# IBS --- A-Levels



## jess01 (Sep 4, 2012)

Hi there, My name is Jess and I am going on to do the last year of my A-levels. I have not been fully diagnosed with IBS by a doctor as they have not ruled out other things but I'm sure it is as it comes when i eat something and it doesnt agree with me. The last three weeks of term before the summer holidays this year is when I became I'll with IBS. I had the last 3 weeks off as I couldnt go to school, it was like it hit me really hard for those entire three weeks but then went away during the holidays. Occasionally I had some bouts of it, espeically during exam results.. I was so stressed and for me stress was a big factor and brought a bout of IBS on. I am so worried about returning to school (tomorrow) as for me IBS just pops up every now and then. I can be fine one minute and the next have bad stomach cramps and urgently need to go to the toilet. This year I have so much work to do especially as I am going to be applying for university etc. I dont have the time to take days of school all the time because of IBS bouts when they decide to occur, especially to get the grades I need for uni. Im not a student who is naturally academic, I need to work hard to achieve well so you can understand why I am worried about being off school left right and center. Since understanding about IBS my life seems worse because I know about it than it did before. It's getting in the way of things, and once having an attack I become paranoid to go out or eat again as I am afraid I'll have the same thing happen. I am so worried I'll have an attack during a class, and with A-Levels as some of you might know, you get double lessons which makes it worse to sit through when in pain with abdominal cramps. Not only is this a problem but it is embarrassing if you need to go to the toilet during school, especially as some sixth formers use it as a social ground! I am really hoping that someone out there is the same as me, and has had some experience about this and can share it with me, I am lost at what to do...







Thanks, Jess x


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## Arcade (Jun 29, 2012)

Hi Jess,First of all I think you've done a fantastic thing just to go on here and talk about your emotions and honesty of IBS! That takes some guts, so well done







.My name is Jack and I'm 18, so I've just had my A-level year. I came down with IBS during my January exams, which was also related to stress. As I'm sure you know it can really get in the way of things! I had several lessons where I just had to either get out of the classroom or stay there with my stomach churning like hell. I never mentioned IBS to people exactly, I just said 'stomach pains' and that seemed to work well as a euphemism for all the horrible things happening in the boys toilets! So basically don't ever think your on your own, there are probably more people than you think in the same boat, even at your sixth form, we're all in it together







.Now, for college I would talk at some stage to all your teachers about your condition. If you have a private chat, and as long as you let them know that from time to time you may have to urgently leave the classroom, then they should be fine, and actually surprisingly sympathetic. Can you sit somewhere near the door in class time? That way if you do need to dash off it won't be as noticeable.The exams office in my college were also very accommodating, and for exams I was placed in a separate room away from the anxiety of being with everyone else. If I was churning or if I did have to go to the toilets, I could do it in peace with no one else noticing. The time you take to do whatever is given back to you at the end of the exam.With the double lessons, I would make sure you take a big bottle of water. If you feel yourself getting stressed or anxious, just take a sip of water, breath calmly, relax and try to focus on the work and not any symptoms of the IBS. Water can also help IBS anyway, plus if you're seen drinking water people will naturally assume that when you go to the loo its purely because of the liquid and not IBS!Are you on medication? I took 'Loparamide' and 'Mebeverine' tablets during my last few months of A-levels. Mebeverine is a stomach antispasmodic, so will help to calm the stomach down and relax the muscles, whereas Loperamide tablets essentially block any diarrhea. If your school is by a Pharmacy of any sort then have a look in there, they are available over the counter as the brand names 'Immodium' (loparimide) and 'Colofac' (mebeverine). Hopefully they will help and they are always worth a try!Finally, while it is true that the second year of A-levels has more work than the first, as long as you organise yourself, deal with deadlines and leave plenty of time for revision, you should be absolutely fine. Get lots of sleep and never forget that you can still enjoy yourself despite the workload. I forgot that, I got so caught up in exams and uni that I was so stressed. Good luck!


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## refuse to live this way (Apr 25, 2012)

Jack, that was very nice of you to help Jess along with your experiences. It's nice to see that the younger generation hasn't forgotten how to be kind and helpful. Jess, I hope you take his advise, it looks like he has been there and done that and you might be able to learn from his experience. Best of luck to both of you in college and hope you both start feeling better soon.


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## jess01 (Sep 4, 2012)

Arcade said:


> Hi Jess,First of all I think you've done a fantastic thing just to go on here and talk about your emotions and honesty of IBS! That takes some guts, so well done
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## jess01 (Sep 4, 2012)

Hi Jack,It is so nice to finally here my worries throug someone else! Lately it feels like it is just getting in the way of everything, and im worried how i will get through the day, and the only way i can figure that at the momment is to not eat! (Riduclous I know) I cant thank you enough for your advise and i shall deffinatly use it! I usually take a bottle of water in to exams with me anyway, and to be honest it wouldnt suprise me if i have got this through the stress i had working up to my exams. I was up so late at night finishing coursework, (2am in the morning) trying to cram revision in which i never had time for and everything went out the window! do you have any major triggers atall? Thank you for the advice i will deffinatly take all this into consideration!


