Hello all,I'm fairly new to this type of severe IBS-D and I'm having a really hard time coping...I'm fine for a few days and then BAM! I get hit with an attack where I can lose as much as 3 pounds in 30 minutes. It makes it hard to leave the house and to care for my 9 month old son. I've been told that I have Fibromyalgia as well but the Doctors around here are useless. I've lost 75 pounds in 9 months and all my Doctor can think about is shopping for new clothes for a new skinnier me! Apparently all the tests have been done but she didn't recommend a colonoscopy because I'm only 27.So what do I do? How do I get my life back so I can enjoy my son and enjoy living...and dare I say eating...again? Food has become poison to me and any amount of stress is bad news as well. I imagine it's kinda like being crippled.I'm sorry to vent on and on here but I have no other outlets here. Doctors politely smile and write out perscriptions that make me sicker....then they say just to drink Ginger Ale when I'm having an "off" day! I don't think they realize how much pain is involved, mentally and physically.Anyways any helpful tips are appreciated and thanks for listening!Ginger
Help...I'm so low
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i understand what you are saying i have only suffered with this for about four months and the doc even then said you could have irritable bowel. i feel like i'm stuck in a hole with no way out, no one seems to understand how i feel and that is really frustrating. I have an 22 month old son and end up putting on a brave face to take him out and when i'm around others. i don't like staying in and have to ignore how i feel jusst to get to work and out. i am going to make another apponitment for docs but am optomistic about the outcome.hope you fell better soon.Claire (Fairy)
thanks Claire,It's just nice to know that I'm not alone and that my symptoms aren't that strange...sometimes I worry about drastic illnesses like cancer because it's hard to believe that a harmless syndrome (although painful)could be this awful.Well good luck with your appointments and I hope you feel better soon!
I think you should see a new doctor who will take you seriously. Have they not supplied you with any medication to help? I think that's awful if they havnt.I suffered with severe D (I mean like 3-5 times b4 I even left the house of a morning, then again later in the day), but I'm now on Anti depressants which have eased my stress levels (cant get too worked up these days lol) and the D has all but gone. OK, if I really really wind myself up, like the dentist trip yesterday, I still get bad, but oh, to be free of it for days/weeks is wonderful. I also take two Imodium each morning as a precaution. Those tablets can be a lifesaver to enable you to get out and about! Mandy x
my doc just said watch what foods you eat to see if you can find a trigger food for you. all well and good but with a 22 month old running me ragged all time i don't have time to think during the day let alone anaylsis what i've eaten!! i'm on fybergel once a day but it worked for a week then i forgot one and by the folling evening i was back to normal and it hasn't worked since.back to doc next week for more answers.
mattysmom,Welcome to the board and if you are suffering from diarrhea attacks maybe calcium carbonate can help you can find some info on the Diarrhea Forum on the message board. Let me know if you want me to email you the info. Just send me a note.Linda
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Hi Ginger,Sorry to hear this - you really have it rough, and I am a bit concerned with all the weight you have lost - usually that kind of weight loss is not a part of IBS - it can be - but I just hope your doc has ruled out anything else. You poor thing!Try the calcium as Linda suggests - it won't hurt you, and it may help.I suffered with IBS so badly I could hardly leave the house, and I raised my son and daughter through the bathroom door (they are now 22 and 17!!) I had such severe D lasting 4 hours almost every day - and lots of pain.You can take a peek at the link below for my story - but also, make sure there is nothing else causing your severe weight loss other than IBS - just to make sure...Hope you find an answer - take care and (((HUGS))) to you..
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Hi Mattysmum! I too have D a lot of the time. It's just awful. I also have kids (3 of them). Lol Marilyn! I know how you felt! I too feel like I am raising my kids through the bathroom door. I think being a parent makes it even harder than usual cause you feel like a bad parent at times. "mummy can we go to the park?" And I constantly say "not today, mummy feels sick and has a sore belly". But they realise after a while that that is my answer to almost everything! I feel like I am dissapointing them and missing out on so much with them. Sorry this has turned into a moan about me. To get to the point I understand exactly how you are feeling. It is important to get more testing done just to be sure though. Good luck with finding a new (and sympathetic) doctor!
