# Living w/IBS



## foxyinherforties (Feb 27, 2008)

Wow! I can't believe I haven't come across the website before.Here's my story: My IBS started approx. 23 years ago but it took me about 5 years to get up the nerve to check it out with a doctor. After a barrage of tests, and removing my Gall Bladder, IBS was confirmed. It's funny though when you tell anyone in the medical field that you have IBS, they always question you about how you were diagnosed. I guess there are a lot of people out there that have self-diagnosed this disease. A couple trips to the bathroom does not mean you have IBS!!! We can all attest to that. I have kept a food diary in the past and there is no specific item that will send me to the bathroom. There are things that will make it worse, but no one food group or item. I can eat a big steak meal at a restaurant, a baked potato with all the fixings and have no problem, eat the same meal the next week and have to use the bathroom before we leave, sometimes more than once.Anyway, I try to use as much humor as possible to get thru this. If anyone uses the phrase "Does a bear poop in the woods?" my kids will say, "Don't know about the bear, but my mom does!" There have been soooo many close calls and a few where I didn't make it. Luckily, all but one of those times have been on a mad dash home and at least I was there. The one time I wasn't so lucky I had to leave my panties in the bathroom trash can at a local theme park!! I would have apologized to the next person in line, but was too embarrassed! Just about everything we do and everywhere we go, my family knows that when I say "STOP!" it means now, doesn't matter where we are. The closest gas station, restaurant, abandoned building, gravel road, etc. I did get poison ivy on my back one time because we stopped on a gravel road (daytime) and I ran into the woods! There was one night we were taking gravel roads back home just to travel a different route and it hit me. I climbed out of the car, did my business and heard howling in the distance, got back in the car and said "That'll give them coyotes something to think about!" There are times we go places and I don't eat at all knowing the bathroom stops are just not possible, like an outdoor event with hundreds of people and two portapotties. When we were in Fayetteville, AR last year for the Bikers, Blues and Barbeque, I missed out on some great BBQ! Can't imagine the IBS kicking in while on the motorcycle, which is one reason I never want to be the lead bike!!!I do not suffer in silence! Most of my friends know about my condition and several of them have it, too. That way it's not a surprise when you take too long in the bathroom and they understand the STOP NOW command!! There are times when it makes me ill enough to leave work and go home and straight to bed. Some days I spend 20-30 minutes at a time in the bathroom at work several times during the day and feel terrible but continue to work the rest of the day because there is work to be done. My co-workers are aware and no one seems to feel that I am just goofing off or taking advantage of my employer. I have always told them if they see me heading toward the bathroom with a wild look in my eye - do not stop me! I do count my blessings because I know that things could be so much worse. I could have a life-threatening disease and am thankful that this is not. Life altering, yes, life threatening, no. So when I get the "why me" syndrome I stop myself and think about how there are others in much worse condition than I, like a friend who needs a second liver transplant.The company I work for will be moving to a new building soon and I am lucky enough to be in on the selection. We looked at one building and I vetoed it right away - it only had one bathroom for 25 employees!! The few times I have been job hunting, I had to be selective on where I applied. Is it a place where I can go to the bathroom on a moment's notice? Is there more than one stall? Is the bathroom in the main lobby? It's crazy but you have to think of those things. I could never be a toll booth worker or even a sign holder for the highway dept.! None of the medications I have tried in the past worked, I did the yogurt thing and it helped but not enough to justify eating it everyday (it's not my favorite). I may try the "Plant Enzymes by NOW Foods - Digestive Support (120 Vegetarian Capsules)" suggested by a fellow sufferer.I plan to visit this website often and try some "magic potions," one at a time, to see if there is something to help my symptoms. I promise to report whether they work or not and why.Thank you for letting me share.


----------

