just need some overall support (long)
#257447 - 04/10/06 04:21 PM
|
|
|
|
|
taroh73
Reged: 12/28/04
Posts: 184
Loc: chicago, il
|
|
|
UGH! Do any of you feel like living w/IBS is like living with a puzzle that requires you to re-solve EVERYDAY! I just feel like I hit my head against a brickwall no matter what. Doing it alone with this illness makes life feel nearly impossible. I'm 33, single, very well educated and attractive, but my life seems to have turned to a pile b/c of IBS. Mostly, the fatigue I feel keeps me from a social life.... so I remain alone because it's sooo rare that I have the energy to go out and meet men. I'm so tired of friends not understanding.. and even when they do I swear they still don't REALLY get the gravity of the symptoms. I lost my career track b/c of this illness.... I can BARELY make it through a 40 hour work week at a retard job... but it's the only job I can hold down because there is no stress, and I can call in and not be missed. It's a catch 22... I'm stuck alone b/c I never get out to meet anyone, and I'm scared to death to be alone b/c doing it all.. figuring it out, paying the bills, and trying to work is almost too much sometimes. I am getting ready to try to go back to school to get teacher certified b/c I figure I will at least have long vacations to deal w/the IBS. But Idon't know how in the world I will manage to work and go to school with no help from anyone. Does anyone else feel this way??? How do the rest of you who do it ALL alone cope?
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Sometimes it gets to me, but I try to keep a positive attitude, and prayer helps too.
Is the diet working for you, and have you tried the hypnotherapy for the stress? What kind of job do you have now? It might not be as bad as you think.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
The diet definitely helps... but it is a catch 22 as well because I used to eat an amazingly healthy diet, and because my tummy is sooo sensitive, I am forced to go heavy on the sugar and white flour. So, I gained 12 pounnds in a year since finding the boards(i'm 5 foot 4). It's particularly emotionally painful for me b/c I was a chubby kid and got teased a lot... I worked very hard in my adult life to stay healhty and get in shape- which I did- but thought I was DYING because my IBS-C, and bloat were so debilitating. It just feels like anything that helps also hurts. I work in a call center right now... and i don't mean to demean them, but the one I work in is particularly trashy and low class. I have a masters degree in English & used to teach at a few colleges... I picked up and moved to a warmer state 6 years ago because I couldn't bear having layers of clothes on my body during Chicago winters b/c my bloat was sooo severe. Once I moved I just couldn't take on any jobs that demanded anything of me & I couldn't get a job at the colleges that paid enough to live- honestly. Then my IBS just spiraled out of control and I've been stuck ever since. I'm finally moving back home to Chi... just scary trying to figure out how to negotiate my life and care for IBS. I try to explain to people that it is sort of like having a screaming baby that you can NEVER put down. EVERY decision I make is predicated on my gut. Does anyone else feel like that?
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I'm an IBS-A and sometimes I feel like a yo-yo! I can't offer too much advice on IBS-c and bloating, but the fennel tea is pretty good. Perhaps others who are C can help out more. Have you tried other Soluble Fibre that does not contain white flour or sugar? People on Low glycemic diets have done this diet and have had some success. Have you been exercising regularly at a gym or at home? It helps a lot with the IBS.
From what you have said in your posts, it seems like stress is a major issue for you. Perhaps the hypnotherapy can help you out in that area. Another thing I want to add is that although I do watch what I eat and I'm careful of triggers, I don't obsess over what I eat. When I used to do that, it would stress me out even more and cause my IBS to be worse. Probiotics also helped me out a lot. Have you tried taking any yet?
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I feel just like you!!! Seriously, it stinks doesn't it? I thought I was the only one on these boards who felt this way.
I'm alone too...no family, really..nor a boyfriend or many friends thanks to the isolation of the IBS pain. I just don't have it in me to go out when I'm in pain. It's a lonely way to live, isn't it? 
How do I do it? I don't. I have prayed really hard asking God to take me up to heaven, where I'll be healed and without pain and not alone. He doesn't seem to want to take me, though.
I also work at a job I am way overqualified for and that doesn't pay enough to live on. I struggle with finances big time! But the job is low stress...so I stay there. I can barely make it through the week and I don't even have to work very hard. Some days, I just show up and try to get through the day...without even doing much work. 
I have thought about moving to Arizona too! From Chicago. Why are you moving back? What area are you going to move to?
--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Oh...
