Worried about My Future....

Bubbles, You are making yourself sick by worrying and I understand. I wrote earlier and the computer messed up so away it went. I am pasting a very good site. READ it ALL and you will find most of the answers. In the meantime, no carbonated drinks or drinking through a straw. If milk bothers you cut down on it or use a med to help digest it. Chew food slowly and tiny bites.Continue using the simethicone. Cut the sugar and white bread. At least some of it. Also, TALK with your doctor about your extreme concern. You might need something for anxiety. You will get better by a better diet. It is hard to cope being young and in school but many of us did, so hang it. Let me know what you think about the site. You have to decide that some good foods bother you. I know you are choosey so take something you like to class if that is the only resort.We all get down. TRY the Exekiel Bread as am certain that should reduce the gas by helping you clear the colon well. At least try it. There is much in the article so absorb it.BTW, no more chewing gum if you use it as you swallow when chewing. You are going to have to change your diet more to reach your dream and you will. I know ! http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/gas/gas.htm ------------------trishb[This message has been edited by trishb (edited 10-03-2000).]

Hi bubbles, I know what you're going through. I'm a postgrad sudent and worrying how I'll ever be able to work properly because I have ME/CFS, as well as the IBS. It's the ME that's really worrying me.I would say that you have one huge advantage, and that is that although you have these terrible IBS problems, you are fit enough and able enough to work. This is an advantage because you should hopefully be able to earn a comfortable living. It's the work environment which is problematic beca use of the IBS.But the problem is the IBS, so, you need to sort out the cramping and gas, or find a way of working with still having those problems. Have you considered working from home? I think a great many people do that. What degree are you doing and what area of work would you like to go into? It might be possible to do a regular job from home if you like the sound of that??Like the others said, talk to the doctor or ask to see a dietician and see if there are any more self-help measures you can use for alleviating the gas and cramping.take care,susan

Hi, Bubbles. I have read your posts before and have always felt like you know exactly what I'm going through. I am 26 now and have had this happening to me for 11 years. It just started happening one day in 9th grade English class. I have no clue why. Your experiences at your summer job parallel my experiences at all of my jobs. I understand the constant worrying about the future, because I do it every day of my life. The feeling of hopelessness is awful. I managed to make it through a Bachelor's and a Master's, but I have yet to use them. I'm too paralyzed by fear. It so easy to say 'just ignore it', but unbearable to live through it every day. I know my self-esteem has suffered terribly.Before this started happening to me, I felt like I could handle anything in life that came along. I felt smart and determined and that I could do any job in the world. Now, I still know I'm intelligent and capable, but I feel that there's practically NO job I can do. It's very hard to be a new person in an office as it is, but to be constantly offending others...I just can't take it. I often felt i'd be alone, too. By some miracle of fate I actually met someone at school my last semester of my bachelor's. Three years later, we got married. Although, it was very hard and stressful to get through the beginning of a relationship with this problem. We initially did a lot of outdoor activities. Also, going to a smoky bar helps, too, if you can handle it. (Unfortunately for me, most bars in California are pretty much smoke-free now)Sorry this is so long, but I feel so awful for you; I feel sorry for myself, too. I went to my GI doctor yesterday and broke down crying in her office trying to explain this problem to her, once again, and the emotional problems it causes. I asked her for an anti-anxiety or anti-depressant so I can attempt to work again. She gave me fiber samples, told me to eat yogurt and take Culturelle and that she'd give them to me if the problem didn't go away in a month. People don't understand that we can't just walk out of the room when we're passing gas, because we don't even feel it coming out!! I don't even smell it! Everyone else sure does. My doctor said that if I don't feel the gas coming out, then it ISN'T gas. I said, "Well, what is it?" She said she didn't know and to try the fiber. I know she means well; she's a good doctor. But, I have no faith her ability to help me.Question to Bubbles:Is this gas problem just as bad at school? I found that although I was terribly stinky at work, I was stinky less frequently at school.I'm so confused. If it's not gas, what is it?

Thanks everyone for all your support! I don't know what I would do without this board...it really does help to have an outlet like this with people who understand what I'm going through.Trishb, the info you sent was very helpful--Thanks for helping me out! you're so supportive! Paloma, you hit the nail on the head....your emotions and anxieties are and were exactly how I feel. Yes, I do feel like my symptoms were worse at work than they are at school. I don't know why that is, except perhaps it has something to do with the fact that you are in one room for a shorter amount of time, whereas at work you are there in that one spot for pretty much the entire day. With regards to the gas thing, I know what you mean because you can't feel it. Sometimes when it's really bad though I just have cramping but I don't feel like I'm passing any gas although it seems that everyone around me can feel it...you probably know the signs...I told my mom, I tell her nearly everything, and she says it's all in my head...but it can't be!! Everything is just so clear. I feel popping or cramping in my abdomen or acid reflux (i guess that's what it is) in my throat and just a few seconds immediately following, I hear the sighs, and the agitation of people around me...and this was VERY apparent at work. But how are you doing, paloma? Are you working? what did you get your ba and master's in? I'm undeclared in business, but have to declare soon because i'm a soph undergrad. i was thinking of working with computers but then i thought about how awful it would be to SIT all day long. I still want an office job, but something that's VERY busy...chaotic even I just want people to be so caught up in work, myself included, that this problem doesn't even cross my or their minds. well, we'll see... In the meantime, thanks for your reply! hope you're feeling well today [This message has been edited by bubbles (edited 10-03-2000).]

