Survey! When IBS Began
#309394 - 06/19/07 07:48 PM
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I was just wondering what age everyone was when they started getting digestive "issues". For example, I started to get problems and pains when I was 15, a freshman in highschool, but wasn't diagnosed until I was 16. Just leave a post if you feel like it! Thanks!
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Tierney
IBS-C
www.StandardProcess.com[/url] = the home of REAL supplements
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I was 52 when I started having problems with constipation. It got progressively worse over the next 4 years. The pain started 1 1/2 years ago. I was finally diagnoised a year ago with IBS constipation after undergoing all the tests to rule out other things. I will be 59 this year, so most of my life was without IBS.
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Snookie, IBS-C
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I've had them on and off for most of my life, but it didn't start to get bad until I was in my late 20s, and it was stressed induced then. Then I was okay until I almost 33. An infection of some sort coupled with a really stressful year kicked my IBS into high gear. Two years later, I'm pretty stable, but I'll always be careful now.
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Age 17 is when I noticed an excessively large stomach, diagnosed age 20.
Now 23.
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IBS-C and Bloating
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I have had it most of my life and it started to really flare up a few years ago due to a very stressful job! It wasnt until I was 25 that I was diagnosed
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Abby-IBS-C, Lactose Intolerant, fructose sensitive
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Lets see, i was 18/19 i had less and less bm's but i didnt care because there was no discomfort or bloating, so i just assumed it was normal. When i was 21 i got heavy pains one day, so badly for the next few months i couldnt move and cried all day. They diagnosed me with IBS at the end of that year (so i just turned 22), without one test. So a year and a half ago since i still was having lots of pains tho they gave me all these tips how to handle IBS (all the wrong ones, eat lots of whole wheat things, dont eat white bread, etc), i went to another doctor and got some of the tests. He thought for a while it was Crohn but said in the end it was one of the worst versions of IBS he had ever seen... So i have been diagnosed twice 
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I had a few tummy issues (pain and D) when I was in middle school and high school, but it was not consistent, just on and off. By college, I was working at a yogurt shop, and the pain began to get worse (probably due to the increase dairy consumption!). After college I had a really stressful teaching jobs and I noticed more pain and D. After a few years I left teaching to raise a family, and my IBS got really bad after the birth of my first baby. That was when I was diagnosed...about 11 years ago. Since then I have had two more babies (the last one a C-section) and my IBS is at its very worst. I control it through diet and med's, but it has never been this bad. I always have pain, and I always am aware of my stomach. I thought maybe a c-section might make IBS worse. Two years ago, before I found Heather's site, I was at my lowest ever. My weight was too low, I was weak and sick all the time, and my stomach was really hurting everyday. The diet has really helped me. Thank goodness for Heather!
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When I was 19 I had gallstones (possibly due to adapting a vegetarian diet and subsequently losing weight) and had my gallbladder removed. At that point I don't think I had IBS, but I did discover that I could no longer digest fatty foods well, and they made me very uncomfortable.
Early last year at the age of 26, I began having symptoms of Interstitial Cystitis (also known as Painful Bladder Syndrome). Six months later my IBS symptoms began at the age of 27. IC and IBS often go hand in hand in patients and I wonder how much of my IBS is related to my IC and my gallbladder removal when I was younger?
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Lisa
IBS-A, Interstitial Cystitis, Migraines
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I have had bad abdominal pains from age 14 and chronic constipation. I don't think anyone had heard of IBS in those days! I never went to the doctor - just thought that was the way I was. Pains have been much worse since major abdominal surgery for a twisted bowel and appendectomy 17 years ago. Pains worsened considerably in the last couple of years, I think probably related to hormones and post-surgical adhesions. Formally diagnosed with IBS by consultant after tests last year. I am now 46. I am hoping that the pains and C will improve after the menopause. Stress remains a big trigger for me, too. Heather's diet has helped considerably, but still have a lot of pain, gas and C, especially round periods.