#257479 - 04/10/06 06:55 PM
|
|
|
|
|
Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
|
|
|
I also want to go back to school...but don't know how I'd handle the stress of trying to pay for it and the stress of working while going to school. I'm not good with stress...but I need to go back to school for something that is will get me a decent job.
I would think that teaching would be a very stressful job, though. I could never do it! Plus, it's hard to be able to use the bathroom when the "urge" hitss. 
--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hi there. Unfortunately I know exactly what you mean. I had a 'temper tantrum' just last night about the whole life-revolving-round-my-stomach issuee. I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful bf who helps so much, but we got together whilst I was going through the early stages of having USPs (Unidentified Stomach Problems), so it does show you can still meet people while suffering with it. On one of our earliest dates I had one of my 'accidents', and he was great! He actually found it really funny, and helped me deal with it so much.
However, yes, sometimes I feel at the end of my tether with it - everything just feels so hard. I'm having car problems at the minute, which isn't a major problem as I don't go anywhere right now, but I start my weekly hypnotherapy sessions in May that require a 45 minute trip to a nearby city over a treacherous road - and anxiety about that is already causing me problems!
On that note, have you tried gut-directed hypnotherapy? I start it in-person in May, but lots of people have had major success with the Audio100 program.
Big hugs for feeling so pants!
--------------------
http://ibsblondie13.blogspot.com/
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Good Lord, don't become a teacher! I'm a high school teacher and really trying to find a way out. The stress of my job is why I am where I am....sick and sore. Unfortunately, my husband and I have two kids and are getting ready to buy a bigger house because we're going to "expand" the family so...I have to work. I'm going to give myself one more full year and I'm going to see what else I can do.
As much as everyone envies the summers of teachers, I don't feel like the stress is worth it. I know, I know...I shouldn't complain because I have all that time off but honestly, I spend at least 1/2 of it at school preparing for the next year, getting organized, or taking care of required school business. Another thing you may want to think about it the amount of work you have to take home. As a teacher, once you get home, your job is not done. If I'm not correcting papers, calculating grades, creating quizzes, or lesson plans, then I'm thinking about the stresses at school. It follows me everywhere. I also have to spend time taking classes to keep my certification (my school doesn't reimburse) and have a bazillion meetings thanks to all the crap being handed down from the state (Michigan). OMIGOSH!
If you're totally set on being a teacher because you just love kids to death, then do it. If you're doing what you really love, you're less likely to suffer from stress. But a lot of people have no idea just how much work and pressure we deal with.
13 years and I'm trying to find a way out...
Ugh, there goes my tummy.
--------------------
Flipada - IBS-C "It's a gas, gas, gas"
**Lauren**
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I'm concerned that you want to die. How many doctors have you seen about your IBS? I remember you talking to Bob about seeing his doctor. Did anything come of that?
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I have spent my life w/ IBS and I struggle with how much it takes me away from time with my 14 year-old son & husband. It's funny but even having those people in my life, I feel guilty that I spend 90% of my time sick, or in bed, or on the toilet, or talking about my IBS. The guilt of having people who care about you, yet who are neglected, is really hard to deal with. They never pressure me or make me feel badly for my condition at all; I can do that to myself.
I wanted to chime in because I am a high school teacher--during a particular "rotation" of a day I teach five classes in a row & help kids @ lunch. That runs STRAIGHT through from 8:45-2:30 without any break longer than two minute intervals. Other days, I have had three classes back to back. I have had to leave a class to deal with my D; I have had to wait patiently in the hall and PRAY that someone would just walk down the hall to "cover" a class. There is not a private bathroom to use--in fact, there are only TWO womens' faculty bathrooms in use (a total of 4 stalls for 50+ gals). It's been a nightmare. Because of my flares I have missed so much work that if I were not tenured, I would have been fired. Last month my paycheck was cut $800 for missed work because of my illness--I bypassed my allowed sick days long ago.
There are some benefits to the teaching definitely, but there is NO PLACE to hide when you don't feel well. The kids are demanding and you are always "on"--you can't sit @ a desk and have the kids work silently (at least not in my school). It's really stressful. I have thought of quitting so many times.
Your feelings and thoughts echoed mine in so many ways--I just wanted to tell you that you are NOT alone...there are so many people who know exactly what you are saying and how you are feeling. Too bad we can't all have an IBS commune (complete with private bathrooms for everyone!) 
--------------------
......................
IBS-D!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
Posts
