# My IBS story



## mbotha (Nov 16, 2014)

Hello all,

I first started getting IBS at the age of 13 or so. It started with just the incomplete bowel movement feeling, causing me to go back to the bathroom constantly. Before this I had absolutely no stomach problems. I would go once a day and have great bowel movements. It was not even something that I thought about before.

My stomach gradually got worse and worse, and my routine started going out the window. The shape of my stool changed dramatically and started moving toward pellets which are extremely hard to pass. I started getting really constipated and had to strain a lot with each session.

Today, I am 22 years old and it has only gotten worse. As a result i have little to no friends as I am constantly worried about my stomach in social situations and I also find work extremely difficult to cope with. I can't enjoy holidays, outings, or social events. I started developing social anxiety. I would get diarrhoea from simply being around someone that I do not know and have had anxiety attacks (it did gradually go away, don't have social anxiety any more). I also have depression and have very good reason to have it.

*IBS problems that I have to deal with on a regular basis:*

Sharp colon pains and stomach aches

Daily constipation

Excessive gas on some days

Extremely long bowel movements (up to 45 minutes per movement, twice a day)

Incompletely bowel movement feeling (and have to go back constantly to get rid of it.)

A lot of straining

Rectal bleeding (this I get from all the wiping I have to do)

I have been on so many over the counter drugs to help my situation but to no avail. I am currently on psyllium husk fibre which I take every day. The moment I don't take it I am in so much pain and discomfort. It has been the most successful thing I have tried, but it does only help so much. Eating high fibre food, fruits, vegetables, etc does absolutely nothing for me. I need something really strong.

I have dealt with this for more than 8 years now and at this point I actually do hope that my condition is something serious such as colon cancer, because at least I can look forward to an end to all this suffering.

Thanks for reading.

Mauritz


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