I was 21 years old had a stomach bug and after that never was the same again I had a 18 month old daughter at the time which was hard going to look after a baby and myself wen I was really poorly with it, I had loose bowels and would shake and sweat lots they came on all of a sudden I would b fine 1 minute and attack as I call it would come all of a sudden taking time off work for this was hard as no one believed me I went to the doctors and nothing was done at first it took ages for them to take me serious which gets u down after a while I had tests done and nothing came back so they said IBS was the course of it my mum paid for a york test which came back as wheat and gluten so I stopped eating things wiv it in I was ok on that diet for a while and then last year i ended up in hospital had more tests done and just found that they still havent found anything so its put done in the words of my consultant as bad ibs!!

I have had IBS all my life just didn't know there was a name for it. I have had many tests over the years and everything looks "great" and "normal" but I sure didn't feel great or normal. When the GI dr diagnosed me with IBS (officially) he basically said to me "you ave IBS and have to find a way to live with it". Well I had been living with it and some of the flares last for weeks sometimes even months. I have been experiencing a flareup for going on 8 months now and am on the verge of depression again. I am on a new medication (Prevacid) being also treated for GERD. I have been on antidepressants in the past and none of those helped at all.......anti spasmotics were no help either. It just seems to come and go with no rhyme or reason at times. Sometimes a stressful event will bring it on for like just a few days.

Hi,

I don't have a story to share with others at the moment. This flareup of whatever is wrong with me is all new to me and I'm frightened, I live alone, am 68 years old, and very sick. I joined this site to see what I could learn from others. The Dr. doesn't even know what's wrong with me yet. I'm having abdominal CT scans done next week. Thank you.

By: Stevie 2009

It was a lovely summer's day at my best friend's house, a planned two day sleep over to celebrate the epitome of my youth. That's when IBS decided to gatecrash and turn the 2 day fun of madness to one day of resting in my friend's bed for the night. Damn it, you're not supposed to sleep at sleepovers!

That's right, instead of realizing it at home, or somewhere where I could leave without felling bad or get home from quickly, my IBS decided to come at night when I couldn't go home. From then on, from 15 to about 17 I've dealt with this thing. And I haven't found a cure. But I think I've figured out that IBS stands for Inevitably Bad Social life.

Hi, I'm 24 years old and I just recently got diagnosed with IBS..I've been suffering from anxiety for 7 years now and it sucks now because I believe that's the reason why I have IBS..years of stress, being uptight and a worry warrior is probably the reason also..I'm known to be social and loud but since I got IBS life have been awful..I've only told my close friends about my problem but I'm worried that if end up dating a girl that I'm just gonna be too embarrassed to mention..I work in retail and that's the worse because I'm a cashier and I have start to freak out because I think I'm gonna crap my pants in the check stand.

I'm nearly 18 years old and was diagnosed with IBS about 8 months ago although I have been dealing with the symptoms for a very long time. At the time of my diagnosis, I was having diarrhea EVERY day for a month. Every day. I went home from school many days because it's horrible to have at school. We have to ask for bathroom passes, and I needed to go more than once in class. This was so embarassing as I knew everyone in class would be wondering why I needed to go to the bathroom so often. I've avoided so many activities I would have loved, like visiting a college with friends overnight, because I was worried about having diarrhea. I've had it at work which is HORRIBLE and hard to make excuses. I have told very few people, and my parents really don't understand. I'm so embarrassed about having it which for me is one of the worst parts. I also hate missing out on things because of it.

Hi All

What a pathetic kind of life is this !! This may sound quite like a loser , but with IBS I'm surely not destined to win.

If i wanna talk with some particular persons , If i want to put my point , if i want to have a lunch with my fellows , if i want to attend a call ... i cant help myself but automatically Belching starts and it feels like I'll vomit in front of everyone.

I have tried so many things .. daily i prepare my mind by repeating positive words and all such stuffs but they don't help.

I want to do so many things in life , i have got so many plans , so much expectations from myself .. but this IBS comes in my way.

I believe the more we experience IBS , the worse it gets. So I have got stuck in a circle full with negativity.

You may call it depression or what but .. this is my life and i want to change it ...please help me guys ...

By: shashank

I'm new to this site, stumbled across it yesterday, and it's great to be able to be able to relate and find advise as I have learned to suffer in silence as my partner thinks I complain for attention. He even convinced me it was all in my head for a while. He just doesn't understand how I can feel ill all the while and nothing helps.

I'm a was 17 year old girl, who was loud, fun, has loads of friends, loved going out, and wanted to be a social worker. I also had a street dancing class, but then came along IBS. At first it was able to cope. I'd rarely have a bad stomach, but then it got a lot worse. I had to quit my collage course because I couldn't get there and if I did get there it was very likely I would be going straight back home to the toilet! I now rarely go out and if I do I take up to 4 diaheor tablets. Imodium doesn't work on me! It really gets me down, I see it as I'm only young and have my life to live, but how am I going to live it when I'm like this!

Everyone says you can lead a normal life with IBS, so please tell me how?

I don't like the thought of not being able to have a career. Why have a career if you feel uncomfortable being away from your toilet! I'VE HAD ENOUGH. I wish I was normal.

By: shauni_tee (shauni x)