women suffering diarrhea - page twenty-six
The tale of...Trish
I was diagnosed with IBS in 2005, along with gastroparesis (delayed emptying of the stomach). I have not been able to hold a job because of this. I have occasional flare-ups, but that is not my worst symptom. It is the bloating. It is so severe I look extremely pregnant. I think I have bloating from the gastroparesis and IBS combined.
I keep praying that there will be a cure someday. I am 42 years old, and I have a college degree but I can't use it because I got sick, out of the blue. I was fine one day (never had any problems with stomach or bowels ever) and the next morning I was sick. I am convinced that it is stress-related because I had a breakdown right before I got sick. I think it is very unfair to have to live this way. I've tried all kinds of treatments, meds, herbs, but nothing works.
E-mail Trish: lagirl1966[at]peoplepc.com
The tale of...Samantha
I am 19 years old and I was diagnosed with IBS about two weeks ago by a gastroenterologist. I have had symptoms from as young as I can remember, and when I was diagnosed I thought that IBS was no big deal and would just cure itself. After reading through the stories on IBS Tales I am most upset to find out that there is no miraculous cure.
I experience really bad stomach pains, bloating, and nausea, as well as bouts of constipation and diarrhea. What saddens me most is that I have a 14-month old son who I know is also going to have to suffer at the hands of this dreaded IBS because I never feel well enough to do anything with him. My poor fiance has often had to miss work to take care of our son as I was feeling too poorly to get out of bed, but his boss got on his case and he almost lost his job. So now without his help during the day and him working long hours I find it very difficult to try to look after my son as well as cope with my symptoms.
Not to mention my period is due in a couple of days time and I am dead scared of it coming. I am in the worst pain to the point that I lay on the floor crippled over with my head in a bucket at the same time as looking after my son. Unfortunately my fiance can't take any more time off work so I know I have to face this by myself for the first time ever. The painkiller Raffen 200 helps me a little during my period and the gastroenterologist recommended Buscopan as the only thing that may provide some relief. I am also seeing a specialist dietician in a few days time.
Hopefully I will find something that will work for me as I am scared I will lose my fiance because of this IBS or be too scared to have more children. Unfortunately I never feel well enough to eat so I often don't cook dinner for my fiance even though he comes home from work hungry and tired. I feel like such a burden on everyone and I just pray that something out there can help me.
I would really love to be able to talk to another sufferer as well as be there for them. So please feel free to contact me as I believe you will become my most valuable friend indeed. I hope that someday I will have a story to add to the happy tales section of this website and I sympathise with each and every one of you.
E-mail Samantha: inquisitive_creatures[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Kim
I have suffered from IBS since I was 18, when my gallbladder was removed. I am now 39 and it only seems to get worse as the years go by. I recently applied for disability but was turned down flat. The rejection letter I received said that due to my age and my education that I should be able to find a job doing something. I don't understand what my age and my education has to do with the cramps or the endless bathroom trips I endure every single day.
I plan to appeal this as soon as possible. I never have understood why people think IBS. isn't disabling. I also have a bad back but I could still work if that was my only problem. I have had so many jobs it isn't funny. But they all end the same way, either I get fired because I can't fulfill the job's requirements because I'm in the bathroom too much, or I end up having to quit because I get so sick I can't even go into work and miss too many days. If anyone has applied for disability because of IBS. I would love to hear your story.
E-mail Kim: kac71730[at]yahoo.com
The tale of...Jessica
Hello fellow IBS sufferers! I am here to present my sad tale, thank you in advance for reading it. I am 25 years old and about five years ago I was in an abusive relationship. That ended two years ago (thank God). Appearing right around the middle of my abusive relationship was diarrhea and horrible abdominal pain. Since then I have had predominantly diarrhea, with occasional constipation.
My symptoms are: diarrhea, sweating, nausea, vomiting (sometimes), cramping, severe stomach pain (like someone is ringing out my intestines), nocturnal awakenings (pain that wakes me up from a sound sleep), back pain and the newest one: heartburn.
First turning to my gynecologist because the pain in my stomach was so low on the left side of my belly, I thought it was an ovary problem as I do have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and they wondered if I had endometriosis, so I had an exploratory laparoscopy. That turned up nothing of course, but I mised almost two weeks of work and had more horrible pain.
Then after a few months my PCP referred me to a gastroenterologist. He wanted to rule out colitis and Crohn's disease, so I had a colonoscopy, but nothing was found. Tomorrow I am scheduled to have an endoscopy. In the middle of all these tests I have also been diagnosed with PTSD from my abusive relationship.
I have now lost 25 pounds in the last four months, and the doctors are concerned. I am down to 160 from 185 just four months ago, and I am five feet nine inches tall, do I am looking pretty skinny right now. I always feel run down and tired, my stomach always hurts, it is just the degrees of pain that vary.
My GI doctor prescribed hyoscyamine, which is a smooth muscle relaxant; it would work great if I only knew when I was going to have an attack. Depending on when I have the pain, if I take it as soon as I have the first twinge of pain it works pretty good, and it definitely helps with the spasms. It's like I get this pain in my stomach and I can just feel the entire contents of my intestines liquefy. Also like the other stories I have read, after I have an attack it feels like I have been punched in the stomach, like I have a bruise.