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I was about 9 when I started having severe constipation. It continued until I was 24 when I had my first baby. Up until then I was taken to hospital numerous times because my intestines/bowel were full and I'd faint! I started getting pains again a few years ago when eating fatty foods and this year it has got alot worse, limiting what I could eat that didn't cause an attack. That was until I found this website -Thank heavens for Heather and all of you that post here to give advice or just an internet hug! thanks!!
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I was diagnosed at the age of 27; however, I had abdominal pain and constipation since high school. I remember specific times when the pain was so bad that I could not even stand up. I never said anything to anyone; it wasn't until I got older that the symptoms really began to interfere with my life. I am very grateful that I have finally found relief through the EFI diet. I refuse to take medications so this diet and stress relief has really helped me to feel TONS better!
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Mine started when I was 22 in 1998 then I took bc and got stable for about 2yrs and then i had my daughter and it came back twice as bad as it ever was. But since finding this site I have ben noticing some changes and so feel a little bit better.
Emmasmom
ibs-c
gas gas
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I was about 12 when my symptoms started. So that makes almost 16 years now.
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***********************
If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Thanks to everyone who responded! I REALLY appreciate it! About six months ago, I found out that I'm not the only one in my family that has IBS: my aunt, my mom's two cousins, and my grandpa have it. The only difference between them and me is that I have the worst case of it. :crazy: Anyways, thanks again! I hope everyone feels good or is on the road to feeling better!!!
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Tierney
IBS-C
www.StandardProcess.com[/url] = the home of REAL supplements
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I had C as a kid pretty bad. Then as a preteen/teen I had several memorable episodes of D and thought it was always food poisoning. As that continued I realized it might be IBS at about 19. I started getting bloated at about 19 (started BC then and got married- hmmm). So I had alternating from late teens years and then goofed myself up really bad with correctol. I went to the doc in my early 20s but had no insurance. I got that in mid 20s and tried a few things with no help. Bloating has been the worst and I have had occasional D followed by C that makes it hard to medicate me. I am 33 now so it has been a long time!
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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I always had problems with C and a bloated tummy since I was 10, now it has been worse D was a problem in my teen years and now I have both C and D bad. (up to 2 weeks with C). I am 29 and was diagnosed several months ago. There is little help I am getting from doctors..but this web site and Heather's books have helped me sooooo much!! Thank you!!!!
I am thinking of trying the hypno next.
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My IBS started with a bit of mucous in the stool when I was 18. No other problems then. Over the next few years I started to get attacks with loose stool and sometimes D and maybe a bit of pain, but only like once every few months. The frequency of these attacks slowly increased and at the same time my bowels started to get more sensitive to and react more strongly to nervousness, like before exams and presentations et.c. Then in 2005 when I was 26, after I had had a really stressful few weeks at work and then had my vacation the IBS got bad. My bowels have more or less constantly been working too fast since then. I had to fight to get examined properly since my GP was of the old-fashioned-and-not-educated-on-IBS-kind. She was pretty much convinced the problems were caused by my worrying and wondering if it could be something more serious, which just goes to show how little she knew. Finally in the spring of 2006 I got my IBS properly diagnosed (though actually it wasn't specified as IBS but rather just a functional digestive disorder, but since I have pain too that is exactly what is called IBS). I found this webpage in the summer of 2006 and gradually switched to the EFI diet. I still need loperamide daily though and I think I will probably always need it unless they find a cure or a better medicine for IBS. I am just thankful that it works and I pray and hope it will always work for me.
My situation is a bit complicated because I had a paralysis condition as a child so I also have bladder problems and anal incontinence issues, the latter of which I am now waiting for treatment for. Unfortunately it can take years if I am unlucky so from mid summer I will probably go on full time medical leave as it gets too much for me to try to juggle work as a PhD student with hunting down doctors and going through the treatment program all at the same time.