Hi Matty's mom. I'm a mom to a Matty also. He will be 2 in October- so cute aren't they? Well....I came to this websight with similar problems....although I have not lost wt like you have- that must be scary. I hope you find a good dr. out there. I realized yesterday it was time to call my dr because this has been controlling my life for years. yesterday i took my kids (almost 2 and almost 4) out for ice cream. They were sitting there happy as could be when i was hit with the dreaded feeling that I better find a bathroom FAST! Do you get this too? Out of nowhere so i had to scoop them up mid bites and throw them in the car. i drove to the nearest place with a bathroom only for them to tell me they didn't have one. I started to cry (meanwhile my kids are locked outside in my car because i thought if i tried to bring them in with me i'd surely have an accident) so they let me use their sacred toilet. I am afraid to do so many things in life because I worry i may need to find a potty fast.....how do you all deal with this?
Aaaahhh the joys of IBS. I'm sad to hear there are so any of us living with this evil condition. I don't cope particularily well right now. I take a clonazepam twice a day to manage the anxiety which is great until I get an "out of the blue" attack.....like today. My mom made the 45 minute trip to my house to hang out and I ended up sending her home with my son (Mattias)...then my poor hubby has to go out of his way after work to pick him up....so yes I know what it feels like to be guilty all the time and feel like a bad mom/wife. I am trying to be positive but I feel that the people around you have to be supportive...or discard their opinions. I've had to put my own mom in her place more than a few times....talk about guilt! But it has to be done so that we can get the respect our medical condition requires. I can't tell you how wildly my moods swing. On Sunday I'm elated and even sneak some wine gums...then today I feel like I want to die because of the pain and diarrhea. I don't leave the house too much anymore...just in case...and I'm working hard to overcome that. I hope we can all band together and help each other...I know it helps me to know that other women have managed to raise their children!Cheers!
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Hi again! Thought I might also add that I suspect I have fibromyalgia. My GP refuses to entertain the thought (he's great with IBS but I suspect knows nothing about Fibro). The aching days are the absolute worst, that and some times not being able to stop fidgeting. The only symptom of it I don't suffer from is migraines and my pressure points only hurt when I am already sore and achey. I also lost a lot of weight with my IBS (I went from 74kg to 58kg in a couple of months and was also anemic at this time) so I was sent for a colonoscopy which came back all clear but it was a bit scary thinking something worse might be wrong. Yep, family can be great or terrible, depending on how much they feel like being sympathetic at any given time
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As well as having the guilty mum feelings I too get the wife guilts about no going out to restaurants with DH, no cinema's, it's hard enough for him to coax me out of the house to do the grocery shopping! It must be very frustrating for him (that being said it's frustrating for me too!). Anyway just know that you are definately not alone
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thanks for the support gang- sure is good to know we are not alone in this. I think i've been in denial about this for years but what a shame to have something control your life like this. I must confess I don't have the pain that all of you are describing- just the fear and inconvenience. These support threads are great. HOpe everyone has a good pain free day- thanks again. Am I the only one from the US on here by the way?
Screamer,I totally know what it's like to have a GP in denial....she keeps telling me to relax and enjoy my 9 month old....yeah like I'm trying not to!?! She also tells me that my achiness is probably just post-partum...9 months later? I also have almost all the symptoms for Fibro but I got no help until I went to a Naturopath...and he did something called a Live Blood Analysis....and boy it was scary to see my blood and all the gucky things in it. I would recommend this for anyone...mind you it costs about 150 CDN. I have been told that all my symptoms come from malabsorption of nutrients which therefor cause all my symptoms of Fibro...makes sense if you think about what IBS can do to your gut! He says he can heal me in a year whereas the GP says once you have Fibro you're screwed
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So needless to say I'm going with the guy with the cure! So far he has already done well for me. I take something called Bio-Strath and it's amazing for energy....so I sometimes make it to the odd soccer game or shopping adventure.So...there's more info from me...I hope you get resolution for Fibro...it's a nasty one...especially when paired with IBS...well up to 70% of people with Fibro have IBS anyways and they're mostly women.....go figure...I don't get that one!Ginger
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