# sharing a bathroom



## wcugirl (Mar 2, 2009)

Hi guys,I am new here and I have a pretty embarrassing situation that I am currently dealing with. I am a college student living with IBS-D. I am currently doing an internship and the housing that they provide for us requires that 15 people share the same bathroom. This leaves me with almost no privacy at all. I am having a really hard time adjusting to this situation and feeling comfortable with my condition living with these conditions. I think that the added anxiety about having to have my "episodes" while someone else is in the bathroom is making the situation much worse for me. I am taking Elivil and it was working for a while but has recently stopped working. I am 3 hours from my doctors office and cannot make it there for an appointment because i am working 5 days a week. Does anyone have any suggestions on an over the counter cocktail that may be effective or any suggestions on what you would do if you were in my situation? Any help is very much appreciated!!Thanks,wcugirl


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

Simplest thing would be to try the Caltrate with D, a la Linda's Calcium Thread at the top of the D Board.Mark


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## wcugirl (Mar 2, 2009)

i have tried caltrate and immodium. immodium just slows it down but does not stop the problem and caltrate did not make a huge difference either.


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## gnr816 (May 31, 2007)

Oh how I understand what you're going through! Having IBS-D for over 20 years, I know first hand the anxiety it causes. I wonder if you could perhaps take a CD player or radio into the rest room with you and have it on loud enough to muffle the "personal sounds" that you're concerned about others hearing. You could even choose a song that has a lot of background beats to it so that you would at least feel somewhat comforted that your noises are camouflaged a little. Also bring a spray of something that you can spray periodically during your episode so as to help out with the odor issue as well. I flush often and spray the actual toilet bowl itself to keep the odors down a little. If you use the very last stall, you may also get a drop more privacy because if someone else comes in, they may go to the first couple of stalls and be at least a distance from you. I hope this helps a bit for you. I'll keep you in my thoughts and wish you all the best.


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## wcugirl (Mar 2, 2009)

there is a cd player in the restroom however, when the episodes hit, there is no time to be getting to it to turn it on. I am lucky to make it to the bathroom. But i will difinately try that for the less urgent spells. As for the last stall trick, we only have 3 stalls and on of them doesnt work. The two that work are side by side so that may not be as effective either. I guess it might be something that i am just going to have to learn to deal with. I am trying to work myself up to being able to tell some of them my condition so that they may be able to better understand it but it is just so darn embarrassing!!Thanks for the suggestions.


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## cshirk (Feb 7, 2009)

I'm in college and completely understand! a lot of the time if I'm in there I will just wait for someone else coming in to finish up their business or get in the shower before I come out so you don't have that embarrassing moment standing next to each other at the sinks. also, if you're thinking about explaining to a friend , I've tended to introduce IBS this way - I just say that I have a condition that is hard to control, and it sometimes leads to really bad stomach problems that interfere with eating, going out, etc. I don't know about any concoctions to help but I started taking Align a few weeks ago which is a probiotic you can order online, although its a little pricey. so far its been helping (with a bit of a constipating effect) and for me has really cut down on the urgency - at least when I have to go I now have a little time to actually get there. some other people on the forum also noted that it tends to shift more from D to C, which might be a good tradeoff with the shared bathroom situation (I personally take some fibercon too which has kept things on a decent schedule, although gas and cramps still happen)good luck!


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