teenagers suffering diarrhea - page ten
The tale of...Amy
I've had IBS for a year and a half now. I'm almost 17. I get the worst kind of pains in my lower stomach, it feels more like someone is stabbing me in my intestine over and over. I've been to urgent care and doctors and now I'm seeing a stomach specialist. First he prescribed an anti-depressant, but when I took it I woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever. Now I'm on new medication, but it hasn't been helping me. I've probably taken over four different medications but nothing works for me.
I get bad severe stomach, back and rectum pains, and weird unexplained bubbling embarrassing noises. I have a bowel movement two to five times a day. It's ridiculous. Now I'm having anal bleeding, and first I thought it was outer hemorrhoids, which I've had for years, but now it's practically dripping blood. It's either inner hemorrhoids that busted or something I have no clue about.
It got so bad that I had to drop out of school, I was constantly made fun of and had constant pain in my stomach, and I couldn't pay attention to school. I don't know what I should do. Hopefully the medication I'm on now will help me in the long-run.
E-mail Amy: rockingrl1057tp[at]aol.com
The tale of...Katie
I'm a 19 year-old female and I have recently been diagnosed with what the doctor called 'a case Of IBS'. I didn't know much about IBS prior to this, other than that both my Nanny and Gran-aunt are sufferers. The doctor wasn't very helpful, he didn't inform me of any way to control my problem or explain much about it.
I first noticed that something was wrong with my bowel functions when I was in my final year in school. I was sitting my Leaving Cert exams at the time and began noticing that my stomach was severely bloating every time I ate. I began to get very self-conscious as it results in very unattractive stretch marks around my belly button and hip areas. Nerves and added stress were what I believed triggered my diarrhea. It was only on a very small scale at this time however so I just put it to the back of my mind and got on with it.
However it's now a year later and I'm sorry to say putting it to the back of my mind is no longer an option! My condition is always my first thought in the morning and my last thought at night. I started college last September and I've come to the assumption that major environmental change and the added stress of being away from home is what has caused my condition to spiral out of control. It came to the point where I would think of any excuse not to attend lectures in the fear that I would have an attack. My flatmates began to notice and enquire whether I was OK. I just put it down to me being tired or wanting a break from study.
The second semester of college was even worse and my attendance was at its worst. I was afraid to commit to any teams, to go to the gym, to sit in lecture halls because of the fear of needing to get up in the middle of a lecture and disturb the whole room. I was too embarrassed at the thought of having a diarrhea attack in a bathroom on college grounds. I'm generally a shy person so IBS is a total nightmare to me.
I thought that I was celiac at first and cut wheat out of my diet. Although it did help for a while it didn't take longer than a week or two for the diarrhea attacks to become as bad as ever. My next assumption was lactose intolerance and again I tried a diet without any dairy in it. Unfortunately this attempt failed like the first one.
I eventually gave in and visited my family doctor. I went to him with the assumption that I'd need a food allergy test but he straight away told me all my symptoms were pointing at IBS and that there was no cure for it except to get more regular exercise and to try keeping a food diary to monitor what foods triggered the BMs. He gave me Spasmonal Forte for the pain, which has not helped at all.
Since then IBS has literally been ruling and to my dismay ruining my life. I'm afraid to commit to anything. When my friends ask me to go out with them I always hesitate and I've often turned down offers out of fear of getting an attack. None of my friends Know about my illness because I'm too embarrassed to tell them, but I'm finding myself increasingly depressed as a result of IBS.
In the last month my IBS has been a little more relaxed than usual. I've been able to control my need to use the toilet and avoid certain foods, especially ice cream which is a killer! I do however always carry Imodium in my bag just in case. I don't like to rely on it too much though as it makes my stomach worse in the long run.
However today my symptoms have been totally different than before. I have never before in my life experienced constipation but I think from what I have been reading on this site that my symptoms are indeed that of constipation. The pains in my stomach are horrible and I've been bent over for the last few hours on and off in total agony and discomfort. I'm so fed up of having IBS, and I literally do not know what to do anymore. I'm finding it really hard to deal with it all. I've also noticed that my hair is beginning to fall out and I'm getting bad headaches. I've been to the doctor and he reckons it's all apart of IBS but I don't know if it is normal or not?!
