[IBSD88]

I am currently on holiday and misserable as I have not enjoyed myself, first my IBS made what was going to be my big impression on long lost friends a bust, my second day held together just long enough to be engaging but totally gone by the dinner time, I then went to visit family which as my IBS played up at nights made my unrelated choice to get a hotel room rather than staying with family a great idea.

Then on my last week looking after the parents dog for there holiday I have had a bad cold over my first period of non ibs problems in ages totally worthless and now before my cold is gone I have my IBS flare ups again.

I love where I currently live and the people at my work, but even though I am on good wages I live in such an expensive area its totally pointless, and if ever I get to a point where I cant control my IBS my job is a total right off. Conveniently while I am looking for other jobs and realising there isn't IBS as a disability has entiteled me to potencially get some interview's (if I can manage to get to them).

What I am thinking about though is can you claim disability allowence in the UK for IBS, I dont mean rather than working (though good to know incase things ever became unmanagable) but I mean for the extra costs incurred can you claim like you could for other disabilities?

[PeaLea]

Sounds not god mate!

I was thinking the same, but i asked the docs other day n they said because its GENERALLY a managable illness you cannot claim, yes you have bad days or weeks but they said your quailty of life isnt any different from someone who has a stomacbh upset apparently.

Which to a degree, kinda peed me off because id give anything just to have my old life back having only been diagnosed 3 months ago.

[IBSD88]

quality of life it totally worthless most of the time,

luckilly I have a good few contacts who are now (or in some cases recently were) higher up in government(s) so I am trying to see if any of them can try and make conditions such as IBS and other non fatal conditions a bigger focus coming up to next elections but no luck as of yet mainly as none of them have a job in health at the moment.

[Kathleen M.]

For some conditions the average person with it is unlikely to be able to work. Here is the list
http://www.ssa.gov/disability/professional...ultListings.htm

The average IBSer can manage their illness. Now some people are more severely effected and cannot.

If your IBS is severe you may be able to get disability (as you can technically get it for anything even if it isn't on the list of things that most people with it are in really bad shape) and it helps if you have other things that are on the list, like anxiety or depression even if by themselves they may not be severe enough to qualify.

The thing is if every person who had IBS symptoms even a few days a month was on disability you'd lose 10% or more of the payroll.

IBS does need more attention, but trying to convince the FDA that it deserves treatment seems to be the uphill battle. Every other disease you can risk death to get effective treatment (even acne) but IBS they seem to think the only acceptable risk is zero risk and no drug will ever meat that standard. I mean they let people risk death to treat the common cold and it is about the only thing that causes more sick leave time overall than IBS.