# IBS... disability?



## prodigymad (May 18, 2003)

I have heard of really stupid things here in the UK that people are claiming as disabilities. Could IBS (especially IBS-D) be classed as a disability, or perhaps the panic attacks and fears of leaving ths house, or the mad urgency for the loo. They say disabled spaces are for easy access, then perhaps an IBS sufferer in a panic for a loo could be classed as such?I am sooooo sick of this 'Syndrome', constantly rushing around keeping an eye out for a loo somewhere. Its like drifting out into the sea, the further away you get from the coast the more you panic.


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## karber (Jul 31, 2003)

Kind of wish it was considered a disability, then maybe people could get help at school, work, or even with stay home businesses. Maybe insurance would cover more too, I don't know. Maybe then people would recognize your actually sick. Most people I know consider it a 'in your head' sickness and that just makes me crazy!


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## erin5983 (Mar 25, 2003)

You know, my college roommate has suffered from ulcerative colitis for years and she's classified as medically disabled and can get like priority housing at the university and stuff. Her symptoms are often so similar to IBS that I wonder why IBS isn't a medical disability as well. However, when I went with my parents to this amusement park, my mom requested to be labeled as a disabled person because she had recent foot surgery so that she wouldn't have to stand in line on her foot all day, and I was looking at what qualifies as a disability, and it definitely looks like IBS could qualify you as disabled when it comes to little stuff like that, because all you had to do to be labeled as "disabled" was say that you couldn't stand in line for long periods of time, which definitely qualifies for many IBS-ers...no way in hell would I be able to stand in a roller coaster line for 3 hours, lol. So I think that depending on the situation, if your IBS were that bad, you could proably squeak your way by with some "handicapped" situations. It was reassuring to me at least that they recognized that not being able to wait in line for long periods of time could be considered a handicap...can you imagine the disappointment of waiting in line for a ride for three hours then having to run out of line because of an IBS attack? Very frightening to me, which was why I was scared to death to go in the first place, lol. Anyway...just thought I'd share this on this topic.


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## trbell (Nov 1, 2000)

IBS can be a disability.Bada


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## KatieCC (Aug 27, 2002)

erin... ulcerative colitis and crohn's disease are disabilities because they are serious chronic diseases, that WILL kill you if they aren't treated. The bowel symptoms are similar but IBS won't make you severely anemic from a bleeding colon, won't give you arthritis, you don't get bowel obstructions, fistulas, or abscesses, you don't take steroids, immunesupressants, and low-dose chemo drugs that all have horrible and serious side effects, you don't need major surgery or possibly emergency surgery and multiple hospitalizations, you don't have to be tube-fed or do complete bowel rest and get all your nutrition by giving yourself IV's for 12 hours every day. I have UC and after going through all that, they still couldn't save my colon and I have a permanent ostomy bag.I'm not saying that IBS isn't bad. I know from having UC that urgent D 15 times a day and horrible abdominal pain are life-altering. But with UC or Crohn's you have alot more to deal with than those things. I'm not trying to say IBS isn't a big deal, I know it is. But UC and crohn's are really horrible diseases and that is why they are considered disabilities.kate


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## trbell (Nov 1, 2000)

kate, I don't want to make this into an argument, but 5% of people with IBS have it so severely that they are disabled. I am one of them. Disability is based on inability to work.Bada


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## Kestrel (Dec 19, 2002)

That's true in Canada too. I'm considered disabled at work because of my IBS and OCD. That basically means that my employer can't fire me for missing work due to those things. I can also get special consideration for exams and classes at my univercity. However I can't get a disabled parking permit because here it is based on your ability to walk...which I can do. I know that Chron's and UC are awful and I'm very lucky that I don't have to deal w/ all the baggage that comes along w/ it...just the general symptoms. However I don't think its fair to say that IBSers can't be considered disabled just because we don't have to go through what you did. We're lucky but that doesn't mean that our lives are perfect either. We do deal w/ the same symptoms as you guys and I think that's what should determine the disability...you're ability to live a fully normal and functional life.Hugz,Kestrel


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## KatieCC (Aug 27, 2002)

sorry, I think I gave you the wrong impression. I know some peoples' IBS is bad enough to keep them from working, or doing anything, and I believe that in those cases it should be a disability.But it upsets me that people confuse IBS with crohn's and UC and think that since the bowel symtoms are similar, they are the same thing. wishing you good health in the future







Kate


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