This site has been a great comfort to me and I'm so glad I found it. It's good to know that others (especially my age) suffer from what I do and any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
E-mail Katie: kt-mc[at]live.co.uk
The tale of...Michael's son
My son is an 18 year-old senior in high school. He has IBS for years, and this year has been the worst of all. He is being home-schooled most of the time. If he is not sleeping he is on the computer. He is afraid to drive or go out because he might have to go to the bathroom, and sometimes he sits in the bathroom for hours at a time.
We have taken him to all doctors, a dietician and even acupuncture but nothing seems to help. He is going to college in September, a county college in NJ. I am praying he is not going to be afraid to go. Can you please help me and my family with this illness?
E-mail Michael: jmkrane[at]optonline.net
The tale of...Helen
I'm 15 and I've had IBS for a few months now...and I hate it. At first I thought, well, I'll try to eat healthily, take my meds and everything will be fine. Nope. I was wrong. It just seems like everything is getting worse. IBS has definitely made me so anxious and so depressed, I've thought about killing myself. I also have developed a social phobia.
It's really hard being a teenager and dealing with this, it's like all my friends are going out and having the time of their lives, but I can't. These are supposed to be the best years of our lives, but IBS makes it hell. And I really don't think people understand, because they're just like...well...if you have to go to the bathroom then go...but the pain is very bad, and you can't just get up in the middle of class and go to the bathroom.
And because of all the stress and anxiety of school this will probably be my last year and then I will be home schooled. I don't want to be home schooled I want to go to school with all my friends but I just can't. I want to go out and have a good time with my friends...but I can't. I just wish things were the way they used to be.
E-mail Helen: helen07_12[at]yahoo.com
The tale of...Emma
I'm 14 years old. I was diagnosed with IBS in September this year but I had suffered from it for over a year beforehand. It started a week after I had turned 13 and I was on a school trip to France. I became ill and had diarrhea and I had to keep rushing to the bathroom. I pretended I was vomiting. It was so embarrassing especially as we were traveling and in a different country.
It has traumatized me and ever since then I have suffered from IBS. I have also gained many other lovely disorders relating to my IBS and anxiety such as social phobia, OCD, depression, panic attacks and various others (all of which make my IBS worse). I went to cognitive therapy this winter and they managed to help with my depression and panic attacks but they couldn't help with the rest because I have an 'underlying fear' and 'I need to sort out my IBS first'.
I also came very close to an eating disorder, I lost a stone in weight in just over a month as I used to eat very little in the fear of having an attack. I thought that if my body was empty there would be nothing to cause the diarrhea/constipation, but no it just made my cramps all the more unbearable and made me feal nauseous.
I am always so embarrassed and very self-conscious about my condition. I am very shy now because of it and I have very low self-esteem. I am constantly missing school because of terrible cramps and diarrhea attacks. I rarely go out with friends and stuff just in case I have an attack and I'm too afraid to date a boy I like in case he doesn't understand.
Sadly it seems IBS is winning my battle, but I shall keep fighting. I am going to hospital in May where they will do tests, so fingers crossed they will help and find a way to control it. I am also trying in vain to convince my mother to let me try hypnotherapy as I think it would help my anxiety disorders as well as my IBS.
Every day is a battle for me and I am taking a variety of medication to try and help. I just wish more people knew about it and were aware of it and that I didn't have to be embarrassed because of it. I have had many humiliating experiences and can only look forward to more in the future.
The tale of...Megan
Since I was 13 I have been having stomach trouble and IBS-related symptoms. Now I am 15 I still face the same problems, but I am beginning to cope and accept it. I've lost count of how many times I have been to my local doctor's surgery. My mum would take me there, worrying about how much school I was missing, and each time they would give me a little bit of hope in 'curing' this illness. This only led to disappointment as the diarrhea and abdominal pains would still be going on.
