Hi, and thank you for the kudos!
First of all, I'm lucky in that my IBS is relatively mild. I sometimes go a few weeks without an attack, and even when I do have one, the attack is *usually* brief. (I.e., I get the urge, have D, but then instantly feel better. I don't get two-hour attacks like some people on this site.)
When I have an attack, it is usually during my class right after lunch. If I am leading the class (lecturing, asking whole-class questions, etc.), then I just try to bear it. There was one time toward the end of the year where I just told the kids I needed to go take care of something and left because I couldn't take it. If kids are working more independently, though, depending on the severity of the pain and urgency, I either:
-ignore it (and try not to let the pain show on my face);
-leave my students unsupervised (if they are doing something quiet like writing);
-open my colleague's door, which she immediately understands means I need to use the restroom, so she will keep an eye and ear on my class; or
-call the office and ask for a security guard to watch my class while I use the restroom ( I save this one for when kids are taking a test and must be supervised).
I am hoping that with the IBS diet I will get my symptoms under control this summer so that these after-lunch incidents will cease. If I have another year with attacks, I will ask my school to schedule my preparation period for after lunch. That would allow me to visit the potty without instructional interruptions.
That, by the way, would be my advice to other would-be teachers. Even elementary teachers usually get some block in the day where the kids are out at PE or in the computer lab or something. Just explain that you have a condition that requires frequent use of the restroom immediately after lunch and request that your preparation time be scheduled accordingly. I would imagine most schools would try to accommodate. While we're all bound to still have other attacks because of nerves or whatever else, that would minimize the need to ask others to watch the class or to leave the class unsupervised, which is technically a big no-no.
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Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
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Teaching with IBS
