Hello all.

I wanted to share my story on the site about IBS. My name is Elise and I am a 20 year old female living in Sacramento, California. I was diagnosed with IBS (the doctors didn’t say what type it was, but I believe its IBS-A) about 5 months ago, so I’m a newbie to all this. I know I still have a lot to learn about living with this condition, but I hope my story can help contribute to this site…

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.

Dear Online Community:

Hi,

I was diagnosed with IBS about 9 years ago (although I know I have had the condition for most of my life). My carefully controlled work environment was shattered when I was told I would have to move to another site 15 miles away and involved a cross-country journey. I had the humiliating experience of having to explain why this was impossible. They promptly sent me to see an unsympathetic doctor at their Occupational Health Clinic. In the end they compromised and I was sent over for one day a week which was fine as I could control my condition with increased doses of loperamide that I am prescribed on a regular basis.

So for the longest time I've thought I had mild IBS, more so travelers being that nearly every time I'd get ready to go somewhere I'd get the urge to "go". Then while on long trips I'd get anxious also.

When I first joined this forum I was getting ready to leave for Air Force basic training. I was so worried that I would be rushing everywhere and not have the chance to use the restroom when I needed to. Amazingly not only me but it seems to be a trend that for the first week or two NO ONE has a bowel movement lol. Eventually it happened and I discovered it wasn't a problem if we needed to go, or more like it never was an issue.

I wanted to tell my story after reading some very disheartening stories from very young plus older people.

I'm 62 yrs old and was diagnosed with IBS-D about two years ago. Although I know I have had this disease for the last 20 to 30 years of my life but didn't relate it to what is now happening.

In the last two years I have had 3 Colonoscopies and have had two infections one
on Christmas Eve 2008 and one in October 2009 (hospitalized for 5 days on that one)

I have gone through the cramping stomach, diarrhea 10-15 times a day, aniexty, stress, weight loss, not knowing what to eat, afraid to go out of my house and its not fun. Any meds for cramping had such bad side effects worse than the IBS.

I'm a small bone woman who usually weighs about 104 to 108 lbs, 5'2". I also have Diverticulosis and cannot have any sugar or fruit.

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.

For about 15 years, I've had the pleasure of dealing with constantly needing to know where a bathroom is at all times. I actually remember the first time I got the big D for what seemed like no reason. I was 23, and I was eating a baked potato from Wendy's, with butter, sour cream and chives. Yum! And then-Uh oh. And so it began. Every day. Every time I ate. Every. Single. Time. Going Out to eat-No fun. Dates-No fun. Vacations-No fun. Nothing's fun when you're afraid to eat anything and you're basically mentally blue-printing every building or house you're in, scoping out where all the bathrooms are and how long it's gonna take to get to each one, like you're a spy in some kind of horrible James Bond movie gone completely awry. Well, never a dull moment. And it's almost become like a buddy to me. Boyfriends have come and gone, jobs have come and gone...But my IBS stands by me through it all, constantly there for me, urging me on, as it were. (No pun intended.) Constantly.