Posted 8/18/2006 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
Have you seen the post (just recently) where someone recommends a product for intestinal nerve damage? Maybe that's worth a try? Because if nothing at all works for you, then maybe that's what's wrong with you. You might need to talk seriously with a doctor about figuring out which part of your intestines is not functioning and see if a resection might not be what it takes. That's always, always the last-ditch attempt (it is dangerous), but that sounds like where you're heading. I was just reading--a link someone put on here, I think--about a large intestine resection where they basically take out your large intestine and connect your small intestines directly to the rectum so you don't need a colostomy bag. The Osties forum would be the place to go to talk about that sort of thing if you want to think about it.
I was sick all through college too, but with the opposite problem--diarrhea and very painful gall bladder attacks. Part of what got me through it was living off campus and being able to have my own bathroom. I didn't have much of a social life either--in fact, I was pretty miserable after my first year in college--but after I got my GB out (a year after I left college), I was able to start doing reenacting and found me a man and everything. So my life did move on and get better, but man, it was hard to keep hoping that it would when I was sitting on the toliet and holding a trashcan at 3 in the morning, all by myself and 6.5 hours away from home, so sick I felt like I was about to die.
You go to a big school; I bet there are others on campus with IBS. Maybe you should go to the clinic and see about arranging some sort of support group for people who also have bowel problems. That way you could have people to hang out with and not be embarrassed to be around. One of the worst things a friend can say to you is "Too much information" and a lot of them will if you try to open up about your bowel problems. And one of the best things anyone can say to an IBSer is "Oh, yeah, I get like that when I eat_____" or "Oh, God, I was so sick I thought I was going to die when I was in Haiti last year. Parasites, you know." I don't know why, but talking about bowel problems makes you feel better. I guess because you realize you're not alone and that this person who is nodding in a "been-there-done-that-myself" way won't make you feel ashamed or humiliated.