# Public Toilets



## scoresagain (May 1, 2009)

i am an IBS-D sufferer and have been for about 5 years, i can actually pinpoint the day my symptoms started.i used to love on a winters morning drinking hot blackcurrant juice before i went to school, and one day i had a drink before i left. of course as soon as i got there, i needed a bm, now of course i didnt particularly like using a public toilet for a bm before then, but there was no way in hell i was going to use the school toilets. no way. ever since then i have had the IBS. not wanting to leave the house until i am 120% sure i wont have to use the toilet. every morning before school i would feel i would need a bm. i also suppose that if i was going to have a nice normal solid stool i wouldnt mind as much, but the embarassment of d and wind is something i cannot stand.now days 5 years on, i will only use a public toilet as a VERY last resort. i was at a lionel richie concert last month and i had rather naughtily gone to pizza express beforehand, i know that with pizza the head says yes, the stomach says no, but i thought i could risk it. but no, extreme bm. i did say to my mum (it was her birthday present) that i would go as soon as he came on, when everyone was watching! but i held on...he played easy to start i would have ripped my bowels out if i had missed it!i used the normal gents to begin with, but the second time i had to go, i used the disabled toilet. it made me feel better as no one can see, smell or hear what you are doing, but being spotted coming out of that toilet is hugely embarassing.i have even come out of football matches before the kick off because i had to go home to use the toilet.being able to make a spontaneous decision to go out with my friends is now impossible as the first thing my mind jumps to...will i need the toilet.oh for a normal life!i have also recently started exercising regularly, and get exercise induced d! haha top my life off why dont you!anyways i was wondering, am i the only one who refuses to use a public toilet or am i being entirely pathetic


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## ciao-bella (Nov 23, 2008)

hey heyah, I know what you mean, I hate using public facilities, but I guess it's often a case of when you've got to go, you've just got to go! I have huge issues if I say i'm going to the bathroom when I'm with friends and then one of them is all 'oh yeah, I need to go too'.....and then you're stuck, you don't want them to know, but you still have to go!I find I really can't go if there are other people around, I'll just try to hold it till the place is empty, or if it's not possible, till someone flushes or puts a handdryer on, so at least they can't hear me!







plus I always have a mini deodrant in my bag so I can try to conceal it! Trickier for a guy though, I guess!Hehe, they should make special IBS toilets for us all, that we could use without all the stress!also 'with pizza the head says yes, the stomach says no' is the story of my life!


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## scoresagain (May 1, 2009)

Hi!yeah i'm from liverpool. wer r u from??my ibs generally comes when i am worried just incase i need to go when i am out. i spend a good half an hour before i go out trying to go, just so i dont have to when i'm out! i dont eat when i am out just incase i have one of the bogey foods and all hell breaks loose, excuse the pun!if i have to go in a friends, i hold on and go home!sometimes though thats even worse. i was at the pub last year watching the football, and the game went to extra time of course, being nervous made me want to go, so i ended up walking out and going home then coming back...the problem was that everybody knew exactly why i had left, that was even more embarassing!are you in the same boat as me claire?


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## scoresagain (May 1, 2009)

i did make an excuse! that was the problem, i just said oh i cant stand this am going home...then went back!i found out a few months later that as soon as i walked out one of the lads said, hes gone for a poo. which i think its even more embarassing than soiling myself in front of them all! well maybe not!yeah i hate using public toilets and avoid at all costs.i hold on when i can, but if i cant, obviously i have to go!


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## mn_maggie (May 7, 2009)

Well, I do feel your pain since I usually get incredibly painful d when I go out on the town, however, I refuse to mess my pants. So, if the only choice is a public restroom, I make sure there's plenty of TP. Some to line the toilet seat and plenty for.. well, more traditional applications. I find it's really helpful to find the places with the cleanest facilities when you go out so that you can use those first if you must resort to public restrooms. I refuse to stop at certain places if I know that the rest rooms are below par. That might be helpful because although they're still public, they're well maintained and are therefore, not quite as disgusting. Oh, and the exercise induced d is such an pain. I was told to start working out to help my symptoms, but I also have problems after a workout. I guess it's all a work in progress... trying to figure this out.


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## scoresagain (May 1, 2009)

hey i'm at uni at the moment!and i live about 10 min walk away, by the time i reached my street i was desperate! RELIEF!!and no i'm not being treated at the moment, my doctors just kind of dismiss it, you have ibs deal with it kind of thing!


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

I hate public toilets too, but as I get older i've realised that sometimes you need to use them so as not to disrupt your life too much (I say this as i've gone sick from work due to IBS). The one we've got at work is a nightmare- single cubicle right in the middle where everyone can see you!


