# 17 year old with IBS. Any stories out there?



## JordanK03 (Oct 23, 2011)

I've been suffering for about a year now. I have seen a doctor and felt better but he was not taking care of me properly so I felt like going to a different doctor who has great reviews and I trust him. To make a long story short, I am homeschooled now because of my IBS. I have to be careful about what I eat. If I eat oatmeal, I'll have horrible diarrhea, but other times I am constipated. When I take a laxative I go so much that I feel like I am dying when I'm using the restroom, there is a lot of burning and it's a mess. I can't ever wipe clean and I RARELY have normal bowel movements.One of the biggest issues I have is I have to take a shower after and I see the pieces of stool coming out. Some look like half-digested food. It's a sucky condition that takes away from my quality of life, and I just want to feel normal and be able to go back to school. Can someone PLEASE reply to this? I feel SO ALONE!!!


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## ChuckCharles (Jan 4, 2012)

Hello You're a normal person with IBS believe me.Doctors although normally very good at their jobs are sometimes blind to peoples individual needs, believe me I've had this wonderful condition since I was seven. If i was you try another doctor ask to a nutritionist and try and relax.I am practically you but a little older, I'm just turned 20 and I missed a year and a half of school because of my ibs, which made life twice as hard.Like you i have to be careful with what I eat, dairy products, soya, eggs, pineapples, green apples, green grapes, oranges and a bunch of other things are all out of my diet if i want to feel somewhat decent. If I eat these things, I have to sleep in my bath tub out of fear of not reaching the toilet in time.It's a completely disgusting, embarrassing, painful and mundane condition that is the bane of my life...but believe me when I say your not alone and there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I'd tell you my whole story but its sooo long, but just know that one day, it might be a week away or a month maybe (I hope not, because it was my senario) years away but there'll be a moment where you'll find a way to control it, you'll always have ibs but it won't control you..


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## chaines321 (Jan 7, 2012)

Im 17 also. I've been having this problem for 4 years. Started my freshman year of high school. I would always have to go to the bathroom in 1st mod and was in extreme pain in till i went. I'm still like that but i started taking immodium. I always try to have some in the house. I have missed a lot of school cause of this. Its very embarrassing to go at school and in public. I don't stay over a friends house or even a relatives unless i've taking immodium. I never liked going to camp and my church goes all the time and always begged me to go but i didn't. I feel like I'm going to die when it starts up and I'm scared I won't be able to control it in public. It really controlled my life. I finally went to the doctors tuesday (for something different but this came up) and the doctor made me go to a gastroenterologist. Before all this I had looked online to try to find out what could be wrong. I told my mom that I think I have ibs but she didn't believe me. When I went, the doctor said that I fit ibs perfectly. We still have to wait for my blood and stool results to come but she said that she would be surprised if they were abnormal. Weirdly, that doctors appointment was the best one I have ever had and I love my doctor. She was very understanding and easy to talk to. She said I can still take immodium (unlike the pediatrician who knew nothing) and next time I go (the end of this month) we're going to start with adding more fiber to my diet. I feel like immodium is the only way that will really help me deal with it though.


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## Cassie90 (Oct 4, 2011)

eiuyriureyiuriuriuriuriur


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## emma707 (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm 17 also and find high school to be a nightmare to control IBS! My symptoms started 5 years ago and gradually became worse and worse. For me, the most problematic symptom is the build up of wind in my stomach pretty much constantly. And it's so frustrating and annoying having to be excused from every class to go to the bathroom. I love learning and being in school with my friends but I hate the class-environment of school. Classes, as you'll know, are silent and I'm constantly on edge and anxious incase I pass gas or my IBS does something embarrassing before I have a chance to get out of the room. Anxiety and stress definitely affects my IBS.The more people present in a room or hall the more anxious I get and the more IBS flares up. I'm anxious when my IBS flares up and my IBS flares up because I'm anxious - it's a vicious circle.Your not alone! For a long time I've felt alone with my condition too. For years IBS has stopped my doing things I want to do and going places I want to go. I have lived in fear of public situations or situations were I know I am expected to stay somewhere without a quick escape route to the bathroom. In my high school experience I know how hurtful people can be - from teachers who just don't understand the condition to students who gossip about the 'real' reason you miss so much class. Trust me when I say IBS has put me in some low places I don't want to return to - depression being one of them. I've found that since I've begun to talk about my battle with IBS more things have got easier - I now sit my exams in a private room with easy access to a bathroom, all my teachers know what's wrong with me and are happy for me to just get up and leave the classroom anytime I need to without having to ask and draw attention to myself and my peers have kind of just accepted that this is the way I am, even if they don't know all the details. Yes high school is still sucky for dealing with IBS but your not alone!


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## imagine_serenity (Jan 25, 2012)

yess, ibs in high school completely sucks. Im 17 and a junior and all i can think about is graduating. This has literally been eating away at me for over a year now, and its becoming worse. I hope and pray that college wont be this way. Its so hard having to go to the restroom during class or needing to leave class because youre feeling gassy. And the stomach rumbling that sounds like youre passing gas.. it sucks so much. Everything about this condition sucks, but its true I guess we all need to just suck it up and learn how to live with it.


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