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I can't believe it's been going on for so long.
Posted by
jadjac
,
15 July 2012
·
113 views
pregnancy childhood
I have been dealing with bowel issues for as long as I can remember. In fact, I have a vivid memory of myself sitting on the toilet struggling with a bowel movement while my mom stood in the bathroom with me, putting on her makeup. I'd say I was about 10 years old. That was almost 24 years ago.
One day when I was in grade 10, I ate my regular breakfast of yogurt and milk and rushed to school, only to be doubled over in pain a couple of hours later. I had had problems with dairy before that, but none so excruciating. I decided to cut back on my dairy consumption then, and when I was in grade 12, I visited the dr. to ask if there was anything that could be done. She gave me a sample of Lactaid and sent me on my merry way.
The years after that saw me avoiding dairy on a regular basis. When I was 20, I got married and prayed through my wedding day that I would not have any bathroom emergencies. When I was 21, I noticed that if I ate chicken on the bone, I would surely need to be close to a bathroom during the meal and for the couple of hours after - the diarrhea was quick and nasty. I got pregnant with my first child at 23 and the emergency bathroom stops became more frequent - my problem was now my husband's as many of our outings included at least one frantic search for a place to pull over so we could go into a store or restaurant and use their bathroom. Embarrassing.
After my first son was born, I had my first gall bladder attack. Stupidly, I went into a walk-in clinic instead of going straight to emergency, as I should have. The doctor diagnosed my pain as gallstone related and made me an appointment for an ultrasound - for five months later. Unfortunately by then, I had become pregnant again, and though the gallstones were visible, there was nothing they could do for me.
My second pregnancy was a nightmare for me, digestive-wise. The food I could consume was limited to a short list, which did not include any of my favourites - the things that made me the sickest were chocolate milk, pop, raspberries, garlic, and spices. I only gained 12 lbs in my second pregnancy, and I am still concerned that my body's intolerances affected my baby in some way.
By the time my second son was born, I felt that my body was barely functioning. By two weeks after his birth, I had lost all of my pregnancy weight and more, weighing in at a mere 98 lbs. My mom was concerned and set me up with her doctor to get some help. The result was an appointment with a general surgeon, who removed my gallbladder nine months later.
Having my gallbladder out did not help anything. I still felt pain. In fact, there are still days that I feel like I am having a gallbladder attack, almost 8 years later, in the absence of a gallbladder.
Things did seem to be okay, though, for a few years after that. I was pregnant a third time and despite the stress of moving across the country and back, it was a healthy pregnancy. I took a long time to get back to my regular body shape and size afterward, and I did have some mid-abdominal pain that one dr. diagnosed as a hernia and one dr. diagnosed as nerve pain. I didn't do anything about either diagnosis and now I don't feel the pain anymore.
Pregnant for the fourth time, I was fine, though once again, I did not gain a lot of weight. I felt healthy and well despite the stress of illness and death in my family. However, the day my daughter was born, something went terribly wrong with my c-section and the dr.s found blood pooled in my abdomen. They didn't know where it had come from. They didn't see what the problem was. I think that what happened is something significant to my health today, but nobody knows how.
In my next post I will get into the events that led to my diagnosis of IBS and how I really feel about it.
One day when I was in grade 10, I ate my regular breakfast of yogurt and milk and rushed to school, only to be doubled over in pain a couple of hours later. I had had problems with dairy before that, but none so excruciating. I decided to cut back on my dairy consumption then, and when I was in grade 12, I visited the dr. to ask if there was anything that could be done. She gave me a sample of Lactaid and sent me on my merry way.
The years after that saw me avoiding dairy on a regular basis. When I was 20, I got married and prayed through my wedding day that I would not have any bathroom emergencies. When I was 21, I noticed that if I ate chicken on the bone, I would surely need to be close to a bathroom during the meal and for the couple of hours after - the diarrhea was quick and nasty. I got pregnant with my first child at 23 and the emergency bathroom stops became more frequent - my problem was now my husband's as many of our outings included at least one frantic search for a place to pull over so we could go into a store or restaurant and use their bathroom. Embarrassing.
After my first son was born, I had my first gall bladder attack. Stupidly, I went into a walk-in clinic instead of going straight to emergency, as I should have. The doctor diagnosed my pain as gallstone related and made me an appointment for an ultrasound - for five months later. Unfortunately by then, I had become pregnant again, and though the gallstones were visible, there was nothing they could do for me.
My second pregnancy was a nightmare for me, digestive-wise. The food I could consume was limited to a short list, which did not include any of my favourites - the things that made me the sickest were chocolate milk, pop, raspberries, garlic, and spices. I only gained 12 lbs in my second pregnancy, and I am still concerned that my body's intolerances affected my baby in some way.
By the time my second son was born, I felt that my body was barely functioning. By two weeks after his birth, I had lost all of my pregnancy weight and more, weighing in at a mere 98 lbs. My mom was concerned and set me up with her doctor to get some help. The result was an appointment with a general surgeon, who removed my gallbladder nine months later.
Having my gallbladder out did not help anything. I still felt pain. In fact, there are still days that I feel like I am having a gallbladder attack, almost 8 years later, in the absence of a gallbladder.
Things did seem to be okay, though, for a few years after that. I was pregnant a third time and despite the stress of moving across the country and back, it was a healthy pregnancy. I took a long time to get back to my regular body shape and size afterward, and I did have some mid-abdominal pain that one dr. diagnosed as a hernia and one dr. diagnosed as nerve pain. I didn't do anything about either diagnosis and now I don't feel the pain anymore.
Pregnant for the fourth time, I was fine, though once again, I did not gain a lot of weight. I felt healthy and well despite the stress of illness and death in my family. However, the day my daughter was born, something went terribly wrong with my c-section and the dr.s found blood pooled in my abdomen. They didn't know where it had come from. They didn't see what the problem was. I think that what happened is something significant to my health today, but nobody knows how.
In my next post I will get into the events that led to my diagnosis of IBS and how I really feel about it.
