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How old are you?? I'm 22.

How old were you when IBS began? Hmm, that's a hard one.. I got stomach parasites when I was about.. 7.. that lasted a few years before they finally killed them off, which took a long time and made me really sick. Ever since, I've had stomach problems. I think I got told I had IBS when I was about... 10? I don't remember. It was fairly mild through high school, usually just quite bad stomach aches, some nausea and some D. It came on again when I was about 19, then got _really_ bad when I was 20-21 and I have been here since then!

How old were you diagnosed? I think I have been diagnosed 3 times. Once when I was fairly young, then re-confirmed when I was 19 and then told again when I moved to England by a UK doctor last year (so 21).

How long have you been helped "Heather style"? Um, I think I first found this site about a year and a half ago maybe? I was in England, and I was _really_ sick.. I had gotten into such a bad state that just going on the diet at first didn't 'fix' me but it did make my attacks a lot easier, and usually shorter. The "What to Eat when you Can't Eat Anything" was a life-saver to me then because I had no idea what I should be doing when I was really sick. For me, though diet is only one part of controlling my IBS. Through this site, I also realised that I need to find ways to manage my stress AND I need to medicate. Without medication, or if I am really stressed out, I could still get an attack eating just rice.

Uh oh that was more than 3, sowwy!

That's okay. If I were you, I would make sure you get yourself properly diagnosed with IBS. Since so many things mimick IBS, it's usually the best idea to just make sure it isn't something else. Ask your doctor about IBDs and celiac and stuff like that.

It's hard to predict exactly what lies ahead for you personally, 'cause I think everyone is different. Like, I have a friend who has IBS who just can't eat cheese and fatty foods and she is generally okay. I, on the other hand, have a whole long list of things I have to do to stay tummy happy.. and even those don't work all the time!
I would say, get to a doctor, get diagnosed. After that, discuss with him/her some treatment options. For example, an anti-spasmodic or other kind of medication might be really beneficial. Diet is something you can control on your own, so I would make a food diary so that you can find triggers for you and be able to track attacks more easily once you are getting stable.
Figure out how stress affects your tummy, and find ways to deal with it. Yoga, hypnosis, other exercise.. can all help with this.
Then it's just a matter of tinkering and experimenting to find out how to get and stay stable, from what I've experienced.
Good luck!!
--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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