Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: New, young, confused -- Accidents & Trauma?

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that you are struggling with IBS during this "young, active" time in college. I can empathize to some degree and say that I had IBS symptoms during my college years but not quite full-blown IBS. I can recall many times when I was on a road trip with a bunch of people and had to stop repeatedly for the bathroom. The difference back then was that once I "went" a few times, it was usually over and if I was stressed, it wiould go away once I got involved in the anxious activity (like taking a test in class).

I was surprised to read others' responses to you about trauma. That was an excellent question. I believe that my anxiety about the d amplified, thus the IBS amplified when I had taken a laxative to relieve some constipation one time. It was the next day and I sat joyfully eating a bagel in my car on campus (grad school) when suddenly....and I tried to make it into the building but, well, you can envision the rest

. Ever since then, the FEAR of the D can easily cause the D. (That was about 10 years ago.) So it's interesting that most people are saying that the IBS might have developed anyway. Food poisoning is more of a trauma to your digestive system I think than an obvious laxative result so it may have just thrown your system out of whack.
I think the point is that you did not CAUSE it by having your experience and the stress that followed...of course anyone would be embarrassed and would consider it a trauma, especially at a young age. If you read more, you'll repeatedly see that even though anxiety plays a role in IBS, it is a TRUE, physical problem that we have and no one should try to negate that.

My suggestions would be as follows:
1.(In your spare time), read ALL you can on this site, not just the boards. Mostly read about the diet, soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. What you eat for breakfast can start your whole day off good or bad. Try oatmeal (it seems most of us do okay with it)with just water when you wake up to settle your stomach. (You can get the packets and make it easily in your dorm room if you have access to a microwave.)

2. Order Heather's Acacia. It's not very expensive and it has done wonders for my d. You have to work up slowly, but the more you take, the more options you will have for eating other foods safely and I almost "feel" it soak up the water in my bowels if that makes any sense. In the meantime, you can try some Fibercon (which I know, sounds scary) but it will BULK up your stool. If it works, it may be a more viable option for you than a powder like Acacia b/c it might be easier for you to "pop a few pill" than devise ways to ingest the powder throughout the day.

3. If you've had an official diagnosis from a doctor (which you should...if you haven't had all the tests, you want to be sure it's not something else), get a doctor's note and give it to your professors. This way just knowing that they are aware you might need to leave class a few times or might be late will put your mind at ease.

4. Avoid the triggers listed on the cheat sheet (dairy, coffee...) and yes, alcohol. Difficult I imagine for a college student with partying all around you but it's true that your true friends shouldn't pressure you into anything regardless of IBS. On a more practical note though, you may not want to anounce to the whole party that it will give you d

, so say you get an allergic reaction or something and would rather have a good time by avoiding it. Not everyone needs to know your bm info. I'm sure there are other students who don't want to drink either for non-IBS reasons and they shouldn't feel pressured. (It's a tough social world we live in

).

5. If you can affor the hypno, get it. I just started it and can't really say it's changed me all that much yet, but I believe others when they vouch for its efficacy.

6. Finally, take one day at a time. It's overwhelming when you think about all that you have on your plate and all the events you might have ahead of you. Do the "break the cycle diet" found on this site and then add one thing in at a time...some safe snacks, etc.. and if you have a busy day at school or you're going out with friends, Immodium will become your BEST FRIEND until you get stable! Welcome to the boards and don't fear...you are in good hands and everyone here will help you through this! (PS., I have only been on this site since Sept. and it has changed my life. Others who offer advice have been stable for more than a year so there is hope.)

Oh...and my favorite snacks adaptable for college life..graham crackers, pretzels, bagels (plain bagel with jelly if you have to order it out), turkey on italian roll with mustard...see there are things you can eat, even within your environment. I know, not so exciting, but you can look forward to school breaks when you can go home and bake some "fake" brownies or some of the delicious IBS recipes.

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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C

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