I used to be pretty worried about this too. I have much less of a wind problem these days. I attribute this to a couple of things. I may have told you this before - I know I've told someone!1. Dietary changes - I've cut out or reduced my intake of most of the hard to digest foods or known gas producers. This can include cabbage, onions, capsicum, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, beans, lentils, corn, wholemeal grains (rye, wheat bran, oats rice etc), potatoes. In general carbohydrates seemed to cause me problems. Also, avoid artificial sweeteners (sorbitol is very windy). Eggs are a problem for some due to their sulphur content. Drie fruits preserved with sulphur may be a problem too.2. I take the fibre supplement methyl cellulose (which I believe is in Citrucel) which has the ability to absorb smelly wind.Avoid laxatives like lactulose which cause wind.3. I take acidophilus and eat yogurt regularly. I'm not sure if this is helpful, but it certainly doesn't do any harm!If you haven't tried modifying your diet, it is worth a go. I know it sounds very restricted (I am also a vegeterian, so mine is quite limited) but you may find not all the foods suggested are problematic for you. You might also benefit from herbal teas - I drink peppermint, chamomile and fennel which seem to help. Good luck!

Bubbles Don't you worry!! The main thing here is that you are thinking about your future. I want to commend you on that. You are obviously a very conscientious person with a lot of potential. Go after whatever you want to succeed in. YOU WILL SUCCEED!!!!! So many people don't even think about their futures at all. I think you are going to do wonderfully at whatever you choose to do. If there is one thing I know- it is that IBS strengthens you in a way that nothing else can. I believe the people on this board are some of the strongest people I've been acquainted with. I believe in the saying "That which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger". You are and will forever be a strong person who is able to deal with whatever life hands to you. Concentrate on your education right now. It is always good to earn a degree with a lot of versatility....that is one which can be used in a variety of ways. The main thing is to go for something you absolutely love to do. Keep your goal in sight and always tell yourself that you can do it, you will do it, and you deserve success. Be wells n t

Hi, again. Just wanted to answer your previous questions. I have not worked for a year, often using my baby daughter as an excuse. I love my daughter, but staying home 24 hours a day is not for me. I've ached to work part-time, but I've been too scared to. I recently tried substitute teaching, but I only lasted 2 1/2 days. All they had available was high school and one student made a comment (although he did not link the odor to me) and I just couldn't go in another day. I requested to work with the very young children (grades K-3) because I don't think I (or they) would care as much about this problem. Substituting is very flexible, but it's not what I'd like to do permanently.I was a business major, too! I ended up with an International concentration. There are many jobs out there in trade, transportation, state government, etc. I just can't imagine finally getting a job I really want, then having to quit from embarrassment. This has happened to me before. I've now quit 4 jobs due to this problem. One job I'd been at for 3 years and suddenly my recently hired co-worker, who happened to be someone I'd gone to elementary school with. As she passed by my desk every morning on the way to the bathroom, she would lean in near my ear and say, "you smell like caca". I never knew what to say, so I'd sort of blow it off by saying, "I know. Thanks for the information". She did this every single morning for a month. I couldn't concentrate on my work. I was petrified to leave my desk to use the copier, for fear I'd pass by someone's desk and make even more of a stink. I felt like I could barely breathe at work; I was an emotional wreck. I felt I had no option but to quit in order to save my sanity. I could tell you other stories, but that's it for tonight! I spoke to another doctor today. I asked him if it were possible that someone's sphincter was not perfectly closed and that maybe that allowed gas to escape undetected. He said that IS possible, but that people with this problem usually have some kind of slight fecal incontinence. I better go to bed. I'll talk to you later. Hang in there. Yeah, we might find an answer together!

Hey there Paloma, I just can't believe that your coworker said that to you! That must have been horrible! And I thought my coworkers at my summer job were mean enough by not being sympathetic and giving me dirty looks!Wow! It's so cool that you're a business major too...and what's even cooler is that I am also pursuing an international emphasis with a Spanish minor. I just hope that I'll be able to use it without fear, or maybe without these horrible symptoms...now my symptoms have shifted, it seems, from lower GI to upper GI, mainly being acid reflux. At least, that's what I think it is....it's like a weird kind of burping that I can't control and it leaves a very acidic feeling in my throat that burns. It's so annoying, and it seems like now this is what people are finding offensive. I just can't understand it...I don't know how to control it...no matter how hard I try to hold it in, it comes out very subtly and I think nothing of it, but people around me notice...they do the same things: dirty looks, whistling, rolling their eyes, sighing...even burping purposely so that I take the hint..i don't know what to do about this new problem. actually, it may not be so new, because i also had this at work a couple of times...ugh! well, sorry to go off, I just had to vent...I hope you are feeling better today. My mom tells me all this is in my head, but it's not. Sometimes I say to myself that I should pretend it's not there and see what happens...but even when I don't think about it, it happens...and that's how I know it's not in my head...well, again, feel better...and I have faith that not too long from now, you'll find the job you love and be able to keep it...just keep the faith. I know it's really hard, but I'm still trying.

I have explained the gassiness to three different doctors and they all said the same thing: watch your diet carefully and exercise. I was doing this and it got worse in the summer...actually what happened was I was trying to lose weight this summer so I cut out all junk food and ate more healthy foods, fruits/veggies, etc...but maybe i cut too many calories (which I seriously doubt because the portions seemed like I was eating more food, but more healthy foods), and I got really gassy...it could have been the fruits, or maybe the total change from going healthy and exercising regularly. I don't know. But everytime I see a doctor about the gas problems I have, they treat it like it's not a big deal and that I should eat more fiber, fruits, veggies (which would give me more gas as if they don't know!!), and just deal with it....ugh!