Numerous blood tests to see if I was celiac or anaemic; all coming back with nothing! I got extremely frustrated as nothing seemed to be going on. All the doctors thought I was faking to get out of school, but thankfully my mum didn't believe them - she has been very supportive over the past two years that I have had the problems. I went to the doctors again recently and I have been given an anti-depressant called amitriptyline. I am on a very low dose and I start taking them tonight so fingers crossed they help out a bit!
My IBS was at its worst when I was first diagnosed with it. I was in my 9th year of school so fortunately I wasn't missing a really important year, but still I got lonely at home and missed seeing my friends. Through this time I became really depressed, some days I just cried and cried because I was too scared to go anywhere without desperately needing the toilet - the one thing I could always rely on to make me feel happier was music.
A teacher at my school was very helpful, she sent work home for me to do regularly so I felt a bit more 'normal'. My friends were also very supportive and still are to this day. My GCSEs are soon and I have arranged to sit them separately to the rest of the students in my school, hopefully there won't be as much stress!
Overall, I think IBS has ruined my life. It gets in the way of my social and school life and I hate having to cancel plans with my friends because I'm not feeling well enough to go out. I am very lucky to have two very supportive best friends who are always there when I need them and a set of friends who are lovely to me. My mum helps me out, her and my dad's diets have changed to try to suit my needs!
The only thing is no-one seems to understand what I go through, they think I can just forget about it and try harder to stay at school or go out more, that I should just grow up and hold it in but then I can't! I understand that I wrote a lot and some people may not read it but it was really nice to write it out and get it off my chest!
The tale of...Charissa
I am 16 and I just found out that I have IBS. It started in the beginning of the year. I usually try to stay at home, because I seem to have IBS whenever I go out. I can't really eat anything because the next second I'll be rushing to the toilet. Even in school my friends constantly ask me why I skip recess or why I go to the toilet straight after I eat. I just manage to somehow come up with a lie, cause it's just too embarrassing to tell the truth.
Even when eating at home with my family, I often have to excuse myself just to go to the toilet. It gets even more troublesome when I have my period. My stomach is bloated at all times and this gets noticed by some of my friends, which leaves me badly embarrassed. This then leads to them asking why a skinny person like me has such a big stomach.
The worst part of IBS is the pain, which makes me wanna cry. I have tried endless medicines but nothing seems to work. But recently I have been given another medicine and it seems to be getting slightly better. Well, I can only hope for the best now.
E-mail Charissa: peanutbutter-me[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Corey
I am 16 this year and I'm in the fourth year of high school which means a lot of work, exams and studies. I have serious problems in the morning. I get up at 6:30am, take my tablets which are: IBS Clear (peppermint), Colic, Inner health IBS, and aloe vera juice, which are things recommended by the doctors I see, then I brush my teeth without breakfast, sit on the loo, have a shower, sit on the loo again, and if good, head off to the bus at 7:00.
I have missed out on so much school it’s not funny and I am having serious trouble with my work and teachers. Just recently we had a parent night at school where we go and meet all my teachers, and most of the results were bad and good because I had done most work to standard results and handed it in on time but I was doing all the work at home and not in the classroom which stops me interacting with the students and teachers.
I am a computer game freak which does not help because for me to get into a gaming career I have to be at school completing classes which is very frustrating. I live in a small town with no facilities so I have to travel on a bus to get to school which upsets my stomach even more.
The tale of...Meredith
In the fifth grade I was diagnosed with IBS. Now at 15 my symptoms have only got worse. I have awful cramping and get sick often. I'm so afraid of the pain that I've developed an anxiety disorder - so I'm nervous when I get sick, and getting sick makes me nervous. I've been stuck in a loop like this for four years.
I've tried cutting things out of my diet such as wheat, grease, butter (I basically just eat grilled fish and broccoli now) but if I make even the smallest mistake I get sick. I miss a lot of school because of my IBS, and even when I'm in school it's hard to explain why I left the class for 20 minutes. I only want to feel normal and hang out with my friends, but for now I have no way out of this. Good luck to everyone with this condition.
E-mail Meredith: M.Wilkie[at]sbcglobal.net