# New to IBS and trying to cope with college, changes



## psuchick402 (Jan 6, 2008)

Hey. I'm a 21 y.o. female and recently have been diagnosed. It all started when I went abroad to Italy. I thought what I was having was a reaction to the food, so I began to eat the Activa yogurt all the time. I was still able to eat dairy, drink, etc.I came home and was VERY sick. Lots of pain. This was May 2007. Lucky for me I had a pretty chill summer but I was extremely depressed, getting many many tests without anything helping. That is when I began a no-dairy diet (including no whey or products made with dairy) and I took Prilosec because I had lots of acid and also FiberCon.Well, this past Thanksgiving, I was so desperate that I got a colonoscopy and an upper GI. Everything looks normal so I am unfortunately diagnosed with this disease.I get depressed sometimes, don't want to go out or go to class but I must push myself.What worries me is I will be graduating this may, and I worry with my potential job. I don't have one yet.I used to be the girl that was on the go 24/7 and now I can't cope with a slow-pace lifestyle, especially in college. I sit at home on weekends just to catch up and relax, which is boring and I am afraid to lose friends. I can't go to bars or to parties (because, honestly, it's hard to describe this to people.)I have a boyfriend and he is VERY supportive through ALL of this, but I don't want to lose him either.What does everyone do when they get a flair-up, I mean when their is swelling? My abdomen is swollen and I never know what to do to get it down other than a hot bath?I am so happy I found this place with people my age coping.







I thought I was all alone.


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

Sorry to hear you've got IBS-- its not all bad though. There are things you can take or do that will make it easier with time. ANd think about it, it could be worse. You don't have a degenerative disease or inflammatory condition. Oh, and this:


> I am unfortunately diagnosed with this disease.


IBS is not a disease, it is a syndome, which means its a collection of symtoms basically!Have a look around the site, gather some info. The same thing doesn't work for everyone, so its a lot of trial and error. I however have found hypnotherapy particularly helpful!I hardly take any medication anymore!Nikki


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## Pazta (Jan 8, 2008)

i'm a 24 year old guy in england and have suffered similarly to you. Mine started in Feb 2006 when on holiday in Spain when i got bad food poisoning with serious diarheoa and sickness. It subsided but about a week after getting home I started to get abominal pain and rumblings with more wind. It got worse and worse and went to doctors many times and had so many types of pills I cant even remember them all and have had ultrasound, colonoscopy and endoscopy and everything is perfectly normal with me.I have spasms and terrible wind and belching as well as general movements and sensations in my abdomen and have got very depressed over it all. I have accepted it better now and take antidepressants but found it affected my social life profoundly and didnt go out very much which in turn makes me more depressed. My girlfriend has stuck with me however but i do feel I am drifting in life waiting for it just to go away one morning. Its a 365 day a year curse.I still feel bitter about it...what if i hadnt gone to spain etc etc...but i guess you just have to deal with it. I am having counselling and am steadily accepting things better but have very little success with diets, acupuncture, pills, anything basically (bacteria yoghurts/pills). I know exactly how you feel.Have you spoken to your doctor about how it is making you feel? Maybe counselling will help you adjust?


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## unspoken (Jun 17, 2007)

Hi, welcome. I was officially diagnosed in June last year after a stomach bug but I've had some symptoms of IBS for a few years, it just got a lot worse in June. I've just been doing exams and I feel really tired and I've been feeling sick on and off for the past 3 days. I finished my exams today and I'd just like to chill out and go to bed, but my friends want me to go out drinking with them. I don't want to go because I can't drink alcohol or soft drinks either really because carbonated drinks hurt my stomach and I can never be sure if drinks contain artificial sweeteners, which make me have a serious digestive reaction and mess things up for several days. So everyone else will get drunk, they'll ask me why I'm not drinking anything, I'll get bored and feel ill. Not to mention it's pouring with rain. There's a lot of peer pressure to drink drink drink at my uni.Anyway, enough about me, just to say, I know how you feel. I do worry about jobs and that because I get tired so easily and if I don't sleep enough I get ill. My older sister has ME and has graduated from university after quite a struggle but now can't actually do anything and I wonder whether I'm going to end up the same. Still, one thing about IBS is that you don't feel so bad all the time, it's not much consolation but I feel thankful when I can have a day where I don't feel ill. It's also good to talk to other people who are in the same situation and trying to get through uni and jobs and stuff. Also, if you can, talk to the disability people at your college, because I have other special needs for which I get to take my exams in a separate room with just a few other people and I get extra time and to use a computer, and exams are so much less stressful these days than when I was younger and had to do them in a huge hall of people by hand.


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