[cafff]

Sorry, this is a bit long but I have trouble summarising what I want to say!Basically last June I was diagnosed with IBS however I'd say things it started around last January. I'm only 17 and coupled with stress from college and just how bad my IBS can get (it flares up pretty much everyday, if it's not diarrhea it's excess wind and if it's not that then I'm constipated, at times I seem to have every symptom within the space of a few hours...). It's really getting me down as I've been depressed in the past but somehow managed to overcome it on my own, however I find it difficult getting myself through this bout of depression as there is an actual physical reason for it, unlike my old bouts of depression which were purely psychological. The thing is I'm a really shy and self concious person and I am pretty sure I have social anxiety (self diagnosis but it's the only thing that can explain my excessive shyness!) and was really getting my self confidence back, that was before I got IBS. Now my stomach rumbles ALL the time due to excessive gas and it's making me really anxious, especially being at college as I'm constantly in quiet situations and the only thing I can think about is if my stomach is going to rumble. If it does I actually feel the onset of a panic attack - feel dizzy and sick, get a cold sweat etc - and have to ask if I can leave and go to the toilet. It sounds so insignificant to other non-IBS sufferers which is why I feel that no one can take me seriously. I've told people I hate that my stomach rumbles and they've told me I'm stupid to worry and that I should just forget about it but I can't. Whereas I imagine most people don't even think about their bowels or stomachs mine is right in my self concious (I have a habit of obsessing over things and making them seem worse in my head which hasn't helped) and it's not really the physical aspect of my IBS that is the problem, it's the fact that having social anxiety I am comfortable to lurk in the background, and when my stomach rumbles I have no choice about this and am automatically thrust into the spotlight as I've had a few really bad experiences with it such as in exams and quiet moments in the cinema which were so painfully embarrassing I can barely think about them!In cases my IBS has been so troublesome that I've missed entire days at college, other times I feel I have to skip lessons if I'm having a bad stomach day as I know that it will rumble and once I'm in a lesson, I can't just leave half way through. This has started making me panic - I don't think I've had a full blown panic attack yet but with every onset of panic I get more and more anxious and it seems to be getting worse each time. I've tried (what feels like) everything to deal with my IBS, and some things do work like these Slippery Elm capsules I've found help with relieving gas but then I still have the noises as the gas releases itself and sometimes I just get fed up of going to the toilet so much just to release it from my body!So the point is my attendance. Last year I had great attendance and I was actually called a 'rolemodel student' as I only had around 1% unattendance at college. This year at college I have 12% unattendance and at my college they set the boundary of 10% as being acceptable and any lower is 'worrying'. I've not been addressed about my attendance so far as I've used excuses such as migranes, nausea or just feeling generally unwell as I'm so embarrassed about my IBS that I feel I can't even tell my teachers that I have it. I feel that when I tell them I won't be in the lesson (everythings done via email so I guess it might seem very impersonal) they don't seem to believe that I am ill. I know people with worse attendance than me but I know that they are just skipping college, and although I suppose I am myself, I have a reason for doing it and I know that if I told them it was IBS they would understasnd more but I can't bring myself to do it. I'd rather wait until I was questioned about it and then say it's IBS but then I am fed up of feeling like a let down because I've missed certain lessons, especially as one of my teachers never believes that people are ill unless they look like a walking dead person and it's starting to really annoy me that even when I am ill they don't take me seriously. I end up just feeling guilty and like I've let myself down, however I feel that my IBS is no longer something I'm living with and that it IS my life now.So does anyone know what I should do? Has anyone been in the same situation? I'm really trying to attend all my lessons but some days it's just almost impossible to. I finish college in about 10 weeks but up until then I'm just worried about my attendance as even my mum is getting annoyed with me taking occasional days off (only maybe 2 a month maximum for a whole day at home, which I don't find is too bad) and I feel so alienated! My mum knows how bad my problem is but she seems to be fed up with my IBS and so am I, but I obviously am the one who puts up with it primarily. Should I just tell my teachers? If so how should I do it? Has anyone been in a similar situation who could offer advice? I know this is lengthy but it's becoming a real problem and I need could really do with some advice.Thanks

 

[BQ]

Get a note from your Dr and make sure all of professors have a copy of it as well as the administration.Please check out our Teens & Children Forum or our Young Adult Forum for more info & help.

 

[Papermoon]

I am so sorry to hear that you are having to deal with so much. First I want to recommend that you take Acidophilus capsules. I came on this website to recommend it to everyone last week because after realizing that I had found something that finally worked, easy to get and inexpensive, I don't want anyone to suffer needlessly. I had suffered from IBS for 10 years, but 6 months ago my life changed when I started taking this capsule once each morning. I don't know where you live, but here in the U.S. you can buy them at Target stores or any drugstores for about $4.24 for a bottle of 60 capsules. It is a probiotic that like yogurt have live cultures that kill the bad bacteria in our bodies and helps the digestion process. If you have doubts, please research online or at the library. Please try it so that you will start feeling better and more confident.

