# what do you do if you have a roomate?



## nrep

I've been fortunate enough thus far that I don't need to get a roommate, but the real reason I haven't had one is because I don't want to have to share the bathroom with someone else. I don't want anyone to know how much time I spend in the bathroom, or how often I have to go. And I don't want to have to wait "in line" to go in my own apartment. In this regard, IBS has really taken its toll on my social life. I'm wondering what the rest of you do. Do you have a roommate? Do they know about your IBS? How are they at handling your frequent bathroom excursions?


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## pigeon

I've been sharing with people for the past four years whilst at uni, ranging from having to use a communal bathroom (awful!) to sharing a house with only one bathroom between four. I can't say they were good experiences, I never want to share with people again, for the very same reasons! I never told anyone who i lived with either, which meant i spent all of my time hiding it. I used to run the shower if i was in the bathroom for a long time, then people just thought that was the reason for me taking so long, also the extra noise was useful! Or i'd run the taps, or brush my teeth (i have an electric toothbrush so people could hear it). I also used to say i felt like i was going to be sick, which is slightly more socially acceptable, which explained any times i had to run back and forth! Its madness though, you spend your whole life lying and making excuses, and you cant come home to relax, as its constantly there. I suppose the easy way out of it would be to get an apartment with en suites!


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## young windy

Can't share! End of story.YW=}}ps my neighbours are getting fed up with my nocturnal trumpeting...wish I had enough money to soundproof my place.


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## 19741

I was in your same situation. I shared a bathroom with 3 other guys. I would try to run the shower or another option would be to put a radio in the bathroom and play that whenever you are in there,


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## 22328

I've had 2 roomates in the past. I wouldn't live with another person unless there are at least 1.5 bathrooms. The first place I lived I had my own full bath to myself so I would usually run the shower or the faucet. My second place, I lived with a guy in the military and was always working opposite shifts so i got lucky. When he was home, I'd use the half bath downstairs. Upstairs, our bedrooms were connected by a full bathroom. I never used that one.I've found that using the second bathroom while your roomate is in the shower works well too.My husband and I were lucky enough to get a 2 BR house so I could have my own.


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## sucky

This may sound crazy, but you could actually tell your room mate! I don't know about you, but anxiety about having to go makes me go 9 times out of 10. If you're going to live with this person, may as well let them know whats going on, regardless of how they react. Since people with IBS often have to creep in and out of bathrooms where ever they go, may as well make use of the one in your own home by going freely and often as you need. If you act like its no big deal, chances are the other person will as well before you know it. Also, you'd be surprised how many people actually already know about IBS. Good example, I was into this guy a while back, and he started to notice my odd preoccupation with bathrooms. One day, he said I should go to a doctor to see if I may have IBS or something like it (You think?). Turns out his sister had IBS and his best friend had colitis. YOu never know! And if nothing else, you're paying rent, you get to take a poop whenever you feel like it!!!!


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## notmybestday

Yea, I had roomates for the first two years of college. The worst part had to be holding in the gas and the horribly obvious bloating. Found a solution to that by retreating into my shared bedroom when the roomate wasn't in and "taking a nap," where I would try to get my stomach under control. As for the long sits in the bathroom, first year was absolute hell (probably contributed to the state of my IBS today), but the second year, I was fortunate enough that the bathroom was not frequently used and that I trained myself to go in the mornings.But, still, too stressful for my liking. So off to a single I went.


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## Brian0003

Yeah, its going to be rather rough for me this semester.I have 3 different roommates and we all share a communal bathroom.I already told my actual roomate(The other 2 live next door), and he was okay with it.I also have 17 credit hours, at a competitive university, so I really cannot afford to worry about it.The only real obstacle to overcome is that: _Worrying_ about it.Instead of spending all your time worrying about it, spend all your concentration on something else(For me, its my schoolwork).The very fact that you worry about it every day only makes it worse.It will never go away, but that doesn't mean there is nothing you can do about it.Also, I don't even go to the bathroom in my dorm.I revolve my day around my classes and where I can go to the bathroom on campus. The campus is huge, and there are a lot of buildings here in which I know the bathrooms will not be used very oftenly(for example, those on the top floors).If someone else comes in, I just wait for them to leave, and I guess I don't really care how long I spend in their.If you are a girl, it would be much much easier since you could get away with the "I was doing my hair, putting on makeup" and all the other things that girls do in the bathroom all day long.If you're a guy like me, you really don't have much to say besides ummmm I was having my "happy" time. BUt no, I don't actually say thatI just go in their, so I don't have to worry about the dorm situation at all.The only real problem is that when I wake up in the morning I have to take a shower and I cannot go #2, now thats a problem


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## Yukie

I'm living with my roomate for about 3 years now. His room is just on the other side of the bathroom so I run water when I get D. It alternates between D and C so it's not always horrible. But he understands that I'm sick and that it's not my fault. But I do open the window when I have to go, even in winter. It helps a lot.


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## outdoors geek

I don't have a rommie but I'm going to be getting one relatively soon as I'm planning on moving out of my parents house and can't afford to live alone yet. However... We'll be getting at least two bathrooms. He also knows about the entire situation which reduces a lot of anxiety when I suddenly have to run off or something. I'm more concerned if he has a date over and it appears that I'm sleeping in the bathroom.... At home I have music playing all the time so it's not like you can hear anything. I think I'll continue to do that after we move in together, so hopefully he won't feel too uncomfortable.


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## SneakerPimp

You tell him what you have. I was embarassed at first, but once you to them that you have a health problem and can't help it, most people are very understanding. We would even joke about it. If I felt D coming on, I would say "if anyone needs to use the bathroom, now is the time as I might be spending awhile in there". Not everyone is as open about things as I am, I understand that, but actually telling someone what you have can really take a loan (pun intended) off your mind, and we all know that worrying just makes things worse. A good strategy is to say something like "I want you to know that I have IBS. If you don't know what that is, then I have a book or a website I would like you to read." That way you don't have to get into details if you don't want to.My roomie was so sympathetic that on my birthday he took one of my books to the grocery store, gathered a bunch of things the book said I would be able to eat, and made a sort of IBS-friendly cake for me. It was good but it did end up making me sick anyway


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