School Trouble
#126232 - 11/29/04 07:19 PM
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I have been working on Heather's diet. I got the book (Eating for IBS) a year ago and my mom read it so I figured she'd fill me in on it. However, she missed some things (I'm not blaming her, I should have read the book then. It's not her job to do this for me) and that could be why I had trouble even when I thought I was eating right.
Well, I read the book on Saturday and Sunday and I'm working on the diet now.
I've been having a lot of stress with my IBS. I've always worried about things and IBS has become one more thing to worry about. I get really nervous at school and when I go out in public (it's worse at school). I worry about having sudden attacks, not being able to get to the rest room, and having an attack come on so suddenly that I won't have time to react. The fear of losing bowel control is the one that scares me the most and has me constantly worrying. Last year, there was an incident where I was in class and I had to run to get to the bathroom. During the past few weeks, I've had two bad attacks at home (so far, my IBS problem has been purely "d"). Those two recent attacks could have been from IBS, the flu/cold (which I've had these past few weeks), or a combination.
I know stress and worry only make IBS worse. I've been listening to Michael Mahoney's 100-day tapes (I'm on day 26). I usually feel alright when I'm at home, but as soon as I go to school, or out in public I get really nervous and worried.
Does anyone else share this fear? How can I deal with this? Please help! :_(
Thank you.
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So sorry! I have always had those worries also. I can go a long time without the fear but then when I have an attack, it will take me a long time to get over the fear again.
Follow the diet and take the SFS. Work up to a good amount. A little bit will not do the trick. You have to get up to a certain amount before you will feel more confident. Just do it slowly. I pray that you will lose that fear soon. Good luck, my dear.
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Hey and welcome lobstress!
It does take awhile to get used to the info on the diet, I messed up alot at first, mainly because I didn't understand! make sure you post here if you have any specific questions.
I was diagnosed with IBS when I was 17, but it was right after I graduated, so that made things easier on me.
If you strictly adhere to the diet you will start to get better. Once you are feeling better, the anxiety will start to go away. Start with little trips where there are potties, than work your way up.
I just went on a 12 hour each way car trip, when before I was not able to make it to the corner store!
I have heard good things about the Hypno tapes, but have not tried them myself. If all of this does not work, maybe you need anxiety meds, but only a doctor can decide if that is right for you.
Good luck and hope to see ya around!
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-Sheri
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Thanks to both of you! Sheri01, what do you mean by "work your way up?"
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Hi Lobstress. Welcome to the boards. I've only just started my diet so I can't really offer you any advice but I can offer sympathy and understanding. I'm still struggling with the issue of going places myself. Going to the shops or something I can handle but I've yet to feel comfortable making an appointment or doing something where I can't just up and go home if I feel ill. I'm hoping in time it will get easier. Good luck!
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Amy
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I can absolutely relate to that! I can't even book ahead for the hairdresser because I'm afraid that I'll be feeling sick when it comes time to go!
I really need a haircut too. 
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*Emma*
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A SFS will really help you. Plus, you can take Immodium as a preventative - I took one tablet every morning for a few months and it really helped me to stabilise. You should talk to your doctor about this though.
Good luck. Sheri meant start with little trips and then make them increasingly long or potentially stressful.
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Alright. Thanks everyone! Is Kaopectate as good as Immodium? I've been taking 2 tablespoons of Kaopectate every morning for the past week. I could try Immodium again some other time. I tried it a few times, but for whatever reason I still had trouble. My mother has also suggested that I take soluble fiber supplements, but I've been too nervous to take them during the schoolweek. Maybe I'll try during the weekend.
Currently I take Sam-E, vitamins for stress, and myricette (weak birth control intended to regulate my irregular menstration) every morning. Could any of those be interfering? I used to take Paxil for anxiety, but my parents thought that it was contributing to the IBS, so I was taken off of it (I wanted to get off of it too). I stopped taking it this summer and I was great for the first month or so when I went back to school. Then I started being late to class more and more until it ended up like this.
What type of soluble fiber supplements would one recommend for this?
(Sorry I feel obligated to tell you all what meds I'm taking. I usually only mention this stuff to my mom and my doctors, but in this case, I figure that maybe someone here knows how IBS interacts with those medicines/vitamins.)
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Hi there!
First of all, I just want to say Hi and Welcome to the boards. I think IBS is always hard to deal with, but so much worse when you are younger. I know what you mean about anxiety at school, I've had IBS since I was probably.. 8? And I'm 22 now, so I had problems all through high school but I luckily made it out alive! 
I also wanted to mention that you really need not apologise for anything here - there is nothin' we haven't heard before and we certainly can use as much info as you can give us so we can offer suggestions and stuff. Like, if you tell us a medication you were on that you did really badly with, someone else might have had the same experience BUT done really well with another. Or, if you do really well with a medication it's nice to let us know so it can help somebody else.
There are some people who've said that birth control pill has made their IBS worse, and some who've had no change.. There have also been people that have said that their IBS gets much worse around their periods, so when they go onto certain contraceptive methods, this isn't such a big deal. I don't think anybody has really figured that one out yet.
Check the ingredients in the vitamins you are taking; Some I was taking were making me more ill as they had Sorbitol in them. If you do a search for threads about vitamins, you should find quite a few that have other harmful ingredients as I can't remember any other ones off the top of my head.
Some anti-anxiety/depression medications have really helped people. If you felt better being off the Paxil, you might be able to try some other ones that would help but I think it's a matter of trial and error and I understand you not wanting to be on tons of medications as you're so young. You can, though, get really low dose ones and they might help with you feeling so uncomfortable when you leave the house, that is the biggest problem I've been able to overcome with the IBS by taking a very low dose anti-depressant.
Good luck, and remember you don't have to be afraid to ask us anything!
--Steph
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~~I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell-I know right now you can't tell~~Matchbox 20
IBS-D,pain.
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I wanted to get back on some type of anti-anxiety medication, but my parents don't want me to. When I took the medicine, I kept switching because I kept having "d" troubles. The doctor said that it was a symptom of those particular drugs but he prescribed Paxil and said that most patients didn't have those problems. I still had IBS trouble, so my parents decided that I shouldn't take it anymore, but even after I came off of it I still had trouble.
My mom recommended Sam-E, which I'm taking now. I don't know if it helps much. I hadn't taken it for awhile because I didn't think it worked but I just started retaking it these past few weeks.
I'm considering changing my schedule next semester. I don't think I'd have as much trouble in my classes if I was there the whole class period. I'm thinking of taking less demanding classes. Hopefully I won't miss as much that way. My teachers all have notes from my doctor that excuse me from being late or having to leave, but I still feel really awkward when I'm late everyday. When you were in school, did you have a lot of problems with being late and having to leave during class? How did you manage that?
Thanks.
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