# Graduation and beyond...



## sucky (May 18, 2007)

I am a fourth year university student and will be graduating at the end of this year. Although i first started experiencing what i deem to be ibs and anxiety during my second year at college, i am still graduating almost a year early. Its been really difficult as, up until recently, my symptoms have been tied exclusively to being at school. What i mean is that at the very moment i am in class, i find myself running to the bathroom. Exams and presentations are the absolute worst as i am in the bathroom several times before i even get to class. Lately my problem has progressed to so much more than this. I feel like i probably have some severe anxiety issues as even getting on the bus or in the car for a 5 minute ride is complete torture. This has forced me to quit my job and take all of my classes online this semester. I also get 'ill' in pretty much any social situation like being at someones house (even close family). all of this has been extremely upsetting and disruptive to my life, especially in the last month or so as it has suddenly gotten so much worse. I should mention at this point that i have not had a regular family doctor for a couple of years now and have only seen a doctor at a walk in clinic about my issues once when they first began. that being said, i have never really tried any treatments except for taking immodium which does not help me!! I know i should definately seek medical help, but even calling to book an appointment gives my pretty bad anxiety so i can only imagine what the waiting room/examintaion would do. The reason for this post is that i need some advice regarding my upcoming graduation and the following job search. At this point, i cannot imagine any possible way for me to sit through a 2 hour ceremony squished in the middle of a row of seats (i haven't been able to go to the movies in a couple of months) and then crossing a stage in front of hundreds of people. My family does not really know whats going on with me, but they do think i must be depressed or something because i rarely leave the house anymore! I don't know how to tell them i don;t want to go to my graduation. More than this, i know how much it means to them to watch me cross the stage, and truthfully it means soooo much more to me. I have worked so hard to get this point in light of ibs, and a year early at that. I am also really concerned about getting a job as my ibs is especially bad in the mornings and also when i feel out of my element at all. to compound this, i have all the same fears as any new graduate in that i lack the experience or skills to land a job of substance. I have absolutely zero direction in what i want to do as the job i do want (a teacher) requires one more year of school with a lot of pressure and presentations, which frankly, i don't think i'd survive!This post is somewhat to vent my frustrations, but also to see if anyone out there has any words of advice or encouragement on how to tackle all the uncertainties in my life right now, all of which are compounded and complicated by my friend and yours: dear ibs


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## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi, Sucky... I'm so sorry it's been like this for you... My total empathy and moral support... I just recently graduated grad school and skipped the commencement for a number of reasons and I have not yet tried to find a job, though I eventually will... The fact that you're determined to attend the commencement and to find a job says a lot about how courageous you are! I'm not sure if I have any suggestions on an immediate fix -- it does seem though that you need to see a dr and get the anxiety under control since from what you wrote it seems to be your major trigger... Is it possible to see a dr for anxiety? I mean, I totally understand the stress of making the call and the appt., but it does seem it is a necessary step to get back some control...Hope things'll work out for you!


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## MyOwnSavior (Dec 21, 2006)

I agree with Cherrie. There are medications out there that work for both anxiety and IBS related problems. For example, my doctor put me on Effexor, which did get rid of a fair bit of my anxiety. Also, as a side effect (negative for me, but it might not be so much for you) was that I was more constipated than usual while on the medication. Thus, if D is a problem, the Effexor might work to eliminate - or at least reduce - that problem, while also at the same time working to eliminate some of your anxiety. I know I'm not qualified to give medical advice, hehe. However, oftentimes once you are diagnosed with IBS, doctors are just guessing as to what medications to give you anyway. After all, the scientific method involves testing ideas and then re-testing different ones if necessary. Translation: pure guesswork. So you might as well just look at medications for yourself and then try to get your doctor to put you on them - after all, what is the doctor going to say? "No, you can't have that one, the pharmaceutical company is paying me to put you on this instead"?


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