[clareuk]

I'm beginning to get a bit concerned about keeping my job. Lately I've been late a bit and I don't know what I can do. Things are generally better than they have been but I still get days where out of the blue I just can't get off the toilet in the mornings. I have to drive for 20 - 25 mins for work and I just can't always leave the house when I should. Partly because if I'm having a bad day I like to know I've finished as much as I can before I get in the car. How many employers are really that supportive. I have a great boss and she has been very understanding but I think she's even beginning to get a bit fed up with the same excuse after years. I'm just wondering what are the options when you really can't help being late. I've tried getting up earlier but it dosen't make any difference. It starts when it wants to. I'm just getting a bit worried about this now. I take immodium as soon as I get out of bed, but it never works quick enough. I don't know what I should do. If I know I'm getting late, then I get stressed and that makes things worse for the whole day. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I get a note from my doctor explaining the situation for my boss? Does anyone have any suggestions with how they cope with always being late. I hate the fact that probably all my employers think of me is that I am always late and so they think I'm lazy, unreliable and don't care when that really isn't the case.

 

[Thai]

Claire,Since you are not adverse to taking Immodium, have you considered taking it in a preventative way?So instead of waiting til you get up in the morning...take it say twice a day every day.Maybe even half a tab twice a day? You'll no doubt have to play around with the dosage to find the balance between C and D, but many people have found this is the way to deal with this issue.Good luck,

 

[clareuk]

Hi thanks for the reply. I do take them everyday even when things are fairly good. I take one a day first thing in the morning but it will be good for a week or so and then out of the blue I have the diarrhea. I used to get it everyday so it is better than that at least, it's just I don't know when. So then I get a bad morning and have to take more of the imodiums when it happens. It's just so tricky when I have to be at work for 9oclock. Sometimes I think it would be better if i didn't go to bed as the problems are always worst when I have been asleep. Thanks for the thought though.

 

[Thai]

Maybe add a half tab at night and see if that improves the situation even further?

 

[RKM06]

Do you use pill form of Immodium? Maybe a liquid would kick in faster and make it so you are not late? I don't know if you have tried anything other than Immodium maybe Kaopectate?

 

[ttalk]

Hello, I'm new to all this but not IBS-D, I have been a sufferer for around 8 years and have been having trouble getting to work on time too. I suffer everyday at the moment. Always in the morning and sometimes at night too ...I have had loads of tests, procedures, kept the food diaries and have regular reviews with my GP. On a whole I'm better than I have been for years but I struggle in the mornings.I get all my stuff for work sorted out the night before so that all I have to do it get up shower etc, get dressed, comb my hair and throw on a bit of make up. I generally drive into work as I am a carer for my mum and my sibling and I take it in turns to sort mum in the evenings.But since the winter my immune system has been low and I kept catching colds in the office and had to walk to work in all the snow we had as I am not permitted to work from home like the rest of my team. Then as the weather improved my IBS seemed to be calming but not in the mornings. So I would get up earlier and earlier but somtimes just when about to leave the house to get to work on time the cramping starts and I have to run to the loo....then I go back and forth to the loo until the 'D' stops or calms to a level I can then travel to work. its a 10 minute drive but parking is a nightmare and walking sometimes sets the motions back off again. I find if I sit down and keep calm it helps.My sickness is high because of this. I generally have a day or two in a month where it hasn't stopped in time for me to even do half a days work so I have to take a full day sick.So claireuk I know exactly how u feel. I work hard when I am in work, I have no complaints and am up-to-date with my work. I have had numerous OH Reports and I am being constantly assessed at work due to my lateness and sick attendance. I have asked for reasonable adjustments such as flexiblity with my hours especially in the mornings as a 9/9.30am start can not always be achieved. And I used to have a start time of 10am. I have asked for flexibilty in my role...taking out the operational bits so it causes less stress and so that I can work from home on days that are difficult...All have been refused.I have always been very open about having the condition and its syptoms. My colleagues all know and don't understnad why I can't have a laptop so I can work from home on occasion.I don't know what else I can do ....I love my work and the team I work in...I don't want to loose my job just because I don't have the same access to work as my colleagues and because of having IBS-D. The situation is stressing me out. I take Mebeverine 3 times a day and immodium...it helps but im not completely there yet.Ive been told i must be at work by 9. 9.30 in exceptional circumstances with IBS; if i am in after that 2 times or more a month my employment will have to be reviewed.I'm completely stuck...any advise anyone???

 

[overitnow]

Claire (and ttalk), have you ever considered trying the Provex CV? Obviously, there is no way of knowing if it will help, or not; but it shouldn't interfere with Immodium, other than eventually remove your need for it. It certainly can't hurt to try, and it might be transformative.Mark

 

[ttalk]

thanks mark!! I will ask at my local pharmacy if not I'll check with my GP I'll see her in about 2 weeks!