 

[rosielee]

im sorry i cant help you with the gas problem- hope you fnd a treatment that will help you with this- there are loats of people on here with treatment ideas and you should use this forum to help you- i tink its case of trying things ut until you find somehting that helps- there should deffinately be something that helps with your rimbling and gassy problem- but what you should deffinately do is get an extenuating circumstances form from the admin dept. at college, and fill this out telling them of your IBS diagnosis- get your doctors note or certificate to go with it- no one else will see it- its confidential- so only your tutors will,this is a total MUST and do it as soon as possible and yout tutors wil just presume your not committed- they presume this all too quickly im afraid- and in any case when they mark you- they will actually mark you down because of poor attendance- you could do a realy good essay but the marks will never be that great if youve had bad attendence as the tutors reflect how committed you are and your attitude in the marks. when it comes to your end degree or certificate youll need that extenuating circ so they dont give you lower marks or edn result- youll need it to if you want a reference to go onto to further education- like if you wanted to go to uni- so its really, really important you do this as soon as poss. dont let privacy issues and embarrassment stop you- you have genune medical condition and tutors and college need to know im afraid otherwise its going to realy work against you- places for uni can be competetive so you need to cover your back

 

[GrumbleGrumble]

Hi Cafff,I can completely sympathise with your problem because the same thing happens with me. For me, the most severe problem is the bloating and reallly really loud rumbling from the gas. Worst thing is you become so sensitised to it- a bad day of rumbling is enough to have me in tears. I was lucky that my symptoms didn't start till I was in university, and in large classes where I could sit at the side near the back and sneak out if it got too bad (didn't stop the humiliation of people turning around in their seats to see what "that noise" was though

)I agree with BQ that you should get a note from your doctor- and have a quiet chat with your tutors. I have always been pleasantly surprised with how sympathetic people can be with these things. Maybe a leaflet or something of the like explaining the condition would be good to hand to them as well. As for in class, I find the rumbles are either when I need to go to the toilet, or when i'm constipated and have trapped wind. Trying to clear my bowels each morning helps me, and I have the confidence knowing that the rumbles won't be as loud if they do happen (ALWAYS worse when I need to go to the toilet). Also, have you tried charcoal capsules? I find they give me a bit of relief and I pop a few after I eat. Try, if you can, to eat well before class (not just before) and chew very thoroughly and slowly, and try to get to a bathroom to get rid of that extra gas before class. Apart from that, just try and work on your relaxation- I can't say I've fully tackled this and even though I only have to go through one meeting a week where I have to sit in a quiet space, there is still that anxiety there and intense preparation in going to the bathroom beforehand, and eating bland meals the night before! I even go to yoga (to try and practice relaxation to tackle the anxiety that makes it all worse) and freak out during the quiet meditation parts! I hope it goes well for you and hang in there- only 10 weeks to go.... Let us know how you go with it...

 

[cafff]

Thanks for the replies! I finally had the guts to tell my teachers about my IBS and that it flares up often - a lot of people I've told seem to think that it is just a quick illness like the flu and don't realise that it's long term - and I let my personal tutor know so she said if I have any problems with my attendance she can fight my corner! Realised this week that I might have Seasonal Affective Disorder too which was probably why I was getting so down about IBS, now it's Spring and the summer has come out I feel a lot more optimistic about my IBS than I did a couple of weeks ago! Papermoon - thanks for the recommendation, I'm in the UK but I'll try having a look for those capsules, I'm currently trying out Yakult to see if that makes a difference as I think they have similar bacteria in them?GrumbleGrumble - I can completely symphathise with you also! I know what you mean about being so sensitised to it all, the fact we are so concious about it can only make the problem worse, I find that when I'm nervous my IBS really flares up, so it irritates it more because the mind and gut are so closely connected! I think I'm going to ask at the doctors about being put on anti-anxiety medication or something similar because although not a practical idea, I find that whenever I have a glass of wine it seems to completely relax my guts and there's been times when I've been out for a meal and suddenly been struck with really bad cramps and wind and I can feel that I'm going to have an episode of D. I have one or two glasses of wine and the cramps stop and in the morning my BMs seem to be normal again which is unusual considering alcohol is supposed to be an irritant. I'm wondering if anti anxiety medication would have a similar effect if it is a relaxant. There's no harm in asking

Until then I find that Slippery Elm capsules are really good at relieving trapped wind - I get wind so much and often it gets trapped which like you said causes the rumbling, but the Slippery Elm seems to help to move things along so you can go about relieving it and it doesn't get stuck as much. Peppermint tea and hot drinks are great at this too...think you just have to give everything a go and not give up immediately if something doesn't work (that's why I'm giving Yakult a go too). Hope everything goes well for you too, it's always good to have someone to relate to