Anyways, I enjoy reading these stories and I am glad that I am not the only one. Iif there is anyone else out there who wakes up with severe pain in the middle of the night followed by horrible diarrhea, I would love to hear from you because my doctor deems that the reason that it might not be IBS even though that is what my diagnosis is...thanks again, and please email.
E-mail Jessica: silentmeow12[at]gmail.com
The tale of...Kandice
I am a 19 year-old girl from Utah. I have been suffering from IBS for several years now. It was really comforting to find this website and to know I wasn't the only one suffering. I have been from doctor to doctor and all I get is "Yep, you have IBS". I know I have IBS! But what's causing it?? I will never stop until I find a cure!
All I know is that if everyone else who has IBS goes through as much pain as I do they will be fighting for a cure also. My IBS is keeping me from working a normal job and from starting school! I wanna be like any other 19 year-old girl out there. People don't understand what IBS sufferers go though day-to-day and I wish they could, then maybe all the "It's all in your head" people would shut their mouths! Anyways this site is very comforting and I wanted to share my story.
E-mail Kandice: kandiceb18[at]yahoo.com
The tale of...Stephie
I have had IBS since I was a pre-teen and now I am 43. Everyone thought I was bulimic or anorexic. I was a manicurist for years, but I had to stop. I would start sweating and trembling and then I would have to run to the restroom. It was bad because I was working at the La Costa resort and then the Four Seasons resort, doing manicures and pedicures for movie stars and very wealthy clients!
I was treated for IBS but it is always the same thing, they want to give me something with an anti-depressant in it also! The doc says that it helps some IBS sufferers, but it didn't help me! Imodium is number one right now!
Thanks to Kirt, who I've been with for six years, I don't have to work, but I would like to get my life back. He is losing his cool with this also. I can't eat for two days if we see his parents, and then I am still worried I will have to run to the loo! And he says don't use too much toilet paper, or I wake him up all night going, going. One more thing is that it is worse around my time of the month, mine is getting really bad! Can anyone help?
E-mail Stephie: kirtwatty[at]sbcglobal.net
The tale of...Julie
I have been suffering with IBS for seven years now. My IBS symptoms have always been the same, but over the last three months I now have other symptoms, some of which I was not aware could be linked with IBS - the lower back pain especially. My symptoms are running to the loo in the morning, bloatedness (to the point where I look seven months pregnant), wind, nausea, and back pain. I don't really get many stomach aches bizarrely.
It seems to have got steadily worse and I feel like I am at my wits' end with it all. I was diagnosed by my GP after I went to see him as I thought I had some sort of stomach bug. I told him the symptoms and was told I had IBS and was given Colofac. As the years have gone by it has got worse and worse and I am now at a stage where I feel I can't go out as I have to be near a bathroom!
I have recently been back to my doctor and she has decided that as I have never had any formal tests (other than bloods) she has referred me to the local hospital gastro unit and thinks they will recommend I have an endoscopy (which I am absolutely terrified about). I am also now going for a gluten intolerance blood test to see if that can be ruled out.
I am worried (like a lot of other people are/have been) that there is something else wrong with me (endometriosis is a big concern). I will be honest - I am a complete wuss with medical things - it takes all my courage just to see a doctor so if I make it to the hospital it will be a miracle.
My IBS is completely ruling my life - it is turning me into some sort of nervous wreck. I have tried Reiki which hasn't really done very much apart from making me feel extremely sick during the treatment, but apparently this is normal. I will probably try reflexology as I have heard that can be helpful.
I don't really know what I am asking you for - it is helping a bit reading other people's stories - as I say above I was not aware my back pain was an IBS thing - this has only come on in the last week or so and I was getting panicky that it was related to something else, but as my stomach has been so bad over the last three weeks I can understand it now.
Hopefully I will have a "happy tale" to tell about this at some point. I am just terrified about what I have to go through first and what I am going to be told is wrong with me and whether I can get any help with it. This is such a degrading, debilitating problem that is hard to both explain and to make people understand.
E-mail Julie: julie.richardson[at]cobbetts.com
The tale of...Helena
I've had IBS for about a year now, but it has gotten worse in the last six months. I hate it so much, it's completely ruining my life. I now get regular panic attacks about being 'caught short' (which hasn't even happened yet, thank God), I spend my whole time worrying if whatever morsel of food I have just eaten is going to trigger an attack.
At the moment I can't eat a thing without it going straight through me. It doesn't help that I have depression as well, although I don't know that the two aren't linked in some way. I am only 21, I used to be a really happy bubbly person, I used to be able to go to parties and festivals and clubs and just have a good time. Now I can't even drink and I hate socialising.
I can't eat in front of people because I get too nervous, I don't go out and the only place I feel comfortable is my bedroom where I can just wall myself away from the world and try to meditate myself back to being calm. I hate IBS, it's so unfair and it's made my life hell. My doctor has not been at all helpful, and the whole thing is too embarrassing to talk about. I have spent the last month completely suicidal.