# IBS affecting school exams?



## prefertoremainunknown (Jun 8, 2013)

Well basically I have IBS, I think it's not that severe. Mine alternates between diaherrea and constipation and well bascially I'm just wondering if I'm not the only one who feels like IBS is affecting my exams.

So in two weeks I have my mock exams, which is just practice exams before the real exam which is in May. I'm currently doing 3 a-levels which is about more than a hour per each exam and to be honest with you guys I'm literally panicking and freaking out whenever I think about doing the exam in the hall. 
I've noticed for me that whenever I'm in the exam hall my stomach starts to make these noises and feels like bubbles moving in my gut so I'm guessing it's probably gas and I just get super self conscious about it and I start to get really embarrassed because it's in front of everyone and I don't know if people can hear it or not but I just get panicky and then that's when my anxiety kicks in, my heart starts to beat faster and I feel it more and that's when I just wanna get the hell out of the exam room and I just can't take it and sometimes I'll start to shiver and my legs or hands might start to shake and that's when I just totally give up on my exam and focus on calming myself down by breathing in and out until I can get the hell out of there. My IBS hasn't really ever affected me in school except for the strange and embarrassing noises which sometimes sorta feel like vibrations in my stomach too. And also I've experienced abdominal pain a few times which once lead me to go and do diahherea in the toilet for like the first time which was extremely embarrassing as I have like a phobia of using school toilets other times I've just managed through the pain until I get home....so I'm not particularly sure a spasm will happen to in the exam hall and hopefully it doesn't so in all honesty I guess the only thing to do is just not do my exam in the hall...maybe doing else where? But here's another problem.

If I wanna do my exam in another room I'll have to talk to the teachers and I hate discussing private issues with anyone. One event last year just makes me want to hide in a cave for eternity. Basically after a horrendous exam last year which i completely failed on I become so emotional and I plucked up the courage to talk to my history teacher because the next day was my history exam and it was my last exam and I thought to myself I've gotta do something about it, I cannot continue like this so I spoke to him in a flood of tears saying I just can't do it that hall and briefly explaining it was medical related but not revealing too much so he obviously very concerned told me I had to speak to another teacher who was in charge of the exams and ect so I thought great now I have to reveal it all to another teacher and I did so sobbing pretty much like a little girl whether he understood what I was saying ...I do not know and bearing in mind this teacher isn't the easiest of teachers to talk to he's quite intimidating and kinda had a go at me for leaving it till last minute and so he managed to arrange a place for me to do my exam alone with someone moderating me and so yeah it was a lot better and i did thankfully pass that last exam.

But the problem is is that I do not really want to have to go through that whole process of telling teachers why and what's wrong with me because it sounds entirely ridiculous and stupid like how a stomach problem affects my performance on a exam like it sounds totally stupid and the teacher i spoke to last year probably doesn't remember what i said so ill likely have to spill everything out again and I hate talking about it and so I just have no idea as to what I'm gonna do and I hate making it into a big deal and making a fuss over it and ....I just think I might aswell attempt to do my upcoming exams in the exam hall and whatever happens, happens and so yeah does anyone understand where I'm coming from or is it just silly? And does anyone have advice? Because i just don't know. Thanks for reading I know it was kinda long...


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## KCS30 (Apr 30, 2014)

Hi, I'm 17 and I think I may have ibs and can easily see where you are coming from.

For the past couple months I have had symptoms of occasional diarrhoea and constipation or looser stools. its really annoying because I need to use the toilet more often and sometimes if I drink caffeine like tea, it makes me feel gassy or need to use the restroom. I totally get that gurgling and 'bubbly' feeling in my stomach. Thought it was just me! This can be embarrassing, with the noises and everything, and I also feel I pass more gas when I'm like this. I also have exams this may, and am worried my symptoms could effect them. I haven't actually been diagnosed with it, which causes me to worry about my symptoms and find it hard to concentrate. I am also worried of sitting in the exam hall, especially since I will be nervous, and it seems to be worse when I'm nervous. Its nice to know someone feels the same!


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## prefertoremainunknown (Jun 8, 2013)

KCS30 said:


> Hi, I'm 17 and I think I may have ibs and can easily see where you are coming from.
> For the past couple months I have had symptoms of occasional diarrhoea and constipation or looser stools. its really annoying because I need to use the toilet more often and sometimes if I drink caffeine like tea, it makes me feel gassy or need to use the restroom. I totally get that gurgling and 'bubbly' feeling in my stomach. Thought it was just me! This can be embarrassing, with the noises and everything, and I also feel I pass more gas when I'm like this. I also have exams this may, and am worried my symptoms could effect them. I haven't actually been diagnosed with it, which causes me to worry about my symptoms and find it hard to concentrate. I am also worried of sitting in the exam hall, especially since I will be nervous, and it seems to be worse when I'm nervous. Its nice to know someone feels the same!


