# My Story



## Destinie (Oct 15, 2013)

Hi Everyone- I thought I would post a little bit about my story (but not in to much excruciating detail).

I've always had some sort of digestive issue ever since I was young but was never able to pinpoint it. It's one of those things where I just grew up with it and felt that it was "normal". As a kid and having stomach issues that inhibited me from going out I always just thought, "it's normal". So I lived with stomach aches, diarrhea, constipation and the like for a long time. It never occurred to me that I had IBS. When I had flare-ups I would just think "Oh, I caught a stomach bug" or "Oh, I am just stressed out today" or hundreds of other excuses.

It wasn't until this year that I had decided to take action on it. I had suspected that I possibly had IBS when I was in college, about 6 years before. (6 years and I never did anything about it.) But it was getting to the point where it was unbearable. I couldn't eat ANYTHING without running to the bathroom immediately. I couldn't travel. I couldn't go hang out. I was always fearful of running to the bathroom. I know I had a lot of stressful things happen in my life but it had to be something worse. I really needed to see a doctor.

I did eventually see a doctor. I had several tests done and had several problems. One of which was heliobacter pylori. (14 horrible pills a day. I would never wish this treatment on anyone else. UGH.) My stomach pains went away and I thought that maybe I was cured! A week before my wedding, however, I noticed I was bleeding from my rear and was still having issues (albeit, less severe). For a while my husband and I thought that I had ulcerative colitis. Long story short, I was diagnosed with Clinical Gluten Intolerance, Inflammation of the small bowels, and IBS.

To this day I am trying to keep a positive outlook. I control my symptoms, I don't let them control me! Learning to listen to what my body can handle and what it can't is extremely important. I can safely say I'm doing much better than I was but there are always "bad stomach days".

One thing I do wonder is: how did I get this? I know that a family member on my dad's side was diagnosed with IBS years ago. But I also had an intense childhood: my parents divorced when I was young, I was dragged through all my dad's marriages and bad relationships, my step-father was a functioning alcoholic, his children possibly suffering from mental illnesses, my mother struggling with cancer, and constantly battling with my self-esteem and self-worth. All the while I always told myself that all these things were 'normal'.

Keeping myself looking forward to a bright future. ♥


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