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## Arcade (Jun 29, 2012)

Hi Jess,I'm really glad I can offer some help







it nice to know that the experiences I have gone through didn't all go to waste! I know exactly what you mean about the feeling of it getting in the way of everything, like you sometimes have to plan your day around it, it can get depressing sometimes, you feel it restricts you from living your life how you want. I had a huge flare up in the middle of my last lesson of college and also at my Leaver's Prom, but sometimes you've just gotta keep going. Your doing an amazing job at dealing with it all! It takes a special kind of person to deal with IBS I think so well done, especially in your A-level year. So if you ever have any horrible experiences with it just try to hold your head up high and smile! It may seem daunting right now at the start of term but just keep taking it day by day.With the food, Eggs, Meat, Rice and Potatoes should be absolutely fine if you can cater your diet around those for the time being! Everyone acts differently to food but try those for now. Sometimes its all about going back to basics. You may want to search for the 'FODMAP' diet, which is a new diet said to help IBS sufferers and gives a more detailed look at good and not so good foods. (http://cassandraforsythe.com/blog/Complete+FODMAP+List+For+a+Happy+Gut)My main trigger is stress and anxiety, but to be honest with the medication now I really have very little to complain about. Oh, and onions, that's the one thing anyone will tell you is avoid onions if you can!


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## AoifeNnn (Nov 8, 2012)

Hi Jess







I'm Aoife! After reading this I really felt like I had to reply. I'm from Ireland and I'm in leaving cert which is basically the equivalent of A levels so I completely understand how hard it is to cope with ibs in a stressful last year of school, between studying and the workload AND uni applications.
I'm 17, almost 18, now and I was diagnosed with ibs when I was about 15 I think, not too sure.. Two years ago my ibs became SO bad that I missed so much school I was pretty much forced to repeat a year. Looking back, that was definitely the best thing I ever did because it gave me a few months to get my ibs under control and relax before getting into all the hard work. Last year when I was repeating that year my ibs stayed fairly well under control apart from a few pretty bad flare-ups. Unfortunately since I came back to school in september it has gotten a lot worse. The best advice I can give you is NOT to let yourself be put under that pressure to stay up until all-hours finishing work, trust me, I've done it and I've learnt the hard way that it makes life so much worse for yourself. For example, if I stayed up til 1 or 2 am working one night, I would spend an extra 4-5 days recovering from that night. In my opinion, it's much better not to have work done on time than to get it done and then miss a week of school instead. You need to prioritise and put your health before school. Yes, school is important but there are ways around it. If you don't look after yourself you will spiral into the dark hole that is ibs and that's very hard to recover from. There's a reason ibs is so often connected to mental health issues - it completely takes over your life, you have to put control on it. When I was diagnosed two years ago, my doctor described it as a badly behaved child which needed a bitta manners, and it couldn't be more true.
You mentioned that you hadn't been diagnosed with ibs yet but I don't know if you have been since. If you have, then you need to inform your school of it so they may be able to make accommodations for you. Don't worry it's not as bad as it sounds, I mean things like allowing you leave classes for the toilet whenever you need, giving you more time with assignments etc. Also, I don't know about the A level exams but I know for the Irish leaving cert it's possible to do your exams in your own centre so there's less pressure and if you have an ibs attack, you can deal with it without worrying about other people around you - you should inquire about that. 
Another thing worth looking into is whether UCAS have a method of support for students who have illnesses/disabilities. Again, I'm not that familiar with the British system I just know that in Ireland we have a scheme which allows you to get into college on slightly lower grades if you have a medical report which has been accepted. 
The main things I can advise you to do are - Sleep as much as you can. If you're not already taking it take Colpermin - it's a natural medicine but very effective, also if you can get a prescription for Colofac it's great too. Drink LOTS of water. Be honest with your teachers, if you were too sick to work, tell them and ask if you can hand work in the following day, most teachers are fine as long as you explain. Make sure you make time for yourself to wind down, this is SO important. Exercise is hugely helpful too, whether it's going for a walk or running a marathon it'll still help, I only started exercising after I was diagnosed and I can't put into words how much it has helped me. Write down EVERY SINGLE symptom you feel in a little notebook and rate the pain from 1-10, this is a good way of tracking what sets your attacks off so that you can avoid them. Be honest with close friends about being ill, it makes it easier for you to accept, trust me.

That's all I can think of for now but I really hope this has helped you somehow and that you are coping with your ibs at the moment. If you have any questions or would just like to talk I'm definitely here, we seem to be in pretty much the same situations. Best of luck with your exams!!


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