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## katyleanne (Jun 13, 2009)

I cant stand using public toilets, so much so that I actually dont go out much anymore, just incase an attack comes on and I dont want to be ill in public like that, especially as I dont have any transport and would have to use buses and such to go home, nightmare lol. However when ya have to go, ya have to go, I hate it though I didnt have any warning but had to go reallly bad when in Asda couple of weeks ago, luckily there was a little girl in there that insisted on keeping running the hand-driers so hopefully no-one could hear or suspect lol, but its still hugly embarrasing, especially as you dont know whether you'll have to run back to the loo again in like 5 mins time or something, but Im totally with you on this about public loo's I'd rather hold it and go home but unfortunatly thats not always an option! x


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## IBSucks (Jun 14, 2009)

WOW im so happy that i came across this discussion. i can relate to so many of thoughts and feelings that were mentioned.i honestly believe that my fear of using public restrooms triggered my IBS. when i was younger id be always be afraid to use public faciliteis, which made be always conscience and paranoid about when i use the bathroom. In order to be normal and be able to hang out with friends or go on trips-- i would avoid eating and load myself up with Imodium. as depressing this was- it was the only way i could stay "normal". now that im few years older i just tend to avoid these situations when possible--but its making me "anti-social" and depressed. i know i wont be able to live my life with this on my mind all day. and yes it is on my mind 24/7. and like others mentioned -you think about it more when away from the "safety" of home --which often causes it to get worse -and make you go. whenever one of those 'emergencies' happen- i feel horrible- like i have no control over my life. I want to be able to go to law school- . but how will i concentrate if ill be thinking about my stomach so often? how can i be in class at 8:00 AM- if it takes me 2 hours to get out in the morning- cause lets just say my stomach isn't too good in the morning and i got to clean myself out to avoid having to use public restrooms?and how bout the biggest fear--- being stuck in a place with NO bathroom?!?!?!?! well this is what i go through on a daily basis- and at least somewhat comforted that i have discovered that im not CRAZY- as there are other people with similar issues


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## scoresagain (May 1, 2009)

hey everyone!i am doing so much better now days!!i have started losing weight, 2 and a half stone so far, and with that my eating is better, so therefore my ibs is better!i stil get the odd attack, but i went to see a cricket match and had to stay at my mates flat...with a communal toilet! shock horror! but i think it helped that as soon as i walked in my mate shouted to his flatmate, 'next time you drop one like that lad, give us a heads up!'my mate is so much like me its unbelievable! and hes entirely not bothered! he put my mind at ease, by announcing he was going for a dump to me whenever he was!so that made me feel ok! of course i thought that situation was alright, if i was in my girl mates with an in room toilet it would be different, but its helped me! if i can avoid it i will, but if i have to i can now. its great!also because my diet is so much better, i feel more confident...and also cos i feel great...still a very big lad like, but you couldnt guess my weight from looking at me, i carry it off quite nicely! but being more confident about myself means i'm more confident about my little demon.its not gone away, but its more manageable than ever and thats a good thing!


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## chitownguy26 (Jun 20, 2009)

I hate them as well but there are times I have to use them. I’ve been at bars and clubs where I have had to use them because I have a hard time holding it in. I’ve had a bad attack at a street festival and had bad diaherria and had to use a port-a-potty which was awful. I know if I am going to be in a public place I usually like to have Metamucil or something before hand so I go and I try not to eat anything while I am out.For the most part since even before I had IBS me and friends have always been honest and will say “oh im going to take a sh*t.” now when I say I am going to the bathroom they tease me about it, usually I don’t care because others have medical conditions and they get teased as well. The only time it bothers me is when I meet someone and they say hes go the ibs.I’ve had to leave places because I couldn’t stop going. I’ve been to bars that don’t have toilets just urinals and I had to leave friends so I can go to another bar to have a bm.As I am typing this I am waiting to see if I have to go again before I go out. I want to go to a street festival but I’ve already had 5 or 6 bm today and the last one I saw a little red in one of the pieces, but I also have had a lot of food with red sauce today but also it could be from wiping 6 times which happens.


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## Kelthink (Jul 28, 2006)

Hi scoresagain, I'm from nearby (Southport FYI). What uni you at? Just out of curiousity...Anyway, on the subject at hand, you really do have to care less about troubles of public loos and all that jazz. I don't find Liverpool city centre that bad for toilets, I usually know all the decent haunts for a quick getaway. You really do have to not care what others think, it isn't your fault you've got the condition. Smells bad? So do other people! Gonna be a while? Tough on other people! Remember other people have a better ability at 'holding it in' and all the funk. You do have a selfish attitude for the toilet, it does help.


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## JmL (Sep 1, 2009)

Hey all, I tend to avoid public toilets as well. At times i've caught the bus back from uni just as i've arrived cos my stomach starts acting funny and i know i aint gonna have a #### where people can hear/smell it. It's embarrassing and it messes with your life, but i'm gonna have to plough on through or say sayonara to my education, I suggest you do the same even though it's gonna be difficult.I recommend that you carry these three item's that'll help you out: 1) Body spray 2) Toilet paper - Never know when you may need it 3) Bottle of water - to clean yourself up.That's the equipment i'm planning to having to help me out this year.


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## puzzel (Sep 13, 2009)

boy can i relate! im a bathroom expert. i know where the bathrooms are in every place i ever spent more than an hour in. malls, stores, friends houses, you name it. i know which ones offer a higher level of privacy and which ones have air refreshiner. im so afraid of spending time where theres no bathroom or i cant get to the one there is. at a meeting or a college class that its considered pretty unexeptable to walk out of i get so stressed out just worring about that that my guts go into fast foward mode. i usually end up walking out anyways. ibsucks, what exactlly abt public brs are you afraid of?


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