women suffering diarrhea - page twenty-four
The tale of...Nancy
I spent from 4am to 6:30am on and off the bowl with a real nasty attack of what I have learned is called "the sherberts"...if you have IBS you know why. Up until recently things were more or less under control, but due to some very heavy stressors coming all together and from different very personal directions, about four or five weeks ago the IBS escalated. I eventually took four Imodium over a period of nearly three hours and finally got some rest.
Today is the toast, ginger ale and depression day. I finally ate turkey on white toast, nursed a beer and tolerated it well... and I have moved on to the bloaty passing gas constantly phase. Of course I am anxious about what to eat for dinner, even though I am feeling a bit hungry, and will worry myself about how the night will go. There are times like last night when I feel like it will never end and I will end up in the ER. Thankfully that has never happened, but it seems like it at that hour of the night when surely you are gushing away.
I have had this all my life as far as I can remember. It has a mind of its own...and seems to be cyclic. Sometimes I can go weeks or even a month just great and then it goes into a downward trend. When I feel good I can eat mostly anything and have only occasional runs. During the worst times, it's just ridiculous. I had to laugh to read that other sufferers know where all the bathrooms are, and carry Imodium all the time etc. I absolutely hate traveling, especially to NYC as there are stretches of road and worse the dreaded traffic jams which send me into a complete panic contemplating what to do if stuck on the bridge in bumper to bumper traffic for 45 minutes and no way out.
I just saw an ad for a new product called Digestive Advantage once daily for IBS, I wonder if it will help. I have tried Fibersure - I used to take it three times a day but the gas was so intense around 6pm I would go outside to hide it and it was crazy. I am down to twice a day. I can't take the calcium supplements as the pills are humongous and I can't swallow them, and most are made with oyster shell and that irritates my gut.
Well, it's horrible to say, but it's nice to know I am not alone in this, it comforted me this morning and encouraged me to actually go out with my grandchildren to the park instead of being afraid. How sad. And if any of you have any suggestions or ideas or stories please send them on.
E-mail Nancy: felty01[at]yahoo.com
The tale of...Meghan
I am so happy to find a "bowel" buddy and someone who can talk "poop" without being grossed out. The stories on this site hit home. I feel a connection with each and every story-teller. I have had IBS since I was 16. I am now 27. I try not to let it get the best of me and "ruin" my life. But I avoid certain events, outings, or food. The panic of trying to find a restroom in time makes the battle all the more difficult.
I was diagnosed at 16 after having horrid, piercing, knife-stabbing gut pain. I would double over thinking Lord, please what did I do to deserve this! At 16 years old, I had never been to a doctor, had any type of rectal exam, etc. This was very uncomfortable and embarrassing.
I had the "works" done on me. A rectal exam, a colonoscopy, and an endoscopy. Nothing. It was a sigh of relief but I still was not at ease because something was wrong with me. I have been on every medication from painkillers to anti-depressants. These drugs work miracles for a few months and then I become immune to them. But recently my mother read online about acidophilus, "Good" bacteria that promotes a healthy digestive tract. I take these pills two times daily. They haven't performed miracles but they do help.
I am an IBS sufferer with diarrhea. I rarely, if ever, have formed solid stools. When I do, they are painful and I feel like I am giving birth. The diarrhea is daily, usually after I eat. I get a gurgle in my stomach and then it's time to run. I can handle the pain but not the diarrhea. I have panic attacks that I am going to have an accident. I am on Paxil for the attacks.
I, knock on wood, have only had one accident. When I was in college. There was a terrible snowstorm...I had stomach aches all day. I came out to my car to find about a foot of snow and terrible driving conditions. I panicked and then felt the rumbling. I couldn't hoof it in the snow fast enough to get back to campus and then to my dismay....I let it all go. In the freezing cold.
I was wet, chilled to the bone, and soiled. They say to not eat yellow snow...don't eat the brown either! I had to drive home in "poop" filled warm mushy pants. My mother is the most kind-hearted, caring woman. I came home squishing and sloshing in my poop. I started sobbing. Like a baby, my mom helped clean me up and take care of me. Thank heaven for mothers.
I bless you Sophie and thank you for having the heart to put up this site. Good luck to you and remember there are people out there just like you.
E-mail Meghan: Meghan.Seely[at]oomc.com
The tale of...Susan
I'm pretty sure that I have been suffering from IBS-D all of my life. I clearly remember my mother coaching me on the toilet "get it all out, you'll feel better". Now I am 40 and have been hurting badly for the last year with a terrible bout of diarrhea that happens to me every single morning no matter what I eat or don't eat. If I do not eat...where is this coming from?
I have enough nausea and throw up enough to not have anything pass...but still it comes. Mucus-laden stools that "float" and I'm lucky to make it to the bathroom. Doctors are no good, OTC medicine doesn't help...there is nothing I can do but sleep to avoid the pain.
My body feels like there is a alien inside of me. Something is "scrunching" up my guts and twisting them around. Luckily, I am going for a colonoscopy soon, so the doctors may find what is wrong and help to fix it. After reading so many testimonies, I have a grim outlook on this getting remedied. Thankfully, my boyfriend, my family, and even work is sympathetic and understanding. I must get better.
E-mail Susan: susanhaug[at]comcast.net
The tale of...Anon
I am a 45 year-old woman who has been surfing the web in hopes of finding some kind of diagnosis that related to the symptoms I have been suffering from since I was nine years old. I came across this site and read the stories. I found myself saying "Yes...exactly...that's me...Oh my gosh, I'm not alone!" It was such a relief to know that there is a name to all these symptoms.
I had been repeatedly late for school as a child, missed or left during exams in college, and abruptly left meetings during work as an adult. (I would return to the meeting and then have to leave again 10 minutes later). When I was younger, the doctors said that they could find no medical reason for my daily morning stomach aches. They told my mother that I was having psychosomatic symptoms either because I found school stressful or because I was engaging in avoidance behavior.
In college I would have the embarrassing task of trying to explain to my professors that sometimes when I take tests I would get diarrhea. Recently, my symptoms have begun to increase during work at the most inopportune times. I try to use different bathrooms in the building during one of my episodes because I'm embarrassed about the number of times and duration that I need to use the bathroom.
As a teenager I used to think that there may be some invisible entity that enjoyed torturing and embarrassing me. I would be on a date and feel the familiar gurgling. I would plead in my head "No...not now...don't do this to me now". I would try to fight the pain and urge to run to the bathroom as long as I could. If I got lucky (which rarely happened), I would mentally thank "the entity" for sparing me.
One time I was on a bus with my basketball team. The bus had to pull over at a gas station. Everyone on the bus had to wait 30 minutes. I lied to the coach and said that I must have the flu. The team was late for the game and my parents had to pick me up at the gas station. I was too embarrassed to admit that I had problems with my "bowels".
The pain is sometimes so bad that I relate it to childbirth (I have three children). When I try to describe my symptoms I feel like a wimpy adult who can't take a little tummy ache. Or....like someone who exaggerates. I have had my gallbladder removed. I have tried natural remedies, over the counter remedies, change in diet, etc! But when an episode happens, it does so without prejudice.
I read in one of the stories on this site that a fellow sufferer of IBS takes a pillow and a trash can to the toilet with him. I take a pillow and have a chair close. If an episode occurs late and night I will sometimes fall asleep on the toilet. As silly as it sounds, I feel relieved to know that maybe I am not as weird or wimpy as I thought. I am not glad that others suffer like me, but at the same time I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone and this is not just in my head.