Hey, 
I totally get you. When you feel nervous it just makes everything worse but when your in that exam hall you have no control over feeling nervous because not only do you have to worry about the exam but your whole ibs too. I've read on a couple of websites that caffeine is a trigger for some people so you might want to cut that out of your diet if your willing enough. I've stopped drinking fizzy drinks and regular tea and now I only have herbal teas and just water and natural fruit drinks. If you do get diagnosed with ibs...it's really not the end of the world you may feel so annoyed about it in the beginning but at the end of the day it gets you no where. You've just gotta accept it and move on and adapt to it I guess which is easier said then done. Let me know how your exams go and if you get diagnosed. Hopefully everything goes well for you, wish you the best!


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## KCS30 (Apr 30, 2014)

Hi, thanks for replying. I will let you know how everything goes. I probably won't be able to go to the doctors or anything until June, as May is an extremely busy month for me with a lot of exams and vacation. I hope your exams go well and wish you the best. My mum brought me some 'Rescue Pastilles' from boots, they come in a small yellow tin and you suck on them and they help you to calm nerves (they worked wonders to calm my nerves last year before my French oral exam) and by calming your nerves they may also help any symptoms that are worsened by them. I have often tried taking caffeine out of my diet, but it doesn't always affect me, so its annoying because I can't always tell weather or not it will affect me! I really do think I have ibs, but I don't seem to have the 'pain' that other people describe. I just seem to get the watery/gurgly feeling in my stomach, so I think that if I do, I probably have mild ibs. I will be willing to accept that I have it, no matter how annoying it is! I'm getting more used to it and considering what I should/should not drink or eat. I am new to this forum, but as I can already see, it seems great for those moments you feel alone or feel like the only one. Let me know how your exams go.Good luck and Take care!


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## KyleIBS (Oct 6, 2014)

I know IBS is often affected by stress and anxiety.


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## Swartacus1337 (Sep 5, 2013)

I ran into a very similar issue in school, we were taking psats which is a 3 hour long test with only 1 break in the middle. I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to get through the whole exam only using the bathroom once. I talked to my guidance counselor about it before the test and he gave me a pass to let me leave the room If i needed to, and I was able to finish the exam fine thankfully only needing to use the pass once. Counselor's are there to help you with these kinds of things so if you need to be in a separate room or be able to leave the room just try and talk to them or one of your teachers you're friendly with


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## Rugger777 (Aug 27, 2014)

I deal with the exact same problem and I'm really not sure what to do. For me, it's quiet spaces in general that give me this sort of flare up.


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## raccoon (Dec 3, 2014)

---- sorry for bad english ----

Hey everybody!
I really understand all of you, my IBS started at school (now i'm in uni) and i had a great fear of my final exams (which were also entrance exams for uni). I was afraid my stomach would made these horrible noises or I would get diarrhea or etc. 
So, while passing all of my 5 exams I made up tips that worked for me.


*get up early*

yes, it helps. I had exam at 10 am and I got up at 5:30. You'll have time to revise some parts of material, time to dress yourself up properly, time for breakfast, and most importantly - you will have a lot of time to spend in bathroom, so you'll know you are "empty" when you at exam.

*eat something*

You shouldn't be afraid of eating before the exam, you really should do it. You will perform really bad, if you hadn't eaten. And your stomach might make noises from hunger, it doesn't help anxiety too. Have a proper breakfast in 2-2,5 before the exam. Your gut will have time to settle down and you'll have energy and won't be starving at exams.

*take anti-stress pills*

tbh I don't know much about pills of that kind in US, so I can't reccomend any. But I'm sure there are some medicine you can take before the exams, just ask your friend or parents. Just make sure it won't affect your brainwork.

*concentrate on exam*

trust me, I know, it's hard to do when you have IBS, but if you can so easily be stressed about stomach noises why can you be stressed about your exams, exams' results, future, job, etc. I know, it sounds weird, but it worked for me. At exams I was panicking about exams so much that i forgot about my stomach.

*have your IBS pills with you. *

you can put them in your pocket, so you'll feel secure in case of any embarassing situation.


That's all i guess. Just try to calm down and put all your efforts into your work.

P.S. I was stressed out every day at school because of IBS, and I was so afraid of exams, but it all went very well, and my results were great. You can do it!


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