/Ulrika, IBS-D
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I had some lactose intolerance issues when I was 12 and 13, which seemed to go away on it's own. Then totally normal until an infection with e. Coli 0157:H7 which had me in the hospital for a week in 2002. Things have not been the same since, I became really C and it got worse every year to the point I was having a BM once a week and had a giant distended stomach all the time. Found this site in March 07 and I've seen some improvement, but still trying to get stable.
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IBS-C
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Hmmm, if I think back, I've had tummy trouble for a LONG time!! My grandma tells me stories of when I was 5 and 6 with tummy aches all the time, so that could have been IBS back then.
I really got sick when I was 17. I was away on exchange in Italy for 3 months. I got sick there with a virus, and was eating a lot of unpasturized cheese, milk, etc. I came home and I couldn't eat anything. I got sicker and sicker. The drs did elimination diets - no milk, no meat, no wheat, etc. At one point all I could eat was rice products, veggies and fruit. I had all the tests - stool samples, barium tests, endoscopy, colonoscopy, biopsies for Celiac, lactose, etc.
Over two years of testing and finally just before graduation from grade 13 I got a diagnosis of IBS. The GI told me that I didn't drink enough water. If I drank more water I wouldn't have any more problems. He gave me a pamphlet and ta ta, sent me away. I didn't see him again for 12 years. I had to learn on my own what to eat, not to eat, until I found Heather's book, by accident! at Chapters about 6 years ago and it helped me out through a rough patch. Then I kinda went into remission - no problems at all - although I stick to the modified diet. Last Feb my world was falling apart - my dad wouldn't come to my wedding, my best friend and her hubby dropped out of our wedding party and out of our lives completely, my job is SUPER stressful and I can't seem to find another one... etc. So, that is when I found the board online and re-read Heather's book, got myself back ontrack and now I'm pretty stable again.
Thanks to Heather, Mike Mahoney's hypnonsis, some changes in my lifestyle and the love of a damn good husband. I'm also 45 lbs lighter! (A little too skinny) But I'm getting my health back, that is the main thing!
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Cassandra
Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like you've never loved before.
IBS A 20+ years, Chronic Migraines, Chiari Malformation (decompressed June 22, 2010), Brachial Neuritis, and ??? the list just keeps growing, but I'm still shiny side up! 
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I've had constipation issues for as long as I can remember. I know I went to the hospital with severe pains in high school and came home with the diagnosis of constipation! I was totally embarrassed at the time. I thought I was dying (the drama of high school!). I do remember I had problems with gas as well.
When I got pregnant with my first, I had gallstone attacks and had my gallbladder out after he was born. After that there were several foods I could no longer tolerate and it seemed that it got worse through the years.
About 2 years ago with the stress of my wedding, my job, etc. it got really bad. I couldn't eat anything without gas and pain. I had nausea, wasn't sleeping well, had night sweats and a general feeling of malaise. I went to the doctor because my husband and mother made me and was diagnosed with IBS. C, of course.
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Flipada - IBS-C "It's a gas, gas, gas"
**Lauren**
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My IBS started when I was 13. It came with puberty. I remember having my first IBS-D attack when I drank 3 bottles of Snapple Iced Tea. Havnt touched the stuff since. 
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I remember having nausea and diarrhea every morning before going to elementary school (1950's)---due to stress. Cooled out through junior high and high school. Was very sensitive to too much fat/beef, too.
Had Hepatitis A and also dysentery in 1979, and my digestion has never been the same since. Terrible reaction to onions and garlic which took me years to figure out. Now I have trouble with C, bloating, and gas---due to slowed metabolism probably. Taking calcium suppls for osteoporosis has made C worse--everything worse. But I'm usually relatively stable as long as I don't stray from IBS diet. Started Natural Calm recently--that's been a big help counteracting all the Calcium.
C
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Mine was only diagnosed last year (age 43), but I'd had been having almost daily symptoms for almost 3 years before that. And even before that, I never drank orange juice for many years because I knew it would give me D. My maternal grandmother was diagnosed with "spastic colon" many, many years ago... I believe my mom has it too, though hers is not diagnosed.
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Check multiple sources and make the best-informed decision possible!
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