 

[clareuk]

Thanks for the help everyone. Mark thanks for the advice - I haven't ever tried provex CV, I'm actually not even sure what it is? but I guess it might be worth a shot. Like I say at the moment most of the time I am doing ok and that is truely wonderful after having it everyday, it's just it still comes out of the blue. I get my head around it and start to think I'm getting much better and then it all comes back and messes my head up too for the next few weeks. So I panic take too many immodiums and then I can't go at all for a couple of days!!

Mark a big thank you for always helping and listening, you have really helped me over the last few years.The immodium instants and liquid might also be worth a try and I hadn't thought about those, so thanks I will give them a go.cw2009, thanks very much for the offer of the hypnosis, that's really nice of you. I have tried the hypnosis and unfortunately it didn't work for me, I've tried a couple different ones. That's really nice of you to offer to send it. Ttalk, Sorry you are having the same problem. I think sometimes if only this could be appreciated as a medical problem and be taken seriously, I think employers would take it more seriously. I have got a lovely boss at the moment it's just I feel so awful every time when i have to be late. I do tell myself that in a hundred years who is going to care, but I do. I think having a nightmare boss a few years ago (who used to wait outside with her watch for me, I was about 25 at the time) has probably made me really worry about it. I just hate that I'm always late and I just can't do anything. I'm beginning to think that I need to get a nightjob as I always wake up at 9pm anyway. Thanks everyone.

 

[clareuk]

I have just looked up the provex cv Mark and sorry I didn't twig what you were suggesting. I will look into it as I know you had great success with the flavanoid supplements. It might be worth a try as you once before said it might be due to inflammation. I also used to smoke as you know which gave me asthma but i managed to quit and I am allergic to many things. So I suppose it might all be linked. I will look into them. Thanks again Mark.

 

[skip1000]

Hi everyone,From personal experience - I've got IBS-D all my life and I'm in my forties now and it's actually better controlled now. Here are the corrective measures I've taken:1. If your mattress is beat up and sinks in the center like a hole, get rid of it and get a good supportive firm mattress. If your spine is bent out of shape and u got ibs-d, well things will get worse. the spine has so many nerves that connects to the 2. recently I started eating a diet that support more alkaline in body: enzyme pills w/ every meal. good brand of probiotics every day (new chapter). caltrate calcium + D after every meal. vitamin C. few glasses of milk a day. apple every day. because my diet used to promote more acid in my digestion (grains, meats, lack of green veg) my intestines used to always get irritated easily. Now i really feel the difference. solid stool and much more tolerant of different foods. my urine ph went from a 4 to about 6'ish. because i lack enzymes at this point in my life, enzyme pills are necessary for my digestion during every meal. btw, enzymes are also alkaline and will neutralize acids from the stomach. anyway, these changes made a big impact in recent month. i've been taking enzymes for about 6 months now and it gets rid of gas and bloating after meals.3. have a better diet and get rid of foods that triggers ibs or makes digestion worse. i don't drink cold drinks, no sodas/alcohol, no coffee, no greasy/fried foods. anyway, ibs-d triggering foods is different for every person.4. if things are really bad now, go on a very restrictive diet along w/ some medicine and follow points 1,2, and 3 until things improve. then try out different foods to see what works for you.

 

[skip1000]

btw,forgot to mention, if u got ibs-d, avoid sleeping on the stomach at night. as a kid, i used to always get d in the morning bc of this. i also had a crappy bed - poor family. also, keep ur abs section warm during sleep, esp. if ur d problem is at its pits atm. definitely, no coffee! the caffeine and acid in it will cause lots of problems on ur trip to work.

 

[asarii]

i have the same prob! i have a great boss too and she never says a thing if i show up late or get there and have to immediantely spend time in teh bathroom. but it is annoying not to be able to know if i am gonna make it from the parking lot to the bathroom. and it will be just fine until i am running around getting ready in the morning and then it hits me! i have found that getting up earlier and eating earlier helps. that gives my digestion time to work out the kinks while i am at home. i cut out coffee and processed sugar for breakfast, but the biggest factor as to my mornings, is what i ate or drank the night before. if i drank soda or ate a heavy snack before bedtime, chances are the morning will be bad! i get to sit down at my job alot so that helps. when i worked with the elderly two years ago, always on my feet, i was in the bathroom more than the old people! hope this helps too. just get your body on a routine. my son has this too and he had to walk to school. it was torture not knowing if he was gonna make it to the school he said. i hate it that he has to deal with this so young!