Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Long-term consequences of IBS on life

I think counseling is a good idea. I would absolutely try the hypno. But I also think you should take a harder look at meds. I know a lot of people don't want to "overmedicate" but at your age I think you should be doing whatever it takes to make your life as livable as possible. Perhaps you can talk to your doctor about increasing your Lexapro dose. Perhaps you can talk to your doctor about an anti-spasmodic. (I take Donnatol but that's anti-spasmodic plus phenobarbitol so I don't drive when I take it and I don't know about mixing it with Lexapro.) Perhaps more aggressive use of Imodium will help.

I keep thinking about your not taking a van trip example. That would terrify me - trapped with strangers in a vehicle with no bathroom and no control over stopping for a bathroom except by risking humiliating myself by asking - well, begging. But if I eat safely (always, not just the day before) and I took a Donnatol and 2 Imodium before I left, I could do it. I might have to get up 4 hours before I was scheduled to leave to get my tummy settled down; I might have to chug hot peppermint tea the whole trip; I might have to eat another couple of Imodium along the way; I might have to take another Donnatol and therefore be less than sparkling company; I might have to plug myself into a hypno session - but I could do it.

And I think that's how you experience life while struggling with IBS. You figure out what you have to do to accomplish some scary thing - just one scary thing and it doesn't have to be as scary as the van trip from hell to start. You eat, sleep, wake up, tea, dose, drug, and hypno to get through that one slightly scary thing. Then when you've done it, you've got a little more confidence which means a little less anxiety for the next thing.

As for not being ready for adulthood, if it's financially possible for you, consider sticking around at college for another year. You're young enough to do it - I started college at 17 and ended up taking a year off in the middle - and it would provide a relatively safe environment to start pushing your boundaries. Figure out what adventures you want to have that you can't manage and start taking little steps toward having them.

HTH. I wish you all the best and welcome to the Boards.

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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]

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