# 24 year old woman with IBS-D. Desperate for some answers!



## Znsha (Oct 9, 2016)

Hi all,

Growing up, I've always had a "weak" stomach. That means I would occasionally get up an upset tummy if I ate something too spicy or ate too much food and this was normal until the beginning of this year. I thought it was normal because my mom also had the same issues as I did. Luckily, the fact that my father owned a hospital and our family doctor literally working for our family meant getting treatment quickly for us. He was the one that told me years ago I might have IBS but at that point it was so minimal I didn't pay attention to it.

Since May of 2016, I have had the worst time of my life. I've had good days and I've had some dark days. All the while, I've been trying to stay optimistic and not treat IBS-D as a life sentence. I realize whether I'm stressed or not, it makes no difference. It started randomly on the eve of my last day before starting a new job on Monday. I also had my first date ever that weekend and I was so nervous I could hurl. I believe the stress of all that happening might have set off the first of many episodes.

Note, I've never actually had diarrhea with this condition. I've just had way more frequent stools, and mostly soft and fuzzy ones. So anywhere between 1-4 a day. Prior to this, I would go maybe once in 2 days (gosh, miss those days).

Anyway, since May I've been to the emergency room a couple times because I got so worried I might have something terminal/tragic. I've cleared all my blood, stool, urine, celiac, inflammation and breath tests. I've been prescribed flagyl, taken Align (stopped after 2 weeks because I got terrible diarrhea and realized later my system was merely adjusting and I should've kept going but don't have the heart to go through the pain again). I've started taking Imodium more frequently so 1-2 time a week is a must. I've gone completely gluten and lactose and dairy free, When I first started this diet, I felt AMAZING the first 2 weeks _I was on it. Not sure how I started typing in Italics but bear with me. Then the symptoms came back. I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow to ask her to prescribe me either Xifaxan or Viberzi._

_The reason I am so desperate to get help now is that I've met someone WONDERFUL. This person is someone I would love to spend my life with but I am embarrassed to tell him I have this condition. Every time we go out to eat, I make sure to take Imodium a few hours prior. The time we took a day trip up north, I was freaking out in my mind about having an episode but my stomach thankfully behaved. Since then, things just seems to get worse. Now, I feel like Imodium doesn't cut it either. I've been taking the name brand Imodium AD for cramps and diarrhea. It seemed to work wonders. I took it yesterday morning but still had cramps throughout the day and were worse at night. This morning, I had a less than perfect quality BM. _

_My POINT is: how can I manage a full-time job and an amazing relationship and possible future with someone if I can't even function properly on a day to day basis? My work drawer is full of Imodium, wet wipes, tums, pepto etc. At first, I thought it was new job new life anxiety, but this situation seems to want to stay. _

_I'm trying to be as positive and optimistic as I can since apparently the power of positivity is strong enough to make anything happen. But I need to know, I need reaffirmation that I CAN live a normal life with this situation. That I CAN have kids, get married and hold down a steady job with this problem. I'm wondering if any of you out there with IBS-D are able to carry out normal and happy lives? I'm only 24. I can't have my life over before it even started! I've even thought about breaking up with this wonderful man to spare him the troubles I might bring. _

_If anyone that reads this has ANYTHING positive to tell me or share with me, I will appreciate it tremendously. _


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## phoenixkitteh (Oct 11, 2016)

Hey there 28M here and for me IBS started when I was 25. It kind of sucked at first because it did affect work and relationships. But the words "I have a medical condition" said in a nonchalant tone can really pave way for you. When you say that people definitely understand it more. Also IBS sounds very inoffensive as a term. Trying to guess what causes the episodes is a losing game. I can eat very healthy, or very unhealthy and still get episodes. Sometimes I'm stressed sometimes I'm not. Probiotics really do nothing for me. Fiber makes my stomach hurt more. So far I have established some trusted friends that I'm going to keep using. Loperamide(Immodium) and Pepto taken in conjunction. Pepto calms the stomach loperamide plugs up the diarhea. Not the perfect solution but it sure works. Another great thing is Simethicone also known as Gas X which really serves to calm the rumbling stomach down. Take it all together and you have a pretty darn effective remedy. Also eating things before hand like mashed potatoes (for best results use the water the potatoes were cooked in instead of milk) or bananas helps a lot for calming the stomach. These are all coping mechanisms and I don't think it's something that goes away. But living with it is not really as bad as you imagine it will be at first. Most people are sympathetic and if they aren't sympathetic with someone who has a minor but possibly chronic inconvenience then maybe they are not worth your time.


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## Znsha (Oct 9, 2016)

Thank you PHOENIXKITTEH. I am starting to see there is a lot more to life than just this medical condition. Even though my doctor doesn't think I'm a typical case of IBS-D, she thinks it can either go away on its own or stay for life. I've read some pretty bad stories on this website about people unable to keep jobs and unable to leave the toilet for hours; it had me spooked. My doctor suggested using IBGard on bad days - supposedly it's natural and effective. Maybe you can try that too?


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