting lists. Good luck to everyone else.
E-mail Ryan: Raider98[at]excite.com
The tale of...Jon
I wrote here several months ago about problems with IBS and how it has been NEGATIVELY affecting my life. In those months I've essentially come up with some tips that have helped me quite a bit and thought I would share them, and hope it helps some of you as well.
- Stay active. As scary as an attack is and as frightening as it can be, keep going to work, having your social life and exercising. I've found the more days I lay idle and be a couch potato the worse my symptoms will get and they will last much longer.
- Don't fret or stress. Worrying and concentrating on the disorder are going to do nothing but put even more stress on your mind and body. it will NEGATIVELY affect you and the people around you the more you worry and limit yourself
- Find trigger foods that might set you off, or seem to correlate with attacks. For me I notice imported beers (loaded with preservatives) really give me aches, pains and dizziness. Onions, processed cheese, sour cream, fatty foods, candies, chocolates and sweets, as well as canned pasta (anything with a tomato sauce) tear into me as well, and eating one serving of them can literally HANDICAP me for days. Yesterday I indulged and had a couple of beers, canned pasta and a hamburger for dinner, it was delicious, but 24 hours later I'm still paying with a VERY angry digestive system.
- As embarrassing as it can be try to release gas no matter where you are. It can be embarrassing and sometimes smelly but there's a REASON your body is trying to get rid of it. I often think that if it's coming out like that, my body doesn't want it in there.
I hope this helps some people, I know a lot of it is common sense but it has REALLY helped me a lot. At work on my lunch breaks I make a healthy sandwich with fresh deli meats and margarine. When I eat out I usually go to a local sub shop that makes everything fresh (including the breads) so you know everything is sans preservatives.
I find cola and dark-coloured sodas really irritate my guts to so I try to wash my food down with water or sprite, and juices can also bother me. These are my "safe" foods, and in no way are they limited, there's still tons of options of things I can eat and still feel relatively healthy. I do have attacks during the week, but I only have a handful, and most of them are only a one-time deal, at the most I'll go three times then be done with it.
These changes have positively helped me, I haven't had a sick day at work in months other than having the flu. My relationship with my girlfriend has BLASTED OFF again, we're going places and doing things, plus my eating healthier and better has influenced her as well to do the same, which makes going to alternative restaurants and shops much easier.
Right now I am in the midst of an attack, but I can live with it. I do ignore it to an extent, I obviously can't ignore waking up delirious in cold sweats having to evacuate but I know it will pass and I find comfort in that. If anyone else has any tips/thoughts feel free to email me. Hope I can help someone out there!
E-mail Jon: ketchuptaco[at]yahoo.com