# New to this Forum and Relatively New to IBS



## alura123456 (Nov 27, 2012)

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this website and relatively new to experiencing problems with IBS. Unlike some of the stories I've seen on here who claim to have a lifelong problem, my problem didn't become apparent until August of this year. Prior to August, I've had a few panic attacks here and there, but nothing that didn't clear up after a day or so.

This past August, I got busy working on a project with work. This project required a lot of overtime and as a result, I stopped exercising. There were also a lot of deadlines involved, which was very stressful. It also didn't help that a coworker who was supposed to help with the project quit early on, so it felt like all of the weight of it was placed on me. On top of this, my wedding was two months away, so I was also busy booking vendors and getting details settled.

It was not too much later when I started experiencing back pain, but not the kind of pain that poor posture would cause. This pain seemed to roam around. It would start on the left side, then move to the right, gradually moving lower in the back. I also became constipated. I started going to doctors, but they weren't able to pin-point the problem at the time. I was referred to a GI specialist, but at the time I saw them, it seemed like the problem was starting to clear up, probably because by then, I started eating Activia yogurt.

Then in mid-September, I started feeling sick. I would feel extremely tired after eating to the point where I would feel extremely sleepy. I also started having difficulty falling asleep, primarily because of hot and cold flashes. Then the shivers came, but they weren't the kind of shivers that a heating pad would fix.

I knew I really had a problem when I felt extremely dehydrated. No matter how much water I drank, it wasn't helping me feel more hydrated. I ended up going to the ER and was diagnosed with colitis. I gradually felt better, but the feeling of being dehydrated didn't go away until a few days before my wedding, when my vacation from work began. I began to feel better during the honeymoon.

Then when I went back to work, I started feeling sick again. The weekends would be a little better, but not enough to de-stress me for the work week ahead. It seemed like more of the symptoms of the colitis were gradually coming back. First the feeling of dehydration and constipation came back. About a few weeks later, abdominal pain, bloating, lack of appetite, diarrhea came back, which freaked me out. I had contacted the GI specialist, and she gave me some suggestions on how to alleviate the pain, and gave me a prescription for a blood test. However, with Thanksgiving break coming up, I didn't feel like waiting 4 days for a diagnosis on whether I had colitis again, so I ended up going to the ER again. This time, they did not find colitis, but had diagnosed me with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I had been diagnosed with IBS before by other doctors, but hadn't taken it seriously at the time, because I thought the doctors were unable to explain my diagnosis based off of the tools that they had, but needed to put something down as a cause.

So I had to come to terms with how I caused the pain in my stomach. I thought about how even during the honeymoon, when my flight had gotten delayed due to Hurricane Sandy, I was stressed out and remembered feeling abdominal pain, but seemed to quickly clear up.

My problem became even more apparent to me during Thanksgiving break, when I pretty much had a panic attack for about a week. I lost 10 pounds, couldn't sleep for more than 1-2 hours a night, and ate no more than 700 calories a day. I was probably driving nearby relatives nuts with my insomnia by waking them up early in the morning. I did try using the ZzzQuil on one of the nights. It worked for about an hour, and then my heart was racing for several hours after that and wasn't able to fall back asleep. During this time, I was experiencing a lot of abdominal pain and having thinner stools.

Once the doctors were back in the office, I went to an urgent care clinic. During this visit, I was informed about how anxiety is a major component of IBS. I don't really like the idea of being on a long-term anti-anxiety medication, but I certainly don't want to experience what I experienced during Thanksgiving break again.

I am so not looking forward to going back to work right now. I enjoy the job duties, but I don't enjoy the stress that comes with it. Just thinking about it is making me feel dehydrated, which for me leads to constipation and cramping of my abdomen.


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## Darren68 (Dec 1, 2012)

Its true that stress makes it alot worse. I was just aggravated by worrying with hurricane Sandy and Thanksgiving as well. I do take a new probiotic called bowtrol and a fiber drink daily. Both of which doctors have prescribed. There is also something called squatty potty I believe that gets you to align your colon when having a BM. It keeps your feet seven inches off the floor so you empty out instead of having some still in the colon. You could also get two step tools at walmart, one for each foot but price wise, it's about four dollars cheaper for the squatty potty. I got mine from luckyvitamins.com. It was on the doctors show and you could look at the benefits of doing a BM aligned the way we were made to do. Nothing cures IBS but what I mentioned makes it lesser. I have had it after getting c-diff 6 years ago for tonsil surgery. I was one of many multiples that were infected after surgery in room one.I used to work there as well which made it worse because I was privy too information after people were diagnosed what had happened, then I started getting worse. After c-diff was cleared up I started getting syptoms of IBS and was informed by two Gast. that it was


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## SJM34 (Nov 30, 2012)

I also noticed that I have more trouble during the work week, and trust me my job is not stressful. what i've started doing is faking myself out, I'll leave the house and get in the car about ten minutes early, do a lap around the block and either a) stop back at home if i have to get sick or







if its a good day just keep going to work. where constipation is your main issue this may not apply, but i think working through stressful activities by giving yourself extra time to work through it will help your overall stress level.. good luck!


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## alura123456 (Nov 27, 2012)

Thanks for the responses and the support. I really appreciate it.

Telling a few coworkers about this problem has decreased my anxiety about going to work some. I believe that my perceived expectation of what I think they are expecting out of me was making me anxious. One of them told me about how his son had problems with diarrhea and recommended RepairVite and Strengtia. I plan to give it a try. If this doesn't work, then I will keep Bowtrol in mind.

I drive my husband to the metro prior to driving to work, so in a way, I get to fake around for a bit.

Right now, the thing bothering me the most is the insomnia. Xanax seems to help for a few hours, but I wake up the moment that it wears off. I tried Lexapro, but got nauseous after the second dose, so I'm delaying that until I talk with my doctor.


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