# IBS and how it came to be for me



## Britt7689 (Mar 20, 2017)

I am a 27 year old female, who recently realized she was suffering from IBS. Here is my story...

My mother was diagnosed with MS at 25, and was a stay at home mom. She never had a job after she lost most of her eyesight due to MS, and as we got older and my parents separated, she went out less and less. From and early age I remember her having issues when leaving the house. She would constantly need to use the bathroom, even if she purposefully didn't eat anything that day to avoid such issues. We always just thought it was anxiety and in her head, since she didn't go out much.

Fast forward to this past summer. I went to a concert with a few family members, and we tailgated and enjoyed the show. Towards the end I started to get a migraine (long day in the sun, loud music, bright lights....not too surprising as I was a person who is very familiar with migraines). The difference this time for me was the nausea. I've always gotten migraines, but I chalked it up to possibly having eaten something wrong while tailgating. I used the bathroom before we left, and laid down in the back seat with a killer migraine.

Halfway through the 45 minute ride, still feeling very nauseous, I started to feel like I had to severely use the bathroom. My stomach was in knots. My boyfriend who was driving at the time, told me we were still 10 minutes from the closest rest stop. I tried to hold it and wait until we got there, but about 2 minutes later I told him to pull over. Luckily, we were in a very wooded area and it was dark so I went and did my business, but was panicky. I felt only slightly relieved and still nauseous rest of the way home. As soon as we got back I had to use the bathroom and thew up the rest of the night.

It was after that that I began to notice that car rides made me sick. First I didn't make the connection, with just chalking up the occasional issue as a stomach ache, or having over-eaten, or something. It gradually became more severe, and I realized that the car was the issue. It brought me back to that night and the nervous feeling of "going" before being able to reach a toilet. For a while I was able to combat it with making sure I was the one who was driving. That worked for a while, but then it got to the point where the THOUGHT of being in a car later on in the day made me feel like I had to use the bathroom all day. The closer the car ride would come, the worse it got. I would cancel plans, only go places that were close, just to avoid this. I realized that I now knew exactly what my mom was suffering from, and that she likely had IBS too.

I started to realize I had a problem, and went to my doctor. He told me it sounded like IBS, and I am waiting to get blood work done. Since then I have done a lot of research. I was using pepto-bismol, but it would only work for a short time and when my symptoms got worse, not at all. After searching online i started using Immodium, which honestly has been a LIFE-SAVER. It is the only thing that gives me relief. My only concern is that after I take it (I usually take two and then if I still feel like I need to go a lot, and I am using the bathroom often I take one more), I often don't go to the bathroom for a day or two. When I do, I go a lot. My concern is over using the Immodium, and do not want to use it as a long term fix. Once I get my blood work done and see a gastroenterologist I will be able to find the relief I need.

It's also important to note that I used to be a workout fanatic, but two years ago stopped working out regularly due to having two jobs to pay the bills (plus, everyone knows how expensive those memberships are!). I am not even close to overweight but have certainly gained weight since, and do not eat as well as I I used to. Add that along with family and money stresses, I am sure that more than one thing is causing my IBS. I really hope to get a handle on it, because you don't realize how much you miss out on.

Thank you for listening!


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## buddy4me (May 8, 2017)

I too was taking too many immodiums just to get me through work. I had to stop as it has a rebound effect with constipation. Work stress always makes the Ibs. We get no lunches or breaks and no bathroom breaks! I ended up getting an intermittent FMLA WHICH PROTECT MY JOB WHEN I HAVE TO CALL OFF FROM BEING SICK. I try not to eat fried or spicy foods, but I can't avoid it all together. When I do have bad flareups I stick with the Brat diet until it subsides.

I definitely know what you are going through. I wish I could say it gets easier. About the other thing that gives me comfort is knowing that Ibs doesn't cause other serious illnesses or cancer.

If I could find a way to relieve stress, it would definitely make things better!


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